Instruments to assess stigmatization in dermatology.

Science.gov (United States)

Dimitrov, Dimitre; Szepietowski, Jacek C

2017-11-03

Stigmatization is the assignment of negative perceptions to an individual because of a perceived difference from the population at large. Skin conditions are frequently the reason of social rejection with a consequent negative influence on the personal and social life of patients. The aim of the current study was to review the available instruments that can be successfully utilized to measure the stigmatization level among dermatological patients. We performed our search on PubMed up to November 2016 and utilized combinations of key phrases containing such words as stigmatization, skin, dermatology, names of various skin conditions (psoriasis, vitiligo, acne, etc.), measurement. The search found a considerable number of articles - 548. After filtering them through a precise selection process, 58 articles remained. We concentrated only on the methodological aspects to assess stigmatization in various dermatoses. The review ascertained that there exist numerous instruments in the form of questionnaires. They were utilized in various researches in order to assess the stigmatization level in patients with skin problems. We divided them into two main groups: dermatology specific instruments (6 questionnaires) and dermatosis/disease specific ones (8 questionnaires). It is recommended to use dermatology-specific instruments to compare the stigmatization level in various skin conditions. They can be utilized as well as a first line tools to study the feeling of stigmatization in specific skin diseases; however, where it is possible, they should be supplemented with the disease-specific instrument for deeper analysis of both qualities of life and stigmatization.

Measuring Primary Students' Graph Interpretation Skills Via a Performance Assessment: A case study in instrument development

Science.gov (United States)

Peterman, Karen; Cranston, Kayla A.; Pryor, Marie; Kermish-Allen, Ruth

2015-11-01

This case study was conducted within the context of a place-based education project that was implemented with primary school students in the USA. The authors and participating teachers created a performance assessment of standards-aligned tasks to examine 6-10-year-old students' graph interpretation skills as part of an exploratory research project. Fifty-five students participated in a performance assessment interview at the beginning and end of a place-based investigation. Two forms of the assessment were created and counterbalanced within class at pre and post. In situ scoring was conducted such that responses were scored as correct versus incorrect during the assessment's administration. Criterion validity analysis demonstrated an age-level progression in student scores. Tests of discriminant validity showed that the instrument detected variability in interpretation skills across each of three graph types (line, bar, dot plot). Convergent validity was established by correlating in situ scores with those from the Graph Interpretation Scoring Rubric. Students' proficiency with interpreting different types of graphs matched expectations based on age and the standards-based progression of graphs across primary school grades. The assessment tasks were also effective at detecting pre-post gains in students' interpretation of line graphs and dot plots after the place-based project. The results of the case study are discussed in relation to the common challenges associated with performance assessment. Implications are presented in relation to the need for authentic and performance-based instructional and assessment tasks to respond to the Common Core State Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards.

A Database Management Assessment Instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Landry, Jeffrey P.; Pardue, J. Harold; Daigle, Roy; Longenecker, Herbert E., Jr.

2013-01-01

This paper describes an instrument designed for assessing learning outcomes in data management. In addition to assessment of student learning and ABET outcomes, we have also found the instrument to be effective for determining database placement of incoming information systems (IS) graduate students. Each of these three uses is discussed in this…

Performance of BATAN-SANS instrument

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ikram, Abarrul; Insani, Andon [National Nuclear Energy Agency, P and D Centre for Materials Science and Technology, Serpong (Indonesia)

2003-03-01

SANS data from some standard samples have been obtained using BATAN-SANS instrument in Serpong. The experiments were performed for various experimental set-ups that involve different detector positions and collimator lengths. This paper describes the BATAN-SANS instrument briefly as well as the data taken from those experiments and followed with discussion of the results concerning the performance and calibration of the instrument. The standard samples utilized in these experiments include porous silica, polystyrene-poly isoprene, silver behenate, poly ball and polystyrene-poly (ethylene-alt-propylene). Even though the results show that BATAN-SANS instrument is in good shape, but rooms for improvements are still widely open especially for the velocity selector and its control system. (author)

Assessment of economic instruments for countries with low municipal waste management performance: An approach based on the analytic hierarchy process.

Science.gov (United States)

Kling, Maximilian; Seyring, Nicole; Tzanova, Polia

2016-09-01

Economic instruments provide significant potential for countries with low municipal waste management performance in decreasing landfill rates and increasing recycling rates for municipal waste. In this research, strengths and weaknesses of landfill tax, pay-as-you-throw charging systems, deposit-refund systems and extended producer responsibility schemes are compared, focusing on conditions in countries with low waste management performance. In order to prioritise instruments for implementation in these countries, the analytic hierarchy process is applied using results of a literature review as input for the comparison. The assessment reveals that pay-as-you-throw is the most preferable instrument when utility-related criteria are regarded (wb = 0.35; analytic hierarchy process distributive mode; absolute comparison) mainly owing to its waste prevention effect, closely followed by landfill tax (wb = 0.32). Deposit-refund systems (wb = 0.17) and extended producer responsibility (wb = 0.16) rank third and fourth, with marginal differences owing to their similar nature. When cost-related criteria are additionally included in the comparison, landfill tax seems to provide the highest utility-cost ratio. Data from literature concerning cost (contrary to utility-related criteria) is currently not sufficiently available for a robust ranking according to the utility-cost ratio. In general, the analytic hierarchy process is seen as a suitable method for assessing economic instruments in waste management. Independent from the chosen analytic hierarchy process mode, results provide valuable indications for policy-makers on the application of economic instruments, as well as on their specific strengths and weaknesses. Nevertheless, the instruments need to be put in the country-specific context along with the results of this analytic hierarchy process application before practical decisions are made. © The Author(s) 2016.

Development and Validation of the Basketball Offensive Game Performance Instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Weiyun; Hendricks, Kristin; Zhu, Weimo

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to design and validate the Basketball Offensive Game Performance Instrument (BOGPI) that assesses an individual player's offensive game performance competency in basketball. Twelve physical education teacher education (PETE) students playing two 10-minute, 3 vs. 3 basketball games were videotaped at end of a…

Mixed-realism simulation of adverse event disclosure: an educational methodology and assessment instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Matos, Francisco M; Raemer, Daniel B

2013-04-01

Physicians have an ethical duty to disclose adverse events to patients or families. Various strategies have been reported for teaching disclosure, but no instruments have been shown to be reliable for assessing them.The aims of this study were to report a structured method for teaching adverse event disclosure using mixed-realism simulation, develop and begin to validate an instrument for assessing performance, and describe the disclosure practice of anesthesiology trainees. Forty-two anesthesiology trainees participated in a 2-part exercise with mixed-realism simulation. The first part took place using a mannequin patient in a simulated operating room where trainees became enmeshed in a clinical episode that led to an adverse event and the second part in a simulated postoperative care unit where the learner is asked to disclose to a standardized patient who systematically moves through epochs of grief response. Two raters scored subjects using an assessment instrument we developed that combines a 4-element behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) and a 5-stage objective rating scale. The performance scores for elements within the BARS and the 5-stage instrument showed excellent interrater reliability (Cohen's κ = 0.7), appropriate range (mean range for BARS, 4.20-4.47; mean range for 5-stage instrument, 3.73-4.46), and high internal consistency (P realism simulation that engages learners in an adverse event and allows them to practice disclosure to a structured range of patient responses. We have developed a reliable 2-part instrument with strong psychometric properties for assessing disclosure performance.

PERFORMANCE CONFIRMATION IN-SITU INSTRUMENTATION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

N.T. Raczka

2000-01-01

The purpose of this document is to identify and analyze the types of in-situ instruments and methods that could be used in support of the data acquisition portion of the Performance Confirmation (PC) program at the potential nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The PC program will require geomechanical , geophysical, thermal, and hydrologic instrumentation of several kinds. This analysis is being prepared to document the technical issues associated with each type of measurement during the PC period. This analysis utilizes the ''Performance Confirmation Input Criteria'' (CRWMS M andO 1999a) as its starting point. The scope of this analysis is primarily on the period after the start of waste package emplacement and before permanent closure of the repository, a period lasting between 15 and 300 years after last package emplacement (Stroupe 2000, Attachment 1, p. 1). The primary objectives of this analysis are to: (1) Review the design criteria as presented in the ''Performance Confirmation Input Criteria'' (CRWMS M andO 1999a). The scope of this analysis will be limited to the instrumentation related to parameters that require continuous monitoring of the conditions underground. (2) Preliminary identification and listing of the data requirements and parameters as related to the current repository layout in support of PC monitoring. (3) Preliminary identification of methods and instrumentation for the acquisition of the required data. Although the ''Performance Confirmation Input Criteria'' (CRWMS M andO 1999a) defines a broad range of data that must be obtained from a variety of methods, the focus of this analysis is on instrumentation related to the performance of the rock mass and the formation of water in the repository environment, that is obtainable from in-situ observation, testing, and monitoring

Instrument for assessing the quality of mobile emergency pre-hospital care: content validation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo Assis Neves Dantas

2015-06-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES To validate an instrument to assess quality of mobile emergency pre-hospital care. METHOD A methodological study where 20 professionals gave their opinions on the items of the proposed instrument. The analysis was performed using Kappa test (K and Content Validity Index (CVI, considering K> 0.80 and CVI ≥ 0.80. RESULTS Three items were excluded from the instrument: Professional Compensation; Job Satisfaction and Services Performed. Items that obtained adequate K and CVI indexes and remained in the instrument were: ambulance conservation status; physical structure; comfort in the ambulance; availability of material resources; user/staff safety; continuous learning; safety demonstrated by the team; access; welcoming; humanization; response time; costumer privacy; guidelines on care; relationship between professionals and costumers; opportunity for costumers to make complaints and multiprofessional conjunction/actuation. CONCLUSION The instrument to assess quality of care has been validated and may contribute to the evaluation of pre-hospital care in mobile emergency services.

The Development of an ASSA Module as an Auxiliary Tool for Assessment of Existing Plant Instrumentation and enhancement of the instruments performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koo, Kil Mo; Kang, Kyung Ho; Ha, Kwang Soon; Cho, Young Ro; Cho, Young; Park, Rae Jun; Kim, Sang Baik; Kim, Hee Dong

2007-04-01

A review of a plant's accident management capabilities is one of the key elements in achieving regulatory closure of severe accident issues. During accidents, information and data from plant's instruments, as well as others sources, are essential for assessing the plant's status and response. Unlike for design basis accidents, there are inherently some uncertainties to instrumentation capabilities for severe accident conditions. There are many ways to obtain information during a severe accident. Moreover, precise measurements are not necessary. The redundancy and ruggedness of a plant's instrumentation provides considerable depth in the capability of existing designs. The circuit simulation analysis and diagnosis methods are used to assess instruments in detail when they give apparently abnormal readings. A new simulator, ASSA(abnormal signal simulator analysis), through an analysis of the important circuits modeling under severe accident conditions has been designed. It has three main functions which are a signal processing tool, an accident management tool, and an additional guide from the initial screen. In this paper, it can be simulated to the temperature characteristic analysis procedure of the ASSA through EQ data comparative method and using specific signal processing under severe accident condition

Introduction to radiological performance assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moss, G.

1995-02-01

A radiological performance assessment is conducted to provide reasonable assurance that performance objectives for low-level radioactive waste (LLW) disposal will be met. Beginning in the early stages of development, a radiological performance assessment continues through the operational phase, and is instrumental in the postclosure of the facility. Fundamental differences exist in the regulation of commercial and defense LLW, but the radiological performance assessment process is essentially the same for both. The purpose of this document is to describe that process in a concise and straightforward manner. This document focuses on radiological performance assessment as it pertains to commercial LLW disposal, but is applicable to US Department of Energy sites as well. Included are discussions on performance objectives, site characterization, and how a performance assessment is conducted. A case study is used to illustrate how the process works as a whole. A bibliography is provided to assist in locating additional information

Instrumentation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Decreton, M

2001-04-01

SCK-CEN's research and development programme on instrumentation involves the assessment and the development of sensitive measurement systems used within a radiation environment. Particular emphasis is on the assessment of optical fibre components and their adaptability to radiation environments. The evaluation of ageing processes of instrumentation in fission plants, the development of specific data evaluation strategies to compensate for ageing induced degradation of sensors and cable performance form part of these activities. In 2000, particular emphasis was on in-core reactor instrumentation applied to fusion, accelerator driven and water-cooled fission reactors. This involved the development of high performance instrumentation for irradiation experiments in the BR2 reactor in support of new instrumentation needs for MYRRHA, and for diagnostic systems for the ITER reactor.

Instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Decreton, M.

2001-01-01

SCK-CEN's research and development programme on instrumentation involves the assessment and the development of sensitive measurement systems used within a radiation environment. Particular emphasis is on the assessment of optical fibre components and their adaptability to radiation environments. The evaluation of ageing processes of instrumentation in fission plants, the development of specific data evaluation strategies to compensate for ageing induced degradation of sensors and cable performance form part of these activities. In 2000, particular emphasis was on in-core reactor instrumentation applied to fusion, accelerator driven and water-cooled fission reactors. This involved the development of high performance instrumentation for irradiation experiments in the BR2 reactor in support of new instrumentation needs for MYRRHA, and for diagnostic systems for the ITER reactor

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Assessment of instrumental subsystem FMEA/CIL

Science.gov (United States)

Gardner, J. R.; Addis, A. W.

1988-01-01

The McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company (MDAC) was selected in June 1986 to perform an Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL). The IOA effort first completed an analysis of the Instrumentation hardware, generating draft failure modes and potential critical items. To preserve independence, this analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained within the NASA FMEA/CIL documentation. The IOA results were then compared to the NASA FMEA/CIL baseline. A resolution of each discrepancy from the comparison is provided through additional analysis as required. The results of that comparison for the Orbiter Instrumentation hardware are documented. The IOA product for Instrumentation analysis consisted of 107 failure mode worksheets that resulted in 22 critical items being identified. Comparison was made to the Pre 51-L NASA baseline with 14 Post 51-L FMEAs added, which consists of 96 FMEAs and 18 CIL items. This comparison produced agreement on all but 25 FMEAs which caused differences in 5 CIL items.

Financial and testamentary capacity evaluations: procedures and assessment instruments underneath a functional approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Sousa, Liliana B; Simões, Mário R; Firmino, Horácio; Peisah, Carmelle

2014-02-01

Mental health professionals are frequently involved in mental capacity determinations. However, there is a lack of specific measures and well-defined procedures for these evaluations. The main purpose of this paper is to provide a review of financial and testamentary capacity evaluation procedures, including not only the traditional neuropsychological and functional assessment but also the more recently developed forensic assessment instruments (FAIs), which have been developed to provide a specialized answer to legal systems regarding civil competencies. Here the main guidelines, papers, and other references are reviewed in order to achieve a complete and comprehensive selection of instruments used in the assessment of financial and testamentary capacity. Although some specific measures for financial abilities have been developed recently, the same is not true for testamentary capacity. Here are presented several instruments or methodologies for assessing financial and testamentary capacity, including neuropsychological assessment, functional assessment scales, performance based functional assessment instruments, and specific FAIs. FAIs are the only specific instruments intended to provide a specific and direct answer to the assessment of financial capacity based on legal systems. Considering the need to move from a diagnostic to a functional approach in financial and testamentary capacity evaluations, it is essential to consider both general functional examination as well as cognitive functioning.

On-Line Monitoring of Instrument Channel Performance in Nuclear Power Plant Using PEANO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fantoni, Paolo F.; Hoffmann, Mario; Shankar, Ramesh; Davis, Eddie L.

2002-01-01

On-Line monitoring evaluates instrument channel performance by assessing its consistency with other plant indications. Industry and EPRI experience at several plants has shown this overall approach to be very effective in identifying instrument channels that are exhibiting degrading or inconsistent performance characteristics. On-Line monitoring of instrument channels provides information about the condition of the monitored channels through accurate, more frequent monitoring of each channel's performance over time. This type of performance monitoring is a methodology that offers an alternate approach to traditional time-directed calibration. On-line monitoring of these channels can provide an assessment of instrument performance and provide a basis for determining when adjustments are necessary. Elimination or reduction of unnecessary field calibrations can reduce associated labor costs, reduce personnel radiation exposure and reduce the potential for miss-calibration. PEANO is a system for on-line calibration monitoring developed in the years 1995-2000 at the Institutt for energiteknikk (IFE), Norway, which makes use of Artificial Intelligence techniques for its purpose. The system has been tested successfully in Europe in off-line tests with EDF (France), Tecnatom (Spain) and ENEA (Italy). PEANO is currently installed and used for on-line monitoring at the HBWR reactor in Halden. This paper describes the results of performance tests on PEANO with real data from a US PWR plant, in the framework of a co-operation among IFE, EPRI and Edan Engineering, to evaluate the potentials of PEANO for future installations in US nuclear plants. (authors)

Development of self and peer performance assessment on iodometric titration experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Nahadi; Siswaningsih, W.; Kusumaningtyas, H.

2018-05-01

This study aims to describe the process in developing of reliable and valid assessment to measure students’ performance on iodometric titration and the effect of the self and peer assessment on students’ performance. The self and peer-instrument provides valuable feedback for the student performance improvement. The developed assessment contains rubric and task for facilitating self and peer assessment. The participants are 24 students at the second-grade student in certain vocational high school in Bandung. The participants divided into two groups. The first 12 students involved in the validity test of the developed assessment, while the remain 12 students participated for the reliability test. The content validity was evaluated based on the judgment experts. Test result of content validity based on judgment expert show that the developed performance assessment instrument categorized as valid on each task with the realibity classified as very good. Analysis of the impact of the self and peer assessment implementation showed that the peer instrument supported the self assessment.

Evaluating the effectiveness of impact assessment instruments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cashmore, Matthew; Richardson, Tim; Hilding-Ryedvik, Tuija

2010-01-01

to sharpen effectiveness evaluation theory for impact assessment instruments this article critically examines the neglected issue of their political constitution. Analytical examples are used to concretely explore the nature and significance of the politicisation of impact assessment. It is argued......The central role of impact assessment instruments globally in policy integration initiatives has been cemented in recent years. Associated with this trend, but also reflecting political emphasis on greater accountability in certain policy sectors and a renewed focus on economic competitiveness...... that raising awareness about the political character of impact assessment instruments, in itself, is a vital step in advancing effectiveness evaluation theory. Broader theoretical lessons on the framing of evaluation research are also drawn from the political analysis. We conclude that, at least within...

Examination of a clinical teaching effectiveness instrument used for summative faculty assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Bierer, S Beth; Hull, Alan L

2007-12-01

This study explores whether a clinical teaching effectiveness (CTE) instrument provides valid scores for summative faculty assessment. The sample included all CTE instruments (n = 10,087) that learners (N = 1,194) completed to assess clinical teachers (N = 872) during 1 academic year. The authors investigated response processes (e.g., missing data, straight-line responses, level of learner), internal structure (e.g., confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis), teaching ratings by learner group (medical student or resident), and relation to other variables (e.g., correlation with global rating). Response processes identified a high prevalence of straight-line responses (same rating across all items) and differential patterns of missing data by learner group. Medical students rated their teachers higher than residents, and CTE scores had different factor structures depending on learner group. High correlation coefficients of CTE items with a single rating of overall teaching performance suggest that learners consider global performance when assessing clinical teaching performance.

Evaluation of physicians' professional performance: An iterative development and validation study of multisource feedback instruments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Overeem Karlijn

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is a global need to assess physicians' professional performance in actual clinical practice. Valid and reliable instruments are necessary to support these efforts. This study focuses on the reliability and validity, the influences of some sociodemographic biasing factors, associations between self and other evaluations, and the number of evaluations needed for reliable assessment of a physician based on the three instruments used for the multisource assessment of physicians' professional performance in the Netherlands. Methods This observational validation study of three instruments underlying multisource feedback (MSF was set in 26 non-academic hospitals in the Netherlands. In total, 146 hospital-based physicians took part in the study. Each physician's professional performance was assessed by peers (physician colleagues, co-workers (including nurses, secretary assistants and other healthcare professionals and patients. Physicians also completed a self-evaluation. Ratings of 864 peers, 894 co-workers and 1960 patients on MSF were available. We used principal components analysis and methods of classical test theory to evaluate the factor structure, reliability and validity of instruments. We used Pearson's correlation coefficient and linear mixed models to address other objectives. Results The peer, co-worker and patient instruments respectively had six factors, three factors and one factor with high internal consistencies (Cronbach's alpha 0.95 - 0.96. It appeared that only 2 percent of variance in the mean ratings could be attributed to biasing factors. Self-ratings were not correlated with peer, co-worker or patient ratings. However, ratings of peers, co-workers and patients were correlated. Five peer evaluations, five co-worker evaluations and 11 patient evaluations are required to achieve reliable results (reliability coefficient ≥ 0.70. Conclusions The study demonstrated that the three MSF instruments produced

A summary of the performance of exposure rate and dose rate instruments contained in instrument evaluation reports NRPB-IE1 to NRPB-IE13

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burgess, P.H.; Iles, W.J.

1979-06-01

The various radiations encountered in radiological protection cover a wide range of energies and radiation measurements have to be carried out under an equally broad spectrum of environmental conditions. This report is one of a series intended to give information on the performance characteristics of radiological protection instruments, to assist in the selection of appropriate instruments for a given purpose, to interpret the results obtained with such instruments, and, in particular, to know the likely sources and magnitude of errors that might be associated with measurements in the field. The radiation, electrical and environmental characteristics of radiation protection instruments are considered together with those aspects of the construction which make an instrument convenient for routine use. To provide consistent criteria for instrument performance, the range of tests performed on any particular class of instrument, the test methods and the criteria of acceptable performance are based broadly on the appropriate Recommendations of the International Electrotechnical Commission. The radiations in the tests are, in general, selected from the range of reference radiations for instrument calibration being drawn up by the International Standards Organisation. Normally, each report deals with the capabilities and limitations of one model of instrument and no direct comparison with other instruments intended for similar purposes is made, since the significance of particular performance characteristics largely depends on the radiations and environmental conditions in which the instrument is to be used. The results quoted here have all been obtained from tests on instruments in routine production, with the appropriate measurements being made by the NRPB. This report provides a concise summary of measurements of the more important performance characteristics of radiation protection dose rate or exposure rate survey instruments which have been assessed by NRPB as part

[An instrument in Spanish to evaluate the performance of clinical teachers by students].

Science.gov (United States)

Bitran, Marcela; Mena, Beltrán; Riquelme, Arnoldo; Padilla, Oslando; Sánchez, Ignacio; Moreno, Rodrigo

2010-06-01

The modernization of clinical teaching has called for the creation of faculty development programs, and the design of suitable instruments to evaluate clinical teachers' performance. To report the development and validation of an instrument in Spanish designed to measure the students' perceptions of their clinical teachers' performance and to provide them with feedback to improve their teaching practices. In a process that included the active participation of authorities, professors in charge of courses and internships, clinical teachers, students and medical education experts, we developed a 30-item questionnaire called MEDUC30 to evaluate the performance of clinical teachers by their students. The internal validity was assessed by factor analysis of 5214 evaluations of 265 teachers, gathered from 2004 to 2007. The reliability was measured with the Cronbach's alpha coefficient and the generalizability coefficient (g). MEDUC30 had good content and construct validity. Its internal structure was compatible with four factors: patient-centered teaching, teaching skills, assessment skills and learning climate, and it proved to be consistent with the structure anticipated by the theory. The scores were highly reliable (Cronbach's alpha: 0.97); five evaluations per teacher were sufficient to reach a reliability coefficient (g) of 0.8. MEDUC30 is a valid, reliable and useful instrument to evaluate the performance of clinical teachers. To our knowledge, this is the first instrument in Spanish for which solid validity and reliability evidences have been reported. We hope that MEDUC30 will be used to improve medical education in Spanish-speaking medical schools, providing teachers a specific feedback upon which to improve their pedagogical practice, and authorities with valuable information for the assessment of their faculty.

Development of assessment instruments to measure critical thinking skills

Science.gov (United States)

Sumarni, W.; Supardi, K. I.; Widiarti, N.

2018-04-01

Assessment instruments that is commonly used in the school generally have not been orientated on critical thinking skills. The purpose of this research is to develop assessment instruments to measure critical thinking skills, to test validity, reliability, and practicality. This type of research is Research and Development. There are two stages on the preface step, which are field study and literacy study. On the development steps, there some parts, which are 1) instrument construction, 2) expert validity, 3) limited scale tryout and 4) narrow scale try-out. The developed assessment instrument are analysis essay and problem solving. Instruments were declared valid, reliable and practical.

Assessing medical professionalism: A systematic review of instruments and their measurement properties

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Honghe; Liu, Yang; Wen, Deliang

2017-01-01

Background Over the last three decades, various instruments were developed and employed to assess medical professionalism, but their measurement properties have yet to be fully evaluated. This study aimed to systematically evaluate these instruments’ measurement properties and the methodological quality of their related studies within a universally acceptable standardized framework and then provide corresponding recommendations. Methods A systematic search of the electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycINFO was conducted to collect studies published from 1990–2015. After screening titles, abstracts, and full texts for eligibility, the articles included in this study were classified according to their respective instrument’s usage. A two-phase assessment was conducted: 1) methodological quality was assessed by following the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist; and 2) the quality of measurement properties was assessed according to Terwee’s criteria. Results were integrated using best-evidence synthesis to look for recommendable instruments. Results After screening 2,959 records, 74 instruments from 80 existing studies were included. The overall methodological quality of these studies was unsatisfactory, with reasons including but not limited to unknown missing data, inadequate sample sizes, and vague hypotheses. Content validity, cross-cultural validity, and criterion validity were either unreported or negative ratings in most studies. Based on best-evidence synthesis, three instruments were recommended: Hisar’s instrument for nursing students, Nurse Practitioners’ Roles and Competencies Scale, and Perceived Faculty Competency Inventory. Conclusion Although instruments measuring medical professionalism are diverse, only a limited number of studies were methodologically sound. Future studies should give priority to systematically improving the performance of existing

Student Self-Assessment and Faculty Assessment of Performance in an Interprofessional Error Disclosure Simulation Training Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Poirier, Therese I; Pailden, Junvie; Jhala, Ray; Ronald, Katie; Wilhelm, Miranda; Fan, Jingyang

2017-04-01

Objectives. To conduct a prospective evaluation for effectiveness of an error disclosure assessment tool and video recordings to enhance student learning and metacognitive skills while assessing the IPEC competencies. Design. The instruments for assessing performance (planning, communication, process, and team dynamics) in interprofessional error disclosure were developed. Student self-assessment of performance before and after viewing the recordings of their encounters were obtained. Faculty used a similar instrument to conduct real-time assessments. An instrument to assess achievement of the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) core competencies was developed. Qualitative data was reviewed to determine student and faculty perceptions of the simulation. Assessment. The interprofessional simulation training involved a total of 233 students (50 dental, 109 nursing and 74 pharmacy). Use of video recordings made a significant difference in student self-assessment for communication and process categories of error disclosure. No differences in student self-assessments were noted among the different professions. There were differences among the family member affects for planning and communication for both pre-video and post-video data. There were significant differences between student self-assessment and faculty assessment for all paired comparisons, except communication in student post-video self-assessment. Students' perceptions of achievement of the IPEC core competencies were positive. Conclusion. The use of assessment instruments and video recordings may have enhanced students' metacognitive skills for assessing performance in interprofessional error disclosure. The simulation training was effective in enhancing perceptions on achievement of IPEC core competencies. This enhanced assessment process appeared to enhance learning about the skills needed for interprofessional error disclosure.

Aversive pavlovian responses affect human instrumental motor performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Rigoli, Francesco; Pavone, Enea Francesco; Pezzulo, Giovanni

2012-01-01

IN NEUROSCIENCE AND PSYCHOLOGY, AN INFLUENTIAL PERSPECTIVE DISTINGUISHES BETWEEN TWO KINDS OF BEHAVIORAL CONTROL: instrumental (habitual and goal-directed) and Pavlovian. Understanding the instrumental-Pavlovian interaction is fundamental for the comprehension of decision-making. Animal studies (as those using the negative auto-maintenance paradigm), have demonstrated that Pavlovian mechanisms can have maladaptive effects on instrumental performance. However, evidence for a similar effect in humans is scarce. In addition, the mechanisms modulating the impact of Pavlovian responses on instrumental performance are largely unknown, both in human and non-human animals. The present paper describes a behavioral experiment investigating the effects of Pavlovian conditioned responses on performance in humans, focusing on the aversive domain. Results showed that Pavlovian responses influenced human performance, and, similar to animal studies, could have maladaptive effects. In particular, Pavlovian responses either impaired or increased performance depending on modulator variables such as threat distance, task controllability, punishment history, amount of training, and explicit punishment expectancy. Overall, these findings help elucidating the computational mechanisms underlying the instrumental-Pavlovian interaction, which might be at the base of apparently irrational phenomena in economics, social behavior, and psychopathology.

Aversive Pavlovian responses affect human instrumental motor performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesco eRigoli

2012-10-01

Full Text Available In neuroscience and psychology, an influential perspective distinguishes between two kinds of behavioural control: instrumental (habitual and goal-directed and Pavlovian. Understanding the instrumental-Pavlovian interaction is fundamental for the comprehension of decision-making. Animal studies (as those using the negative auto-maintenance paradigm, have demonstrated that Pavlovian mechanisms can have maladaptive effects on instrumental performance. However, evidence for a similar effect in humans is scarce. In addition, the mechanisms modulating the impact of Pavlovian responses on instrumental performance are largely unknown, both in human and non-human animals. The present paper describes a behavioural experiment investigating the effects of Pavlovian conditioned responses on performance in humans, focusing on the aversive domain. Results showed that Pavlovian responses influenced human performance, and, similar to animal studies, could have maladaptive effects. In particular, Pavlovian responses either impaired or increased performance depending on modulator variables such as threat distance, task controllability, punishment history, amount of training, and explicit punishment expectancy. Overall, these findings help elucidating the computational mechanisms underlying the instrumental-Pavlovian interaction, which might be at the base of apparently irrational phenomena in economics, social behaviour, and psychopathology.

Performance and quality control of nuclear medicine instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paras, P.

1981-01-01

The status and the recent developments of nuclear medicine instrumentation performance, with an emphasis on gamma-camera performance, are discussed as the basis for quality control. New phantoms and techniques for the measurement of gamma-camera performance parameters are introduced and their usefulness for quality control is discussed. Tests and procedures for dose calibrator quality control are included. Also, the principles of quality control, tests, equipment and procedures for each type of instrument are reviewed, and minimum requirements for an effective quality assurance programme for nuclear medicine instrumentation are suggested. (author)

IASI instrument: technical description and measured performances

Science.gov (United States)

Hébert, Ph.; Blumstein, D.; Buil, C.; Carlier, T.; Chalon, G.; Astruc, P.; Clauss, A.; Siméoni, D.; Tournier, B.

2017-11-01

IASI is an infrared atmospheric sounder. It will provide meteorologist and scientific community with atmospheric spectra. The IASI system includes 3 instruments that will be mounted on the Metop satellite series, a data processing software integrated in the EPS (EUMETSAT Polar System) ground segment and a technical expertise centre implemented in CNES Toulouse. The instrument is composed of a Fourier transform spectrometer and an associated infrared imager. The optical configuration is based on a Michelson interferometer and the interferograms are processed by an on-board digital processing subsystem, which performs the inverse Fourier transforms and the radiometric calibration. The infrared imager co-registers the IASI soundings with AVHRR imager (AVHRR is another instrument on the Metop satellite). The presentation will focus on the architectures of the instrument, the description of the implemented technologies and the measured performance of the first flight model. CNES is leading the IASI program in association with EUMETSAT. The instrument Prime is ALCATEL SPACE.

Planck early results. III. First assessment of the Low Frequency Instrument in-flight performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poutanen, T.; Lähteenmäki, A.; León-Tavares, J.

2011-01-01

The scientific performance of the Planck Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) after one year of in-orbit operation is presented. We describe the main optical parameters and discuss photometric calibration, white noise sensitivity, and noise properties. A preliminary evaluation of the impact of the main...

Preschool language assessment instrument, second edition, in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindau, Tâmara Andrade; Rossi, Natalia Freitas; Giacheti, Célia Maria

2014-01-01

To present a brief report on the initial results of the application of Preschool Language Assessment Instrument, second edition, in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children. The study included 300 children with typical language development, from both genders, aged from 3 to 5 years and 11 months, as proposed by the original test version. After translation, back-translation, and adaptation of the second edition of the Preschool Language Assessment Instrument, the instrument was administered to investigate the receptive and expressive language skills. There was a significant difference between the average gross scores of the three groups for both "receptive" and "expressive" language skills, and a growing tendency of scores according to age. After analysis, we found that versions translated and adapted for Brazilian Portuguese speakers allow one to evaluate and discriminate the performance of children in receptive and expressive language skills, according to age group, as well as the original version.

Introduction: The effectiveness of impact assessment instruments

OpenAIRE

Cashmore, M; Bond, A; Sadler, B

2009-01-01

The global application of impact assessment instruments to achieve a variety of policy integration goals (e.g. the mainstreaming of environmental, gender or economic efficiency concerns) continues to proliferate. These instruments represent important components of contemporary political governance and hence are an important locus for applied research. This special issue of Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal critically examines 'state-of-the-art' knowledge and understanding of the effecti...

DEVELOPING OF INDIVIDUAL INSTRUMENT PERFORMANCE ANXIETY SCALE: VALIDITY - RELIABILITY STUDY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esra DALKIRAN

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to develop a scale unique to our culture, concerning  individual instrument performance anxiety of the students  who are getting instrument training  in the Department of Music Education. In the study, the descriptive research model is used and qualitative research techniques are utilized. The study population consists of the students attending the 23 universities which has Music Education Department. The sample of the study consists of 438 girls and 312 boys, totally 750 students  who are studying in the Department of Music Education of randomly selected 10 universities. As a result of the explanatory and confirmatory factor analyses that were performed, a one-dimensional structure consisting of 14 items was obtained. Also, t-scores and  the coefficient scores of total item correlation concerning the distinguishing power of the items, the difference in the scores of the set of lower and upper 27% was calculated, and it was observed that the items are distinguishing as a result of both analyses. Of the scale, Cronbach's alpha coefficient of internal consistency was calculated as .94, and test-retest reliability coefficient was calculated as .93. As a result, a valid and reliable assessment and evaluation instrument that measures the exam performance anxiety of the students studying in the Department of Music Education, has been developed.Extended AbstractsIntroductionAnxiety is a universal phenomenon which people experience once or a few times during lives. It was accepted as concern for the future or as an unpleasant emotional experience regarding probable hitches of the events (Di Tomasso & Gosch, 2002.In general, the occasions on which negative feelings are experienced cause anxiety to arise (Baltaş and Baltaş, 2000. People also feel anxious in dangerous situations. Anxiety may lead a person to be creative, while it may have hindering characteristics. Anxiety is that an individual considers him

Characterization of the Effect of Wing Surface Instrumentation on UAV Airfoil Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Ratnayake, Nalin A.

2009-01-01

Recently proposed flight research at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) has prompted study into the aerodynamic effects of modifications made to the surfaces of laminar airfoils. The research is focused on the high-aspect ratio, laminar-flow type wings commonly found on UAVs and other aircraft with a high endurance requirement. A broad range of instrumentation possibilities, such as structural, pressure, and temperature sensing devices may require the alteration of the airfoil outer mold line as part of the installation process. This study attempts to characterize the effect of installing this additiona1 instrumentation on key airfoil performance factors, such as transition location, lift and drag curves, and stall point. In particular, the general case of an airfoil that is channeled in the spanwise direction is considered, and the impact on key performance characteristics is assessed. Particular attention is focused on exploring the limits of channel depth and low-Reynolds number on performance and stall characteristics. To quantify the effect of increased skin friction due to premature transition caused by protruding or recessed instrumentation, two simplified, conservative scenarios are used to consider two potential sources of diaturbance: A) that leading edge alterations would cause linearly expanding areas (triangles) of turbulent flow on both surfaces of the wing upstream of the natural transition point, and B) that a channel or bump on the upper surface would trip turbulent flow across the whole upper surface upstream of the natural transition point. A potentially more important consideration than the skin friction drag increment is the change in overall airfoil performance due to the installation of instrumentation along most of the wingspan. To quantify this effect, 2D CFD simulations of the flow over a representative mid-span airfoil section were conducted in order to assess the change in lift and drag curves for the airfoil in the presence of

Can hip arthroscopy be performed with conventional knee-length instrumentation?

Science.gov (United States)

Pascual-Garrido, Cecilia; McConkey, Mark O; Young, David A; Bravman, Jonathan T; Mei-Dan, Omer

2014-12-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether hip arthroscopy can be performed using conventional knee-length arthroscopy instrumentation. We included 116 consecutive hip arthroscopies (104 patients) in this study. Age, side of surgery, height (in inches), weight (in pounds), body mass index (BMI), and a subjective assessment of body type (1, muscular; 2, somewhat overweight; 3, overweight; 4, thin; and 5, normal weight) were recorded. The depth from the skin at 2 portal sites to 3 commonly accessed positions (12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, and acetabular fossa) was assessed using a guide with marked notches (in millimeters). Subgroup analysis was performed according to BMI and subjective biotype for each patient. We included 104 patients with a mean age of 35 years (range, 14 to 55 years). As categorized by BMI, 60% of patients were normal weight, 22% were overweight, 16% were obese, and 2% were underweight. All but 8 procedures were performed with conventional knee-length arthroscopic shavers and burrs. The 8 procedures that needed additional hip instrumentation were performed in patients who required ligamentum teres debridement or those with iliopsoas tenotomy. Overall, the distance from skin to socket was less than 11 cm at the 12-o'clock and 3-o'clock positions from both the anterolateral and anterior portals. Obese and overweight patients had statistically longer distances from skin to socket at all 3 measurement points compared with underweight and normal-weight patients. Considering biotype, the distances from skin to socket in underweight, normal-weight, and muscular patients were all equal to or less than 10 cm. The distance from skin to socket at the 12- and 3-o'clock positions is less than 11 cm, suggesting that hip arthroscopy can be performed with conventional knee-length instrumentation devices. In obese and overweight patients and patients requiring ligamentum teres debridement or iliopsoas tendon release, specific hip arthroscopic tools should

EARLY READING ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS: ABILITIES AND PROCESSES INVOLVED

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Cláudia de Souza

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the following early reading assessment instruments: “Bateria de Recepção e Produção da Linguagem Verbal” (SCLIAR-CABRAL, 2003a and “Teste de Competência de Leitura de Palavras e Pseudopalavras” (SEABRA; CAPOVILLA, 2010. The main research goal is to analyze in each one of these reading assessment instruments some of the multiple cognitive processes and basic low-level abilities involved in reading. In this sense, decoding, word recognition, lexical access, syntactic and textual processing, and comprehension are the cognitive processes taken into account. With regard to the basic reading abilities, accuracy and fluency (rhythm, prosody and speed are considered. The results indicate that each one of the analyzed reading assessment instruments assesses different aspects of the reading processes and abilities, mainly through off-line measures. ScliarCabral’s assessment battery allows the researcher or the teacher to evaluate the following processes: perception of the grapheme opposition in minimal pairs of words and in sentences, difficulties in sentence processing, skills in decoding the graphemic-phonemic relationship, and textual comprehension. In its turn, the reading assessment instrument proposed by Seabra e Capovilla allows one to evaluate student’s reading development level, by classifying the kind of processing as logographic, alphabetic or orthographic.

A framework for assessing Health Economic Evaluation (HEE) quality appraisal instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Langer, Astrid

2012-08-16

Health economic evaluations support the health care decision-making process by providing information on costs and consequences of health interventions. The quality of such studies is assessed by health economic evaluation (HEE) quality appraisal instruments. At present, there is no instrument for measuring and improving the quality of such HEE quality appraisal instruments. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to establish a framework for assessing the quality of HEE quality appraisal instruments to support and improve their quality, and to apply this framework to those HEE quality appraisal instruments which have been subject to more scrutiny than others, in order to test the framework and to demonstrate the shortcomings of existing HEE quality appraisal instruments. To develop the quality assessment framework for HEE quality appraisal instruments, the experiences of using appraisal tools for clinical guidelines are used. Based on a deductive iterative process, clinical guideline appraisal instruments identified through literature search are reviewed, consolidated, and adapted to produce the final quality assessment framework for HEE quality appraisal instruments. The final quality assessment framework for HEE quality appraisal instruments consists of 36 items organized within 7 dimensions, each of which captures a specific domain of quality. Applying the quality assessment framework to four existing HEE quality appraisal instruments, it is found that these four quality appraisal instruments are of variable quality. The framework described in this study should be regarded as a starting point for appraising the quality of HEE quality appraisal instruments. This framework can be used by HEE quality appraisal instrument producers to support and improve the quality and acceptance of existing and future HEE quality appraisal instruments. By applying this framework, users of HEE quality appraisal instruments can become aware of methodological deficiencies

Toward automated assessment of health Web page quality using the DISCERN instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Allam, Ahmed; Schulz, Peter J; Krauthammer, Michael

2017-05-01

As the Internet becomes the number one destination for obtaining health-related information, there is an increasing need to identify health Web pages that convey an accurate and current view of medical knowledge. In response, the research community has created multicriteria instruments for reliably assessing online medical information quality. One such instrument is DISCERN, which measures health Web page quality by assessing an array of features. In order to scale up use of the instrument, there is interest in automating the quality evaluation process by building machine learning (ML)-based DISCERN Web page classifiers. The paper addresses 2 key issues that are essential before constructing automated DISCERN classifiers: (1) generation of a robust DISCERN training corpus useful for training classification algorithms, and (2) assessment of the usefulness of the current DISCERN scoring schema as a metric for evaluating the performance of these algorithms. Using DISCERN, 272 Web pages discussing treatment options in breast cancer, arthritis, and depression were evaluated and rated by trained coders. First, different consensus models were compared to obtain a robust aggregated rating among the coders, suitable for a DISCERN ML training corpus. Second, a new DISCERN scoring criterion was proposed (features-based score) as an ML performance metric that is more reflective of the score distribution across different DISCERN quality criteria. First, we found that a probabilistic consensus model applied to the DISCERN instrument was robust against noise (random ratings) and superior to other approaches for building a training corpus. Second, we found that the established DISCERN scoring schema (overall score) is ill-suited to measure ML performance for automated classifiers. Use of a probabilistic consensus model is advantageous for building a training corpus for the DISCERN instrument, and use of a features-based score is an appropriate ML metric for automated DISCERN

Developing of Individual Instrument Performance Anxiety Scale: ValidityReliability Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esra DALKIRAN

2016-07-01

Full Text Available In this study, it is intended to develop a scale unique to our culture, concerning individual instrument performance anxiety of the students who are getting instrument training in the Department of Music Education. In the study, the descriptive research model is used and qualitative research techniques are utilized. The study population consists of the students attending the 23 universities which has Music Education Department. The sample of the study consists of 438 girls and 312 boys, totally 750 students who are studying in the Department of Music Education of randomly selected 10 universities. As a result of the explanatory and confirmatory factor analyses that were performed, a onedimensional structure consisting of 14 items was obtained. Also, t-scores and the coefficient scores of total item correlation concerning the distinguishing power of the items, the difference in the scores of the set of lower and upper 27% was calculated, and it was observed that the items are distinguishing as a result of both analyses. Of the scale, Cronbach's alpha coefficient of internal consistency was calculated as .94, and test-retest reliability coefficient was calculated as .93. As a result, a valid and reliable assessment and evaluation instrument that measures the exam performance anxiety of the students studying in the Department of Music Education, has been developed.

Quality of leadership in multidisciplinary cancer tumor boards: development and evaluation of a leadership assessment instrument (ATLAS).

Science.gov (United States)

Jalil, Rozh; Soukup, Tayana; Akhter, Waseem; Sevdalis, Nick; Green, James S A

2018-03-03

High-quality leadership and chairing skills are vital for good performance in multidisciplinary tumor boards (MTBs), but no instruments currently exist for assessing and improving these skills. To construct and validate a robust instrument for assessment of MTB leading and chairing skills. We developed an observational MTB leadership assessment instrument (ATLAS). ATLAS includes 12 domains that assess the leadership and chairing skills of the MTB chairperson. ATLAS has gone through a rigorous process of refinement and content validation prior to use to assess the MTB lead by two urological surgeons (blinded to each other) in 7 real-live (n = 286 cases) and 10 video-recorded (n = 131 cases) MTBs. ATLAS domains were analyzed via descriptive statistics. Instrument content was evaluated for validity using the content validation index (CVI). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to assess inter-observer reliability. Instrument refining resulted in ATLAS including the following 12 domains: time management, communication, encouraging contribution, ability to summarize, ensuring all patients have treatment plan, case prioritization, keeping meeting focused, facilitate discussion, conflict management, leadership, creating good working atmosphere, and recruitment for clinical trials. CVI was acceptable and inter-rater agreement adequate to high for all domains. Agreement was somewhat higher in real-time MTBs compared to video ratings. Concurrent validation evidence was derived via positive and significant correlations between ATLAS and an established validated brief MTB leadership assessment scale. ATLAS is an observational assessment instrument that can be reliably used for assessing leadership and chairing skills in cancer MTBs (both live and video-recorded). The ability to assess and feedback on team leader performance provides the ground for promotion of good practice and continuing professional development of tumor board leaders.

CAPs-IDD: Characteristics of Assessment Instruments for Psychiatric Disorders in Persons with Intellectual Developmental Disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Zeilinger, E. L.; Nader, I. W.; Brehmer-Rinderer, B.; Koller, I.; Weber, G.

2013-01-01

Background: Assessment of psychiatric disorders in persons with an intellectual developmental disorder (IDD) can be performed with a variety of greatly differing instruments. This makes the choice of an instrument best suited for the intended purpose challenging. In this study, we developed a comprehensive set of characteristics for the evaluation…

[Development and validation of an instrument for initial nursing assessment].

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández-Sola, Cayetano; Granero-Molina, José; Mollinedo-Mallea, Judith; de Gonzales, María Hilda Peredo; Aguilera-Manrique, Gabriel; Ponce, Mara Luna

2012-12-01

The objective of this study, conducted in Bolivia from April to July of 2008, is the design and validation of an initial nursing assessment instrument to be used in clinical and educational environments in Santa Cruz (Bolivia). Twelve Bolivian nurses participated; both document analysis as well as consensus techniques were used to determine the categories and criteria to be assessed. Categories included in the nursing assessment instrument are a physical assessment and the eleven Gordon's Functional Health Patterns. The nursing assessment instrument stands out as being concise, easy to complete and utilizing a nursing approach. It does not include items for advanced nursing assessment. However, it incorporates items regarding lifestyle and the patient's autonomy. The nursing assessment instrument contributes to improving the quality of clinical records, supports the nursing diagnosis and implementation of the nursing process, promotes the nurse's role and helps to standardize practice.

Policy Instruments to Improve Energy Performance of Existing Owner Occupied Dwellings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorraine Colette Murphy

2016-11-01

has increased due to, inter alia, the realization that the revolution in energy use that must occur for climate change targets to be met means major changes in the fabric of the existing dwelling stock, dwellings constructed before building regulations demanded high energy performance standards. It is argued that the building sector, in general, and the existing dwelling stock, in particular, can contribute more cost effectively and more significantly in quality and quantity terms than any other sector (Amstalden et al., 2007; Lomas, 2010; Ürge-Vorsatz, et al., 2007. This has provoked calls for new and improved instruments to meet the energy saving potential of existing dwellings. Despite many of the same instruments being used for decades there is little solid information on many crucial dimensions of how instruments operate and on what impact they have. The few evaluations and reviews that do take place are commonly focused on theoretical energy savings and costs and instrument strengths and weaknesses. Instruments commonly appear and disappear without undergoing improvement or change or contributing to policy learning. Many instruments are laden with assumptions about the target group that are never formally or comprehensively proved or debunked. Little theorizing takes place on the type of instruments most suited to the target group. Fundamentally, there is a serious lack of information surrounding the effectiveness of instruments assumed to be making climate change targets a reality. It is the above mentioned information deficits that influenced the objectives and structure of this thesis. Instruments are examined from different angles and viewpoints, from experts, owner occupiers, official evaluations and front-runner countries. Assessment frameworks were developed to tease out how well instruments truly function. Households in receipt of instruments such as the EPC and energy audit were compared to households not in receipt of instruments. Moreover, the

Risk Assessment Stability: A Revalidation Study of the Arizona Risk/Needs Assessment Instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Schwalbe, Craig S.

2009-01-01

The actuarial method is the gold standard for risk assessment in child welfare, juvenile justice, and criminal justice. It produces risk classifications that are highly predictive and that may be robust to sampling error. This article reports a revalidation study of the Arizona Risk/Needs Assessment instrument, an actuarial instrument for juvenile…

Reliability assessment of a peer evaluation instrument in a team-based learning course

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wahawisan J

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the reliability of a peer evaluation instrument in a longitudinal team-based learning setting. Methods: Student pharmacists were instructed to evaluate the contributions of their peers. Evaluations were analyzed for the variance of the scores by identifying low, medium, and high scores. Agreement between performance ratings within each group of students was assessed via intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC. Results: We found little variation in the standard deviation (SD based on the score means among the high, medium, and low scores within each group. The lack of variation in SD of results between groups suggests that the peer evaluation instrument produces precise results. The ICC showed strong concordance among raters. Conclusions: Findings suggest that our student peer evaluation instrument provides a reliable method for peer assessment in team-based learning settings.

Modern spinal instrumentation. Part 2: Multimodality imaging approach for assessment of complications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allouni, A.K.; Davis, W.; Mankad, K.; Rankine, J.; Davagnanam, I.

2013-01-01

Radiologists frequently encounter studies demonstrating spinal instrumentation, either as part of the patient's postoperative evaluation, or as incidental to a study performed for another purpose. It is important for the reporting radiologist to identify potential complications of commonly used spinal implants. Part 1 of this review examined both the surgical approaches used and the normal appearances of these spinal implants and bone grafting techniques. This second part of the review will focus on the multimodal imaging strategy adopted in the assessment of the instrumented spine and the demonstration of imaging findings of common postoperative complications.

Instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Decreton, M.

2002-01-01

SCK-CEN's R and D programme on instrumentation involves the development of advanced instrumentation systems for nuclear applications as well as the assessment of the performance of these instruments in a radiation environment. Particular emphasis is on the use of optical fibres as umbilincal links of a remote handling unit for use during maintanance of a fusion reacor, studies on the radiation hardening of plasma diagnostic systems; investigations on new instrumentation for the future MYRRHA accelerator driven system; space applications related to radiation-hardened lenses; the development of new approaches for dose, temperature and strain measurements; the assessment of radiation-hardened sensors and motors for remote handling tasks and studies of dose measurement systems including the use of optical fibres. Progress and achievements in these areas for 2001 are described

Instrumentation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Decreton, M

2002-04-01

SCK-CEN's R and D programme on instrumentation involves the development of advanced instrumentation systems for nuclear applications as well as the assessment of the performance of these instruments in a radiation environment. Particular emphasis is on the use of optical fibres as umbilincal links of a remote handling unit for use during maintanance of a fusion reacor, studies on the radiation hardening of plasma diagnostic systems; investigations on new instrumentation for the future MYRRHA accelerator driven system; space applications related to radiation-hardened lenses; the development of new approaches for dose, temperature and strain measurements; the assessment of radiation-hardened sensors and motors for remote handling tasks and studies of dose measurement systems including the use of optical fibres. Progress and achievements in these areas for 2001 are described.

EVA: laparoscopic instrument tracking based on Endoscopic Video Analysis for psychomotor skills assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Oropesa, Ignacio; Sánchez-González, Patricia; Chmarra, Magdalena K; Lamata, Pablo; Fernández, Alvaro; Sánchez-Margallo, Juan A; Jansen, Frank Willem; Dankelman, Jenny; Sánchez-Margallo, Francisco M; Gómez, Enrique J

2013-03-01

The EVA (Endoscopic Video Analysis) tracking system is a new system for extracting motions of laparoscopic instruments based on nonobtrusive video tracking. The feasibility of using EVA in laparoscopic settings has been tested in a box trainer setup. EVA makes use of an algorithm that employs information of the laparoscopic instrument's shaft edges in the image, the instrument's insertion point, and the camera's optical center to track the three-dimensional position of the instrument tip. A validation study of EVA comprised a comparison of the measurements achieved with EVA and the TrEndo tracking system. To this end, 42 participants (16 novices, 22 residents, and 4 experts) were asked to perform a peg transfer task in a box trainer. Ten motion-based metrics were used to assess their performance. Construct validation of the EVA has been obtained for seven motion-based metrics. Concurrent validation revealed that there is a strong correlation between the results obtained by EVA and the TrEndo for metrics, such as path length (ρ = 0.97), average speed (ρ = 0.94), or economy of volume (ρ = 0.85), proving the viability of EVA. EVA has been successfully validated in a box trainer setup, showing the potential of endoscopic video analysis to assess laparoscopic psychomotor skills. The results encourage further implementation of video tracking in training setups and image-guided surgery.

Acquiring the Language of Learning: The Performance of Hawaiian Preschool Children on the Preschool Language Assessment Instrument (PLAI).

Science.gov (United States)

Martini, Mary

The Preschool Language Assessment Instrument (PLAI) was designed as a diagnostic tool for 3- to 6-year-old children to assess children's abilities to use language to solve thinking problems typically posed by teachers. The PLAI was developed after observing middle-class teachers in preschool classrooms encourage children to use language in…

Instrument performance and simulation verification of the POLAR detector

Science.gov (United States)

Kole, M.; Li, Z. H.; Produit, N.; Tymieniecka, T.; Zhang, J.; Zwolinska, A.; Bao, T. W.; Bernasconi, T.; Cadoux, F.; Feng, M. Z.; Gauvin, N.; Hajdas, W.; Kong, S. W.; Li, H. C.; Li, L.; Liu, X.; Marcinkowski, R.; Orsi, S.; Pohl, M.; Rybka, D.; Sun, J. C.; Song, L. M.; Szabelski, J.; Wang, R. J.; Wang, Y. H.; Wen, X.; Wu, B. B.; Wu, X.; Xiao, H. L.; Xiong, S. L.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, L. Y.; Zhang, S. N.; Zhang, X. F.; Zhang, Y. J.; Zhao, Y.

2017-11-01

POLAR is a new satellite-born detector aiming to measure the polarization of an unprecedented number of Gamma-Ray Bursts in the 50-500 keV energy range. The instrument, launched on-board the Tiangong-2 Chinese Space lab on the 15th of September 2016, is designed to measure the polarization of the hard X-ray flux by measuring the distribution of the azimuthal scattering angles of the incoming photons. A detailed understanding of the polarimeter and specifically of the systematic effects induced by the instrument's non-uniformity are required for this purpose. In order to study the instrument's response to polarization, POLAR underwent a beam test at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in France. In this paper both the beam test and the instrument performance will be described. This is followed by an overview of the Monte Carlo simulation tools developed for the instrument. Finally a comparison of the measured and simulated instrument performance will be provided and the instrument response to polarization will be presented.

Measurement properties of instruments that assess participation in young people with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Lami, Francesca; Egberts, Kristine; Ure, Alexandra; Conroy, Rowena; Williams, Katrina

2018-03-01

To systematically review the measurement properties of instruments assessing participation in young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A search was performed in MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and PubMed combining three constructs ('ASD', 'test of participation', 'measurement properties'). Results were restricted to articles including people aged 6 to 29 years. The 2539 identified articles were independently screened by two reviewers. For the included articles, data were extracted using standard forms and their risk of bias was assessed. Nine studies (8 cross-sectional) met the inclusion criteria, providing information on seven different instruments. The total sample included 634 participants, with sex available for 600 (males=494; females=106) and age available for 570, with mean age for these participants 140.58 months (SD=9.11; range=36-624). Included instruments were the school function assessment, vocational index, children's assessment of participation and enjoyment/preferences for activities of children, experience sampling method, Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory, Computer Adaptive Test, adolescent and young adult activity card sort, and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System parent-proxy peer relationships. Seven studies assessed reliability and validity; good properties were reported for half of the instruments considered. Most studies (n=6) had high risk of bias. Overall the quality of the evidence for each tool was limited. Validation of these instruments, or others that comprehensively assess participation, is needed. Future studies should follow recommended methodological standards. Seven instruments have been used to assess participation in young people with autism. One instrument, with excellent measurement properties in one study, does not comprehensively assess participation. Studies of three instruments that incorporate a more comprehensive assessment of participation have methodological limitations. Overall, limited

Performance evaluation methods and instrumentation for mine ventilation fans

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LI Man; WANG Xue-rong

2009-01-01

Ventilation fans are one of the most important pieces of equipment in coal mines. Their performance plays an important role in the safety of staff and production. Given the actual requirements of coal mine production, we instituted a research project on the measurement methods of key performance parameters such as wind pressure, amount of ventilation and power. At the end a virtual instrument for mine ventilation fans performance evaluation was developed using a USB interface. The practical perform-ance and analytical results of our experiments show that it is feasible, reliable and effective to use the proposed instrumentation for mine ventilation performance evaluation.

Assessment of instruments in facilitating investment in off-grid renewable energy projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi, Xunpeng; Liu, Xiying; Yao, Lixia

2016-01-01

Renewable off-grid solution plays a critical role in supporting rural electrification. However, off-grid Renewable Energy (OGRE) project financing faces significant challenges due to limited financing access, low affordability of consumers, high transactions costs and etc. Various supporting instruments have been implemented to facilitate OGRE investment. This study assesses the effectiveness of those instruments with a framework consists of three dimensions: feasibility, sustainability and replicability. The weights of each dimension in the framework and the scores of each instrument are assessed by expert surveys based on the Delphi method. It is suggested that all the three dimensions should be taken into consideration while assessing the instruments, among which feasibility and sustainability are considered as the most important dimensions in the assessment framework. Furthermore, the top-5 most effective instruments in facilitating OGRE investment are local engagement in operation and maintenance, loan guarantee, start-up grant, end user financing, and concessional finance. Developing countries that need to increase electrification, such as most of the ASEAN member states, could use these top scored instruments despite of their limited amount of public finance. - Highlights: •Assess the effectiveness of instruments for promoting financing for OGRE projects. •A three-dimension assessment framework: feasibility, sustainability, replicability. •Use online surveys and the Delphi method to collect experts’ assessment. •The most effective instruments: local engagement, loan guarantee, and start-up grant.

Instrumentation development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ubbes, W.F.; Yow, J.L. Jr.

1988-01-01

Instrumentation is developed for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program to meet several different (and sometimes conflicting) objectives. This paper addresses instrumentation development for data needs that are related either directly or indirectly to a repository site, but does not touch on instrumentation for work with waste forms or other materials. Consequently, this implies a relatively large scale for the measurements, and an in situ setting for instrument performance. In this context, instruments are needed for site characterization to define phenomena, develop models, and obtain parameter values, and for later design and performance confirmation testing in the constructed repository. The former set of applications is more immediate, and is driven by the needs of program design and performance assessment activities. A host of general technical and nontechnical issues have arisen to challenge instrumentation development. Instruments can be classed into geomechanical, geohydrologic, or other specialty categories, but these issues cut across artificial classifications. These issues are outlined. Despite this imposing list of issues, several case histories are cited to evaluate progress in the area

performance assessment of substation site earthing using fluke ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2013-03-01

Mar 1, 2013 ... Earthing is the fundamental requirement for protection in all electrical ... for the performance assessment of this instrument as compare to the conventional system. ... tem and the reference earth at a given operating fre- quency ...

Resident Assessment Instrument/Minimum Data Set (RAI/MDS)

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Veterans Affairs — The Resident Assessment Instrument/Minimum Data Set (RAI/MDS) is a comprehensive assessment and care planning process used by the nursing home industry since 1990 as...

Instrument development and evaluation for patient-related outcomes assessments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farnik M

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Małgorzata Farnik, Władysław PierzchałaDepartment of Pneumonology, Silesian University of Medicine, Katowice, PolandAbstract: Patient-related outcomes measures could provide important information for the current state of the art in medical care and even have an impact on macrodecisions in the health care system. Patient-related outcomes were initially defined as subjective health indicators that allow disability and illness to be assessed, based on patient, caregiver, or physician self-reports. As illness involves psychological and behavioral complex processes of care, a multidisciplinary approach in measuring patient-reported outcomes should be recommended, such as quality of life questionnaires. Patient-related outcomes measures should correspond to specific clinical situations and bring opportunities to improve quality of care. Objective measurements enable quantitative data to be collected and analyzed. Depending on the aim of the research, investigators can use existing methods or develop new tools. This publication presents a methodology for developing patient-related outcomes measures, based on a multistage procedure. The proper definition of specific study objectives and the methodology of instrument development are crucial for successfully transferring the study concept. The model of instrument development is the process of starting from the preliminary phase and includes questionnaire design and scaling, pilot testing (cognitive debriefing, revision of the preliminary version, evaluation of the new tool, and implementation. Validation of the new instrument includes reliability, reproducibility, internal consistency, and responsiveness. The process of designing the new tool should involve a panel of experts, including clinicians, psychologists (preliminary phase, and statisticians (scale development and scoring, and patients (cognitive debriefing. Implementation of a new tool should be followed by evaluation study – assessment of

[Psychometric properties of an instrument for assessing cyber-sex addiction].

Science.gov (United States)

Ballester Arnal, Rafael; Gil Llario, Ma Dolores; Gómez Martínez, Sandra; Gil Juliá, Beatriz

2010-11-01

Psychometric properties of an instrument for assessing cyber-sex addiction. Cyber-sex addiction is a «new pathology» whose prevalence has grown rapidly in recent years. Therefore, it is important to have validated assessment instruments. The aim of this study was the adaptation and validation of the Internet Sex Screening Test (ISST) for its use in a Spanish population. The instrument was administered to 1239 Spanish college students. The results yielded five components that account for 47.5% of the variance. Internal consistency was .88 and temporal stability was .84. Moreover, the instrument had adequate convergent and discriminant validity and was related to other behaviors such as the use of pornography, internet addiction, number of hours online and sexual frequency. Therefore, this tool is proposed as an appropriate measure to assess cyber-sex addiction.

Development of a video-simulation instrument for assessing cognition in older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Ip, Edward H; Barnard, Ryan; Marshall, Sarah A; Lu, Lingyi; Sink, Kaycee; Wilson, Valerie; Chamberlain, Dana; Rapp, Stephen R

2017-12-06

Commonly used methods to assess cognition, such as direct observation, self-report, or neuropsychological testing, have significant limitations. Therefore, a novel tablet computer-based video simulation was created with the goal of being valid, reliable, and easy to administer. The design and implementation of the SIMBAC (Simulation-Based Assessment of Cognition) instrument is described in detail, as well as informatics "lessons learned" during development. The software emulates 5 common instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) and scores participants' performance. The modules were chosen by a panel of geriatricians based on relevance to daily functioning and ability to be modeled electronically, and included facial recognition, pairing faces with the correct names, filling a pillbox, using an automated teller machine (ATM), and automatic renewal of a prescription using a telephone. Software development included three phases 1) a period of initial design and testing (alpha version), 2) pilot study with 10 cognitively normal and 10 cognitively impaired adults over the age of 60 (beta version), and 3) larger validation study with 162 older adults of mixed cognitive status (release version). Results of the pilot study are discussed in the context of refining the instrument; full results of the validation study are reported in a separate article. In both studies, SIMBAC reliably differentiated controls from persons with cognitive impairment, and performance was highly correlated with Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE) score. Several informatics challenges emerged during software development, which are broadly relevant to the design and use of electronic assessment tools. Solutions to these issues, such as protection of subject privacy and safeguarding against data loss, are discussed in depth. Collection of fine-grained data (highly detailed information such as time spent reading directions and the number of taps on screen) is also considered. SIMBAC provides

A new myohaptic instrument to assess wrist motion dynamically.

Science.gov (United States)

Manto, Mario; Van Den Braber, Niels; Grimaldi, Giuliana; Lammertse, Piet

2010-01-01

The pathophysiological assessment of joint properties and voluntary motion in neurological patients remains a challenge. This is typically the case in cerebellar patients, who exhibit dysmetric movements due to the dysfunction of cerebellar circuitry. Several tools have been developed, but so far most of these tools have remained confined to laboratories, with a lack of standardization. We report on a new device which combines the use of electromyographic (EMG) sensors with haptic technology for the dynamic investigation of wrist properties. The instrument is composed of a drivetrain, a haptic controller and a signal acquisition unit. Angular accuracy is 0.00611 rad, nominal torque is 6 N·m, maximal rotation velocity is 34.907 rad/sec, with a range of motion of -1.0472 to +1.0472 rad. The inertia of the motor and handgrip is 0.004 kg·m2. This is the first standardized myohaptic instrument allowing the dynamic characterization of wrist properties, including under the condition of artificial damping. We show that cerebellar patients are unable to adapt EMG activities when faced with an increase in damping while performing fast reversal movements. The instrument allows the extraction of an electrophysiological signature of a cerebellar deficit.

Multi-Institutional Development of a Mastoidectomy Performance Evaluation Instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Kerwin, Thomas; Hittle, Brad; Stredney, Don; De Boeck, Paul; Wiet, Gregory

A method for rating surgical performance of a mastoidectomy procedure that is shown to apply universally across teaching institutions has not yet been devised. This work describes the development of a rating instrument created from a multi-institutional consortium. Using a participatory design and a modified Delphi approach, a multi-institutional group of expert otologists constructed a 15-element task-based checklist for evaluating mastoidectomy performance. This instrument was further refined into a 14-element checklist focusing on the concept of safety after using it to rate a large and varied population of performances. Twelve otolaryngological surgical training programs in the United States. A total of 14 surgeons from 12 different institutions took part in the construction of the instrument. By using 14 experts from 12 different institutions and a literature review, individual metrics were identified, rated as to the level of importance and operationally defined to create a rating scale for mastoidectomy performance. Initial use of the rating scale showed modest rater agreement. The operational definitions of individual metrics were modified to emphasize "safe" as opposed to "proper" technique. A second rating instrument was developed based on this feedback. Using a consensus-building approach with multiple rounds of communication between experts is a feasible way to construct a rating instrument for mastoidectomy. Expert opinion alone using a Delphi method provides face and content validity evidence, however, this is not sufficient to develop a universally acceptable rating instrument. A continued process of development and experimentation to demonstrate evidence for reliability and validity making use of a large population of raters and performances is necessary to achieve universal acceptance. Copyright © 2017 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Performance specifications for health physics instrumentation: portable instrumentation for use in normal work environments. Part 2. Test results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kenoyer, J.L.; Swinth, K.L.; Stoetzel, G.A.; Selby, J.M.

1986-09-01

The Pacific Northwest Laboratory evaluated a draft American National Standards Institute Standard N42.17 (ANSI N42.17) on performance specifications for health physics instrumentation through a project jointly funded by the US Department of Energy and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The evaluation involved testing a representative cross section of instruments against criteria in the standard. This report presents results of the testing program. A brief history of the project is included in the introduction. The instrumentation tested is described in general terms (i.e., types, ranges); however, no direct relationship between the results and a specific instrument model is made in this report. Testing requirements in ANSI N42.17D4, Revision 1 (May 1985) are summarized and the methods by which the tests are performed are discussed. Brief descriptions of the testing equipment are included in the methods section of the report. More detailed information about the draft standard, testing requirements and procedures, and the test equipment is included in ''Performance Specifications for Health Physics Instrumentation - Portable Instrumentation for Use in Normal Work Environments, Part 1: Manual of Testing Procedures.'' Results of testing are given in two formats: test-by-test and instrument-by-instrument. Discussion is included on significant and interesting findings, on comparisons of results from the same type of instruments from same and different manufacturers, and on data grouped by manufacturer. Conclusions are made on the applicability and practicality of the proposed standard and on instrument performance. Changes that have been made to the proposed standard based on findings of the testing program are listed and discussed. 22 refs., 11 figs., 77 tabs

Study of the performance of diagnostic radiology instruments during calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freitas, Rodrigo N. de; Vivolo, Vitor; Potiens, Maria da Penha A.

2008-01-01

Full text: The instruments used in diagnostic radiology measurements represent 8 % of the tested instruments by the calibration laboratory of IPEN annually (approximately 1600 in 2007). Considering that the calibration of this kind of instrument is performed biannually it is possible to conclude that almost 300 instruments are being used to measure the air kerma in diagnostic radiology clinics to determine the in beam values (in front of the patient), attenuated measurements (behind the patient) and scattered radiation. This work presents the results of the calibration of the instruments used in mammography, computed tomography, dental and conventional diagnostic radiology dosimetry, performed during the period of 2005 to 2007. Their performances during the calibrations measurements were evaluated. Although at the calibration laboratory there are three available series of radiation quality to this type of calibration (RQR, N and M, according to standards IEC 61267 and ISO 4037-1.), the applications can be assorted (general radiology, computed tomography, mammography, radiation protection and fluoroscopy). Depending on its design and behaviour , one kind of instrument can be used for one or more type of applications. The instruments normally used for diagnostic radiology measurements are ionization chambers with volumes varying from 3 to 1800 cm 3 , and can be cylindrical, spherical or plane parallel plates kind. They usually are sensitive to photon particles, with energies greater than 15 keV and can be used up to 1200 keV. In this work they were tested in X radiation fields from 25 to 150 kV, in specific qualities depending on the utilization of the instrument. The calibration results of 390 instruments received from 2005 to 2007 were analyzed. About 20 instruments were not able to be calibrated due to bad functioning. The calibration coefficients obtained were between 0.88 and 1.24. The uncertainties were always less than ± 3.6% to instruments used in scattered

Instrumentation Performance during the TMI-2 Accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rempe, Joy L.; Knudson, Darrell L.

2013-06-01

The accident at the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI- 2) reactor provided a unique opportunity to evaluate sensors exposed to severe accident conditions. Conditions associated with the release of coolant and the hydrogen burn that occurred during this accident exposed instrumentation to harsh conditions, including direct radiation, radioactive contamination, and high humidity with elevated temperatures and pressures. As part of a program initiated by the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE), a review was completed to gain insights from prior TMI-2 sensor survivability and data qualification efforts. This new effort focused upon a set of sensors that provided critical data to TMI-2 operators for assessing the condition of the plant and the effects of mitigating actions taken by these operators. In addition, the effort considered sensors providing data required for subsequent accident simulations. Over 100 references related to instrumentation performance and post-accident evaluations of TMI-2 sensors and measurements were reviewed. Insights gained from this review are summarized within this paper. As noted within this paper, several techniques were invoked in the TMI-2 post-accident program to evaluate sensor survivability status and data qualification, including comparisons with data from other sensors, analytical calculations, laboratory testing, and comparisons with sensors subjected to similar conditions in large-scale integral tests and with sensors that were similar in design but more easily removed from the TMI-2 plant for evaluations. Conclusions from this review provide important insights related to sensor survivability and enhancement options for improving sensor performance. In addition, this paper provides recommendations related to sensor survivability and the data evaluation process that could be implemented in upcoming Fukushima Daiichi recovery efforts. (authors)

Instrument Motion Metrics for Laparoscopic Skills Assessment in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.

Science.gov (United States)

Fransson, Boel A; Chen, Chi-Ya; Noyes, Julie A; Ragle, Claude A

2016-11-01

To determine the construct and concurrent validity of instrument motion metrics for laparoscopic skills assessment in virtual reality and augmented reality simulators. Evaluation study. Veterinarian students (novice, n = 14) and veterinarians (experienced, n = 11) with no or variable laparoscopic experience. Participants' minimally invasive surgery (MIS) experience was determined by hospital records of MIS procedures performed in the Teaching Hospital. Basic laparoscopic skills were assessed by 5 tasks using a physical box trainer. Each participant completed 2 tasks for assessments in each type of simulator (virtual reality: bowel handling and cutting; augmented reality: object positioning and a pericardial window model). Motion metrics such as instrument path length, angle or drift, and economy of motion of each simulator were recorded. None of the motion metrics in a virtual reality simulator showed correlation with experience, or to the basic laparoscopic skills score. All metrics in augmented reality were significantly correlated with experience (time, instrument path, and economy of movement), except for the hand dominance metric. The basic laparoscopic skills score was correlated to all performance metrics in augmented reality. The augmented reality motion metrics differed between American College of Veterinary Surgeons diplomates and residents, whereas basic laparoscopic skills score and virtual reality metrics did not. Our results provide construct validity and concurrent validity for motion analysis metrics for an augmented reality system, whereas a virtual reality system was validated only for the time score. © Copyright 2016 by The American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Bridging the Educational Research-Teaching Practice Gap: Tools for Evaluating the Quality of Assessment Instruments

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Trevor R.; Rogan, John M.

2010-01-01

Student assessment is central to the educational process and can be used for multiple purposes including, to promote student learning, to grade student performance and to evaluate the educational quality of qualifications. It is, therefore, of utmost importance that assessment instruments are of a high quality. In this article, we present various…

Assessment of Patient-Reported Outcome Instruments to Assess Chronic Low Back Pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramasamy, Abhilasha; Martin, Mona L; Blum, Steven I; Liedgens, Hiltrud; Argoff, Charles; Freynhagen, Rainer; Wallace, Mark; McCarrier, Kelly P; Bushnell, Donald M; Hatley, Noël V; Patrick, Donald L

2017-06-01

 To identify patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments that assess chronic low back pain (cLBP) symptoms (specifically pain qualities) and/or impacts for potential use in cLBP clinical trials to demonstrate treatment benefit and support labeling claims.  Literature review of existing PRO measures.  Publications detailing existing PRO measures for cLBP were identified, reviewed, and summarized. As recommended by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) PRO development guidance, standard measurement characteristics were reviewed, including development history, psychometric properties (validity and reliability), ability to detect change, and interpretation of observed changes.  Thirteen instruments were selected and reviewed: Low Back Pain Bothersomeness Scale, Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory, PainDETECT, Pain Quality Assessment Scale Revised, Revised Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire, Low Back Pain Impact Questionnaire, Oswestry Disability Index, Pain Disability Index, Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire, Brief Pain Inventory and Brief Pain Inventory Short Form, Musculoskeletal Outcomes Data Evaluation and Management System Spine Module, Orebro Musculoskeletal Pain Questionnaire, and the West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory Interference Scale. The instruments varied in the aspects of pain and/or impacts that they assessed, and none of the instruments fulfilled all criteria for use in clinical trials to support labeling claims based on recommendations outlined in the FDA PRO guidance.  There is an unmet need for a validated PRO instrument to evaluate cLBP-related symptoms and impacts for use in clinical trials. © 2017 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Performance tests for instruments measuring radon activity concentration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beck, T.R.; Buchroeder, H.; Schmidt, V.

2009-01-01

Performance tests of electronic instruments measuring the activity concentration of 222 Rn have been carried out with respect to the standard IEC 61577-2. In total, 9 types of instrument operating with ionization chambers or electrostatic collection have been tested for the influence of different climatic and radiological factors on the measurement characteristics. It is concluded that all types of instrument, which are commercially available, are suitable for indoor radon measurements. Because of the dependence on climatic conditions, the outdoor use is partly limited.

Design and validation of the INICIARE instrument, for the assessment of dependency level in acutely ill hospitalised patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Morales-Asencio, José Miguel; Porcel-Gálvez, Ana María; Oliveros-Valenzuela, Rosa; Rodríguez-Gómez, Susana; Sánchez-Extremera, Lucrecia; Serrano-López, Francisco Andrés; Aranda-Gallardo, Marta; Canca-Sánchez, José Carlos; Barrientos-Trigo, Sergio

2015-03-01

The aim of this study was to establish the validity and reliability of an instrument (Inventario del NIvel de Cuidados mediante IndicAdores de clasificación de Resultados de Enfermería) used to assess the dependency level in acutely hospitalised patients. This instrument is novel, and it is based on the Nursing Outcomes Classification. Multiple existing instruments for needs assessment have been poorly validated and based predominately on interventions. Standardised Nursing Languages offer an ideal framework to develop nursing sensitive instruments. A cross-sectional validation study in two acute care hospitals in Spain. This study was implemented in two phases. First, the research team developed the instrument to be validated. In the second phase, the validation process was performed by experts, and the data analysis was conducted to establish the psychometric properties of the instrument. Seven hundred and sixty-one patient ratings performed by nurses were collected during the course of the research study. Data analysis yielded a Cronbach's alpha of 0·91. An exploratory factorial analysis identified three factors (Physiological, Instrumental and Cognitive-behavioural), which explained 74% of the variance. Inventario del NIvel de Cuidados mediante IndicAdores de clasificación de Resultados de Enfermería was demonstrated to be a valid and reliable instrument based on its use in acutely hospitalised patients to assess the level of dependency. Inventario del NIvel de Cuidados mediante IndicAdores de clasificación de Resultados de Enfermería can be used as an assessment tool in hospitalised patients during the nursing process throughout the entire hospitalisation period. It contributes information to support decisions on nursing diagnoses, interventions and outcomes. It also enables data codification in large databases. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Validity and reliability of a dental operator posture assessment instrument (PAI).

Science.gov (United States)

Branson, Bonnie G; Williams, Karen B; Bray, Kimberly Krust; Mcllnay, Sandy L; Dickey, Diana

2002-01-01

Basic operating posture is considered an important occupational health issue for oral health care clinicians. It is generally agreed that the physical posture of the operator, while providing care, should be such that all muscles are in a relaxed, well-balanced, and neutral position. Postures outside of this neutral position are likely to cause musculoskeletal discomfort. To date, the range of the neutral operator position has not been well-defined; nor have any specific instruments been identified that can quantitatively or semi-quantitatively assess dental operator posture. This paper reports on the development of an instrument that can be used to semi-quantitatively evaluate postural components. During the first phase of the study, an expert panel defined the basic parameters for acceptable, compromised, and harmful operator postures and established face validity of a posture assessment instrument (PAI). During the second phase, the PAI was tested for reliability using generalizability theory. Four raters tested the instrument for reliability. Overall, total PAI scores were similar amongst three of the raters, with the fourth rater's scores being slightly greater than the other three. The main effect of the rater on individual postural components was moderate, indicating that rater variance contributed to 11.9% of total variance. The PAI measures posture as it occurs and will have numerous applications when evaluating operator performance in the dental and dental hygiene education setting. Also, the PAI will prove useful when examining the effects of operator posture and musculoskeletal disorders.

Development of material measures for performance verifying surface topography measuring instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leach, Richard; Giusca, Claudiu; Rickens, Kai; Riemer, Oltmann; Rubert, Paul

2014-01-01

The development of two irregular-geometry material measures for performance verifying surface topography measuring instruments is described. The material measures are designed to be used to performance verify tactile and optical areal surface topography measuring instruments. The manufacture of the material measures using diamond turning followed by nickel electroforming is described in detail. Measurement results are then obtained using a traceable stylus instrument and a commercial coherence scanning interferometer, and the results are shown to agree to within the measurement uncertainties. The material measures are now commercially available as part of a suite of material measures aimed at the calibration and performance verification of areal surface topography measuring instruments

Assessing the performance of renewable electricity support instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verbruggen, Aviel; Lauber, Volkmar

2012-01-01

The performance of feed-in tariffs and tradable certificates is assessed on criteria of efficacy, efficiency, equity and institutional feasibility. In the early stage of transition to an energy system based entirely on renewable energy supplies, renewable electricity can only thrive if support takes into account the specific technical, economic and political problems which result from embedding this electricity in conventional power systems whose technology, organizational structure, environmental responsibility and general mission differ profoundly from the emerging, renewable-based system. Support schemes need to capture the diversity of power supplies, the variable nature of some renewable supplies, and their different attributes for the purposes of public policy. They must take into account the variety of generators – including small, decentralized generation – emerging in a renewable-based system, and the new relationships between generators and customers. Renewable energy policies need a clear point of reference: because the incumbent power systems are not sustainable they must adapt to the requirements of the renewable ones, not the other way round. Incumbent systems carry the responsibility of paying the transition, something that corresponds best with the polluter pays principle. - Highlights: ► Present power systems must adapt to the requirements of growing renewable ones, not the opposite. ► Well performing support systems capture the diversity of renewable sources and technologies. ► Feed-in Tariffs are superior in addressing the renewables' diversity and in promoting innovation. ► Feed-in Tariffs put transition burdens on incumbents and stimulate independent producers.

Process Skill Assessment Instrument: Innovation to measure student’s learning result holistically

Science.gov (United States)

Azizah, K. N.; Ibrahim, M.; Widodo, W.

2018-01-01

Science process skills (SPS) are very important skills for students. However, the fact that SPS is not being main concern in the primary school learning is undeniable. This research aimed to develop a valid, practical, and effective assessment instrument to measure student’s SPS. Assessment instruments comprise of worksheet and test. This development research used one group pre-test post-test design. Data were obtained with validation, observation, and test method to investigate validity, practicality, and the effectivenss of the instruments. Results showed that the validity of assessment instruments is very valid, the reliability is categorized as reliable, student SPS activities have a high percentage, and there is significant improvement on student’s SPS score. It can be concluded that assessment instruments of SPS are valid, practical, and effective to be used to measure student’s SPS result.

Influence of videogames and musical instruments on performances at a simulator for robotic surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Moglia, Andrea; Perrone, Vittorio; Ferrari, Vincenzo; Morelli, Luca; Boggi, Ugo; Ferrari, Mauro; Mosca, Franco; Cuschieri, Alfred

2017-06-01

To assess if exposure to videogames, musical instrument playing, or both influence the psychomotor skills level, assessed by a virtual reality simulator for robot-assisted surgery (RAS). A cohort of 57 medical students were recruited: playing musical instruments (group 1), videogames (group 2), both (group 3), and no activity (group 4); all students executed four exercises on a virtual simulator for RAS. Subjects from group 3 achieved the best performances on overall score: 527.09 ± 130.54 vs. 493.73 ± 108.88 (group 2), 472.72 ± 85.31 (group 1), and 403.13 ± 99.83 (group 4). Statistically significant differences (p videogames is higher than that in those practicing either one alone. The effect of videogames appears negligible in individuals playing the piano.

Predicting child maltreatment: A meta-analysis of the predictive validity of risk assessment instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Put, Claudia E; Assink, Mark; Boekhout van Solinge, Noëlle F

2017-11-01

Risk assessment is crucial in preventing child maltreatment since it can identify high-risk cases in need of child protection intervention. Despite widespread use of risk assessment instruments in child welfare, it is unknown how well these instruments predict maltreatment and what instrument characteristics are associated with higher levels of predictive validity. Therefore, a multilevel meta-analysis was conducted to examine the predictive accuracy of (characteristics of) risk assessment instruments. A literature search yielded 30 independent studies (N=87,329) examining the predictive validity of 27 different risk assessment instruments. From these studies, 67 effect sizes could be extracted. Overall, a medium significant effect was found (AUC=0.681), indicating a moderate predictive accuracy. Moderator analyses revealed that onset of maltreatment can be better predicted than recurrence of maltreatment, which is a promising finding for early detection and prevention of child maltreatment. In addition, actuarial instruments were found to outperform clinical instruments. To bring risk and needs assessment in child welfare to a higher level, actuarial instruments should be further developed and strengthened by distinguishing risk assessment from needs assessment and by integrating risk assessment with case management. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Construction and validation of the Self-care Assessment Instrument for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simonize Cunha Barreto de Mendonça

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: to construct and validate the contents of the Self-care Assessment instrument for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Method: methodological study, based on Orem's General Theory of Nursing. The empirical categories and the items of the instrument were elucidated through a focus group. The content validation process was performed by seven specialists and the semantic analysis by 14 patients. The Content Validity Indices of the items, ≥0.78, and of the scale, ≥0.90, were considered excellent. Results: the instrument contains 131 items in six dimensions corresponding to the health deviation self-care requisites. Regarding the maintenance, a Content Validity Index of 0.98 was obtained for the full set of items, and, regarding the relevance, Content Validity Indices ≥0.80 were obtained for the majority of the assessed psychometric criteria. Conclusion: the instrument showed evidence of content validity.

A New Myohaptic Instrument to Assess Wrist Motion Dynamically

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mario Manto

2010-04-01

Full Text Available The pathophysiological assessment of joint properties and voluntary motion in neurological patients remains a challenge. This is typically the case in cerebellar patients, who exhibit dysmetric movements due to the dysfunction of cerebellar circuitry. Several tools have been developed, but so far most of these tools have remained confined to laboratories, with a lack of standardization. We report on a new device which combines the use of electromyographic (EMG sensors with haptic technology for the dynamic investigation of wrist properties. The instrument is composed of a drivetrain, a haptic controller and a signal acquisition unit. Angular accuracy is 0.00611 rad, nominal torque is 6 N·m, maximal rotation velocity is 34.907 rad/sec, with a range of motion of –1.0472 to +1.0472 rad. The inertia of the motor and handgrip is 0.004 kg·m². This is the first standardized myohaptic instrument allowing the dynamic characterization of wrist properties, including under the condition of artificial damping. We show that cerebellar patients are unable to adapt EMG activities when faced with an increase in damping while performing fast reversal movements. The instrument allows the extraction of an electrophysiological signature of a cerebellar deficit.

The Friedrich-Lively Instrument to Assess the Impact of Schizophrenia on Siblings (FLIISS): Part I--instrument construction.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedrich, Rose Marie; Lively, Sonja; Rubenstein, Linda; Buckwalter, Kathleen

2002-01-01

Siblings of persons with schizophrenia may provide primary or secondary care for their sibling and support to parents who are primary care givers. These siblings experience stress and the accompanying sequelae of decreased quality of life, grief, chronic illness, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Comprehensive measures of sibling stress have not been published. Before interventions to help siblings can be created, health professionals need such an assessment. The Friedrich-Lively Instrument to Assess the Impact of Schizophrenia on Siblings (FLIISS) has been developed to meet the needs of both health workers and siblings. The instrument has a strong conceptual basis adapted from Pearlin's model of stress in caregiving and was preceded by pilot work that evaluated both quantitative and qualitative data. In this article, (Part I), the development of the instrument and its relationships to the conceptual model are described. Health professionals can use the instrument for collecting information that will increase their ability to identify sources of stress faced by siblings of persons with schizophrenia, and from this assessment they may develop interventions for this underserved population.

Validation of the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Heritage, Brody; Pollock, Clare; Roberts, Lynne

2014-01-01

Organizational culture is a commonly studied area in industrial/organizational psychology due to its important role in workplace behaviour, cognitions, and outcomes. Jung et al.'s [1] review of the psychometric properties of organizational culture measurement instruments noted many instruments have limited validation data despite frequent use in both theoretical and applied situations. The Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) has had conflicting data regarding its psychometric properties, particularly regarding its factor structure. Our study examined the factor structure and criterion validity of the OCAI using robust analysis methods on data gathered from 328 (females = 226, males = 102) Australian employees. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a four factor structure of the OCAI for both ideal and current organizational culture perspectives. Current organizational culture data demonstrated expected reciprocally-opposed relationships between three of the four OCAI factors and the outcome variable of job satisfaction but ideal culture data did not, thus indicating possible weak criterion validity when the OCAI is used to assess ideal culture. Based on the mixed evidence regarding the measure's properties, further examination of the factor structure and broad validity of the measure is encouraged. PMID:24667839

Validation of the organizational culture assessment instrument.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brody Heritage

Full Text Available Organizational culture is a commonly studied area in industrial/organizational psychology due to its important role in workplace behaviour, cognitions, and outcomes. Jung et al.'s [1] review of the psychometric properties of organizational culture measurement instruments noted many instruments have limited validation data despite frequent use in both theoretical and applied situations. The Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI has had conflicting data regarding its psychometric properties, particularly regarding its factor structure. Our study examined the factor structure and criterion validity of the OCAI using robust analysis methods on data gathered from 328 (females = 226, males = 102 Australian employees. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a four factor structure of the OCAI for both ideal and current organizational culture perspectives. Current organizational culture data demonstrated expected reciprocally-opposed relationships between three of the four OCAI factors and the outcome variable of job satisfaction but ideal culture data did not, thus indicating possible weak criterion validity when the OCAI is used to assess ideal culture. Based on the mixed evidence regarding the measure's properties, further examination of the factor structure and broad validity of the measure is encouraged.

Innovation and organisational performance: A critical review of the instruments used to measure organisational performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tebogo Sethibe

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Innovation is recognised as one of the most important determinant of organisational performance. Yet, the results of studies that investigate the relationship between innovation and organisational performance are inconclusive. The inconsistency has been attributed to a number of factors, which include, among others, the measures used to evaluate organisational performance. Aim: This study was set out to identify, categorise and critically analyse the instruments used to assess organisational performance when investigating the relationship between innovation and organisational performance. Setting: The study focuses on all scientific publications reporting on organisational performance, inclusive of both financial and non-financial indicators of performance, and are not limited to any specific country or industry. Methods: The systematic literature review methodology was used to identify studies which investigated the relationship between innovation and organisational performance. Once identified, articles were analysed on the way organisational performance was measured. Classification was done with reference to financial and non-financial indicators, accounting and market-based, as well as objective and subjective measures. Results: The findings show that profitability, sales growth and return on assets (ROA are the most preferred accounting-based financial measures of organisation performance. In addition, Tobin’s Q was found to be the most favoured market-based financial measure of organisational performance. The study further reveals that market share, customer satisfaction and productivity are the most popular non-financial-based measures of organisational performance. Conclusion: The use of measures of organisational performance is often left to the discussion of the researcher, which is not implicitly wrong, but does little to contribute to the body of knowledge on this important topic. Researchers are firstly urged to

Development and content validation of performance assessments for endoscopic third ventriculostomy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Breimer, Gerben E.; Haji, Faizal A.; Hoving, Eelco W; Drake, James M.

This study aims to develop and establish the content validity of multiple expert rating instruments to assess performance in endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV), collectively called the Neuro-Endoscopic Ventriculostomy Assessment Tool (NEVAT). The important aspects of ETV were identified through

Instruments used to assess functional limitations in workers applying for disability benefit : a systematic review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Spanjer, Jerry; Groothoff, Johan W.; Brouwer, Sandra

2011-01-01

Purpose. To systematically review the quality of the psychometric properties of instruments for assessing functional limitations in workers applying for disability benefit. Method. Electronic searches of Medline, Embase, CINAHL and PsycINFO were performed to identify studies focusing on the

Reliability and Validity of the Turkish Version of the Job Performance Scale Instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Harmanci Seren, Arzu Kader; Tuna, Rujnan; Eskin Bacaksiz, Feride

2018-02-01

Objective measurement of the job performance of nursing staff using valid and reliable instruments is important in the evaluation of healthcare quality. A current, valid, and reliable instrument that specifically measures the performance of nurses is required for this purpose. The aim of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Job Performance Instrument. This study used a methodological design and a sample of 240 nurses working at different units in four hospitals in Istanbul, Turkey. A descriptive data form, the Job Performance Scale, and the Employee Performance Scale were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 21.0 and LISREL Version 8.51. On the basis of the data analysis, the instrument was revised. Some items were deleted, and subscales were combined. The Turkish version of the Job Performance Instrument was determined to be valid and reliable to measure the performance of nurses. The instrument is suitable for evaluating current nursing roles.

Development of performance test instrument in the experiment of law of conservation mass using self and peer assessment’s technique

Science.gov (United States)

Siswaningsih, W.; Nahadi; Firmansyah, D. R.

2018-05-01

The purpose of this research is to develop the instrument of performance assessment of law of mass conservation using self and peer assessment technique that meet valid and reliable criteria. The instrument components consist of task and rubric. The method used is development and validation.Value of the instrument reliability obtained from twice observations that are at four and six students every group with three same observers. Cronbach alpha value for four and six students every group consecutively are 0.94 and 0.76, indicating that value shows that the instrument is reliable. Optimum amount of the students that can be observed are four students. The implementation of the instrument to limited group of students showed that All of the students give positive responses to the instrument used with the interpretation of questionnaire scores >90% that categorized as good.

Development of student performance assessment based on scientific approach for a basic physics practicum in simple harmonic motion materials

Science.gov (United States)

Serevina, V.; Muliyati, D.

2018-05-01

This research aims to develop students’ performance assessment instrument based on scientific approach is valid and reliable in assessing the performance of students on basic physics lab of Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM). This study uses the ADDIE consisting of stages: Analyze, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. The student performance assessment developed can be used to measure students’ skills in observing, asking, conducting experiments, associating and communicate experimental results that are the ‘5M’ stages in a scientific approach. Each grain of assessment in the instrument is validated by the instrument expert and the evaluation with the result of all points of assessment shall be eligible to be used with a 100% eligibility percentage. The instrument is then tested for the quality of construction, material, and language by panel (lecturer) with the result: 85% or very good instrument construction aspect, material aspect 87.5% or very good, and language aspect 83% or very good. For small group trial obtained instrument reliability level of 0.878 or is in the high category, where r-table is 0.707. For large group trial obtained instrument reliability level of 0.889 or is in the high category, where r-table is 0.320. Instruments declared valid and reliable for 5% significance level. Based on the result of this research, it can be concluded that the student performance appraisal instrument based on the developed scientific approach is declared valid and reliable to be used in assessing student skill in SHM experimental activity.

Attention to gender in communication skills assessment instruments in medical education: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Dielissen, Patrick; Bottema, Ben; Verdonk, Petra; Lagro-Janssen, Toine

2011-03-01

Gender is increasingly regarded as an important factor in doctor-patient communication education. This review aims to assess if and how gender is addressed by current assessment instruments for communication skills in medical education. In 2009 at Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, an online search was conducted in the bibliographic databases PubMed, PsycINFO and ERIC for references about communication skills assessment instruments designed to be completed by trained faculty staff and used in medical education. The search strategy used the following search terms: 'consultation skills'; 'doctor-patient communication'; 'physician-patient relations'; 'medical education'; 'instruments'; 'measurement', and 'assessment'. Papers published between January 1999 and June 2009 were included. The assessment instruments identified were analysed for gender-specific content. The search yielded 21 communication skills assessment instruments. Only two of the 17 checklists obtained explicitly considered gender as a communication-related issue. Only six of 21 manuals considered gender in any way and none gave specific details to explain which aspects of communication behaviour should be assessed with regard to gender. Very few communication assessment instruments in medical education focus on gender. Nevertheless, interest exists in using gender in communication skills assessment. The criteria for and purpose of assessing gender in communication skills in medical education are yet to be clarified. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2011.

Practical implications of neutron survey instrument performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanner, R. J.; Bartlett, D. T.; Hager, I. G.; Jones, I. N.; Molinos, C.; Roberts, N. J.; Taylor, G. C.; Thomas, D. J.

2004-01-01

Improvements have been made to the Monte Carlo modelling used to calculate the response of the neutron survey instruments most commonly used in the UK, for neutron energies up to 20 MeV. The improved modelling of the devices includes the electronics and battery pack, allowing better calculations of both the energy and angle dependence of response. These data are used to calculate the response of the instruments in rotationally and fully isotropic, as well as unidirectional fields. Experimental measurements with radionuclide sources and monoenergetic neutron fields have been, and continue to be made, to test the calculated response characteristics. The enhancements to the calculations have involved simulation of the sensitivity of the response to variations in instrument manufacture, and will include the influence of the user and floor during measurements. The practical implications of the energy and angle dependence of response, variations in manufacture, and the influence of the user are assessed by folding the response characteristics with workplace energy and direction distributions. (authors)

Development of Assessment Instrument of Critical Thinking in Physics at Senior High School

Science.gov (United States)

Sugiarti, T.; Kaniawati, I.; Aviyanti, L.

2017-02-01

The result of preliminary study shows that the assessment of physics in school did not train students’ critical thinking skill. The assessment instrument just measured low cognitive aspects. Supposedly, critical thinking skill is trained in the assessment activity. The study aims to determine the characteristics and the quality of critical thinking skill instrument. It employs descriptive-qualitative method with research and development as the research design. The research participants are 35 students involved in the limited trial and 188 students in the wider trial from three public senior high school in Ciamis which in high level school. The data was collected through expert validation, tests and interviews. The results indicate that the characteristics of the assessment instrument of critical thinking skill is open-ended. The instrument fulfills some indicators namely analyzing argument, deduction, induction, and display information in the form of scenario, text, graphic and table. In addition, the data processing through V4 Anates program shows that the instrument reliability achieves 0.67 with high interpretation of 0.67 and the validity is 0.47 with enough interpretation. Thus, the assessment instrument of critical thinking skill in the form of open-ended essay meets the criteria of quality test, so it can use as instrument of assessment critical thinking skill.

Metacognition Assessment Interview: Instrument description and factor structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovanni Pellecchia

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: Metacognition is a multi-component psychological construct, characterised by the ability to identify and describe one’s own mental states and those of others. Evidence has been found for an association between deficits in metacognitive abilities and poor social functioning, low quality of life, psychopathology, and symptoms in Personality Disorders (PDs. However, to date, there are few psychometrically validated instruments available for assessing the different components of metacognition. A semi-structured interview, the Metacognition Assessment Interview (MAI, has been developed to evaluate different domains of metacognition. In the present study, we investigated the psychometric properties of the MAI in an outpatient clinical sample. Method: The MAI was administered to a clinical population of 306 outpatients attending a private clinical centre. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and correlation with instruments assessing alexithymia and interpersonal problems were carried out to examine the dimensionality and validity of the MAI. Result: Explorative and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a good fit for both a two-factor model and a four-factor model of metacognition. The two-factor model yielded two main dimensions, which we named: Self domain, defined as self-reflection, and Other domain, defined as critical distancing from one’s own mental state and that of others. The four-factor solution is composed of four sub-domains: monitoring, integration, differentiation and decentration. Moreover, the MAI showed good convergent validity, with significant correlations with both alexithymia and interpersonal problems. Conclusions: These results confirm that the MAI is a reliable instrument for measuring metacognition and its different sub-domains. In particular, the MAI represents a useful and flexible instrument for the assessment of metacognition impairments in different psychopathologies and it can provide

Using Longitudinal Scales Assessment for Instrumental Music Students

Science.gov (United States)

Simon, Samuel H.

2014-01-01

In music education, current assessment trends emphasize student reflection, tracking progress over time, and formative as well as summative measures. This view of assessment requires instrumental music educators to modernize their approaches without interfering with methods that have proven to be successful. To this end, the Longitudinal Scales…

Project W-314 DST and DCRT instrument and control systems, initial assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Acree, C.D.

1996-01-01

This report contains an assessment of the instrument and control systems in the Double Shell Tank Farms and the 244-A DCRT. The assessment report contains data from physical inspection activities and an overall engineering assessment of the instruments and control systems in use in the Double Shell Tanks

WATCH: Warwick Assessment insTrument for Clinical teacHing: Development and testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Haider, Sonia Ijaz; Johnson, Neil; Thistlethwaite, Jill Elizabeth; Fagan, Gay; Bari, Muhammad Furqan

2015-03-01

Medical education and teaching skills are core competencies included in the generic curriculum for specialty training. To support the development of these skills, there is need for a validated instrument. This study aims to develop and test an instrument to measure the attributes of specialty trainees as effective teachers. The study was conducted in two phases. In first phase, the content of the instrument was generated from the literature and tested using the Delphi technique. In second phase, the instrument was field tested for validity and reliability using factor analysis and generalizability study. Feasibility was calculated by the time taken to complete the instrument. Acceptability and educational impact were determined by qualitative analysis of written feedback. Attributes of specialty trainees were assessed by clinical supervisors, peers, and students. The Delphi study produced consensus on 15 statements which formed the basis of the instrument. In field study, a total of 415 instruments were completed. Factor analysis demonstrated a three-factor solution ('learning-teaching milieu', 'teaching skills', and 'learner-orientated'). A generalizability coefficient was 0.92. Mean time to complete the instrument was five minutes. Feedback indicated that it was an acceptable and useful method of assessment. This new instrument provides valid, reliable, feasible, and acceptable assessment of clinical teaching.

Clinical assessment of spasticity in children with cerebral palsy: a critical review of available instruments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scholtes, Vanessa A. B.; Becher, Jules G.; Beelen, Anita; Lankhorst, Gustaaf J.

2006-01-01

This study reviews the instruments used for the clinical assessment of spasticity in children with cerebral palsy, and evaluates their compliance with the concept of spasticity, defined as a velocity-dependent increase in muscle tone to passive stretch. Searches were performed in Medline, Embase,

the research quality plus (rq+) assessment instrument

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

Thomas Schwandt

THE RESEARCH QUALITY PLUS (RQ+) ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT ... consistent way to allow for further meta-analysis about research quality over time. ... Addresses complex and integrative problems, requiring systems-based approaches ..... benefits or financial costs for participants that might not be appropriate in the ...

The Development and Evaluation of a Novel Instrument Assessing Residents' Discharge Summaries.

Science.gov (United States)

Hommos, Musab S; Kuperman, Ethan F; Kamath, Aparna; Kreiter, Clarence D

2017-04-01

To develop and determine the reliability of a novel measurement instrument assessing the quality of residents' discharge summaries. In 2014, the authors created a discharge summary evaluation instrument based on consensus recommendations from national regulatory bodies and input from primary care providers at their institution. After a brief pilot, they used the instrument to evaluate discharge summaries written by first-year internal medicine residents (n = 24) at a single U.S. teaching hospital during the 2013-2014 academic year. They conducted a generalizability study to determine the reliability of the instrument and a series of decision studies to determine the number of discharge summaries and raters needed to achieve a reliable evaluation score. The generalizability study demonstrated that 37% of the variance reflected residents' ability to generate an adequate discharge summary (true score variance). The decision studies estimated that the mean score from six discharge summary reviews completed by a unique rater for each review would yield a reliability coefficient of 0.75. Because of high interrater reliability, multiple raters per discharge summary would not significantly enhance the reliability of the mean rating. This evaluation instrument reliably measured residents' performance writing discharge summaries. A single rating of six discharge summaries can achieve a reliable mean evaluation score. Using this instrument is feasible even for programs with a limited number of inpatient encounters and a small pool of faculty preceptors.

Peer-Assessment Debriefing Instrument (PADI): Assessing Faculty Effectiveness in Simulation Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Saylor, Jennifer L; Wainwright, Susan F; Herge, E A; Pohlig, Ryan T

2016-01-01

Evaluating the debriefing skill of faculty in simulations is essential but often challenging. The Peer Assessment Debriefing Instrument (PADI) is a self and peer assessment designed to assess a debriefers' effectiveness and is grounded in current scientific debriefing literature and peer review methodology. This pilot study tested the PADI at three institutions during 10 different healthcare debriefing sessions. The PADI is useful to faculty and administrators of simulation centers by demonstrating ongoing quality improvement and as a guide to train new debriefers.

The spiritual distress assessment tool: an instrument to assess spiritual distress in hospitalised elderly persons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Estelle

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although spirituality is usually considered a positive resource for coping with illness, spiritual distress may have a negative influence on health outcomes. Tools are needed to identify spiritual distress in clinical practice and subsequently address identified needs. This study describes the first steps in the development of a clinically acceptable instrument to assess spiritual distress in hospitalized elderly patients. Methods A three-step process was used to develop the Spiritual Distress Assessment Tool (SDAT: 1 Conceptualisation by a multidisciplinary group of a model (Spiritual Needs Model to define the different dimensions characterizing a patient's spirituality and their corresponding needs; 2 Operationalisation of the Spiritual Needs Model within geriatric hospital care leading to a set of questions (SDAT investigating needs related to each of the defined dimensions; 3 Qualitative assessment of the instrument's acceptability and face validity in hospital chaplains. Results Four dimensions of spirituality (Meaning, Transcendence, Values, and Psychosocial Identity and their corresponding needs were defined. A formalised assessment procedure to both identify and subsequently score unmet spiritual needs and spiritual distress was developed. Face validity and acceptability in clinical practice were confirmed by chaplains involved in the focus groups. Conclusions The SDAT appears to be a clinically acceptable instrument to assess spiritual distress in elderly hospitalised persons. Studies are ongoing to investigate the psychometric properties of the instrument and to assess its potential to serve as a basis for integrating the spiritual dimension in the patient's plan of care.

Cost assessment of instruments for single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henriksen, Nadia A; Al-Tayar, Haytham; Rosenberg, Jacob

2012-01-01

Specially designed surgical instruments have been developed for single-incision laparoscopic surgery, but high instrument costs may impede the implementation of these procedures. The aim of this study was to compare the cost of operative implements used for elective cholecystectomy performed...

Efficiency of lung ventilation for people performing wind instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Brzęk, Anna; Famuła, Anna; Kowalczyk, Anna; Plinta, Ryszard

Wind instruments musicians are particularly prone to excessive respiratory efforts. Prolonged wind instruments performing may lead to changes in respiratory tracts and thus to respiratory muscles overload. It may result in decreasing lung tissue pliability and, as a consequence, in emphysema. Aim of the research has been to describe basic spirometric parameters for wind players and causes of potential changes. Slow and forced spirometry with the use of Micro Lab Viasys (Micro Medical, Great Britain) was conducted on 31 wind musicians (group A). A survey concerning playing time and frequency, weight of instruments, and education on diaphragmatic breathing was conducted. The control group included 34 healthy persons at similar age (group B). The results were statistically described using Excel and Statistica programmes. The respiratory parameters were within the range of physiological norms and forced expiratory volume in 1 s to forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) exceeded in both groups the values of 100%. Forced vital capacity and expiratory vital capacity (EVC) values were significantly lower in the group of musicians than in the control group (p wind instrument. Spirometric parameters relative to standards may prove a good respiratory capacity. Peak expiratory flow (PEF) and FEV1 may indicate that a proper technique of respiration during performance was acquired. The length of time when performing wind instrument may influence parameters of dynamic spirometry. Med Pr 2016;67(4):427-433. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

Towards Developing a Quantitative Literacy/Reasoning Assessment Instrument

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Eric Gaze

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This article reports on the development and implementation of a non-proprietary assessment instrument for Quantitative Literacy/Reasoning. This instrument was based on prior work by Bowdoin College, Colby-Sawyer College, and Wellesley College and was piloted in 2012 and 2013. This article presents a discussion of its development as well as the results of the pilot implementation. This work was supported by a TUES Type 1 grant from the National Science Foundation.

ANALYSING PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT IN PUBLIC SERVICES: HOW USEFUL IS THE CONCEPT OF A PERFORMANCE REGIME?

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Steve; Nutley, Sandra; Downe, James; Grace, Clive

2016-03-01

Approaches to performance assessment have been described as 'performance regimes', but there has been little analysis of what is meant by this concept and whether it has any real value. We draw on four perspectives on regimes - 'institutions and instruments', 'risk regulation regimes', 'internal logics and effects' and 'analytics of government' - to explore how the concept of a multi-dimensional regime can be applied to performance assessment in public services. We conclude that the concept is valuable. It helps to frame comparative and longitudinal analyses of approaches to performance assessment and draws attention to the ways in which public service performance regimes operate at different levels, how they change over time and what drives their development. Areas for future research include analysis of the impacts of performance regimes and interactions between their visible features (such as inspections, performance indicators and star ratings) and the veiled rationalities which underpin them.

Tevatron instrumentation: boosting collider performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shiltsev, Vladimir; Jansson, Andreas; Moore, Ronald; /Fermilab

2006-05-01

The Tevatron in Collider Run II (2001-present) is operating with six times more bunches, many times higher beam intensities and luminosities than in Run I (1992-1995). Beam diagnostics were crucial for the machine start-up and the never-ending luminosity upgrade campaign. We present the overall picture of the Tevatron diagnostics development for Run II, outline machine needs for new instrumentation, present several notable examples that led to Tevatron performance improvements, and discuss the lessons for the next big machines--LHC and ILC.

A qualitative evaluation of policy instruments used to improve energy performance of existing private dwellings in the Netherlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murphy, Lorraine; Meijer, Frits; Visscher, Henk

2012-01-01

Climate change policies in the Netherlands recognise the importance of existing dwellings. Efforts to gain these energy savings are led at national level by policy instruments such as the Energy Performance Certificate, covenants, economic and information tools. These instruments reflect a policy style described as consensus based and incentivising. However, this approach has been subject to criticism with suggestions that alternatives are required. As a first step towards conceptualising alternatives previous evaluations and stakeholder interviews are used to assess instruments. Elements from the theory based evaluation method combined with concepts from policy instrument and energy policy literature form an evaluation framework. Results demonstrate weak impact of some key instruments. Underlying theories associated with instruments are often lost during implementation or remain unsubstantiated. Policy instrument and energy policy concepts are evident but are far from pervasive. Results show that current instruments are poorly equipped to forge a long-term energy saving strategy for existing dwellings. It is further demonstrated that complexity with existing dwellings is not only limited to frequently cited barriers but to the intricacies of designing and operating a well-orchestrated instrument mix. - Highlights: ► Instruments are evaluated using the theory based method and normative concepts. ► Lack of monitoring and evaluation data affects impact assessment. ► Impact and normative concepts are reflected in part in individual instruments. ► A coherent strategy that demonstrates impact and reflects concepts is absent. ► Results form a first step from which to conceptualise alternatives.

Assessing hospitals' clinical risk management: Development of a monitoring instrument

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pfeiffer Yvonne

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Clinical risk management (CRM plays a crucial role in enabling hospitals to identify, contain, and manage risks related to patient safety. So far, no instruments are available to measure and monitor the level of implementation of CRM. Therefore, our objective was to develop an instrument for assessing CRM in hospitals. Methods The instrument was developed based on a literature review, which identified key elements of CRM. These elements were then discussed with a panel of patient safety experts. A theoretical model was used to describe the level to which CRM elements have been implemented within the organization. Interviews with CRM practitioners and a pilot evaluation were conducted to revise the instrument. The first nationwide application of the instrument (138 participating Swiss hospitals was complemented by in-depth interviews with 25 CRM practitioners in selected hospitals, for validation purposes. Results The monitoring instrument consists of 28 main questions organized in three sections: 1 Implementation and organizational integration of CRM, 2 Strategic objectives and operational implementation of CRM at hospital level, and 3 Overview of CRM in different services. The instrument is available in four languages (English, German, French, and Italian. It allows hospitals to gather comprehensive and systematic data on their CRM practice and to identify areas for further improvement. Conclusions We have developed an instrument for assessing development stages of CRM in hospitals that should be feasible for a continuous monitoring of developments in this important area of patient safety.

Assessing hospitals' clinical risk management: Development of a monitoring instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Briner, Matthias; Kessler, Oliver; Pfeiffer, Yvonne; Wehner, Theo; Manser, Tanja

2010-12-13

Clinical risk management (CRM) plays a crucial role in enabling hospitals to identify, contain, and manage risks related to patient safety. So far, no instruments are available to measure and monitor the level of implementation of CRM. Therefore, our objective was to develop an instrument for assessing CRM in hospitals. The instrument was developed based on a literature review, which identified key elements of CRM. These elements were then discussed with a panel of patient safety experts. A theoretical model was used to describe the level to which CRM elements have been implemented within the organization. Interviews with CRM practitioners and a pilot evaluation were conducted to revise the instrument. The first nationwide application of the instrument (138 participating Swiss hospitals) was complemented by in-depth interviews with 25 CRM practitioners in selected hospitals, for validation purposes. The monitoring instrument consists of 28 main questions organized in three sections: 1) Implementation and organizational integration of CRM, 2) Strategic objectives and operational implementation of CRM at hospital level, and 3) Overview of CRM in different services. The instrument is available in four languages (English, German, French, and Italian). It allows hospitals to gather comprehensive and systematic data on their CRM practice and to identify areas for further improvement. We have developed an instrument for assessing development stages of CRM in hospitals that should be feasible for a continuous monitoring of developments in this important area of patient safety.

Development of Authentic Assessment instruments for Critical Thinking skills in Global Warming with a Scientific Approach

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R. Surya Damayanti

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This study aims to develop an authentic assessment instrument to measure critical thinking skills in global warming learning and to describe the suitability, easiness, and usefulness of the use instruments which are developed base on the teacher’s opinion.   The development design is carried out by Borg & Gall (2003 development model, which is conducted with seven stages: information gathering stage, planning stage, product development stage, product test stage, product revision stage, field trial stage, and final product. The test subjects are students and teachers in SMA Lampung Tengah by using purposive sampling technique.  Global warming learning using authentic assessment consists of a series of learning activities, including observing, discussing, exploring, associating and communicating.  The results show the authentic assessment techniques global warming to measure and cultivate critical thinking skills consisting of written tests, performance, portfolios, projects, and attitudes.  The developed assessment model meets content and constructs validity, and effectively improves students' critical thinking skills and has a high level of suitability, easiness, and usefulness well-being. The assessment techniques are used in global warming learning are performance assessment techniques, portfolios, projects, products, and attitude that together contribute to the improvement of critical thinking skills on 97,4% of global warming learning.

High-performance instruments in neutron arena of JHP. Preliminary version

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furusaka, M.; Itoh, S.; Otomo, T.; Arai, M.

1996-05-01

This report is a preliminary report of high-performance instruments in neutron arena of JHP (Japan Hadron Project). This report consists of as follows; neutron intensity of neutron arena, development of neutron sources in neutron arena, experimental devices and instrumentation. (J.P.N.)

Development and Evaluation of a Novel Survey Tool Assessing Inpatient Consult Service Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Miloslavsky, Eli M; Chang, Yuchiao

2017-12-01

Subspecialty consultation in inpatient medicine is increasing, and enhancing performance of consultation services may have a broad-reaching impact. Multisource feedback is an important tool in assessing competence and improving performance. A mechanism for primary team resident feedback on performance of consult services has not been described. We developed and evaluated an instrument designed to assess internal medicine (IM) subspecialty inpatient consult service performance. We hypothesized that the instrument would be feasible to administer and provide important information to fellowship directors. The instrument was administered in 2015 and 2016 at a single academic center. All IM residents were invited to evaluate 10 IM subspecialty consult services on 4 items and an overall satisfaction rating. The instrument allowed for free-text feedback to fellows. Program directors completed another survey assessing the impact of the consult service evaluation. A total of 113 residents responded (47 in 2015 and 66 in 2016, for a combined response rate of 35%). Each of the 4 items measured (communication, professionalism, teaching, and pushback) correlated significantly with the overall satisfaction rating in univariate and multivariate analyses. There were no differences in ratings across postgraduate year or year of administration. There was considerable variation in ratings among the services evaluated. The 7 program directors who provided feedback found the survey useful and made programmatic changes following evaluation implementation. A primary team resident evaluation of inpatient medicine subspecialty consult services is feasible, provides valuable information, and is associated with changes in consult service structure and curricula.

A systematic review of instruments that assess the implementation of hospital quality management systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Groene, Oliver; Botje, Daan; Suñol, Rosa; Lopez, Maria Andrée; Wagner, Cordula

2013-10-01

Health-care providers invest substantial resources to establish and implement hospital quality management systems. Nevertheless, few tools are available to assess implementation efforts and their effect on quality and safety outcomes. This review aims to (i) identify instruments to assess the implementation of hospital quality management systems, (ii) describe their measurement properties and (iii) assess the effects of quality management on quality improvement and quality of care outcomes. We performed a systematic literature search from 1990 to 2011 in PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and Web of Science. In addition, we used snowball strategies, screened the reference lists of eligible papers, reviewed grey literature and contacted experts in the field. and data extraction Two reviewers screened eligible papers based on pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria and all authors extracted data. Eligible papers are described in terms of general characteristics (settings, type and level of respondents, mode of data collection), methodological properties (sampling strategy, item derivation, conceptualization of quality management, assessment of reliability and validity, scoring) and application/implementation (accounting for context, organizational adaptations, sensitivity to change, deployment and effect size). Eighteen papers were deemed eligible for inclusion. While some common domains emerged in measurement conceptualization, substantial differences in scope persist. The instruments' measurement properties were insufficiently described and only few instruments assessed links between the implementation of quality management systems (QMS) and improvement strategies or outcomes. There is currently no well-established measure to assess the implementation and effectiveness of quality management systems. Future research should address this gap.

Cross-cultural adaptation of Preschool Language Assessment Instrument: Second Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindau, Tâmara Andrade; Rossi, Natalia Freitas; Giacheti, Célia Maria

2014-01-01

In Brazil, formal tools for the evaluation of spoken language are scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to translate and adapt to Brazilian Portuguese the Preschool Language Assessment Instrument: Second Edition (PLAI-2). The process of translation and adaptation of this instrument was conducted in two stages - Stage 1: (1a) translation of the original version to Brazilian Portuguese, (1b) comparison of the translated versions and synthesis into a single Portuguese version, (1c) back-translation, (1d) revision of the translated version; and Step 2: (2a) application of the Portuguese version in a pilot project with 30 subjects, and (2b) statistical comparison of three age groups. In the Brazilian version, all items of the original version were kept. However, it was necessary to modify the application order of one item, and the change of one picture was suggested in another. The results obtained after application indicated that the Brazilian version of the PLAI-2 allows us to distinguish the performance of participants belonging to different age groups, and that the raw score tends to increase with age. Semantic and syntactic adjustments were required and made to ensure that PLAI-2 would be used with the same methodological rigor of the original instrument. The adaptation process observed the theoretical, semantic, and cultural equivalences.

Fitness to plead: Development and validation of a standardised assessment instrument.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Penelope Brown

Full Text Available The ability of an individual to participate in courtroom proceedings is assessed by clinicians using legal 'fitness to plead' criteria. Findings of 'unfitness' are so rare that there is considerable professional unease concerning the utility of the current subjective assessment process. As a result, mentally disordered defendants may be subjected unfairly to criminal trials. The Law Commission in England and Wales has proposed legal reform, as well as the utilisation of a defined psychiatric instrument to assist in fitness to plead assessments. Similar legal reforms are occurring in other jurisdictions. Our objective was to produce and validate a standardised assessment instrument of fitness to plead employing a filmed vignette of criminal proceedings. The instrument was developed in consultation with legal and clinical professionals, and was refined using standard item reduction methods in two initial rounds of testing (n = 212. The factorial structure, test-retest reliability and convergent validity of the resultant instrument were assessed in a further round (n = 160. As a result of this iterative process a 25-item scale was produced, with an underlying two-factor structure representing the foundational and decision-making abilities underpinning fitness to plead. The sub-scales demonstrate good internal consistency (factor 1: 0·76; factor 2: 0·65 and test-retest stability (0·7 as well as excellent convergent validity with scores of intelligence, executive function and mentalising abilities (p≤0·01 in all domains. Overall the standardised Fitness to Plead Assessment instrument has good psychometric properties. It has the potential to ensure that the significant numbers of mentally ill and cognitively impaired individuals who face trial are objectively assessed, and the courtroom process critically informed.

Higs-instrument: design and demonstration of a high performance gas concentration imager

Science.gov (United States)

Verlaan, A. L.; Klop, W. A.; Visser, H.; van Brug, H.; Human, J.

2017-09-01

Climate change and environmental conditions are high on the political agenda of international governments. Laws and regulations are being setup all around the world to improve the air quality and to reduce the impact. The growth of a number of trace gasses, including CO2, Methane and NOx are especially interesting due to their environmental impact. The regulations made are being based on both models and measurements of the trend of those trace gases over the years. Now the regulations are in place also enforcement and therewith measurements become more and more important. Instruments enabling high spectral and spatial resolution as well as high accurate measurements of trace gases are required to deliver the necessary inputs. Nowadays those measurements are usually performed by space based spectrometers. The requirement for high spectral resolution and measurement accuracy significantly increases the size of the instruments. As a result the instrument and satellite becomes very expensive to develop and to launch. Specialized instruments with a small volume and the required performance will offer significant advantages in both cost and performance. Huib's Innovative Gas Sensor (HIGS, named after its inventor Huib Visser), currently being developed at TNO is an instrument that achieves exactly that. Designed to measure only a single gas concentration, opposed to deriving it from a spectrum, it achieves high performance within a small design volume. The instrument enables instantaneous imaging of the gas distribution of the selected gas. An instrument demonstrator has been developed for NO2 detection. Laboratory measurements proved the measurement technique to be successful. An on-sky measurement campaign is in preparation. This paper addresses both the instrument design as well as the demonstrated performances.

INSTRUMENTS OF HIGH RISK SEXUAL BEHAVIOR ASSESSMENT: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW.

Science.gov (United States)

Mirzaei, Mojtaba; Ahmadi, Khodabakhsh; Saadat, Seyed-Hassan; Ramezani, Mohammad Arash

2016-02-01

Sexual behavior is a complex activity affecting all aspects of human's life. Risky sexual behaviors impose negative outcomes on family, relationships and health. Unsafe sex is the second most leading cause of disability adjusted life years worldwide. Valid and reliable tools for assessment of risky sexual behaviors are necessary for implementing preventive measures. we searched Medline and the Cochrane Library of Systematic Reviews, with the keywords of "risky sexual behavior assessment", "sexual risk assessment", "high risk sexual behavior", "sexual risk taking". By reviewing references of the articles, some complementary studies were added. Assessment can be performed by questionnaire or non-questionnaire instruments. Questionnaires vary depending on their target population, evaluation of risky sexual behavior as a whole or focusing on an associated risk factor. In order to avoid usual biases in self reports, objective biomarker assessment of unprotected sex are employed. These markers include prostate specific antigen, chromosome Y DNA and Seminogelin. Risky sexual behavior can be assessed by various subjective and objective methods. While self-reports are more feasible, objective methods offer a higher degree of reliability. Further studies for finding more feasible methods of using biomarkers are recommended.

Developing evaluation instrument based on CIPP models on the implementation of portfolio assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Kurnia, Feni; Rosana, Dadan; Supahar

2017-08-01

This study aimed to develop an evaluation instrument constructed by CIPP model on the implementation of portfolio assessment in science learning. This study used research and development (R & D) method; adapting 4-D by the development of non-test instrument, and the evaluation instrument constructed by CIPP model. CIPP is the abbreviation of Context, Input, Process, and Product. The techniques of data collection were interviews, questionnaires, and observations. Data collection instruments were: 1) the interview guidelines for the analysis of the problems and the needs, 2) questionnaire to see level of accomplishment of portfolio assessment instrument, and 3) observation sheets for teacher and student to dig up responses to the portfolio assessment instrument. The data obtained was quantitative data obtained from several validators. The validators consist of two lecturers as the evaluation experts, two practitioners (science teachers), and three colleagues. This paper shows the results of content validity obtained from the validators and the analysis result of the data obtained by using Aikens' V formula. The results of this study shows that the evaluation instrument based on CIPP models is proper to evaluate the implementation of portfolio assessment instruments. Based on the experts' judgments, practitioners, and colleagues, the Aikens' V coefficient was between 0.86-1,00 which means that it is valid and can be used in the limited trial and operational field trial.

Instrument for assessing coronary symptoms in women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cándida Rosa Castañeda Valencia

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: To design and validate an instrument for assessing the symptoms in women with coronary disease framed in the Theory of the Unpleasant Symptoms. Methodology: Methodological, psychometric study oriented by The symptoms, first concept of the Theory of Unpleasant Symptoms by Lenz et al. Theoretical critique of the construct chosen was performed proving usefulness in research and practice discipline. From the empirical, 260 evidences were weighted through methodological and empirical critique, applying the Integrative Review System articulated to the Empirical Conceptual Model by Fawcett Garity. Only 30 research pieces were obtained, used for the construction of the items. To the Lenz symptoms were added the reported psychosocial symptoms in women with coronary disease, generating a first design composed of 87 items. Results:The design was done by experts Content Validation with the Escobar and Cuervo Model 2008 (statistical analysis spss, 20 with Kendall Correlation Coefficient k = 0.682 (p ; 0.05 with good agreement between judges. Lawshe Model normalized by Tristán 2008 reported a Content Validity Ratio = 0.57 and Content Validity Index = 0.797, showing that items are units of essential analysis. Finally, Validation Facial made by means of the pilot test, conducted on 21 women who met the inclusion criteria, allowed the discrimination semiotics of items, obtaining an instrument consisting of 67 items.  Conclusions:This is a remnant of research that requires further validation to increase its psychometric capacity.

Cassini radar: Instrument description and performance status

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Johnson, W. T. K.; Im, E.; Borgarelli, L.; ZampoliniFaustini, E.

1995-01-01

The spacecraft of the Cassini mission is planned to be launched towards Saturn in October 1997. The mission is designed to study the physical structure and chemical composition of Titan. The results of the tests performed on the Cassini radar engineering qualification model (EQM) are summarized. The approach followed in the verification and evaluation of the performance of the radio frequency subsystem EQM is presented. The results show that the instrument satisfies the most relevant mission requirements.

Assessment of the performance of containment and surveillance equipment part 1: methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rezniczek, A.; Richter, B.

2009-01-01

Equipment performance aims at the creation of relevant data. As Containment and Surveillance (C/S) is playing an ever increasing role in safeguards systems, the issue of how to assess the performance of C/S equipment is being addressed by the ESARDA Working Group on C/S. The issue is important not only for the development of appropriate safeguards approaches but also for the review of existing approaches with regard to the implementation of the Additional Protocol (A P) and Integrated Safeguards. It is expected that the selection process of appropriate equipment, especially for unattended operation, is facilitated by the availability of methods to determine the performance of such equipment. Apart from EURATOM, the users of assessment methodologies would be the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), plant operators, and instrument developers. The paper describes a non-quantitative performance assessment methodology. A structured procedure is outlined that allows assessing the suitability of different C/S instrumentation to comply with the objectives of its application. The principle to determine the performance of C/S equipment is to define, based on safeguards requirements, a task profile and to check the performance profile against the task profile. The performance profile of C/S equipment can be derived from the functional specifications and design basis tolerances provided by the equipment manufacturers.

The OCO-3 Mission: Science Objectives and Instrument Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Eldering, A.; Basilio, R. R.; Bennett, M. W.

2017-12-01

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3 (OCO-3) will continue global CO2 and solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) using the flight spare instrument from OCO-2. The instrument is currently being tested, and will be packaged for installation on the International Space Station (ISS) (launch readiness in early 2018.) This talk will focus on the science objectives, updated simulations of the science data products, and the outcome of recent instrument performance tests. The low-inclination ISS orbit lets OCO-3 sample the tropics and sub-tropics across the full range of daylight hours with dense observations at northern and southern mid-latitudes (+/- 52º). The combination of these dense CO2 and SIF measurements provides continuity of data for global flux estimates as well as a unique opportunity to address key deficiencies in our understanding of the global carbon cycle. The instrument utilizes an agile, 2-axis pointing mechanism (PMA), providing the capability to look towards the bright reflection from the ocean and validation targets. The PMA also allows for a snapshot mapping mode to collect dense datasets over 100km by 100km areas. Measurements over urban centers could aid in making estimates of fossil fuel CO2 emissions. Similarly, the snapshot mapping mode can be used to sample regions of interest for the terrestrial carbon cycle. In addition, there is potential to utilize data from ISS instruments ECOSTRESS (ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station) and GEDI (Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation), which measure other key variables of the control of carbon uptake by plants, to complement OCO-3 data in science analysis. In 2017, the OCO-2 instrument was transformed into the ISS-ready OCO-3 payload. The transformed instrument was thoroughly tested and characterized. Key characteristics, such as instrument ILS, spectral resolution, and radiometric performance will be described. Analysis of direct sun measurements taken during testing

Enabling performance skills: Assessment in engineering education

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrone, Jenny Kristina

Current reform in engineering education is part of a national trend emphasizing student learning as well as accountability in instruction. Assessing student performance to demonstrate accountability has become a necessity in academia. In newly adopted criterion proposed by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), undergraduates are expected to demonstrate proficiency in outcomes considered essential for graduating engineers. The case study was designed as a formative evaluation of freshman engineering students to assess the perceived effectiveness of performance skills in a design laboratory environment. The mixed methodology used both quantitative and qualitative approaches to assess students' performance skills and congruency among the respondents, based on individual, team, and faculty perceptions of team effectiveness in three ABET areas: Communications Skills. Design Skills, and Teamwork. The findings of the research were used to address future use of the assessment tool and process. The results of the study found statistically significant differences in perceptions of Teamwork Skills (p performance skills, such as teamwork, among freshman engineering students; (2) incorporate feedback into the learning process; (3) strengthen the assessment process with a follow-up plan that specifically targets performance skill deficiencies, and (4) integrate the assessment instrument and practice with ongoing curriculum development. The findings generated by this study provides engineering departments engaged in assessment activity, opportunity to reflect, refine, and develop their programs as it continues. It also extends research on ABET competencies of engineering students in an under-investigated topic of factors correlated with team processes, behavior, and student learning.

Assessing gait adaptability in people with a unilateral amputation on an instrumented treadmill with a projected visual context.

Science.gov (United States)

Houdijk, Han; van Ooijen, Mariëlle W; Kraal, Jos J; Wiggerts, Henri O; Polomski, Wojtek; Janssen, Thomas W J; Roerdink, Melvyn

2012-11-01

Gait adaptability, including the ability to avoid obstacles and to take visually guided steps, is essential for safe movement through a cluttered world. This aspect of walking ability is important for regaining independent mobility but is difficult to assess in clinical practice. The objective of this study was to investigate the validity of an instrumented treadmill with obstacles and stepping targets projected on the belt's surface for assessing prosthetic gait adaptability. This was an observational study. A control group of people who were able bodied (n=12) and groups of people with transtibial (n=12) and transfemoral (n=12) amputations participated. Participants walked at a self-selected speed on an instrumented treadmill with projected visual obstacles and stepping targets. Gait adaptability was evaluated in terms of anticipatory and reactive obstacle avoidance performance (for obstacles presented 4 steps and 1 step ahead, respectively) and accuracy of stepping on regular and irregular patterns of stepping targets. In addition, several clinical tests were administered, including timed walking tests and reports of incidence of falls and fear of falling. Obstacle avoidance performance and stepping accuracy were significantly lower in the groups with amputations than in the control group. Anticipatory obstacle avoidance performance was moderately correlated with timed walking test scores. Reactive obstacle avoidance performance and stepping accuracy performance were not related to timed walking tests. Gait adaptability scores did not differ in groups stratified by incidence of falls or fear of falling. Because gait adaptability was affected by walking speed, differences in self-selected walking speed may have diminished differences in gait adaptability between groups. Gait adaptability can be validly assessed by use of an instrumented treadmill with a projected visual context. When walking speed is taken into account, this assessment provides unique

Instruments assessing attitudes toward or capability regarding self-management of osteoarthritis: a systematic review of measurement properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Eyles, J P; Hunter, D J; Meneses, S R F; Collins, N J; Dobson, F; Lucas, B R; Mills, K

2017-08-01

To make a recommendation on the "best" instrument to assess attitudes toward and/or capabilities regarding self-management of osteoarthritis (OA) based on available measurement property evidence. Electronic searches were performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PsychINFO (inception to 27 December 2016). Two reviewers independently rated measurement properties using the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of Health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) 4-point scale. Best evidence synthesis was determined by considering COSMIN ratings for measurement property results and the level of evidence available for each measurement property of each instrument. Eight studies out of 5653 publications met the inclusion criteria, with eight instruments identified for evaluation: Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC), Perceived Behavioural Control (PBC), Patient Activation Measure (PAM), Educational Needs Assessment (ENAT), Stages of Change Questionnaire in Osteoarthritis (SCQOA), Effective Consumer Scale (EC-17) and Perceived Efficacy in Patient-Physician Interactions five item (PEPPI-5) and ten item scales. Measurement properties assessed for these instruments included internal consistency (k = 8), structural validity (k = 8), test-retest reliability (k = 2), measurement error (k = 1), hypothesis testing (k = 3) and cross-cultural validity (k = 3). No information was available for content validity, responsiveness or minimal important change (MIC)/minimal important difference (MID). The Dutch PEPPI-5 demonstrated the best measurement property evidence; strong evidence for internal consistency and structural validity but limited evidence for reliability and construct validity. Although PEPPI-5 was identified as having the best measurement properties, overall there is a poor level of evidence currently available concerning measurement properties of instruments to assess attitudes toward and/or capabilities regarding osteoarthritis self-management. Further

Assessing Probabilistic Reasoning in Verbal-Numerical and Graphical-Pictorial Formats: An Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of an Instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Agus, Mirian; Penna, Maria Pietronilla; Peró-Cebollero, Maribel; Guàrdia-Olmos, Joan

2016-01-01

Research on the graphical facilitation of probabilistic reasoning has been characterised by the effort expended to identify valid assessment tools. The authors developed an assessment instrument to compare reasoning performances when problems were presented in verbal-numerical and graphical-pictorial formats. A sample of undergraduate psychology…

[work motivation -- assessment instruments and their relevance for medical care].

Science.gov (United States)

Fiedler, Rolf G; Ranft, Andreas; Greitemann, Bernhard; Heuft, Gereon

2005-11-01

The relevance of work motivation for medical research and healthcare, in particular rehabilitation, is described. Four diagnostic instruments in the German language are introduced which can assess work motivation using a scale system: AVEM, JDS, LMI and FBTM. Their possible application and potential usage for the clinical area are discussed. Apart from the FBTM, none of these instruments can be directly used as a general instrument in a normal medical clinical setting. Finally, a current model for work motivation (compensatory model of work motivation and volition) is presented that contains basis concepts, which are judged as important for future research questions concerning the development of motivation diagnostic instruments.

Problems in developing an instrument for the rapid assessment of personality status.

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Van Horn, E; Manley, C; Leddy, D; Cicchetti, D; Tyrer, P

2000-06-01

To assess the validity of a quick assessment instrument (10 minutes) for assessing personality status, the Rapid Personality Assessment Schedule (PAS-R). The PAS-R was evaluated in psychotic patients recruited in one of the centres involved in a multicentre randomised controlled trial of intensive vs standard case management (the UK700 case management trial). Patients were assessed using both a full version of the PAS (PAS-I - ICD version) and the PAS-R. The weighted kappa statistic was used to gauge the (criterion-related) validity of the PAS-R using the PAS-I as the gold standard. Both measure code personality status using a four-point rating of severity in addition to recording individual categories of personality disorder. One hundred fifty-five (77%) of 201 patients recruited were assessed with both instruments. The weighted kappa statistic was 0.31, suggesting only moderate agreement between the PAS-I and PAS-R instruments under the four-point rating format, and 0.39 for the dichotomous personality disorder/no disorder separation. The sensitivity (64%) and specificity (82%) of the PAS-R in predicting PAS-I personality disorder were as satisfactory as for other screening instruments but still somewhat disappointing, and the PAS-R had an overall diagnostic accuracy of 78%. The PAS-R is a quick and rough method of detecting personality abnormality but is not a substitute for a fuller assessment.

Monitoring Instrument Performance in Regional Broadband Seismic Network Using Ambient Seismic Noise

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, F.; Lyu, S.; Lin, J.

2017-12-01

In the past ten years, the number of seismic stations has increased significantly, and regional seismic networks with advanced technology have been gradually developed all over the world. The resulting broadband data help to improve the seismological research. It is important to monitor the performance of broadband instruments in a new network in a long period of time to ensure the accuracy of seismic records. Here, we propose a method that uses ambient noise data in the period range 5-25 s to monitor instrument performance and check data quality in situ. The method is based on an analysis of amplitude and phase index parameters calculated from pairwise cross-correlations of three stations, which provides multiple references for reliable error estimates. Index parameters calculated daily during a two-year observation period are evaluated to identify stations with instrument response errors in near real time. During data processing, initial instrument responses are used in place of available instrument responses to simulate instrument response errors, which are then used to verify our results. We also examine feasibility of the tailing noise using data from stations selected from USArray in different locations and analyze the possible instrumental errors resulting in time-shifts used to verify the method. Additionally, we show an application that effects of instrument response errors that experience pole-zeros variations on monitoring temporal variations in crustal properties appear statistically significant velocity perturbation larger than the standard deviation. The results indicate that monitoring seismic instrument performance helps eliminate data pollution before analysis begins.

Validation of an instrument to measure tutor performance in promoting self-directed learning by using confirmatory factor analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Genoveva Amador Fierros

Full Text Available Objective.This work sought to validate and propose an instrument to measure the performance of tutors in promoting self-directed learning in students involved in processes of problem-based learning. Methods. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA was applied to validate the instrument composed of 60 items and six factors (self-assessment of learning gaps within the United Nations specific context: self-assessment, reflexion, critical thinking, administration of information, group skills, using a sample of 207 students from a total of 279, which comprise the student population of the Faculty of Nursing at Universidad de Colima in Mexico. (2007. Results. The CFA results demonstrated that the instrument is acceptable to measure performance of tutors in promoting self-directed learning, given that all the indicators, variances, covariances, and thresholds are statistically significant. Conclusion. The instrument permits obtaining students' opinions on how much professors contribute for them to develop each of the 60 skills described in the scale. Lastly, the results could report if professors are placing more emphasis in some areas than in other areas they should address during the problem-based learning (PBL process, or if definitely their actions are removed from the premises of PBL, information that will be useful for school management in decision making on the direction of teaching as a whole.

Sharp or broad pulse peak for high resolution instruments? Choice of moderator performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arai, M.; Watanabe, N.; Teshigawara, M.

2001-01-01

We demonstrate a concept how we should choose moderator performance to realize required performance for instruments. Neutron burst pulse can be characterized with peak intensity, peak width and tail. Those can be controllable by designing moderator, i.e. material, temperature, shape, decoupling, poisoning and having premoderator. Hence there are large number of variable parameters to be determined. Here we discuss the required moderator performance for some typical examples, i.e. high resolution powder instrument, chopper instrument, high resolution back scattering machine. (author)

Measuring pediatric hematology-oncology fellows' skills in humanism and professionalism: A novel assessment instrument.

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Kesselheim, Jennifer C; Agrawal, Anurag K; Bhatia, Nita; Cronin, Angel; Jubran, Rima; Kent, Paul; Kersun, Leslie; Rao, Amulya Nageswara; Rose, Melissa; Savelli, Stephanie; Sharma, Mukta; Shereck, Evan; Twist, Clare J; Wang, Michael

2017-05-01

Educators in pediatric hematology-oncology lack rigorously developed instruments to assess fellows' skills in humanism and professionalism. We developed a novel 15-item self-assessment instrument to address this gap in fellowship training. Fellows (N = 122) were asked to assess their skills in five domains: balancing competing demands of fellowship, caring for the dying patient, confronting depression and burnout, responding to challenging relationships with patients, and practicing humanistic medicine. An expert focus group predefined threshold scores on the instrument that could be used as a cutoff to identify fellows who need support. Reliability and feasibility were assessed and concurrent validity was measured using three established instruments: Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Flourishing Scale (FS), and Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE). For 90 participating fellows (74%), the self-assessment proved feasible to administer and had high internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.81). It was moderately correlated with the FS and MBI (Pearson's r = 0.41 and 0.4, respectively) and weakly correlated with the JSPE (Pearson's r = 0.15). Twenty-eight fellows (31%) were identified as needing support. The self-assessment had a sensitivity of 50% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 31-69) and a specificity of 77% (95% CI: 65-87) for identifying fellows who scored poorly on at least one of the three established scales. We developed a novel assessment instrument for use in pediatric fellowship training. The new scale proved feasible and demonstrated internal consistency reliability. Its moderate correlation with other established instruments shows that the novel assessment instrument provides unique, nonredundant information as compared to existing scales. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Risk assessment instruments in clinical practice.

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Côté, Gilles; Crocker, Anne G; Nicholls, Tonia L; Seto, Michael C

2012-04-01

To determine whether the items in one of the most widely validated instruments of violence risk assessment, the Historical-Clinical-Risk Management-20 (HCR-20), are used in review board hearings to assess the risk of violence by people found Not Criminally Responsible on account of Mental Disorder (NCRMD). This study was conducted from October 2004 to August 2006 in Quebec's sole forensic psychiatric hospital and 2 large civil psychiatric hospitals designated for the care of people declared NCRMD in the Montreal metropolitan area. The risk assessments presented by clinicians at annual review board hearings and the boards' rationale for the release or detention of people found NCRMD were contrasted with the risk assessments conducted by the research team using the HCR-20. The final sample was comprised of 96 men. Very few of the risk factors identified by prior research (HCR-20 items) were mentioned in the hearing process, whether in clinical reports, discussions during the hearing, or in the disposition justification. The findings confirm that there remains a significant gap between research evidence and risk assessment practice.

Measurement properties of instruments assessing permanent functional impairment of the spine: a systematic review protocol

Science.gov (United States)

Trask, Catherine M; Boden, Catherine; Bath, Brenna; Hendrick, Paul; Clay, Lynne; Zeng, Xiaoke; Milosavljevic, Stephan

2018-01-01

Introduction Permanent functional impairment (PFI) of the spine is a rating system used by compensation authorities, such as workers compensation boards, to establish an appropriate level of financial compensation for persistent loss of function. Determination of PFI of the spine is commonly based on the assessment of spinal movement combined with other measures of physical and functional impairments; however, the reliability and validity of the measurement instruments used for these evaluations have yet to be established. The aim of this study is to systematically review and synthesise the literature concerning measurement properties of the various and different instruments used for assessing PFI of the spine. Methods Three conceptual groups of terms (1) PFI, (2) spinal disorder and (3) measurement properties will be combined to search Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, PEDro, OTSeeker and Health and Safety Science Abstracts. We will examine peer-reviewed, full-text articles over the full available date range. Two reviewers will independently screen citations (title, abstract and full text) and perform data extraction. Included studies will be appraised as to their methodological quality using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments criteria. Findings will be summarised and presented descriptively, with meta-analysis pursued as appropriate. Ethics and dissemination This review will summarise the current level of evidence of measurement properties of instruments used for assessing PFI of the spine. Findings of this review may be applicable to clinicians, policy-makers, workers’ compensation boards, other insurers and health and safety organisations. The findings will likely provide a foundation and direction for future research priorities for assessing spinal PFI. PROSPERO registration number CRD42017060390. PMID:29374671

Authentic Performance in the Instrumental Analysis Laboratory: Building a Visible Spectrophotometer Prototype

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Wilson, Mark V.; Wilson, Erin

2017-01-01

In this work we describe an authentic performance project for Instrumental Analysis in which students designed, built, and tested spectrophotometers made from simple components. The project addressed basic course content such as instrument design principles, UV-vis spectroscopy, and spectroscopic instrument components as well as skills such as…

Instruments to assess self-care among healthy children: A systematic review of measurement properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Urpí-Fernández, Ana-María; Zabaleta-Del-Olmo, Edurne; Montes-Hidalgo, Javier; Tomás-Sábado, Joaquín; Roldán-Merino, Juan-Francisco; Lluch-Canut, María-Teresa

2017-12-01

To identify, critically appraise and summarize the measurement properties of instruments to assess self-care in healthy children. Assessing self-care is a proper consideration for nursing practice and nursing research. No systematic review summarizes instruments of measurement validated in healthy children. Psychometric review in accordance with the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) panel. MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Open Grey were searched from their inception to December 2016. Validation studies with a healthy child population were included. Search was not restricted by language. Two reviewers independently assessed the methodological quality of included studies using the COSMIN checklist. Eleven studies were included in the review assessing the measurement properties of ten instruments. There was a maximum of two studies per instrument. None of the studies evaluated the properties of test-retest reliability, measurement error, criterion validity and responsiveness. Internal consistency and structural validity were rated as "excellent" or "good" in four studies. Four studies were rated as "excellent" in content validity. Cross-cultural validity was rated as "poor" in the two studies (three instruments) which cultural adaptation was carried out. The evidence available does not allow firm conclusions about the instruments identified in terms of reliability and validity. Future research should focus on generate evidence about a wider range of measurement properties of these instruments using a rigorous methodology, as well as instrument testing on different countries and child population. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Validity and reliability of an instrument for assessing case analyses in bioengineering ethics education.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldin, Ilya M; Pinkus, Rosa Lynn; Ashley, Kevin

2015-06-01

Assessment in ethics education faces a challenge. From the perspectives of teachers, students, and third-party evaluators like the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and the National Institutes of Health, assessment of student performance is essential. Because of the complexity of ethical case analysis, however, it is difficult to formulate assessment criteria, and to recognize when students fulfill them. Improvement in students' moral reasoning skills can serve as the focus of assessment. In previous work, Rosa Lynn Pinkus and Claire Gloeckner developed a novel instrument for assessing moral reasoning skills in bioengineering ethics. In this paper, we compare that approach to existing assessment techniques, and evaluate its validity and reliability. We find that it is sensitive to knowledge gain and that independent coders agree on how to apply it.

Assessing Social Networks in Patients with Psychotic Disorders: A Systematic Review of Instruments.

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Siette, Joyce; Gulea, Claudia; Priebe, Stefan

2015-01-01

Evidence suggests that social networks of patients with psychotic disorders influence symptoms, quality of life and treatment outcomes. It is therefore important to assess social networks for which appropriate and preferably established instruments should be used. To identify instruments assessing social networks in studies of patients with psychotic disorders and explore their properties. A systematic search of electronic databases was conducted to identify studies that used a measure of social networks in patients with psychotic disorders. Eight instruments were identified, all of which had been developed before 1991. They have been used in 65 studies (total N of patients = 8,522). They assess one or more aspects of social networks such as their size, structure, dimensionality and quality. Most instruments have various shortcomings, including questionable inter-rater and test-retest reliability. The assessment of social networks in patients with psychotic disorders is characterized by a variety of approaches which may reflect the complexity of the construct. Further research on social networks in patients with psychotic disorders would benefit from advanced and more precise instruments using comparable definitions of and timescales for social networks across studies.

Observation of nurse-patient interaction in oncology: review of assessment instruments.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Caris-Verhallen, W.; Timmermans, L.; Dulmen, S. van

2004-01-01

The aim of this review is to identify assessment instruments that can be used for analyzing sequences and can be applied to research into nurse-patient communication in cancer care. A systematic search of the literature revealed a variety of methods and instruments applicable to studies recording

Tax Performance Assessment in Scandinavian Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bunescu Liliana

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to evaluate fiscal policy performance level in Nordic countries of Europe by quantifying the gap between their performance and an optimum benchmark value. In this study it was selected Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway. These countries occupy the first places in the ranking of countries with the highest rate of tax burden in Europe. The first part of paper contains general aspects of fiscal performance in international research and an overview of the Nordic tax systems model. The second part of paper focuses on evaluation of tax policy performance in these countries by using OptimTax scoring analysis. The research is based on a multivariate analysis instrument that uses quantitative data on various aspects of tax policy. OptimTax achieves a score for assessing the degree of optimization of fiscal policy. The results reveal high levels of tax performance in Scandinavian countries and a trend that seems to be more constant than ascending, except Norway.

Clinimetric properties of instruments to assess activities in patients with hand injury: a systematic review of the literature.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ven-Stevens, L.A.W. van de; Munneke, M.; Terwee, C.B.; Spauwen, P.H.M.; Linde, H. van der

2009-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To perform a systematic review of the literature to assess the clinimetric properties of instruments measuring limitations of activity. DATA SOURCES: The Medline, Cochrane Library, Picarta, Occupational Therapy-seeker, and CINAHL databases were searched for English or Dutch language

Cultural adaptation: translatability assessment and linguistic validation of the patient-reported outcome instrument for irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Delgado-Herrera L

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Leticia Delgado-Herrera,1 Kathryn Lasch,2 Ana Popielnicki,3 Akito Nishida,4 Rob Arbuckle,5 Benjamin Banderas,6 Susan Zentner,1 Ingrid Gagainis,1 Bernhardt Zeiher1 1Astellas Pharma Global Development, Northbrook, IL, 2Pharmerit International, Newton, MA, USA; 3TransPerfect, Linguistic Validation Group, Boston, MA, USA; 4Development Project Management, Astellas Pharma Inc, Tokyo, Japan; 5Patient-Centered Outcomes Adelphi Values, Bollington, UK; 6Patient-Centered Outcomes Adelphi Values, Boston, MA, USA Background and objective: Following a 2009 US Food and Drug Administration guidance, a new patient-reported outcome (PRO instrument was developed to support end points in multinational clinical trials assessing irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D symptom severity. Our objective was to assess the translatability of the IBS-D PRO instrument into ten languages, and subsequently perform a cultural adaptation/linguistic validation of the questionnaire into Japanese and US Spanish. Materials and methods: Translatability assessments of the US English version of the IBS-D PRO were performed by experienced PRO translators who were native speakers of each target language and currently residing in target-language countries. Languages were Chinese (People’s Republic of China, Dutch (the Netherlands, French (Belgium, German (Germany, Japanese (Japan, Polish (Poland, Portuguese (Brazil, Russian (Russia, Spanish (Mexico, and Spanish (US. The project team assessed the instrument to identify potential linguistic and/or cultural adaptation issues. After the issues identified were resolved, the instrument was translated into Spanish (US and Japanese through a process of two forward translations, one reconciled translation, and one backward translation. The project team reviewed the translated versions before the instruments were evaluated by cognitive debriefing interviews with samples of five Spanish (US and five Japanese IBS-D patients. Results

The Nurses Self-Concept Instrument (NSCI): assessment of psychometric properties for Australian domestic and international student nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Angel, Elizabeth; Craven, Rhonda; Denson, Nida

2012-07-01

Professional self-concept is a critical driver of job satisfaction. In Australia, as international nursing enrolments rise, nursing is increasingly characterised by a professional body of international nurses who may differ from domestic Australian nurses in their nursing self-concept. At present, no psychometrically sound instrument for assessing nursing self-concept for Australian domestic and international nursing students is available. The purpose of this study was to: (1) develop an instrument (the Nurses' Self-Concept Instrument (NSCI)) to measure the professional self-concept of domestic and international nursing students in Australia, and (2) test the psychometric properties of this newly developed instrument. A literature review was conducted to generate the initial dimension and item pools to measure nurses' professional self-concept (NSCI). Two stakeholders examined the content and face validity of dimensions and items. Analysis was performed on data collected from 253 undergraduate nursing students in a large public university in Sydney, Australia, and consisted of domestic (n=218) and international (n=35) nursing students. Internal reliability was assessed using Cronbach's Alpha. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to assess the construct validity of the NSCI. The resulting NSCI consisted of 14 items across four self-concept domains: care, leadership, staff relations, and knowledge. The CFA supported the hypothesised factor structure of the self-concept model. All reliabilities were acceptable for both domestic and international students (ranging from r=.78 to .93). The NSCI was shown to be a valid and reliable tool for assessing Australian domestic and international student nurses' professional self-concept. This instrument may also enable those responsible for recruitment of students into nursing courses to assess students' professional self-concept and implement appropriate strategies to foster the growth of lifelong career development

Assessment of wind turbine load measurement instrumentation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morfiadakis, E; Papadopoulos, K [CRES (Greece); Borg, N van der [ECN, Petten (Netherlands); Petersen, S M [Risoe, Roskilde (Denmark); Seifert, H [DEWI, Wilhelmshaven (Germany)

1999-03-01

In the framework of Sub-Task3 `Wind turbine load measurement instrumentation` of EU-project `European Wind Turbine Testing Procedure Development`, the load measurement techniques have been assessed by laboratory, full scale and numerical tests. The existing methods have been reviewed with emphasis on the strain gage application techniques on composite materials and recommendations are provided for the optimisation of load measurement techniques. (au) EU. 14 refs.

Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events (GEO CAPE) Instrument Performance Study

Science.gov (United States)

Mannino, Antonio; Hartman, Kathy R.

2014-01-01

The Ultimate objective of the GEO-CAPE 2014 study: Quantify the cost impact of very specific changes in instrument performance! The customer has defined 4 instrument types they are notionally interested in:! FR: Filter Radiometer! WAS: Wide Angle Spectrometer! MSS: Multi Slit Spectrometer! SSS: Single Slit Spectrometer.

Assessment of learning powered mobility use--applying grounded theory to occupational performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Nilsson, Lisbeth; Durkin, Josephine

2014-01-01

Collaboration by two grounded theory researchers, who each had developed a learning continuum instrument, led to the emergence of a new tool for assessment of learning powered mobility use. We undertook a rigorous process of comparative reanalysis that included merging, modifying, and expanding our previous research findings. A new instrument together with its facilitating strategies emerged in the course of revisits to our existing rich account of data taken from real environment powered mobility practice over an extensive time period. Instrument descriptors, categories, phases, and stages allow a facilitator to assess actual phase and plot actual occupational performance and provide a learner with the just right challenge through the learning process. Facilitating strategies are described for each of the phases and provide directions for involvement during learner performance. The learning approach is led by a belief system that the intervention is user-led, working in partnership and empowering the learner. The new assessment tool is inclusive of every potential powered mobility user because it focuses on the whole continuum of the learning process of powered mobility use from novice to expert. The new tool was appraised by clinicians and has been used successfully in clinical practice in the United Kingdom and Sweden.

Safety Assessment of Two Hybrid Instrumentation Techniques in a Dental Student Endodontic Clinic: A Retrospective Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Coelho, Marcelo Santos; Card, Steven John; Tawil, Peter Zahi

2017-03-01

The aim of this study was to retrospectively assess the safety potential of a hybrid technique combining nickel-titanium (NiTi) reciprocating and rotary instruments by third- and fourth-year dental students in the predoctoral endodontics clinic at one U.S. dental school. For the study, 3,194 root canal treatments performed by 317 dental students from 2012 through 2015 were evaluated for incidence of ledge creation and instrument separation. The hybrid reciprocating and rotary technique (RRT) consisted of a glide path creation with stainless steel hand files up to size 15/02, a crown down preparation with a NiTi reciprocating instrument, and an apical preparation with NiTi rotary instruments. The control was a traditional rotary and hand technique (RHT) that consisted of the same glide path procedure followed by a crown down preparation with NiTi rotary instruments and an apical preparation with NiTi hand instruments. The results showed that the RHT technique presented a rate of ledge creation of 1.4% per root and the RRT technique was 0.5% per root (protary technique for root canal instrumentation by these dental students provided good safety. This hybrid technique offered a low rate of ledge creation along with no NiTi instrument separation.

[Validated Instruments for the Psychological Assessment of Unaccompanied Refugee Minors - a Systematic Review].

Science.gov (United States)

Rassenhofer, Miriam; Fegert, Jörg Michael; Plener, Paul L; Witt, Andreas

2016-01-01

The German care system faces a growing number of unaccompanied refugee minors (URM). URM show high levels of traumatization, a variety of psychological symptoms and lack important resilience factors. Therefore an early and valid psychological assessment is important for intervention and service planning. Yet, no systematic review on validated instruments for the assessment of this group exists. Literature search revealed one study about translators in the assessment of URM and five validated instruments for proxy and self-report. These instruments are available in several languages and showed good psychometric properties. It has to be critically stated that all instruments have been validated by a single work group within a single population. Especially with regards to changing definitions of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder within the new (and upcoming) classification systems ICD-11 and DSM-5, increased awareness for diagnostic procedures is necessary. Additionally, more validated instruments for specific psychological disorders in multiple languages are needed. Under an economic perspective the use of open access questionnaires that are available in different languages seems useful, even if they are not especially validated for URM.

Measurement properties of instruments assessing permanent functional impairment of the spine: a systematic review protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Goes, Suelen Meira; Trask, Catherine M; Boden, Catherine; Bath, Brenna; Ribeiro, Daniel Cury; Hendrick, Paul; Clay, Lynne; Zeng, Xiaoke; Milosavljevic, Stephan

2018-01-27

Permanent functional impairment (PFI) of the spine is a rating system used by compensation authorities, such as workers compensation boards, to establish an appropriate level of financial compensation for persistent loss of function. Determination of PFI of the spine is commonly based on the assessment of spinal movement combined with other measures of physical and functional impairments; however, the reliability and validity of the measurement instruments used for these evaluations have yet to be established. The aim of this study is to systematically review and synthesise the literature concerning measurement properties of the various and different instruments used for assessing PFI of the spine. Three conceptual groups of terms (1) PFI, (2) spinal disorder and (3) measurement properties will be combined to search Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, PEDro, OTSeeker and Health and Safety Science Abstracts. We will examine peer-reviewed, full-text articles over the full available date range. Two reviewers will independently screen citations (title, abstract and full text) and perform data extraction. Included studies will be appraised as to their methodological quality using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments criteria. Findings will be summarised and presented descriptively, with meta-analysis pursued as appropriate. This review will summarise the current level of evidence of measurement properties of instruments used for assessing PFI of the spine. Findings of this review may be applicable to clinicians, policy-makers, workers' compensation boards, other insurers and health and safety organisations. The findings will likely provide a foundation and direction for future research priorities for assessing spinal PFI. CRD42017060390. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise

An automated performance budget estimator: a process for use in instrumentation

Science.gov (United States)

Laporte, Philippe; Schnetler, Hermine; Rees, Phil

2016-08-01

Current day astronomy projects continue to increase in size and are increasingly becoming more complex, regardless of the wavelength domain, while risks in terms of safety, cost and operability have to be reduced to ensure an affordable total cost of ownership. All of these drivers have to be considered carefully during the development process of an astronomy project at the same time as there is a big drive to shorten the development life-cycle. From the systems engineering point of view, this evolution is a significant challenge. Big instruments imply management of interfaces within large consortia and dealing with tight design phase schedules which necessitate efficient and rapid interactions between all the stakeholders to firstly ensure that the system is defined correctly and secondly that the designs will meet all the requirements. It is essential that team members respond quickly such that the time available for the design team is maximised. In this context, performance prediction tools can be very helpful during the concept phase of a project to help selecting the best design solution. In the first section of this paper we present the development of such a prediction tool that can be used by the system engineer to determine the overall performance of the system and to evaluate the impact on the science based on the proposed design. This tool can also be used in "what-if" design analysis to assess the impact on the overall performance of the system based on the simulated numbers calculated by the automated system performance prediction tool. Having such a tool available from the beginning of a project can allow firstly for a faster turn-around between the design engineers and the systems engineer and secondly, between the systems engineer and the instrument scientist. Following the first section we described the process for constructing a performance estimator tool, followed by describing three projects in which such a tool has been utilised to illustrate

Comparison of two techniques for assessing the shaping efficacy of repeatedly used nickel-titanium rotary instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Ounsi, Hani F; Franciosi, Giovanni; Paragliola, Raffaele; Al-Hezaimi, Khalid; Salameh, Ziad; Tay, Franklin R; Ferrari, Marco; Grandini, Simone

2011-06-01

The shaping capacity of nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary instruments is often assessed by photographic or micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) measurements, and these instruments are often used more than once clinically. This study was conducted to compare photographic and micro-CT measurements and to assess if the repeated use of NiTi instruments affected the shape of canal preparation. Ten new sets of ProTaper Universal instruments (Dentsply-Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) were used in 60 resin blocks simulating curved root canals. Groups 1 to 6 (n=10) represented the first to sixth use of the instrument, respectively. Digitized images of the prepared blocks were taken in both mesiodistal (MD) and buccolingual (BL) directions and area measurements (mm(2)) were calculated using AutoCAD (Autodesk Inc, San Rafael, CA). The volumes of the same prepared canals were measured using micro-CT (mm(3)). Statistical analysis was performed to detect differences between photographic and volumetric measurements and differences between uses. Two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed significant differences between groups (P < .001). Regarding measurement type, there were no significant differences between BL and MD measurements, but there were significant differences between micro-CT and BL measurements (P < .001) and micro-CT and MD measurements (P=.001). Significant differences were also noted between uses. Within the limitations of the present study, micro-CT scanning is more discriminative of the changes in canal space associated with repeated instrument use than photographic measurements. Canal preparations are significantly smaller after the third use of the same instrument. Copyright © 2011 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Instruments for the assessment of physical balance in the elderly

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ricardo Oliveira Guerra

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Esse trabalho objetivou identifi car os instrumentos mais utilizados para avaliação do equilíbrio corporal estático, dinâmico e risco de quedas em idosos no âmbito internacional e no Brasil. O estudo foi do tipo revisão sistemática qualitativa da literatura, os trabalhos consultados foram localizados por meio de pesquisa eletrônica nas bases de dados LILACS e MEDLINE e a partir das referências bibliográfi cas citadas em artigos científi cos. Uma vez escolhidos os instrumentos, realizou-se a investigação do histórico, utilização e adaptação transcultural dos mesmos. Vários testes têm sido desenvolvidos com o objetivo de medir funcionalmente o equilíbrio e estabelecer parâmetros para identificação de idosos com maior suscetibilidade de cair. De acordo com os critérios de seleção desse trabalho, chegou-se a escolha de cinco instrumentos com as propriedades psicométricas bem estabelecidas, o Teste de Alcance Funcional (FRT, o teste “Timed Up and Go” (TUG, o Teste de Performance Física (PPT, a Escala de Equilíbrio de Berg e a porção do equilíbrio da Avaliação da Mobilidade Orientada pelo Desempenho (POMA, tendo sido apenas esses dois últimos adaptados para a língua portuguesa. Diante disso, conclui-se que focalizar a atenção apenas em sinais e sintomas dos pacientes é extremamente limitado quando se deseja decidir qual intervenção melhorará a condição funcional do idoso, portanto, a avaliação funcional é o ponto de partida para uma reabilitação efetiva nessa população. Sendo necessária a existência de instrumentos de medida adaptados e validados para a população brasileira que avaliem o domínio do equilíbrio e contribuam para uma intervenção eficaz. ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to identify the instruments that are most often used to assess seniors for static and dynamic physical balance and risk of falling, both internationally and in Brazil. This was a systematic

Short version of the “instrument for assessment of stress in nursing students” in the Brazilian reality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Lúcia Siqueira Costa

2018-01-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Goal: validate a short version of the Instrument for assessment of stress in nursing students in the Brazilian reality. Method: Methodological study conducted with 1047 nursing students from five Brazilian institutions, who answered the 30 items initially distributed in eight domains. Data were analyzed in the R Statistical Package and in the latent variable analysis, using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, Cronbach’s alpha and item-total correlation. Results: The short version of the instrument had 19 items distributed into four domains: Environment, Professional Training, Theoretical Activities and Performance of Practical Activities. The confirmatory analysis showed absolute and parsimony fit to the proposed model with satisfactory residual levels. Alpha values per factor ranged from 0.736 (Environment to 0.842 (Performance of Practical Activities. Conclusion: The short version of the instrument has construct validity and reliability for application to Brazilian nursing undergraduates at any stage of the course.

Using the Rasch measurement model to design a report writing assessment instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlson, Wayne R

2013-01-01

This paper describes how the Rasch measurement model was used to develop an assessment instrument designed to measure student ability to write law enforcement incident and investigative reports. The ability to write reports is a requirement of all law enforcement recruits in the state of Michigan and is a part of the state's mandatory basic training curriculum, which is promulgated by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES). Recently, MCOLES conducted research to modernize its training and testing in the area of report writing. A structured validation process was used, which included: a) an examination of the job tasks of a patrol officer, b) input from content experts, c) a review of the professional research, and d) the creation of an instrument to measure student competency. The Rasch model addressed several measurement principles that were central to construct validity, which were particularly useful for assessing student performances. Based on the results of the report writing validation project, the state established a legitimate connectivity between the report writing standard and the essential job functions of a patrol officer in Michigan. The project also produced an authentic instrument for measuring minimum levels of report writing competency, which generated results that are valid for inferences of student ability. Ultimately, the state of Michigan must ensure the safety of its citizens by licensing only those patrol officers who possess a minimum level of core competency. Maintaining the validity and reliability of both the training and testing processes can ensure that the system for producing such candidates functions as intended.

Development and validation of an instrument to assess job satisfaction in eye-care personnel.

Science.gov (United States)

Paudel, Prakash; Cronjé, Sonja; O'Connor, Patricia M; Khadka, Jyoti; Rao, Gullapalli N; Holden, Brien A

2017-11-01

The aim was to develop and validate an instrument to measure job satisfaction in eye-care personnel and assess the job satisfaction of one-year trained vision technicians in India. A pilot instrument for assessing job satisfaction was developed, based on a literature review and input from a public health expert panel. Rasch analysis was used to assess psychometric properties and to undertake an iterative item reduction. The instrument was then administered to vision technicians in vision centres of Andhra Pradesh in India. Associations between vision technicians' job satisfaction and factors such as age, gender and experience were analysed using t-test and one-way analysis of variance. Rasch analysis confirmed that the 15-item job satisfaction in eye-care personnel (JSEP) was a unidimensional instrument with good fit statistics, measurement precisions and absence of differential item functioning. Overall, vision technicians reported high rates of job satisfaction (0.46 logits). Age, gender and experience were not associated with high job satisfaction score. Item score analysis showed non-financial incentives, salary and workload were the most important determinants of job satisfaction. The 15-item JSEP instrument is a valid instrument for assessing job satisfaction among eye-care personnel. Overall, vision technicians in India demonstrated high rates of job satisfaction. © 2016 Optometry Australia.

Development of instrument for assessing students’ critical and creative thinking ability

Science.gov (United States)

Herpiana, R.; Rosidin, U.

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop instruments to measure critical thinking ability and creative students in the topics of physics simple harmonic motion. The research method used was research development with application of procedures including research and data collection, planning, and initial product development. The participants of the study were thirty-four tenth grade students and five physics teachers of physics who were selected randomly from schools in the province of Lampung. The data collected by using test and analyzed in quantitative descriptive. Initial data showed that students’ critical and creative thinking ability were still low and instruments to assess students’ critical thinking skills and creative students was not yet available. Most of assessment conducted focused on memorization. Thus, the researchers developed a draft of instrument in the form of the test description based on criteria that encouraged students’ activity in understanding the concepts, strategies and decision/solution in dealing with problems. The development of the instrument was conducted considering real-world phenomena in the form of pictures and stories, description of the situation, and verbal presentation.

An instrument for X-ray set quality assurance measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willetts, R.J.; West, M.B.; Brydon, J.

1989-01-01

This paper describes a prototype electronic instrument for performing quality assurance (QA) measurements on diagnostic radiological equipment with a view to long-term performance assessment on a Regional basis. The instrument is based on a Tandy 200 laptop computer and has been developed primarily to include the assessment of image intensifier/TV systems in a general QA package. It is capable of accepting signals from the following sources: (1) a radiation detector (diode array); (2) a Keithley kV divider (Keithley Instruments, Inc.); (3) the video output of an image intensifier system. (author)

Flux Gain for Next-Generation Neutron-Scattering Instruments Resulting From Improved Supermirror Performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rehm, C.

2001-01-01

Next-generation spallation neutron source facilities will offer instruments with unprecedented capabilities through simultaneous enhancement of source power and usage of advanced optical components. The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS), already under construction at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and scheduled to be completed by 2006, will provide greater than an order of magnitude more effective source flux than current state-of-the-art facilities, including the most advanced research reactors. An additional order of magnitude gain is expected through the use of new optical devices and instrumentation concepts. Many instrument designs require supermirror (SM) neutron guides with very high critical angles for total reflection. In this contribution, they discuss how the performance of modern neutron scattering instruments depends on the efficiency of these supermirrors. They outline ideas for enhancing the performance of the SM coatings, particularly for improving the reflectivity at the position of the critical wave vector transfer. A simulation program has been developed which allows different approaches for SM designs to be studied. Possible instrument performance gains are calculated for the example of the SNS reflectometer

Rapid assessment of infrastructure of primary health care facilities - a relevant instrument for health care systems management.

Science.gov (United States)

Scholz, Stefan; Ngoli, Baltazar; Flessa, Steffen

2015-05-01

Health care infrastructure constitutes a major component of the structural quality of a health system. Infrastructural deficiencies of health services are reported in literature and research. A number of instruments exist for the assessment of infrastructure. However, no easy-to-use instruments to assess health facility infrastructure in developing countries are available. Present tools are not applicable for a rapid assessment by health facility staff. Therefore, health information systems lack data on facility infrastructure. A rapid assessment tool for the infrastructure of primary health care facilities was developed by the authors and pilot-tested in Tanzania. The tool measures the quality of all infrastructural components comprehensively and with high standardization. Ratings use a 2-1-0 scheme which is frequently used in Tanzanian health care services. Infrastructural indicators and indices are obtained from the assessment and serve for reporting and tracing of interventions. The tool was pilot-tested in Tanga Region (Tanzania). The pilot test covered seven primary care facilities in the range between dispensary and district hospital. The assessment encompassed the facilities as entities as well as 42 facility buildings and 80 pieces of technical medical equipment. A full assessment of facility infrastructure was undertaken by health care professionals while the rapid assessment was performed by facility staff. Serious infrastructural deficiencies were revealed. The rapid assessment tool proved a reliable instrument of routine data collection by health facility staff. The authors recommend integrating the rapid assessment tool in the health information systems of developing countries. Health authorities in a decentralized health system are thus enabled to detect infrastructural deficiencies and trace the effects of interventions. The tool can lay the data foundation for district facility infrastructure management.

A systematic review of instruments to assess organizational readiness for knowledge translation in health care.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marie-Pierre Gagnon

Full Text Available The translation of research into practices has been incomplete. Organizational readiness for change (ORC is a potential facilitator of effective knowledge translation (KT. However we know little about the best way to assess ORC. Therefore, we sought to systematically review ORC measurement instruments.We searched for published studies in bibliographic databases (Pubmed, Embase, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Web of Science, etc. up to November 1st, 2012. We included publications that developed ORC measures and/or empirically assessed ORC using an instrument at the organizational level in the health care context. We excluded articles if they did not refer specifically to ORC, did not concern the health care domain or were limited to individual-level change readiness. We focused on identifying the psychometric properties of instruments that were developed to assess readiness in an organization prior to implementing KT interventions in health care. We used the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing to assess the psychometric properties of identified ORC measurement instruments.We found 26 eligible instruments described in 39 publications. According to the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, 18 (69% of a total of 26 measurement instruments presented both validity and reliability criteria. The Texas Christian University -ORC (TCU-ORC scale reported the highest instrument validity with a score of 4 out of 4. Only one instrument, namely the Modified Texas Christian University - Director version (TCU-ORC-D, reported a reliability score of 2 out of 3. No information was provided regarding the reliability and validity of five (19% instruments.Our findings indicate that there are few valid and reliable ORC measurement instruments that could be applied to KT in the health care sector. The TCU-ORC instrument presents the best evidence in terms of validity testing. Future studies using this instrument could provide more knowledge on its

How Should Blood Glucose Meter System Analytical Performance Be Assessed?

Science.gov (United States)

Simmons, David A

2015-08-31

Blood glucose meter system analytical performance is assessed by comparing pairs of meter system and reference instrument blood glucose measurements measured over time and across a broad array of glucose values. Consequently, no single, complete, and ideal parameter can fully describe the difference between meter system and reference results. Instead, a number of assessment tools, both graphical (eg, regression plots, modified Bland-Altman plots, and error grid analysis) and tabular (eg, International Organization for Standardization guidelines, mean absolute difference, and mean absolute relative difference) have been developed to evaluate meter system performance. The strengths and weaknesses of these methods of presenting meter system performance data, including a new method known as Radar Plots, are described here. © 2015 Diabetes Technology Society.

Use of a formal assessment instrument for evaluation of resident operative skills in pediatric neurosurgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Hadley, Caroline; Lam, Sandi K; Briceño, Valentina; Luerssen, Thomas G; Jea, Andrew

2015-08-28

OBJECT Currently there is no standardized tool for assessment of neurosurgical resident performance in the operating room. In light of enhanced requirements issued by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's Milestone Project and the Matrix Curriculum Project from the Society of Neurological Surgeons, the implementation of such a tool seems essential for objective evaluation of resident competence. Beyond compliance with governing body guidelines, objective assessment tools may be useful to direct early intervention for trainees performing below the level of their peers so that they may be given more hands-on teaching, while strong residents can be encouraged by faculty members to progress to conducting operations more independently with passive supervision. The aims of this study were to implement a validated assessment tool for evaluation of operative skills in pediatric neurosurgery and determine its feasibility and reliability. METHODS All neurosurgery residents completing their pediatric rotation over a 6-month period from January 1, 2014, to June 30, 2014, at the authors' institution were enrolled in this study. For each procedure, residents were evaluated by means of a form, with one copy being completed by the resident and a separate copy being completed by the attending surgeon. The evaluation form was based on the validated Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills for Surgery (OSATS) and used a 5-point Likert-type scale with 7 categories: respect for tissue; time and motion; instrument handling; knowledge of instruments; flow of operation; use of assistants; and knowledge of specific procedure. Data were then stratified by faculty versus resident (self-) assessment; postgraduate year level; and difficulty of procedure. Descriptive statistics (means and SDs) were calculated, and the results were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Student t-test. A p value assessment scores overall or in any of the 7 domains scores

Reaching new altitudes in e-commerce : Assessing the performance of airline websites

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Harison, Elad; Boonstra, Albert

Many established airlines are attempting to stimulate customers to shift from traditional distribution channels to online channels. To keep improving the quality this important distribution channel is essential for these airlines to have instruments to assess the performance of their websites. This

STAMINA - Model description. Standard Model Instrumentation for Noise Assessments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schreurs EM; Jabben J; Verheijen ENG; CMM; mev

2010-01-01

Deze rapportage beschrijft het STAMINA-model, dat staat voor Standard Model Instrumentation for Noise Assessments en door het RIVM is ontwikkeld. Het instituut gebruikt dit standaardmodel om omgevingsgeluid in Nederland in kaart te brengen. Het model is gebaseerd op de Standaard Karteringsmethode

Development and validation of an instrument to assess perceived social influence on health behaviors

Science.gov (United States)

HOLT, CHERYL L.; CLARK, EDDIE M.; ROTH, DAVID L.; CROWTHER, MARTHA; KOHLER, CONNIE; FOUAD, MONA; FOUSHEE, RUSTY; LEE, PATRICIA A.; SOUTHWARD, PENNY L.

2012-01-01

Assessment of social influence on health behavior is often approached through a situational context. The current study adapted an existing, theory-based instrument from another content domain to assess Perceived Social Influence on Health Behavior (PSI-HB) among African Americans, using an individual difference approach. The adapted instrument was found to have high internal reliability (α = .81–.84) and acceptable testretest reliability (r = .68–.85). A measurement model revealed a three-factor structure and supported the theoretical underpinnings. Scores were predictive of health behaviors, particularly among women. Future research using the new instrument may have applied value assessing social influence in the context of health interventions. PMID:20522506

Developing and testing an instrument for identifying performance incentives in the Greek health care sector.

Science.gov (United States)

Paleologou, Victoria; Kontodimopoulos, Nick; Stamouli, Aggeliki; Aletras, Vassilis; Niakas, Dimitris

2006-09-13

In the era of cost containment, managers are constantly pursuing increased organizational performance and productivity by aiming at the obvious target, i.e. the workforce. The health care sector, in which production processes are more complicated compared to other industries, is not an exception. In light of recent legislation in Greece in which efficiency improvement and achievement of specific performance targets are identified as undisputable health system goals, the purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid instrument for investigating the attitudes of Greek physicians, nurses and administrative personnel towards job-related aspects, and the extent to which these motivate them to improve performance and increase productivity. A methodological exploratory design was employed in three phases: a) content development and assessment, which resulted in a 28-item instrument, b) pilot testing (N = 74) and c) field testing (N = 353). Internal consistency reliability was tested via Cronbach's alpha coefficient and factor analysis was used to identify the underlying constructs. Tests of scaling assumptions, according to the Multitrait-Multimethod Matrix, were used to confirm the hypothesized component structure. Four components, referring to intrinsic individual needs and external job-related aspects, were revealed and explain 59.61% of the variability. They were subsequently labeled: job attributes, remuneration, co-workers and achievement. Nine items not meeting item-scale criteria were removed, resulting in a 19-item instrument. Scale reliability ranged from 0.782 to 0.901 and internal item consistency and discriminant validity criteria were satisfied. Overall, the instrument appears to be a promising tool for hospital administrations in their attempt to identify job-related factors, which motivate their employees. The psychometric properties were good and warrant administration to a larger sample of employees in the Greek healthcare system.

Developing and testing an instrument for identifying performance incentives in the Greek health care sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paleologou Victoria

2006-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In the era of cost containment, managers are constantly pursuing increased organizational performance and productivity by aiming at the obvious target, i.e. the workforce. The health care sector, in which production processes are more complicated compared to other industries, is not an exception. In light of recent legislation in Greece in which efficiency improvement and achievement of specific performance targets are identified as undisputable health system goals, the purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid instrument for investigating the attitudes of Greek physicians, nurses and administrative personnel towards job-related aspects, and the extent to which these motivate them to improve performance and increase productivity. Methods A methodological exploratory design was employed in three phases: a content development and assessment, which resulted in a 28-item instrument, b pilot testing (N = 74 and c field testing (N = 353. Internal consistency reliability was tested via Cronbach's alpha coefficient and factor analysis was used to identify the underlying constructs. Tests of scaling assumptions, according to the Multitrait-Multimethod Matrix, were used to confirm the hypothesized component structure. Results Four components, referring to intrinsic individual needs and external job-related aspects, were revealed and explain 59.61% of the variability. They were subsequently labeled: job attributes, remuneration, co-workers and achievement. Nine items not meeting item-scale criteria were removed, resulting in a 19-item instrument. Scale reliability ranged from 0.782 to 0.901 and internal item consistency and discriminant validity criteria were satisfied. Conclusion Overall, the instrument appears to be a promising tool for hospital administrations in their attempt to identify job-related factors, which motivate their employees. The psychometric properties were good and warrant administration to a larger

Review of the Instruments Most Frequently Employed to Assess Tactics in Physical Education and Youth Sports

Science.gov (United States)

Arias, Jose L.; Castejon, Francisco Javier

2012-01-01

Investigators' increased interest in teaching game tactics requires generalizable assessment instruments that are appropriate to whatever is needed by the tactic. This literature review aims to provide information about the instruments most frequently used to assess tactics in youth sports. We found that very few studies used instruments that…

Training With Curved Laparoscopic Instruments in Single-Port Setting Improves Performance Using Straight Instruments: A Prospective Randomized Simulation Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lukovich, Peter; Sionov, Valery Ben; Kakucs, Timea

2016-01-01

Lately single-port surgery is becoming a widespread procedure, but it is more difficult than conventional laparoscopy owing to the lack of triangulation. Although, these operations are also possible with standard laparoscopic instruments, curved instruments are being developed. The aims of the study were to identify the effect of training on a box trainer in single-port setting on the quality of acquired skills, and transferred with the straight and curved instruments for the basic laparoscopic tasks, and highlight the importance of a special laparoscopic training curriculum. A prospective study on a box trainer in single-port setting was conducted using 2 groups. Each group performed 2 tasks on the box trainer in single-port setting. Group-S used conventional straight laparoscopic instruments, and Group-C used curved laparoscopic instruments. Learning curves were obtained by daily measurements recorded in 7-day sessions. On the last day, the 2 groups changed instruments between each other. 1st Department of Surgery, Semmelweis University of Medicine from Budapest, Hungary, a university teaching hospital. In all, 20 fifth-year medical students were randomized into 2 groups. None of them had any laparoscopic or endoscopic experience. Participation was voluntary. Although Group-S performed all tasks significantly faster than Group-C on the first day, the difference proved to be nonsignificant on the last day. All participants achieved significantly shorter task completion time on the last day than on the first day, regardless of the instrument they used. Group-S showed improvement of 63.5%, and Group-C 69.0% improvement by the end of the session. After swapping the instruments, Group-S reached significantly higher task completion time with curved instruments, whereas Group-C showed further progression of 8.9% with straight instruments. Training with curved instruments in a single-port setting allows for a better acquisition of skills in a shorter period. For this

development and validation of an instrument for assessing junior ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

PROF. BARTH EKWEME

school Mathematics classroom environment as it affects teaching and learning of Mathematics in Enugu. State. ... plays a significant role in computer technology. ... classroom. The main purpose of this study was to develop and validate an instrument for assessing junior secondary school Mathematics classroom learning ...

Customisation of an instrument to assess anaesthesiologists' non-technical skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Jepsen, Rikke M H G; Spanager, Lene; Lyk-Jensen, Helle T; Dieckmann, Peter; Østergaard, Doris

2015-02-22

The objectives of the study were to identify Danish anaesthesiologists' non-technical skills and to customise the Scottish-developed Anaesthetists' Non-Technical Skills instrument for Danish anaesthesiologists. Six semi-structured group interviews were conducted with 31 operating room team members: anaes-thesiologists, nurse anaesthetists, surgeons, and scrub nurses. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using directed content analysis. Anaesthesiologists' non-technical skills were identified, coded, and sorted using the original instrument as a basis. The resulting prototype instrument was discussed with anaesthesiologists from 17 centres to ensure face validity. Interviews lasted 46-67 minutes. Identified examples of anaesthesiologists' good or poor non-technical skills fit the four categories in the original instrument: situation awareness; decision making; team working; and task management. Anaesthesiologists' leadership role in the operating room was emphasised: the original 'Task Management' category was named 'Leadership'. One new element, 'Demonstrating self-awareness' was added under the category 'Situation Awareness'. Compared with the original instrument, half of the behavioural markers were new, which reflected that being aware of and communicating one's own abilities to the team; working systematically; and speaking up to avoid adverse events were important skills. The Anaesthetists' Non-Technical Skills instrument was customised to a Danish setting using the identified non-technical skills for anaesthesiologists and the original instrument as basis. The customised instrument comprises four categories and 16 underpinning elements supported by multiple behavioural markers. Identifying non-technical skills through semi-structured group interviews and analysing them using direct content analysis proved a useful method for customising an assessment instrument to another setting.

Application of Allan Deviation to Assessing Uncertainties of Continuous-measurement Instruments, and Optimizing Calibration Schemes

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobson, Gloria; Rella, Chris; Farinas, Alejandro

2014-05-01

Technological advancement of instrumentation in atmospheric and other geoscience disciplines over the past decade has lead to a shift from discrete sample analysis to continuous, in-situ monitoring. Standard error analysis used for discrete measurements is not sufficient to assess and compare the error contribution of noise and drift from continuous-measurement instruments, and a different statistical analysis approach should be applied. The Allan standard deviation analysis technique developed for atomic clock stability assessment by David W. Allan [1] can be effectively and gainfully applied to continuous measurement instruments. As an example, P. Werle et al has applied these techniques to look at signal averaging for atmospheric monitoring by Tunable Diode-Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) [2]. This presentation will build on, and translate prior foundational publications to provide contextual definitions and guidelines for the practical application of this analysis technique to continuous scientific measurements. The specific example of a Picarro G2401 Cavity Ringdown Spectroscopy (CRDS) analyzer used for continuous, atmospheric monitoring of CO2, CH4 and CO will be used to define the basics features the Allan deviation, assess factors affecting the analysis, and explore the time-series to Allan deviation plot translation for different types of instrument noise (white noise, linear drift, and interpolated data). In addition, the useful application of using an Allan deviation to optimize and predict the performance of different calibration schemes will be presented. Even though this presentation will use the specific example of the Picarro G2401 CRDS Analyzer for atmospheric monitoring, the objective is to present the information such that it can be successfully applied to other instrument sets and disciplines. [1] D.W. Allan, "Statistics of Atomic Frequency Standards," Proc, IEEE, vol. 54, pp 221-230, Feb 1966 [2] P. Werle, R. Miicke, F. Slemr, "The Limits

Food Sanitation and Safety Self-assessment Instrument for Family Day-Care Homes.

Science.gov (United States)

1990

This self-assessment instrument for family day care providers is designed to help caregivers provide safe food to children. The eight sections of the instrument, presented in checklist format, concern: (1) personal hygiene; (2) purchasing and inspecting of food; (3) food storage; (4) kitchen equipment; (5) food preparation; (6) infant food…

Instruments for the assessment of suicide risk: A systematic review evaluating the certainty of the evidence.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bo Runeson

Full Text Available Instruments have been developed to facilitate suicide risk assessment. We aimed to evaluate the evidence for these instruments including assessment of risk of bias and diagnostic accuracy for suicide and suicide attempt.PubMed (NLM, PsycInfo, Embase, Cinahl and the Cochrane Library databases were searched until December 2014. We assessed risk of bias with QUADAS-2. The average sensitivity and specificity of each instrument was estimated and the certainty of the evidence was assessed with GRADE. We considered instruments with a sensitivity > 80% and a specificity > 50% to have sufficient diagnostic accuracy.Thirty-five relevant studies were identified but 14 were considered to have high risk of bias, leaving 21 studies evaluating altogether 15 risk assessment instruments. We could carry out meta-analyses for five instruments. For the outcome suicide attempt SAD PERSONS Scale had a sensitivity of 15% (95% CI 8-24 and specificity of 97% (96-98, and the Manchester Self-Harm Rule (MSHR a sensitivity of 97% (97-97 and a specificity of 20% (20-21. ReACT, which is a modification of MSHR, had a similar low specificity, as did the Sodersjukhuset Self Harm Rule. For the outcome suicide, the Beck Hopelessness Scale had a sensitivity of 89% (78-95 and specificity of 42% (40-43.Most suicide risk assessment instruments were supported by too few studies to allow for evaluation of accuracy. Among those that could be evaluated, none fulfilled requirements for sufficient diagnostic accuracy.

Performance Monitoring for Nuclear Safety Related Instrumentation at PUSPATI TRIGA Reactor (RTP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zareen Khan Abdul Jalil Khan; Ridzuan Abdul Mutalib; Mohd Sabri Minhat

2015-01-01

The Reactor TRIGA PUSPATI (RTP) at Malaysia Nuclear Agency is a TRIGA Mark II type reactor and pool type cooled by natural circulation of light water. This paper describe on performance monitoring for nuclear safety related instrumentation in TRIGA PUSPATI Reactor (RTP) of based on various parameter of reactor safety instrument channel such as log power, linear power, Fuel temperature, coolant temperature will take into consideration. Methodology of performance on estimation and monitoring is to evaluate and analysis of reactor parameters which is important of reactor safety and control. And also to estimate power measurement, differential of log and linear power and fuel temperature during reactor start-up, operation and shutdown .This study also focus on neutron power fluctuation from fission chamber during reactor start-up and operation. This work will present result of performance monitoring from RTP which indicated the safety parameter identification and initiate safety action on crossing the threshold set point trip. Conclude that performance of nuclear safety related instrumentation will improved the reactor control and safety parameter during reactor start-up, operation and shutdown. (author)

Beginning science teachers' performances: Assessment in times of reform

Science.gov (United States)

Budzinsky, Fie K.

2000-10-01

The current reform in science education and the research on effective teaching and student learning have reinforced the importance of teacher competency. To better measure performances in the teaching of science, performance assessment has been added to Connecticut's licensure process for beginning science teachers. Teaching portfolios are used to document teaching and learning over time. Portfolios, however, are not without problems. One of the major concerns with the portfolio assessment process is its subjectivity. Assessors may not have opportunities to ask clarifying or follow-up questions to enhance the interpretation of a teacher's performance. In addition, portfolios often contain components based on self-documentation, which are subjective. Furthermore, the use of portfolios raises test equity issues. These concerns present challenges for persons in charge of establishing the validity of a portfolio-based licensure process. In high-stakes decision processes, such as teaching licensure, the validity of the assessment instruments must be studied. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the criterion-related validity of the Connecticut State Department of Education's Beginning Science Teaching Portfolio by comparing the interpretations of performances from science teaching portfolios to those derived from another assessment method, the Expert Science Teaching Educational and Evaluation Model, (ESTEEM). The analysis of correlations between the Beginning Science Teaching Portfolio and ESTEEM instrument scores was the primary method for establishing support for validity. The results indicated moderate correlations between all Beginning Science Teaching Portfolio and ESTEEM category and total variables. Multiple regression was used to examine whether differences existed in beginning science teachers' performances based on gender, poverty group, school level, and science discipline taught. None of these variables significantly contributed to the

The utilization of performance evaluation instruments by technical trainers to evaluate maintenance personnel in the nuclear power industry in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hornberger, C.K.

1993-01-01

The purpose of this study was to document the utilization of performance evaluation instruments by technical trainers in the evaluation of maintenance personnel in US nuclear power plants. Performance evaluation of maintenance personnel has been identified by nuclear utilities and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as the only acceptable method of determining worker competence. The NRC requires performance evaluation to be conducted to performance standards, but it does not specify the standards or the method to be utilized. Each plant is free to establish its own standards and methods of evaluation. This was a descriptive study utilizing descriptive statistics for the analysis of the data. The subjects included 655 maintenance trainers in 72 US nuclear plants. Conclusions of the study include: (1) Technical trainers are in compliance with NRC regulations. (2) Evaluation materials developed by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations are used by technical trainers in every one of the 62 plants that responded. (3) In-plant or self-developed Performance Evaluation Instruments are utilized by 419 or 95.2% of the technical trainers. (4) Technical trainers incorporate nine common components into their Performance Evaluation Instruments. (5) Technical trainers evaluate maintenance processes and the product produced by workers when following procedures and specifications are critical and when safety hazards are involved. (6) Technical trainers believe that utilizing Performance Evaluation Instruments makes their job easier by providing documentation about the quality and standards of maintenance skills. (7) Technical trainers believe that maintenance workers benefit when their skills are assessed through the use of Performance Evaluation Instruments

Validation of the Family Meeting Behavioral Skills Checklist. An Instrument to Assess Fellows' Communication Skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Gustin, Jillian L; Way, David P; Wells-Di Gregorio, Sharla; McCallister, Jennifer W

2016-08-01

Fellows in pulmonary and critical care medicine are required to show competency in facilitating family meetings for critically ill patients. There are many assessment measures available for evaluating physician-patient communication (e.g., the SEGUE Framework [Set the stage, Elicit information, Give information, Understand the patient's perspective, End the encounter]) and some designed for family meetings. However, no validated measure exists that is specifically designed to assess communication skills during family meetings with surrogate decision makers in intensive care settings. We developed the Family Meeting Behavioral Skills Checklist (FMBSC) to measure advanced communication skills of fellows in family meetings of critically ill patients based on a literature review and consensus of an interdisciplinary group of communications experts. We evaluated the psychometric properties of the FMBSC. We digitally recorded 16 pulmonary/critical care fellows performing a simulated family meeting for a critically ill patient at the end of 1 year of fellowship training. Two clinical health psychologists evaluated each recording independently using the FMBSC Rating Scale and the SEGUE Framework. Judges recorded the number of skills performed using the checklist and employed a summary rating scale to judge the level of performance for each of nine subsets of skills. Each instrument was scored and converted to percentage scores. The FMBSC and SEGUE Framework items were summed and converted to percentage scores for each category and as a total for each instrument. The rating scale items on the FMBSC were also summed and converted to a percentage score. Four primary analyses were conducted to evaluate interjudge reliability, internal consistency, and concurrent validity. Interrater reliability was higher for the FMBSC (intraclass correlation [ICC2,2] = 0.57) than for the SEGUE instrument (ICC2,2 = 0.32) or the FMBSC Rating Scale (ICC2,2 = 0.23). The FMBSC

A Systematic Review of Instruments to Assess Organizational Readiness for Knowledge Translation in Health Care

Science.gov (United States)

Gagnon, Marie-Pierre; Attieh, Randa; Ghandour, El Kebir; Légaré, France; Ouimet, Mathieu; Estabrooks, Carole A.; Grimshaw, Jeremy

2014-01-01

Background The translation of research into practices has been incomplete. Organizational readiness for change (ORC) is a potential facilitator of effective knowledge translation (KT). However we know little about the best way to assess ORC. Therefore, we sought to systematically review ORC measurement instruments. Methods We searched for published studies in bibliographic databases (Pubmed, Embase, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Web of Science, etc.) up to November 1st, 2012. We included publications that developed ORC measures and/or empirically assessed ORC using an instrument at the organizational level in the health care context. We excluded articles if they did not refer specifically to ORC, did not concern the health care domain or were limited to individual-level change readiness. We focused on identifying the psychometric properties of instruments that were developed to assess readiness in an organization prior to implementing KT interventions in health care. We used the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing to assess the psychometric properties of identified ORC measurement instruments. Findings We found 26 eligible instruments described in 39 publications. According to the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, 18 (69%) of a total of 26 measurement instruments presented both validity and reliability criteria. The Texas Christian University –ORC (TCU-ORC) scale reported the highest instrument validity with a score of 4 out of 4. Only one instrument, namely the Modified Texas Christian University – Director version (TCU-ORC-D), reported a reliability score of 2 out of 3. No information was provided regarding the reliability and validity of five (19%) instruments. Conclusion Our findings indicate that there are few valid and reliable ORC measurement instruments that could be applied to KT in the health care sector. The TCU-ORC instrument presents the best evidence in terms of validity testing. Future studies using this instrument could

Guidelines, Criteria, and Rules of Thumb for Evaluating Normed and Standardized Assessment Instruments in Psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Cicchetti, Domenic V.

1994-01-01

In the context of developing assessment instruments in psychology, issues of standardization, norming procedures, and test reliability and validity are discussed. Criteria, guidelines, and rules of thumb are provided to help the clinician with instrument selection for a given psychological assessment. (SLD)

Validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the pressure ulcer prevention knowledge assessment instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Tulek, Zeliha; Polat, Cansu; Ozkan, Ilknur; Theofanidis, Dimitris; Togrol, Rifat Erdem

2016-11-01

Sound knowledge of pressure ulcers is important to enable good prevention. There are limited instruments assessing pressure ulcer knowledge. The Pressure Ulcer Prevention Knowledge Assessment Instrument is among the scales of which psychometric properties have been studied rigorously and reflects the latest evidence. This study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Pressure Ulcer Prevention Knowledge Assessment Instrument (PUPKAI-T), an instrument that assesses knowledge of pressure ulcer prevention by using multiple-choice questions. Linguistic validity was verified through front-to-back translation. Psychometric properties of the instrument were studied on a sample of 150 nurses working in a tertiary hospital in Istanbul, Turkey. The content validity index of the translated instrument was 0.94, intra-class correlation coefficients were between 0.37 and 0.80, item difficulty indices were between 0.21 and 0.88, discrimination indices were 0.20-0.78, and the Kuder Richardson for the internal consistency was 0.803. The PUPKAI-T was found to be a valid and reliable tool to evaluate nurses' knowledge on pressure ulcer prevention. The PUPKAI-T may be a useful tool for determining educational needs of nurses on pressure ulcer prevention. Copyright © 2016 Tissue Viability Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The VUV instrument SPICE for Solar Orbiter: performance ground testing

Science.gov (United States)

Caldwell, Martin E.; Morris, Nigel; Griffin, Douglas K.; Eccleston, Paul; Anderson, Mark; Pastor Santos, Carmen; Bruzzi, Davide; Tustain, Samuel; Howe, Chris; Davenne, Jenny; Grundy, Timothy; Speight, Roisin; Sidher, Sunil D.; Giunta, Alessandra; Fludra, Andrzej; Philippon, Anne; Auchere, Frederic; Hassler, Don; Davila, Joseph M.; Thompson, William T.; Schuehle, Udo H.; Meining, Stefan; Walls, Buddy; Phelan, P.; Dunn, Greg; Klein, Roman M.; Reichel, Thomas; Gyo, Manfred; Munro, Grant J.; Holmes, William; Doyle, Peter

2017-08-01

SPICE is an imaging spectrometer operating at vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) wavelengths, 70.4 - 79.0 nm and 97.3 - 104.9 nm. It is a facility instrument on the Solar Orbiter mission, which carries 10 science instruments in all, to make observations of the Sun's atmosphere and heliosphere, at close proximity to the Sun, i.e to 0.28 A.U. at perihelion. SPICE's role is to make VUV measurements of plasma in the solar atmosphere. SPICE is designed to achieve spectral imaging at spectral resolution >1500, spatial resolution of several arcsec, and two-dimensional FOV of 11 x16arcmins. The many strong constraints on the instrument design imposed by the mission requirements prevent the imaging performance from exceeding those of previous instruments, but by being closer to the sun there is a gain in spatial resolution. The price which is paid is the harsher environment, particularly thermal. This leads to some novel features in the design, which needed to be proven by ground test programs. These include a dichroic solar-transmitting primary mirror to dump the solar heat, a high in-flight temperature (60deg.C) and gradients in the optics box, and a bespoke variable-line-spacing grating to minimise the number of reflective components used. The tests culminate in the systemlevel test of VUV imaging performance and pointing stability. We will describe how our dedicated facility with heritage from previous solar instruments, is used to make these tests, and show the results, firstly on the Engineering Model of the optics unit, and more recently on the Flight Model. For the keywords, select up to 8 key terms for a search on your manuscript's subject.

The Teamwork Assessment Scale: A Novel Instrument to Assess Quality of Undergraduate Medical Students' Teamwork Using the Example of Simulation-based Ward-Rounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiesewetter, Jan; Fischer, Martin R

2015-01-01

Simulation-based teamwork trainings are considered a powerful training method to advance teamwork, which becomes more relevant in medical education. The measurement of teamwork is of high importance and several instruments have been developed for various medical domains to meet this need. To our knowledge, no theoretically-based and easy-to-use measurement instrument has been published nor developed specifically for simulation-based teamwork trainings of medical students. Internist ward-rounds function as an important example of teamwork in medicine. The purpose of this study was to provide a validated, theoretically-based instrument that is easy-to-use. Furthermore, this study aimed to identify if and when rater scores relate to performance. Based on a theoretical framework for teamwork behaviour, items regarding four teamwork components (Team Coordination, Team Cooperation, Information Exchange, Team Adjustment Behaviours) were developed. In study one, three ward-round scenarios, simulated by 69 students, were videotaped and rated independently by four trained raters. The instrument was tested for the embedded psychometric properties and factorial structure. In study two, the instrument was tested for construct validity with an external criterion with a second set of 100 students and four raters. In study one, the factorial structure matched the theoretical components but was unable to separate Information Exchange and Team Cooperation. The preliminary version showed adequate psychometric properties (Cronbach's α=.75). In study two, the instrument showed physician rater scores were more reliable in measurement than those of student raters. Furthermore, a close correlation between the scale and clinical performance as an external criteria was shown (r=.64) and the sufficient psychometric properties were replicated (Cronbach's α=.78). The validation allows for use of the simulated teamwork assessment scale in undergraduate medical ward-round trainings to reliably

The Teamwork Assessment Scale: A Novel Instrument to Assess Quality of Undergraduate Medical Students' Teamwork Using the Example of Simulation-based Ward-Rounds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kiesewetter, Jan

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Simulation-based teamwork trainings are considered a powerful training method to advance teamwork, which becomes more relevant in medical education. The measurement of teamwork is of high importance and several instruments have been developed for various medical domains to meet this need. To our knowledge, no theoretically-based and easy-to-use measurement instrument has been published nor developed specifically for simulation-based teamwork trainings of medical students. Internist ward-rounds function as an important example of teamwork in medicine.Purposes: The purpose of this study was to provide a validated, theoretically-based instrument that is easy-to-use. Furthermore, this study aimed to identify if and when rater scores relate to performance.Methods: Based on a theoretical framework for teamwork behaviour, items regarding four teamwork components ( were developed. In study one, three ward-round scenarios, simulated by 69 students, were videotaped and rated independently by four trained raters. The instrument was tested for the embedded psychometric properties and factorial structure. In study two, the instrument was tested for construct validity with an external criterion with a second set of 100 students and four raters. Results: In study one, the factorial structure matched the theoretical components but was unable to separate Information Exchange and Team Cooperation. The preliminary version showed adequate psychometric properties (Cronbach’s α=.75. In study two, the instrument showed physician rater scores were more reliable in measurement than those of student raters. Furthermore, a close correlation between the scale and clinical performance as an external criteria was shown (r=.64 and the sufficient psychometric properties were replicated (Cronbach’s α=.78.Conclusions: The validation allows for use of the simulated teamwork assessment scale in undergraduate medical ward-round trainings to reliably measure

A Counselor's Guide to Career Assessment Instruments, Sixth Edition

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Chris; Hays, Danica G.

2013-01-01

This book contains exemplary resources for counselors, career development facilitators, school counselors, and other career professionals working in a variety of settings. This edition is an essential guide to career assessment and contains a comprehensive list of career assessment instruments. It has over 70 reviews and includes…

The Development of a Secondary-Level Solo Wind Instrument Performance Rubric Using the Multifaceted Rasch Partial Credit Measurement Model

Science.gov (United States)

Wesolowski, Brian C.; Amend, Ross M.; Barnstead, Thomas S.; Edwards, Andrew S.; Everhart, Matthew; Goins, Quentin R.; Grogan, Robert J., III; Herceg, Amanda M.; Jenkins, S. Ira; Johns, Paul M.; McCarver, Christopher J.; Schaps, Robin E.; Sorrell, Gary W.; Williams, Jonathan D.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe the development of a valid and reliable rubric to assess secondary-level solo instrumental music performance based on principles of invariant measurement. The research questions that guided this study included (1) What is the psychometric quality (i.e., validity, reliability, and precision) of a scale…

The development of performance-based practical assessment model at civil engineering workshop in state polytechnic

Science.gov (United States)

Kristinayanti, W. S.; Mas Pertiwi, I. G. A. I.; Evin Yudhi, S.; Lokantara, W. D.

2018-01-01

Assessment is an important element in education that shall oversees students’ competence not only in terms of cognitive aspect, but alsothe students’ psychomotorin a comprehensive way. Civil Engineering Department at Bali State Polytechnic,as a vocational education institution, emphasizes on not only the theoretical foundation of the study, but also the application throughpracticum in workshop-based learning. We are aware of a need for performance-based assessment for these students, which would be essential for the student’s all-round performance in their studies.We try to develop a performance-based practicum assessment model that is needed to assess student’s ability in workshop-based learning. This research was conducted in three stages, 1) learning needs analysis, 2) instruments development, and 3) testing of instruments. The study uses rubrics set-up to test students’ competence in the workshop and test the validity. We obtained 34-point valid statement out of 35, and resulted in value of Cronbach’s alpha equal to 0.977. In expert test we obtained a value of CVI = 0.75 which means that the drafted assessment is empirically valid within thetrial group.

Policy instruments for energy conservation: A multidimensional assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giraudet, Louis-Gaetan

2011-01-01

This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of various forms of taxes, subsidies and regulations implemented to correct for market failures that may prevent energy savings. It builds on various approaches, with gradual complexity. First, a standard micro-economic model is developed to compare the static performances of these instruments. Second, the representation of consumer behaviour is strengthened in a model of the residential energy demand for space heating in France, which allows to identify the dynamic mechanisms by which instruments can correct for the main market failures. Third, an empirical evaluation of 'white certificate' schemes - tradable energy saving obligations imposed on energy operators - is made from the comparison between the British, Italian and French experiences, taking into account national institutions. The following conclusions can be drawn from these various approaches: (i) energy taxes, by encouraging both energy efficiency investment and sufficiency behaviour, are particularly effective; (ii) energy efficiency regulations have a significant impact on the diffusion of efficient technologies; (iii) subsidies to energy efficiency induce a large rebound effect; (iv) depending on the institutional environment in which they operate, white certificate schemes combine different properties of these instruments. Applied to the French residential building sector, the most effective combination of these instruments does not allow to reach the energy saving target set by the Government. (author)

On-Orbit Performance of the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager Instrument onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Hoeksema, J. T.; Baldner, C. S.; Bush, R. I.; Schou, J.; Scherrer, P. H.

2018-03-01

The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument is a major component of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft. Since commencement of full regular science operations on 1 May 2010, HMI has operated with remarkable continuity, e.g. during the more than five years of the SDO prime mission that ended 30 September 2015, HMI collected 98.4% of all possible 45-second velocity maps; minimizing gaps in these full-disk Dopplergrams is crucial for helioseismology. HMI velocity, intensity, and magnetic-field measurements are used in numerous investigations, so understanding the quality of the data is important. This article describes the calibration measurements used to track the performance of the HMI instrument, and it details trends in important instrument parameters during the prime mission. Regular calibration sequences provide information used to improve and update the calibration of HMI data. The set-point temperature of the instrument front window and optical bench is adjusted regularly to maintain instrument focus, and changes in the temperature-control scheme have been made to improve stability in the observable quantities. The exposure time has been changed to compensate for a 20% decrease in instrument throughput. Measurements of the performance of the shutter and tuning mechanisms show that they are aging as expected and continue to perform according to specification. Parameters of the tunable optical-filter elements are regularly adjusted to account for drifts in the central wavelength. Frequent measurements of changing CCD-camera characteristics, such as gain and flat field, are used to calibrate the observations. Infrequent expected events such as eclipses, transits, and spacecraft off-points interrupt regular instrument operations and provide the opportunity to perform additional calibration. Onboard instrument anomalies are rare and seem to occur quite uniformly in time. The instrument continues to perform very well.

The Role of Accompaniment Quality in the Evaluation of Solo Instrumental Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Springer, D. Gregory; Silvey, Brian A.

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of accompaniment quality on the evaluation of solo instrumental performance. Undergraduate instrumental music education majors (N = 71) listened to and evaluated the accuracy and expressivity of six excerpts of Haydn's "Concerto for Trumpet in E-Flat Major," which we created by…

Review of risk assessment instruments for juvenile sex offenders : What is next?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hempel, I.; Buck, N.M.L.; Cima-Knijff, M.J.; van Marle, H.

2013-01-01

Risk assessment is considered to be a key element in the prevention of recidivism among juvenile sex offenders (JSOs), often by imposing long-term consequences based on that assessment. The authors reviewed the literature on the predictive accuracy of six well-known risk assessment instruments used

Satellite-instrument system engineering best practices and lessons

Science.gov (United States)

Schueler, Carl F.

2009-08-01

This paper focuses on system engineering development issues driving satellite remote sensing instrumentation cost and schedule. A key best practice is early assessment of mission and instrumentation requirements priorities driving performance trades among major instrumentation measurements: Radiometry, spatial field of view and image quality, and spectral performance. Key lessons include attention to technology availability and applicability to prioritized requirements, care in applying heritage, approaching fixed-price and cost-plus contracts with appropriate attention to risk, and assessing design options with attention to customer preference as well as design performance, and development cost and schedule. A key element of success either in contract competition or execution is team experience. Perhaps the most crucial aspect of success, however, is thorough requirements analysis and flowdown to specifications driving design performance with sufficient parameter margin to allow for mistakes or oversights - the province of system engineering from design inception to development, test and delivery.

Developmental norms for eight instruments used in the neuropsychological assessment of children: studies in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Brito, G N; Alfradique, G M; Pereira, C C; Porto, C M; Santos, T R

1998-03-01

Norms for a battery of instruments, including Denckla's and Garfield's tests of Motor Persistence, Benton's Right-Left Discrimination, two recall modalities (Immediate and Delayed) of the Bender Test, Wechsler's Digit Span, the Color Span Test and the Human Figure Drawing Test, were developed for the neuropsychological assessment of children in the greater Rio de Janeiro area. Additionally, the behavior of each child was assessed with the Composite Teacher Rating Scale (Brito GNO and Pinto RCA (1991) Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 13: 417-418). A total of 398 children (199 boys and 199 girls balanced for age) with a mean age of 9.3 years (SD = 2.8), who were attending a public school in Niterói, were the subjects of this study. Gender and age had significant effects on performance which depended on the instrument. Nonachievers performed worse than achievers in most neuropsychological tests. Comparison of our data to the available counterparts in the United States revealed that American children outperformed Brazilian children on the Right-Left Discrimination, Forward Digit Span, Color Span and Human Figure Drawing Tests. Further analysis showed that the neurobehavioral data consist of different factorial dimensions, including Human Body Representation, Motor Persistence of the Legs, Orbito-Orobuccal Motor Persistence, Attention-Memory, Visuospatial Memory, Neuropsychomotor Speed, Hyperactivity-Inattention, and Anxiety-Negative Socialization. We conclude that gender and age should be taken into account when using the normative data for most of the instruments studied in the present report. Furthermore, we stress the need for major changes in the Brazilian public school system in order to foster the development of secondary cognitive abilities in our children.

Developmental norms for eight instruments used in the neuropsychological assessment of children: studies in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brito G.N.O.

1998-01-01

Full Text Available Norms for a battery of instruments, including Denckla's and Garfield's tests of Motor Persistence, Benton's Right-Left Discrimination, two recall modalities (Immediate and Delayed of the Bender Test, Wechsler's Digit Span, the Color Span Test and the Human Figure Drawing Test, were developed for the neuropsychological assessment of children in the greater Rio de Janeiro area. Additionally, the behavior of each child was assessed with the Composite Teacher Rating Scale (Brito GNO and Pinto RCA (1991 Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 13: 417-418. A total of 398 children (199 boys and 199 girls balanced for age with a mean age of 9.3 years (SD = 2.8, who were attending a public school in Niterói, were the subjects of this study. Gender and age had significant effects on performance which depended on the instrument. Nonachievers performed worse than achievers in most neuropsychological tests. Comparison of our data to the available counterparts in the United States revealed that American children outperformed Brazilian children on the Right-Left Discrimination, Forward Digit Span, Color Span and Human Figure Drawing Tests. Further analysis showed that the neurobehavioral data consist of different factorial dimensions, including Human Body Representation, Motor Persistence of the Legs, Orbito-Orobuccal Motor Persistence, Attention-Memory, Visuospatial Memory, Neuropsychomotor Speed, Hyperactivity-Inattention, and Anxiety-Negative Socialization. We conclude that gender and age should be taken into account when using the normative data for most of the instruments studied in the present report. Furthermore, we stress the need for major changes in the Brazilian public school system in order to foster the development of secondary cognitive abilities in our children

Validation of a psychometric instrument to assess motivation in veterinary bachelor students.

Science.gov (United States)

Vandeweerd, Jean-Michel; Dugdale, Alexandra; Romainville, Marc

2014-01-01

There are indications that motivation correlates with better performance for those studying veterinary medicine. To assess objectively whether motivation profiles influence both veterinary students' attitudes towards educational interventions and their academic success and whether changes in curriculum can affect students' motivation, there is need for an instrument that can provide a valid measurement of the strength of motivation for the study of veterinary medicine. Our objectives were to design and validate a questionnaire that can be used as a psychometric scale to capture the motivation profiles of veterinary students. Question items were obtained from semi-structured interviews with students and from a review of the relevant literature. Each item was scored on a 5-point scale. The preliminary instrument was trialed on a cohort of 450 students. Responses were subjected to reliability and principal component analysis. A 14-item scale was designed, within which two factors explained 53.4% of the variance among the items. The scale had good face, content, and construct validities as well as a good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=.88).

Systematic monitoring of male circumcision scale-up in Nyanza, Kenya: exploratory factor analysis of service quality instrument and performance ranking.

Science.gov (United States)

Omondi Aduda, Dickens S; Ouma, Collins; Onyango, Rosebella; Onyango, Mathews; Bertrand, Jane

2014-01-01

Considerable conceptual and operational complexities related to service quality measurements and variability in delivery contexts of scaled-up medical male circumcision, pose real challenges to monitoring implementation of quality and safety. Clarifying latent factors of the quality instruments can enhance contextual applicability and the likelihood that observed service outcomes are appropriately assessed. To explore factors underlying SYMMACS service quality assessment tool (adopted from the WHO VMMC quality toolkit) and; determine service quality performance using composite quality index derived from the latent factors. Using a comparative process evaluation of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Scale-Up in Kenya site level data was collected among health facilities providing VMMC over two years. Systematic Monitoring of the Medical Male Circumcision Scale-Up quality instrument was used to assess availability of guidelines, supplies and equipment, infection control, and continuity of care services. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to clarify quality structure. Fifty four items and 246 responses were analyzed. Based on Eigenvalue >1.00 cut-off, factors 1, 2 & 3 were retained each respectively having eigenvalues of 5.78; 4.29; 2.99. These cumulatively accounted for 29.1% of the total variance (12.9%; 9.5%; 6.7%) with final communality estimates being 13.06. Using a cut-off factor loading value of ≥0.4, fifteen items loading on factor 1, five on factor 2 and one on factor 3 were retained. Factor 1 closely relates to preparedness to deliver safe male circumcisions while factor two depicts skilled task performance and compliance with protocols. Of the 28 facilities, 32% attained between 90th and 95th percentile (excellent); 45% between 50th and 75th percentiles (average) and 14.3% below 25th percentile (poor). the service quality assessment instrument may be simplified to have nearly 20 items that relate more closely to service outcomes. Ranking of

Performance assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doe, T.

1985-01-01

The purpose of performance assessment is to show that the repository is expected to serve its stated function - disposing of radioactive waste safely both during operation and for the postclosure period. Performance assessment is a straightforward concept, but its application may be very complicated. The concept of performance assessment has been clarified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in their Draft Generic Technical Position on Licensing Assessment Methodology for High-Level Waste Geologic Repositories (NRC, 1984). This document has gone a long way toward defining the criteria that the NRC will use to determine whether or not information from site characterization is adequate to meet the regulations of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A favorable determination is required for issuance of a construction authorization, which is the first major regulatory requirement for developing a working repository. It is, therefore, essential that a research program be developed that not only resolves the outstanding technical issues, but also does it in such a way that the results are clearly applicable to the formal performance assessment and licensing procedures. The definitions of performance assessment are reviewed and the current NRC thinking is summarized

The psychometric properties of a shortened corporate entrepreneurship assessment instrument

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renier Steyn

2017-08-01

Aim: The aim of this research was to evaluate the psychometric properties of a measure of entrepreneurial climate. Entrepreneurial climate was measured using a shortened version of the Hornsby, Kuratko and Zahra (2002 instrument, called the Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument (CEAI. Making information on the psychometric properties of the instrument available directly relates to its utility. Setting: The setting was medium to large South African companies. A random sample of employees was drawn from 53 selected companies across South Africa, with 60 respondents per company (N = 3 180. Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was used. Several instruments were administered, including the shortened version of the CEAI. Cronbach’s alpha was used to test for reliability and several methods were used to test for validity. Correlation analysis was used to test for concurrent validity, convergent validity and divergent validity. Principle component factor analysis was used to test for factorial validity and a t-test to test for known-group validity. Results: The results showed that the reliability for the total score of the shortened version of the CEAI was acceptable at 0.758. The results also showed some evidence of concurrent validity, as well as homogeneity among the items. With regard to factorial validity, all items loaded in accordance with the subscales of the instrument. The measure was able to distinguish, as expected, between government organisations and private business entities, suggesting known-group validity. Convergent validity and divergent validity were also assessed. Interesting to note was that entrepreneurship climate correlates more with general employee attitude (e.g. employee engagement; R= 0.420, p < 0.001 and organisational commitment, R = 0.331, p < 0.001 than with self-reported innovation (R = 0.277, p < 0.001 and R = 0.267, p < 0.001. Contribution: This paper not only provided information on the reliability

The quality of systematic reviews of health-related outcome measurement instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Terwee, C B; Prinsen, C A C; Ricci Garotti, M G; Suman, A; de Vet, H C W; Mokkink, L B

2016-04-01

Systematic reviews of outcome measurement instruments are important tools for the selection of instruments for research and clinical practice. Our aim was to assess the quality of systematic reviews of health-related outcome measurement instruments and to determine whether the quality has improved since our previous study in 2007. A systematic literature search was performed in MEDLINE and EMBASE between July 1, 2013, and June 19, 2014. The quality of the reviews was rated using a study-specific checklist. A total of 102 reviews were included. In many reviews the search strategy was considered not comprehensive; in only 59 % of the reviews a search was performed in EMBASE and in about half of the reviews there was doubt about the comprehensiveness of the search terms used for type of measurement instruments and measurement properties. In 41 % of the reviews, compared to 30 % in our previous study, the methodological quality of the included studies was assessed. In 58 %, compared to 55 %, the quality of the included instruments was assessed. In 42 %, compared to 7 %, a data synthesis was performed in which the results from multiple studies on the same instrument were somehow combined. Despite a clear improvement in the quality of systematic reviews of outcome measurement instruments in comparison with our previous study in 2007, there is still room for improvement with regard to the search strategy, and especially the quality assessment of the included studies and the included instruments, and the data synthesis.

Performing instrumentation and controls upgrades

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kessler, F. M.; Connell, T. J.; Ryan, M. P.

1992-01-01

I and C upgrades are comprised of a varying range of content, complexity, expansiveness, and criticality. There are common threads in all upgrades which can be simplified by the development of a long term I and C upgrade plan. The development of a such a plan can establish effective ground rules for upgrades, large and small. It can be the basis from which to begin an upgrade evaluation and the standard which is used to compare the degree of compliance of any upgrade regarding the plan or to define the differences from the plan and an individual upgrade. Primary motivation for I and C upgrades are obsolescence and unavailability of spare parts. Numerous other areas of consideration are also involved in an upgrade. Today's technology results in most upgrades largely or totally utilizing digital equipment. The use of digital equipment is fairly new in many I and C applications and requires an elaborate evaluation from functional, qualification, operational, and licensing perspectives as well as others. A well defined upgrade plan developed as a basis for I and C upgrades is a significant start to ensuring an effective upgrade process. Properly developed and implemented, the plan will support I and C upgrade efforts to ensure that the intricacies associated with such tasks eliminate the existing problems which require the upgrade to be performed. The upgrade plan also results in ensuring the maximum benefit from all perspectives of the plant enhancements being carried out and considered for future implementation. Instrumentation and controls aging and replacement are issues of growing importance due to the potential for significant impact on plant operation and efficiency. Obsolescence and unavailability of spare parts are major drivers towards evaluating the cost benefits of upgrading current equipment. In addition to these two primary factors, the advantages of utilizing digital equipment have also become of prime importance when evaluating instrumentation and

Cassini Radar EQM Model: Instrument Description and Performance Status

Science.gov (United States)

Borgarelli, L.; Faustini, E. Zampolini; Im, E.; Johnson, W. T. K.

1996-01-01

The spaeccraft of the Cassini Mission is planned to be launched towards Saturn in October 1997. The mission is designed to study the physical structure and chemical composition of Titan. The results of the tests performed on the Cassini radar engineering qualification model (EQM) are summarized. The approach followed in the verification and evaluation of the performance of the radio frequency subsystem EQM is presented. The results show that the instrument satisfies the relevant mission requirements.

Workplace-based assessment: raters' performance theories and constructs.

Science.gov (United States)

Govaerts, M J B; Van de Wiel, M W J; Schuwirth, L W T; Van der Vleuten, C P M; Muijtjens, A M M

2013-08-01

Weaknesses in the nature of rater judgments are generally considered to compromise the utility of workplace-based assessment (WBA). In order to gain insight into the underpinnings of rater behaviours, we investigated how raters form impressions of and make judgments on trainee performance. Using theoretical frameworks of social cognition and person perception, we explored raters' implicit performance theories, use of task-specific performance schemas and the formation of person schemas during WBA. We used think-aloud procedures and verbal protocol analysis to investigate schema-based processing by experienced (N = 18) and inexperienced (N = 16) raters (supervisor-raters in general practice residency training). Qualitative data analysis was used to explore schema content and usage. We quantitatively assessed rater idiosyncrasy in the use of performance schemas and we investigated effects of rater expertise on the use of (task-specific) performance schemas. Raters used different schemas in judging trainee performance. We developed a normative performance theory comprising seventeen inter-related performance dimensions. Levels of rater idiosyncrasy were substantial and unrelated to rater expertise. Experienced raters made significantly more use of task-specific performance schemas compared to inexperienced raters, suggesting more differentiated performance schemas in experienced raters. Most raters started to develop person schemas the moment they began to observe trainee performance. The findings further our understanding of processes underpinning judgment and decision making in WBA. Raters make and justify judgments based on personal theories and performance constructs. Raters' information processing seems to be affected by differences in rater expertise. The results of this study can help to improve rater training, the design of assessment instruments and decision making in WBA.

Development and validity of mathematical learning assessment instruments based on multiple intelligence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helmiah Suryani

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This study was aimed to develop and produce an assessment instrument of mathematical learning results based on multiple intelligence. The methods in this study used Borg & Gall-Research and Development approach (Research & Development. The subject of research was 289 students. The results of research: (1 Result of Aiken Analysis showed 58 valid items were between 0,714 to 0,952. (2 Result of the Exploratory on factor analysis indicated the instrument consist of three factors i.e. mathematical logical intelligence-spatial intelligence-and linguistic intelligence. KMO value was 0.661 df 0.780 sig. 0.000 with valid category. This research succeeded to developing the assessment instrument of mathematical learning results based on multiple intelligence of second grade in elementary school with characteristics of logical intelligence of mathematics, spatial intelligence, and linguistic intelligence.

A Comparison of Two Instruments for the Assessment of Legibility of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Purpose: To compare the utility of a rating and visual analogue scale for the assessment of legibility in prescriptions Methods: A sample of fifty randomly selected ... Conclusion: The findings support the utility of both instruments in the assessment of handwriting but suggest that there may be important differences between ...

Instrumental performance of an etude after three methods of practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Vanden Ark, S

1997-12-01

For 80 fifth-grade students three practice conditions (mental, mental with physical simulation, and physical with singing) produced significant mean differences in instrumental performance of an etude. No significant differences were found for traditional, physical practice.

Choosing Assessment Instruments for Bulimia Practice and Outcome Research

Science.gov (United States)

Sandberg, Katie; Erford, Bradley T.

2013-01-01

Six commonly used instruments for assessment of eating disorders were analyzed. Effect size results from Erford et al.'s (2013) meta-analysis for the treatment of bulimia nervosa were used to compare each scale's ability to measure treatment outcomes for bulimia nervosa. Effect size comparisons indicated higher overall effect sizes using the…

Optical Performance of Breadboard Amon-Ra Imaging Channel Instrument for Deep Space Albedo Measurement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Won Hyun Park

2007-03-01

Full Text Available The AmonRa instrument, the primary payload of the international EARTHSHINE mission, is designed for measurement of deep space albedo from L1 halo orbit. We report the optical design, tolerance analysis and the optical performance of the breadborad AmonRa imaging channel instrument optimized for the mission science requirements. In particular, an advanced wavefront feedback process control technique was used for the instrumentation process including part fabrication, system alignment and integration. The measured performances for the complete breadboard system are the RMS 0.091 wave(test wavelength: 632.8 nm in wavefront error, the ensquared energy of 61.7%(in 14 μ m and the MTF of 35.3%(Nyquist frequency: 35.7 mm^{-1} at the center field. These resulting optical system performances prove that the breadboard AmonRa instrument, as built, satisfies the science requirements of the EARTHSHINE mission.

Metacognition assessment interview: Instrument description and factor structure

OpenAIRE

Pellecchia, Giovanni; Moroni, Fabio; Carcione, Antonino; Colle, Livia; Dimaggio, Giancarlo; Nicolò, Giuseppe; Pedone, Roberto; Procacci, Michele; Semerari, Antonio

2015-01-01

Objective: Metacognition is a multi-component psychological construct, characterised by the ability to identify and describe one’s own mental states and those of others. Evidence has been found for an association between deficits in metacognitive abilities and poor social functioning, low quality of life, psychopathology, and symptoms in Personality Disorders (PDs). However, to date, there are few psychometrically validated instruments available for assessing the different components of metac...

Development and testing of an assessment instrument for the formative peer review of significant event analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

McKay, J; Murphy, D J; Bowie, P; Schmuck, M-L; Lough, M; Eva, K W

2007-04-01

To establish the content validity and specific aspects of reliability for an assessment instrument designed to provide formative feedback to general practitioners (GPs) on the quality of their written analysis of a significant event. Content validity was quantified by application of a content validity index. Reliability testing involved a nested design, with 5 cells, each containing 4 assessors, rating 20 unique significant event analysis (SEA) reports (10 each from experienced GPs and GPs in training) using the assessment instrument. The variance attributable to each identified variable in the study was established by analysis of variance. Generalisability theory was then used to investigate the instrument's ability to discriminate among SEA reports. Content validity was demonstrated with at least 8 of 10 experts endorsing all 10 items of the assessment instrument. The overall G coefficient for the instrument was moderate to good (G>0.70), indicating that the instrument can provide consistent information on the standard achieved by the SEA report. There was moderate inter-rater reliability (G>0.60) when four raters were used to judge the quality of the SEA. This study provides the first steps towards validating an instrument that can provide educational feedback to GPs on their analysis of significant events. The key area identified to improve instrument reliability is variation among peer assessors in their assessment of SEA reports. Further validity and reliability testing should be carried out to provide GPs, their appraisers and contractual bodies with a validated feedback instrument on this aspect of the general practice quality agenda.

Assessment of the Metrological Performance of Seismic Tables for a QMS Recognition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ribeiro, A Silva; Costa, A Campos; Candeias, P; Martins, L Lages; Martins, A C Freitas; Ferreira, A C; Sousa, J Alves e

2016-01-01

Seismic testing and analysis using large infrastructures, such as shaking tables and reaction walls, is performed worldwide requiring the use of complex instrumentation systems. To assure the accuracy of these systems, conformity assessment is needed to verify the compliance with standards and applications, and the Quality Management Systems (QMS) is being increasingly applied to domains where risk analysis is critical as a way to provide a formal recognition. This paper describes an approach to the assessment of the metrological performance of seismic shake tables as part of a QMS recognition, with the analysis of a case study of LNEC Seismic shake table. (paper)

Assessment of the Metrological Performance of Seismic Tables for a QMS Recognition

Science.gov (United States)

Silva Ribeiro, A.; Campos Costa, A.; Candeias, P.; Sousa, J. Alves e.; Lages Martins, L.; Freitas Martins, A. C.; Ferreira, A. C.

2016-11-01

Seismic testing and analysis using large infrastructures, such as shaking tables and reaction walls, is performed worldwide requiring the use of complex instrumentation systems. To assure the accuracy of these systems, conformity assessment is needed to verify the compliance with standards and applications, and the Quality Management Systems (QMS) is being increasingly applied to domains where risk analysis is critical as a way to provide a formal recognition. This paper describes an approach to the assessment of the metrological performance of seismic shake tables as part of a QMS recognition, with the analysis of a case study of LNEC Seismic shake table.

Comparison of instrumented anterior interbody fusion with instrumented circumferential lumbar fusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Madan, S S; Boeree, N R

2003-12-01

Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) restores disc height, the load bearing ability of anterior ligaments and muscles, root canal dimensions, and spinal balance. It immobilizes the painful degenerate spinal segment and decompresses the nerve roots. Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) does the same, but could have complications of graft extrusion, compression and instability contributing to pseudarthrosis in the absence of instrumentation. The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the outcome of instrumented circumferential fusion through a posterior approach [PLIF and posterolateral fusion (PLF)] with instrumented ALIF using the Hartshill horseshoe cage, for comparable degrees of internal disc disruption and clinical disability. It was designed as a prospective study, comparing the outcome of two methods of instrumented interbody fusion for internal disc disruption. Between April 1994 and June 1998, the senior author (N.R.B.) performed 39 instrumented ALIF procedures and 35 instrumented circumferential fusion with PLIF procedures. The second author, an independent assessor (S.M.), performed the entire review. Preoperative radiographic assessment included plain radiographs, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and provocative discography in all the patients. The outcome in the two groups was compared in terms of radiological improvement and clinical improvement, measured on the basis of improvement of back pain and work capacity. Preoperatively, patients were asked to fill out a questionnaire giving their demographic details, maximum walking distance and current employment status in order to establish the comparability of the two groups. Patient assessment was with the Oswestry Disability Index, quality of life questionnaire (subjective), pain drawing, visual analogue scale, disability benefit, compensation status, and psychological profile. The results of the study showed a satisfactory outcome (scorelife questionnaire) score of 71.8% (28 patients) in

Evaluation of a draft standard on performance specifications for health physics instrumentation: results for environmental tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kenoyer, J.L.; Swinth, K.L.; Mashburn, K.R.; Selby, J.M.

1984-06-01

Draft ANSI Standard N42.17 on performance specifications for health physics instrumentation is currently being evaluated by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory. Evaluation is performed by testing a cross-section of currently available instruments with testing procedures based on specifications of the standard and then determining the degree of conformance to the various elements of the proposed standard. Data will be presented on the performance of a cross-section of beta-gamma survey instruments under various environmental tests. Test results that will be presented include temperature effects, humidity effects, radio frequency (r.f.) susceptibility, ambient pressure effects, vibration effects, and shock effects. Tests performed to date show that most instruments will meet the temperature, humidity, and ambient pressure tests. A large variability is noted among instruments from the same or different vendors. Preliminary r.f. susceptibility tests have shown large artificial responses at some frequencies for specific instruments. The presentation will also include a discussion of procedures used in the testing and weaknesses identified in the proposed standard

Model of practical skill performance as an instrument for supervision and formative assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Carsten; Sommer, Irene; Larsen, Karin

2012-01-01

as during practice, performance and formative assessment of practical skills learning. It provided a common language about practical skills and enhanced the participants’ understanding of professionalism in practical nursing skill. In conclusion, the model helped to highlight the complexity in mastering......There are still weaknesses in the practical skills of newly graduated nurses. There is also an escalating pressure on existing clinical placements due to increasing student numbers and structural changes in health services. Innovative educational practices and the use of tools that might support...... learning are sparsely researched in the field of clinical education for nursing students. This paper reports on an action research study that promoted and investigated use of The Model of Practical Skill Performance as a learning tool during nursing students’ clinical placement. Clinical supervisors...

Vocational Education Students' Generic Working Life Competencies: Developing a Self-Assessment Instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Kyndt, Eva; Janssens, Ine; Coertjens, Liesje; Gijbels, David; Donche, Vincent; Van Petegem, Peter

2014-01-01

The current study reports on the process of developing a self-assessment instrument for vocational education students' generic working life competencies. The instrument was developed based on a competence framework and in close collaboration with several vocational education teachers and intermediary organisations offering various human…

Translation, cross-cultural adaptation to Brazilian- Portuguese and reliability analysis of the instrument Rapid Entire Body Assessment-REBA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andressa M. Lamarão

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Observational instruments, such as the Rapid Entire Body Assessment, quickly assess biomechanical risks present in the workplace. However, in order to use these instruments, it is necessary to conduct the translational/cross-cultural adaptation of the instrument and test its measurement properties. Objectives: To perform the translation and the cross-cultural adaptation to Brazilian-Portuguese and test the reliability of the REBA instrument. Method: The procedures of translation and cross-cultural adaptation to Brazilian-Portuguese were conducted following proposed guidelines that involved translation, synthesis of translations, back translation, committee review and testing of the pre-final version. In addition, reliability and the intra- and inter-rater percent agreement were obtained with the Linear Weighted Kappa Coefficient that was associated with the 95% Confidence Interval and the cross tabulation 2×2. Results : The procedures for translation and adaptation were adequate and the necessary adjustments were conducted on the instrument. The intra- and inter-rater reliability showed values of 0.104 to 0.504, respectively, ranging from very poor to moderate. The percentage agreement values ranged from 5.66% to 69.81%. The percentage agreement was closer to 100% at the item 'upper arm' (69.81% for the Intra-rater 1 and at the items 'legs' and 'upper arm' for the Intra-rater 2 (62.26%. Conclusions: The processes of translation and cross-cultural adaptation were conducted on the REBA instrument and the Brazilian version of the instrument was obtained. However, despite the reliability of the tests used to correct the translated and adapted version, the reliability values are unacceptable according to the guidelines standard, indicating that the reliability must be re-evaluated. Therefore, caution in the interpretation of the biomechanical risks measured by this instrument should be taken.

Translation, cross-cultural adaptation to Brazilian- Portuguese and reliability analysis of the instrument Rapid Entire Body Assessment-REBA

Science.gov (United States)

Lamarão, Andressa M.; Costa, Lucíola C. M.; Comper, Maria L. C.; Padula, Rosimeire S.

2014-01-01

Background: Observational instruments, such as the Rapid Entire Body Assessment, quickly assess biomechanical risks present in the workplace. However, in order to use these instruments, it is necessary to conduct the translational/cross-cultural adaptation of the instrument and test its measurement properties. Objectives: To perform the translation and the cross-cultural adaptation to Brazilian-Portuguese and test the reliability of the REBA instrument. Method: The procedures of translation and cross-cultural adaptation to Brazilian-Portuguese were conducted following proposed guidelines that involved translation, synthesis of translations, back translation, committee review and testing of the pre-final version. In addition, reliability and the intra- and inter-rater percent agreement were obtained with the Linear Weighted Kappa Coefficient that was associated with the 95% Confidence Interval and the cross tabulation 2×2. Results : The procedures for translation and adaptation were adequate and the necessary adjustments were conducted on the instrument. The intra- and inter-rater reliability showed values of 0.104 to 0.504, respectively, ranging from very poor to moderate. The percentage agreement values ranged from 5.66% to 69.81%. The percentage agreement was closer to 100% at the item 'upper arm' (69.81%) for the Intra-rater 1 and at the items 'legs' and 'upper arm' for the Intra-rater 2 (62.26%). Conclusions: The processes of translation and cross-cultural adaptation were conducted on the REBA instrument and the Brazilian version of the instrument was obtained. However, despite the reliability of the tests used to correct the translated and adapted version, the reliability values are unacceptable according to the guidelines standard, indicating that the reliability must be re-evaluated. Therefore, caution in the interpretation of the biomechanical risks measured by this instrument should be taken. PMID:25003273

The Utility of Risk Assessment Instruments for the Prediction of Recidivism in Sexual Homicide Perpetrators

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Andreas; Rettenberger, Martin; Habermann, Niels; Berner, Wolfgang; Eher, Reinhard; Briken, Peer

2012-01-01

To examine the predictive accuracy of four well established risk assessment instruments (PCL-R, HCR-20, SVR-20, and Static-99) in an important subgroup of sexual offenders, these instruments were assessed retrospectively based on information from forensic psychiatric court reports in a sample of 90 released male sexual homicide offenders (out of…

Performance Evaluation Factors: Designing an Instrument for National Health Network in Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sassan Ghorbani-Kalkhajeh

2016-04-01

Full Text Available As a systematic process for gathering and analyzing data, performance evaluation could be used as a valid method to highlight levels of success and to identify strength and weakness of ongoing programs. The aim of the present study was to develop an instrument for evaluating rural health centers in Iran. Based on related literature and experts’ views, eight crucial fields of performance evaluation, and a questionnaire including 100 items were formed. The participants of the study were 525 people having health related jobs in rural or urban health centers. Reliability and validity requirements were checked; exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used. Factor analysis identified 11 components which embraced 60 items. Components were named as planning, control, coordination, structure, setting and facilities, education, customers’ satisfaction, staff’s job satisfaction, disease surveillance, mother-child care, and effectiveness which are presented as a model for performance evaluation. The obtained instrument embraces all required factors suggested by experts and literature hence it can be used as an evaluation instrument in both rural and urban health centers.

Detailed Performance Assessment for the ITER ECE Diagnostic

Science.gov (United States)

Rowan, W.; Austin, M.; Houshmandyar, S.; Phillips, P.; Beno, J.; Bryant, A.; Ouroua, A.; Weeks, D.; Hubbard, A.; Taylor, G.

2017-10-01

One of the primary diagnostics for electron temperature (Te) measurement on ITER is based on the detection of electron cyclotron emission (ECE) Here we describe the predicted performance of the newly completed ECE diagnostic design by quantitatively following the emission from the plasma to the instruments and including the calibration method to assess accuracy. Operation of the diagnostic at 5.3 T is the main interest here but critical features of the emission spectra for 2.65 T and 1.8 T will be described. ECE will be collected by two very similar optical systems: one a radial view, the other an oblique view. Both measurements are used for Te while the oblique view also allows detection of non-thermal distortion in the electron distribution. An in-vacuum calibration source is included in the front end of each view to calibrate out the effect of any degradation of in-vessel optics. Following collection, the emission is split into orthogonal polarizations and transmitted to the detection instruments via waveguides filled with dry nitrogen, a choice that simplifies construction and analysis. Near the instruments, a switchyard is used to select which polarization and view is detected by each instrument. The design for the radiometer used for 5.3 T will be described in detail. Supported by PPPL/US-DA via subcontract S013464-H to UT Austin.

TMI-2 - A Case Study for PWR Instrumentation Performance during a Severe Accident

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joy L. Rempe; Darrell L. Knudson

2014-05-01

The accident at the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) reactor provided a unique opportunity to evaluate sensors exposed to severe accident conditions. Conditions associated with the release of coolant and the hydrogen burn that occurred during this accident exposed instrumentation to harsh conditions, including direct radiation, radioactive contamination, and high humidity with elevated temperatures and pressures. As part of a program initiated in 2012 by the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE), a review was completed to gain insights from prior TMI-2 sensor survivability and data qualification efforts. This new effort focussed upon a set of sensors that provided critical data to TMI-2 operators for assessing the condition of the plant and the effects of mitigating actions taken by these operators. In addition, the effort considered sensors providing data required for subsequent accident simulations. Over 100 references related to instrumentation performance and post-accident evaluations of TMI-2 sensors and measurements were reviewed. Insights gained from this review are summarized within this report. For each sensor, a description is provided with the measured data and conclusions related to the sensor’s survivability, and the basis for conclusions about its survivability. As noted within this document, several techniques were invoked in the TMI-2 post-accident evaluation program to assess sensor status, including comparisons with data from other sensors, analytical calculations, laboratory testing, and comparisons with sensors subjected to similar conditions in large-scale integral tests and with sensors that were similar in design but more easily removed from the TMI-2 plant for evaluations. Conclusions from this review provide important insights related to sensor survivability and enhancement options for improving sensor performance. In addition, this document provides recommendations related to the sensor survivability and data evaluation

TMI-2 - A Case Study for PWR Instrumentation Performance during a Severe Accident

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joy L. Rempe; Darrell L. Knudson

2013-03-01

The accident at the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) reactor provided a unique opportunity to evaluate sensors exposed to severe accident conditions. Conditions associated with the release of coolant and the hydrogen burn that occurred during this accident exposed instrumentation to harsh conditions, including direct radiation, radioactive contamination, and high humidity with elevated temperatures and pressures. As part of a program initiated in 2012 by the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE), a review was completed to gain insights from prior TMI-2 sensor survivability and data qualification efforts. This new effort focussed upon a set of sensors that provided critical data to TMI-2 operators for assessing the condition of the plant and the effects of mitigating actions taken by these operators. In addition, the effort considered sensors providing data required for subsequent accident simulations. Over 100 references related to instrumentation performance and post-accident evaluations of TMI-2 sensors and measurements were reviewed. Insights gained from this review are summarized within this report. For each sensor, a description is provided with the measured data and conclusions related to the sensor’s survivability, and the basis for conclusions about its survivability. As noted within this document, several techniques were invoked in the TMI-2 post-accident evaluation program to assess sensor status, including comparisons with data from other sensors, analytical calculations, laboratory testing, and comparisons with sensors subjected to similar conditions in large-scale integral tests and with sensors that were similar in design but more easily removed from the TMI-2 plant for evaluations. Conclusions from this review provide important insights related to sensor survivability and enhancement options for improving sensor performance. In addition, this document provides recommendations related to the sensor survivability and data evaluation

A Reliability and Validity of an Instrument to Evaluate the School-Based Assessment System: A Pilot Study

Science.gov (United States)

Ghazali, Nor Hasnida Md

2016-01-01

A valid, reliable and practical instrument is needed to evaluate the implementation of the school-based assessment (SBA) system. The aim of this study is to develop and assess the validity and reliability of an instrument to measure the perception of teachers towards the SBA implementation in schools. The instrument is developed based on a…

Wavefront-Error Performance Characterization for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) Science Instruments

Science.gov (United States)

Aronstein, David L.; Smith, J. Scott; Zielinski, Thomas P.; Telfer, Randal; Tournois, Severine C.; Moore, Dustin B.; Fienup, James R.

2016-01-01

The science instruments (SIs) comprising the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) were tested in three cryogenic-vacuum test campaigns in the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)'s Space Environment Simulator (SES). In this paper, we describe the results of optical wavefront-error performance characterization of the SIs. The wavefront error is determined using image-based wavefront sensing (also known as phase retrieval), and the primary data used by this process are focus sweeps, a series of images recorded by the instrument under test in its as-used configuration, in which the focal plane is systematically changed from one image to the next. High-precision determination of the wavefront error also requires several sources of secondary data, including 1) spectrum, apodization, and wavefront-error characterization of the optical ground-support equipment (OGSE) illumination module, called the OTE Simulator (OSIM), 2) plate scale measurements made using a Pseudo-Nonredundant Mask (PNRM), and 3) pupil geometry predictions as a function of SI and field point, which are complicated because of a tricontagon-shaped outer perimeter and small holes that appear in the exit pupil due to the way that different light sources are injected into the optical path by the OGSE. One set of wavefront-error tests, for the coronagraphic channel of the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) Longwave instruments, was performed using data from transverse translation diversity sweeps instead of focus sweeps, in which a sub-aperture is translated andor rotated across the exit pupil of the system.Several optical-performance requirements that were verified during this ISIM-level testing are levied on the uncertainties of various wavefront-error-related quantities rather than on the wavefront errors themselves. This paper also describes the methodology, based on Monte Carlo simulations of the wavefront-sensing analysis of focus-sweep data, used to establish the

A new instrument to assess physician skill at thoracic ultrasound, including pleural effusion markup.

Science.gov (United States)

Salamonsen, Matthew; McGrath, David; Steiler, Geoff; Ware, Robert; Colt, Henri; Fielding, David

2013-09-01

To reduce complications and increase success, thoracic ultrasound is recommended to guide all chest drainage procedures. Despite this, no tools currently exist to assess proceduralist training or competence. This study aims to validate an instrument to assess physician skill at performing thoracic ultrasound, including effusion markup, and examine its validity. We developed an 11-domain, 100-point assessment sheet in line with British Thoracic Society guidelines: the Ultrasound-Guided Thoracentesis Skills and Tasks Assessment Test (UGSTAT). The test was used to assess 22 participants (eight novices, seven intermediates, seven advanced) on two occasions while performing thoracic ultrasound on a pleural effusion phantom. Each test was scored by two blinded expert examiners. Validity was examined by assessing the ability of the test to stratify participants according to expected skill level (analysis of variance) and demonstrating test-retest and intertester reproducibility by comparison of repeated scores (mean difference [95% CI] and paired t test) and the intraclass correlation coefficient. Mean scores for the novice, intermediate, and advanced groups were 49.3, 73.0, and 91.5 respectively, which were all significantly different (P < .0001). There were no significant differences between repeated scores. Procedural training on mannequins prior to unsupervised performance on patients is rapidly becoming the standard in medical education. This study has validated the UGSTAT, which can now be used to determine the adequacy of thoracic ultrasound training prior to clinical practice. It is likely that its role could be extended to live patients, providing a way to document ongoing procedural competence.

Instrument air system - Aging impact on system availability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villaran, M.; Subudhi, M.

1989-01-01

As part of ongoing efforts to understand and manage the effects of aging in nuclear power plants, an aging assessment was performed for the Instrument Air (IA) system, a system that has been the subject of much scrutiny in recent years. Despite its non-safety classification, instrument air has been a factor in a number of potentially serious events. This report presents the results of the assessment and discusses the impact of instrument air system aging on system availability and plant safety. This work was performed for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as part of the Nuclear Plant Aging Research (NPAR) program. To perform the complex task of analyzing an entire system, the Aging and Life Extension Assessment Program (ALEAP) System Level Plan was developed by Brookhaven National Laboratory and applied successfully in previous system aging studies. The work presented herein was performed using two parallel work paths, as described in the ALEAP plant. One path used deterministic techniques to assess the impact of aging on compressed air system performance, while the second path used probabilistic methods. Results from both paths then were used to characterize aging in the instrument air system. Some conclusions from this work are: compressors, air system valves, and air dryers were found to make up the majority of failures; the effectiveness and quantity of preventive maintenance devoted to a component significantly affected the amount of failures experienced; review of compressed air system designs and studies using a PRA-based system model revealed that the redundancy of key components (compressors, dryers, IA/SA crossconnect valve) was an important factor in system availability; total loss of air events are uncommon

Standard guide for evaluating performance characteristics of phased-Array ultrasonic testing instruments and systems

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2008-01-01

1.1 This guide describes procedures for evaluating some performance characteristics of phased-array ultrasonic examination instruments and systems. 1.2 Evaluation of these characteristics is intended to be used for comparing instruments and systems or, by periodic repetition, for detecting long-term changes in the characteristics of a given instrument or system that may be indicative of impending failure, and which, if beyond certain limits, will require corrective maintenance. Instrument characteristics measured in accordance with this guide are expressed in terms that relate to their potential usefulness for ultrasonic examinations. Other electronic instrument characteristics in phased-array units are similar to non-phased-array units and may be measured as described in E 1065 or E 1324. 1.3 Ultrasonic examination systems using pulsed-wave trains and A-scan presentation (rf or video) may be evaluated. 1.4 This guide establishes no performance limits for examination systems; if such acceptance criteria ar...

The quality of instruments to assess the process of shared decision making: A systematic review

Science.gov (United States)

Bomhof-Roordink, Hanna; Smith, Ian P.; Scholl, Isabelle; Stiggelbout, Anne M.; Pieterse, Arwen H.

2018-01-01

Objective To inventory instruments assessing the process of shared decision making and appraise their measurement quality, taking into account the methodological quality of their validation studies. Methods In a systematic review we searched seven databases (PubMed, Embase, Emcare, Cochrane, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Academic Search Premier) for studies investigating instruments measuring the process of shared decision making. Per identified instrument, we assessed the level of evidence separately for 10 measurement properties following a three-step procedure: 1) appraisal of the methodological quality using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist, 2) appraisal of the psychometric quality of the measurement property using three possible quality scores, 3) best-evidence synthesis based on the number of studies, their methodological and psychometrical quality, and the direction and consistency of the results. The study protocol was registered at PROSPERO: CRD42015023397. Results We included 51 articles describing the development and/or evaluation of 40 shared decision-making process instruments: 16 patient questionnaires, 4 provider questionnaires, 18 coding schemes and 2 instruments measuring multiple perspectives. There is an overall lack of evidence for their measurement quality, either because validation is missing or methods are poor. The best-evidence synthesis indicated positive results for a major part of instruments for content validity (50%) and structural validity (53%) if these were evaluated, but negative results for a major part of instruments when inter-rater reliability (47%) and hypotheses testing (59%) were evaluated. Conclusions Due to the lack of evidence on measurement quality, the choice for the most appropriate instrument can best be based on the instrument’s content and characteristics such as the perspective that they assess. We recommend refinement and validation of

The Nursing Performance Instrument: Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses in Registered Nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Sagherian, Knar; Steege, Linsey M; Geiger-Brown, Jeanne; Harrington, Donna

2018-04-01

The optimal performance of nurses in healthcare settings plays a critical role in care quality and patient safety. Despite this importance, few measures are provided in the literature that evaluate nursing performance as an independent construct from competencies. The nine-item Nursing Performance Instrument (NPI) was developed to fill this gap. The aim of this study was to examine and confirm the underlying factor structure of the NPI in registered nurses. The design was cross-sectional, using secondary data collected between February 2008 and April 2009 for the "Fatigue in Nursing Survey" (N = 797). The sample was predominantly dayshift female nurses working in acute care settings. Using Mplus software, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were applied to the NPI data, which were divided into two equal subsamples. Multiple fit indices were used to evaluate the fit of the alternative models. The three-factor model was determined to fit the data adequately. The factors that were labeled as "physical/mental decrements," "consistent practice," and "behavioral change" were moderately to strongly intercorrelated, indicating good convergent validity. The reliability coefficients for the subscales were acceptable. The NPI consists of three latent constructs. This instrument has the potentialto be used as a self-monitoring instrument that addressesnurses' perceptions of performance while providing patient care.

Automatic creation of Markov models for reliability assessment of safety instrumented systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Haitao; Yang Xianhui

2008-01-01

After the release of new international functional safety standards like IEC 61508, people care more for the safety and availability of safety instrumented systems. Markov analysis is a powerful and flexible technique to assess the reliability measurements of safety instrumented systems, but it is fallible and time-consuming to create Markov models manually. This paper presents a new technique to automatically create Markov models for reliability assessment of safety instrumented systems. Many safety related factors, such as failure modes, self-diagnostic, restorations, common cause and voting, are included in Markov models. A framework is generated first based on voting, failure modes and self-diagnostic. Then, repairs and common-cause failures are incorporated into the framework to build a complete Markov model. Eventual simplification of Markov models can be done by state merging. Examples given in this paper show how explosively the size of Markov model increases as the system becomes a little more complicated as well as the advancement of automatic creation of Markov models

[Recovery Self Assessment: Translation and cultural adaption of a recovery oriented assessment instrument].

Science.gov (United States)

Zuaboni, Gianfranco; Degano Kieser, Luciana; Kozel, Bernd; Glavanovits, Katharina; Utschakowski, Jörg; Behrens, Johann

2015-08-01

The recovery approach is becoming increasingly important in mental health services and research. In English-speaking countries, its practical implementation as well as the scientific discussion is far more advanced. To support the approach, assessment instruments are required. A widespread and recognised tool is the Recovery Self Assessment Scale {RSA}. This includes four versions of a questionnaire, which cover the perspectives of users, providers, family members and management. In this article, the development of the instrument and the system atictranslation process are presented. Two independent research groups applied different translation. The Swiss research group {AGS} used the ISOPR principles, the German research group (AGN} the Guidelines of the European Social Survey Programme for survey translations TRAPD. The methods differ in the fact,that TRAPD uses focus groups. The results of both groups were combined by means of a consensus process. Within the translation and cultural adjustment of the RSA-D, the the oretical framework of the RSA as well as the transferability into the German speaking context has been ensured. Before the RSA-D c~n beused in practice and research, further studies towards psychometric testing should be conducted.

Determination of validity and reliability of performance assessments tasks developed for selected topics in high school chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Zichittella, Gail Eberhardt

The primary purpose of this study was to validate performance assessments, which can be used as teaching and assessment instruments in high school science classrooms. This study evaluated the classroom usability of these performance instruments and establishes the interrater reliability of the scoring rubrics when used by classroom teachers. The assessment instruments were designed to represent two levels of scientific inquiry. The high level of inquiry tasks are relatively unstructured in terms of student directions; the low inquiry tasks provided more structure for the student. The tasks cover two content topics studied in chemistry (scientific observation and density). Students from a variety of Western New York school districts who were enrolled in chemistry classes and other science courses were involved in completion of the tasks at the two levels of inquiry. The chemistry students completed the NYS Regents Examination in Chemistry. Their classroom teachers were interviewed and completed a questionnaire to aid in the establishment their epistemological view on the inclusion of inquiry based learning in the science classroom. Data showed that the performance assessment tasks were reliable, valid and helpful for obtaining a more complete picture of the students' scientific understanding. The teacher participants reported no difficulty with the usability of the task in the high school chemistry setting. Collected data gave no evidence of gender bias with reference to the performance tasks or the NYS Regents Chemistry Examination. Additionally, it was shown that the instructors' classroom practices do have an effect upon the students' achievement on the performance tasks and the NYS Regents examination. Data also showed that achievement on the performance tasks was influenced by the number of years of science instruction students had received.

Instrument performance in bone density testing at five Australian centres

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khan, K M; Saul, A; Wark, J D [Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, VIC (Australia). Department of Medicine; Henzell, S L [Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth, WA (Australia). Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes; Broderick, C [University of NSW, Sydney, NSW (Australia); Prince, R L [University of Western Australia, Perth, WA. (Australia). Department of Medicine; Lomman, J [Bone Densitometry Technologist, Ashford, SA (Australia)

1997-10-01

Using a multicentre reliability study the accuracy and short- and long-term precision of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in vitro was compared on five instruments. Measures were performed using pencil beam mode on four Hologic QDR- 2000 densitometers and one Hologic QDR-1000/W (Hologic Inc, Waltham, MA). Short-term precision of bone mineral density measurement was less than 0.5% for spine phantoms (n= 10 for each centre, mean intrasite coefficient of variation [CV] 0.39{+-}0.09% [SD]) and for hip phantoms (n=10 for each centre, mean intrasite coefficient of variation [CV] 0.34{+-}0.10% [SD]). Between-centre measurement (n=10 for each phantom) of a single spine phantom and a single hip phantom (specified mineral contents - 58.5 g and 38.6 g, respectively) revealed ranges of bone mineral content of 57.7-58.1 g (all-point CV=0.52%) and 37.1-37.8 g (all-point CV=0.70%), respectively. When results from pairs of machines were compared there were statistically different mean BMD results for the majority of the ten possible pairings for both spine and hip measurements. Each study centre measured in vitro stability of phantom BMD measurements over a one year period (n=45-283, median 157 for spine; and n=0-262, median 38, for hip); CVs ranged from 0.38 % to 0.53% for the spine measurements and from 0.38 % to 0.54% for the hip measurements. The mean all-point accuracy of the spine phantom measurements was 99.1% and the hip phantom measurements was 96.7%. It is concluded that across a number of instruments assessed in this study, DXA demonstrates in vitro all-point precision of 0.5% for the spine phantom and 0.7% for the hip phantom. The instrument demonstrates accuracy of greater than 99% at the spine and 96% at the hip (authors). 14 refs., 3 tabs., 4 figs.

Instruments to assess and measure personal and environmental radiofrequency-electromagnetic field exposures.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatt, Chhavi Raj; Redmayne, Mary; Abramson, Michael J; Benke, Geza

2016-03-01

Radiofrequency-electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure of human populations is increasing due to the widespread use of mobile phones and other telecommunication and broadcasting technologies. There are ongoing concerns about potential short- and long-term public health consequences from RF-EMF exposures. To elucidate the RF-EMF exposure-effect relationships, an objective evaluation of the exposures with robust assessment tools is necessary. This review discusses and compares currently available RF-EMF exposure assessment instruments, which can be used in human epidemiological studies. Quantitative assessment instruments are either mobile phone-based (apps/software-modified and hardware-modified) or exposimeters. Each of these tool has its usefulness and limitations. Our review suggests that assessment of RF-EMF exposures can be improved by using these tools compared to the proxy measures of exposure (e.g. questionnaires and billing records). This in turn, could be used to help increase knowledge about RF-EMF exposure induced health effects in human populations.

Instruments to assess and measure personal and environmental radiofrequency-electromagnetic field exposures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhatt, Chhavi R.; Redmayne, Mary; Abramson, Michael J.; Benke, Geza

2016-01-01

Radiofrequency-electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure of human populations is increasing due to the widespread use of mobile phones and other telecommunication and broadcasting technologies. There are ongoing concerns about potential short- and long-term public health consequences from RF-EMF exposures. To elucidate the RF-EMF exposure-effect relationships, an objective evaluation of the exposures with robust assessment tools is necessary. This review discusses and compares currently available RF-EMF exposure assessment instruments, which can be used in human epidemiological studies. Quantitative assessment instruments are either mobile phone-based (apps/software-modified and hardware-modified) or exposimeters. Each of these tool has its usefulness and limitations. Our review suggests that assessment of RF-EMF exposures can be improved by using these tools compared to the proxy measures of exposure (e.g. questionnaires and billing records). This in turn, could be used to help increase knowledge about RF-EMF exposure induced health effects in human populations.

Evaluation of a draft standard on performance specifications for health physics instrumentation. Initial results for radiological tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swinth, K.L.; Kenoyer, J.L.; Mileham, A.P.; Kathren, R.L.; Selby, J.M.

1983-06-01

The draft ANSI standard N42.17D2 on performance specifications for health physics instrumentation is currently being evaluated by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory. The primary objective of the project is the evaluation of the applicability and practicality of the proposed standard through testing of a cross-section of currently available commercial instruments to determine how well they conform to the standard. The standard is being tested against instruments such as ionization chambers, G.M. detectors, alpha survey meters, and neutron dose equivalent survey meters. This paper presents results of the preliminary radiological performance tests on ionization chambers and G.M. detectors. This includes both the data generated during the tests and a discussion of procedures developed to perform the testing. Results are reported for response time, accuracy, precision, radiation overloads, and angular dependence. In addition, results are reported for parameters that affect instrument performance including battery lifetime, geotropism and stability. Initial test indicates that some of the instruments will not meet the criteria specified in ANSI N42.17D2. Results cover approximately 40 instruments that have been obtained by direct purchase, by loan from instrument vendors or by loan from others including DOE licensees

Diagnostic performance of major depression disorder case-finding instruments used among mothers of young children in the United States: A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Owora, Arthur H; Carabin, Hélène; Reese, Jessica; Garwe, Tabitha

2016-09-01

Growing recognition of the interrelated negative outcomes associated with major depression disorder (MDD) among mothers and their children has led to renewed public health interest in the early identification and treatment of maternal MDD. Healthcare providers, however, remain unsure of the validity of existing case-finding instruments. We conducted a systematic review to identify the most valid maternal MDD case-finding instrument used in the United States. We identified articles reporting the sensitivity and specificity of MDD case-finding instruments based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) by systematically searching through three electronic bibliographic databases, PubMed, PsycINFO, and EMBASE, from 1994 to 2014. Study eligibility and quality were evaluated using the Standards for the Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy studies and Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies guidelines respectively. Overall, we retrieved 996 unduplicated articles and selected 74 for full-text review. Of these, 14 articles examining 21 different instruments were included in the systematic review. The 10 item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Postpartum Depression Screening Scale had the most stable (lowest variation) and highest diagnostic performance during the antepartum and postpartum periods (sensitivity range: 0.63-0.94 and 0.67-0.95; specificity range: 0.83-0.98 and 0.68-0.97 respectively). Greater variation in diagnostic performance was observed among studies with higher MDD prevalence. Factors that explain greater variation in instrument diagnostic performance in study populations with higher MDD prevalence were not examined. Findings suggest that the diagnostic performance of maternal MDD case-finding instruments is peripartum period-specific. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Monitoring student attendance, participation, and performance improvement: an instrument and forms.

Science.gov (United States)

Kosta, Joanne

2012-01-01

When students receive consistent and fair feedback about their behavior, program liability decreases. To help students to have a clearer understanding of minimum program standards and the consequences of substandard performance, the author developed attendance and participation monitoring and performance improvement instruments. The author discusses the tools that address absenteeism, tardiness, unprofessional, and unsafe clinical behaviors among students.

Development of the evaluation instrument use CIPP on the implementation of project assessment topic optik

Science.gov (United States)

Asfaroh, Jati Aurum; Rosana, Dadan; Supahar

2017-08-01

This research aims to develop an evaluation instrument models CIPP valid and reliable as well as determine the feasibility and practicality of an evaluation instrument models CIPP. An evaluation instrument models CIPP to evaluate the implementation of the project assessment topic optik to measure problem-solving skills of junior high school class VIII in the Yogyakarta region. This research is a model of development that uses 4-D. Subject of product trials are students in class VIII SMP N 1 Galur and SMP N 1 Sleman. Data collection techniques in this research using non-test techniques include interviews, questionnaires and observations. Validity in this research was analyzed using V'Aikens. Reliability analyzed using ICC. This research uses 7 raters are derived from two lecturers expert (expert judgment), two practitioners (science teacher) and three colleagues. The results of this research is the evaluation's instrument model of CIPP is used to evaluate the implementation of the implementation of the project assessment instruments. The validity result of evaluation instrument have V'Aikens values between 0.86 to 1, which means a valid and 0.836 reliability values into categories so well that it has been worth used as an evaluation instrument.

The Effect of Birth Weight on Academic Performance: Instrumental Variable Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Shi Lin; Leung, Gabriel Matthew; Schooling, C Mary

2017-05-01

Observationally, lower birth weight is usually associated with poorer academic performance; whether this association is causal or the result of confounding is unknown. To investigate this question, we obtained an effect estimate, which can have a causal interpretation under specific assumptions, of birth weight on educational attainment using instrumental variable analysis based on single nucleotide polymorphisms determining birth weight combined with results from the Social Science Genetic Association Consortium study of 126,559 Caucasians. We similarly obtained an estimate of the effect of birth weight on academic performance in 4,067 adolescents from Hong Kong's (Chinese) Children of 1997 birth cohort (1997-2016), using twin status as an instrumental variable. Birth weight was not associated with years of schooling (per 100-g increase in birth weight, -0.006 years, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.02, 0.01) or college completion (odds ratio = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.96, 1.03). Birth weight was also unrelated to academic performance in adolescents (per 100-g increase in birth weight, -0.004 grade, 95% CI: -0.04, 0.04) using instrumental variable analysis, although conventional regression gave a small positive association (0.02 higher grade, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.03). Observed associations of birth weight with academic performance may not be causal, suggesting that interventions should focus on the contextual factors generating this correlation. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Astronomy and Space Science Concept Inventory: Assessment Instruments Aligned with the K-12 National Science Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Sadler, Philip M.

2011-01-01

We report on the development of an item test bank and associated instruments based on those K-12 national standards which involve astronomy and space science. Utilizing hundreds of studies in the science education research literature on student misconceptions, we have constructed 211 unique items that measure the degree to which students abandon such ideas for accepted scientific views. Piloted nationally with 7599 students and their 88 teachers spanning grades 5-12, the items reveal a range of interesting results, particularly student difficulties in mastering the NRC Standards and AAAS Benchmarks. Teachers generally perform well on items covering the standards of the grade level at which they teach, exhibiting few misconceptions of their own. Teachers dramatically overestimate their students’ performance, perhaps because they are unaware of their students’ misconceptions. Examples are given showing how the developed instruments can be used to assess the effectiveness of instruction and to evaluate the impact of professional development activities for teachers.

Evaluation of the McMahon Competence Assessment Instrument for Use with Midwifery Students During a Simulated Shoulder Dystocia.

Science.gov (United States)

McMahon, Erin; Jevitt, Cecilia; Aronson, Barbara

2018-03-01

Intrapartum emergencies occur infrequently but require a prompt and competent response from the midwife to prevent morbidity and mortality of the woman, fetus, and newborn. Simulation provides the opportunity for student midwives to develop competence in a safe environment. The purpose of this study was to determine the inter-rater reliability of the McMahon Competence Assessment Instrument (MCAI) for use with student midwives during a simulated shoulder dystocia scenario. A pilot study using a nonprobability convenience sample was used to evaluate the MCAI. Content validity indices were calculated for the individual items and the overall instrument using data from a panel of expert reviewers. Fourteen student midwives consented to be video recorded while participating in a simulated shoulder dystocia scenario. Three faculty raters used the MCAI to evaluate the student performance. These quantitative data were used to determine the inter-rater reliability of the MCAI. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess the inter-rater reliability of MCAI scores between 2 or more raters. The ICC was 0.86 (95% confidence interval, 0.60-0.96). Fleiss's kappa was calculated to determine the inter-rater reliability for individual items. Twenty-three of the 42 items corresponded to excellent strength of agreement. This study demonstrates a method to determine the inter-rater reliability of a competence assessment instrument to be used with student midwives. Data produced by this study were used to revise and improve the instrument. Additional research will further document the inter-rater reliability and can be used to determine changes in student competence. Valid and reliable methods of assessment will encourage the use of simulation to efficiently develop the competence of student midwives. © 2018 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

Sentinel-5 instrument: status of design, performance, and development

Science.gov (United States)

Gühne, T.; Keim, C.; Bartsch, P.; Weiß, S.; Melf, M.; Seefelder, W.

2017-09-01

The Sentinel-5 instrument is currently under development by a consortium led by Airbus Defence and Space in the frame of the European Union Copernicus program. It is a customer furnished item to the MetOp Second Generation satellite platform, which will provide operational meteorological data for the coming decades. Mission objective of the Sentinel-5 is to monitor the composition of the Earth atmosphere for Copernicus Atmosphere Services by taking measurements of trace gases and aerosols impacting air quality and climate with high resolution and daily global coverage. Therefore the Sentinel-5 provides five dispersive spectrometers covering the UV-VIS (270…500 nm), NIR (685 …773 nm) and SWIR (1590…1675 and 2305…2385 nm) spectral bands with resolutions <=1nm. Spatially the Sentinel-5 provides a 108° field of view with a ground sampling of 7.5 x 7 km2 at Nadir. The development program is post PDR and the build-up of the industrial team is finalised. We report on the instrument architecture and design derived from the driving requirements, the predicted instrument performance, and the general status of the program.

Technological considerations in emergency instrumentation preparedness. Phase II-D. Evaluation testing and calibration methodology for emergency radiological instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bramson, P.E.; Andersen, B.V.; Fleming, D.M.; Kathren, R.L.; Mulhern, O.R.; Newton, C.E.; Oscarson, E.E.; Selby, J.M.

1976-09-01

In response to recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, the Division of Operational Safety, U.S. ERDA has contracted with Battelle, Pacific Northwest Laboratories to survey the adequacy of existing instrumentation at nuclear fuel cycle facilities to meet emergency requirements and to develop technical criteria for instrumentation systems to be used in assessment of environmental conditions following plant emergencies. This report, the fifth in a series, provides: (1) calibration methods to assure the quality of radiological measurements and (2) testing procedures for determining whether an emergency radiological instrument meets the performance specifications. Three previous reports in this series identified the emergency instrumentation needs for power reactors, mixed oxide fuel plants, and fuel reprocessing facilities. Each of these three reports contains a Section VI, which sets forth applicable radiological instrument performance criteria and calibration requirements. Testing and calibration procedures in this report have been formatted in two parts: IV and V, each divided into three subsections: (1) Power Reactors, (2) Mixed Oxide Fuel Plants, and (3) Fuel Reprocessing Facilities. The three performance criteria subsections directly coincide with the performance criteria sections of the previous reports. These performance criteria sections have been reproduced in this report as Part III with references of ''required action'' added

Organizational Performance Assessment: Overview of Publications in National Journals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Mara Iesbik Valmorbida

2012-12-01

Full Text Available In the literature there are several tools that aim to assess organizational performance, such as Balanced Scorecard (BSC, National Quality Award (PNQ, Multicriteria Methodology for Decision Aiding (MCDA, Data envelopment analysis (DEA, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP, among others. However, it is perceived in practice doubts as to choose the most appropriate for each organizational context. In this sense, it is argued that to measure the performance of the organization it is necessary that this measure is based on an instrument that allows transparency in the evaluation form, and insert those interested in the evaluation process. The credibility of an evaluation therefore depends on the ability to produce consistent information for all subjects involved in the intervention. The search for tools to improve the way to evaluate organizational performance it is increasingly necessary. The objective of this study is to identify the main tools of organizational performance assessment published in national journals in the area of Administration, Accounting and Tourism, classified by CAPES Qualis A1 to B5. The study is characterized as descriptive and qualitative documentation. We analyzed 489 articles, which resulted in the following results:(i identified the main theme of the authors and regular assessment of organizational performance, (ii from the year 2000 publications on the subject grew substantially, (iii Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA, Balanced Scorecard (BSC and Multicriteria for decision aiding methodology(MCDA-C are the most commonly used tools for evaluating performance, (iv most of the tools found in the literature are multiple criteria, (v described the process used by the tools to assess organizational performance.

Standard practice for evaluating performance characteristics of ultrasonic Pulse-Echo testing instruments and systems without the use of electronic measurement instruments

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2011-01-01

1.1 This practice describes procedures for evaluating the following performance characteristics of ultrasonic pulse-echo examination instruments and systems: Horizontal Limit and Linearity; Vertical Limit and Linearity; Resolution - Entry Surface and Far Surface; Sensitivity and Noise; Accuracy of Calibrated Gain Controls. Evaluation of these characteristics is intended to be used for comparing instruments and systems or, by periodic repetition, for detecting long-term changes in the characteristics of a given instrument or system that may be indicative of impending failure, and which, if beyond certain limits, will require corrective maintenance. Instrument characteristics measured in accordance with this practice are expressed in terms that relate to their potential usefulness for ultrasonic testing. Instrument characteristics expressed in purely electronic terms may be measured as described in E1324. 1.2 Ultrasonic examination systems using pulsed-wave trains and A-scan presentation (rf or video) may be ev...

Assessing Performance and Learning in Interprofessional Health Care Teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Ekmekci, Ozgur; Sheingold, Brenda; Plack, Margaret; LeLacheur, Susan; Halvaksz, Jennifer; Lewis, Karen; Schlumpf, Karen; Greenberg, Larrie

2015-01-01

Teamwork has become an integral part of health care delivery. Such emphasis on teamwork has generated the need to systematically measure and improve the learning and performance of health care teams. The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive assessment instrument, the Interprofessional Education and Practice Inventory (IPEPI), to evaluate learning and performance in interprofessional health care teams. The 12-month study commenced in three 4-month phases: (1) a panel of 25 national and international experts participated in the Delphi process to identify factors influencing team learning and team performance; (2) the research team analyzed the findings from the two Delphi rounds to develop the IPEPI; and (3) a cohort of 27 students at the university engaged in clinical simulations to test and refine the IPEPI. Findings suggest key factors that significantly influence team learning and performance include whether the group is able to foster a climate of mutual respect, adopt effective communication strategies, develop a sense of trust, and invite contributions from others. Additionally, in assessing organizational factors, participants indicated those factors that significantly influence team learning and performance include whether the organization is patient-centered, creates a culture of safety (not blame), and supports individual and team learning. These findings highlight the critical role assessment plays in enhancing not just interprofessional education or interprofessional practice, but in essence advancing interprofessional education and practice--which requires an integrated examination of how health care professionals learn and perform in teams.

Root Canal Transportation and Centering Ability of Nickel-Titanium Rotary Instruments in Mandibular Premolars Assessed Using Cone-Beam Computed Tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

Mamede-Neto, Iussif; Borges, Alvaro Henrique; Guedes, Orlando Aguirre; de Oliveira, Durvalino; Pedro, Fábio Luis Miranda; Estrela, Carlos

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate, using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), transportation and centralization of different nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary instruments. One hundred and twenty eight mandibular premolars were selected and instrumented using the following brands of NiTi files: WaveOne, WaveOne Gold, Reciproc, ProTaper Next, ProTaper Gold, Mtwo, BioRaCe and RaCe. CBCT imaging was performed before and after root canal preparation to obtain measurements of mesial and distal dentin walls and calculations of root canal transportation and centralization. A normal distribution of data was confirmed by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Levene tests, and results were assessed using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Statistical significance was set at 5%. ProTaper Gold produced the lowest canal transportation values, and RaCe, the highest. ProTaper Gold files also showed the highest values for centering ability, whereas BioRaCe showed the lowest. No significant differences were found across the different instruments in terms of canal transportation and centering ability (P > 0.05). Based on the methodology employed, all instruments used for root canal preparation of mandibular premolars performed similarly with regard to canal transportation and centering ability.

Implementing the IA stage and developing an instrument to assess the fidelity of critical time interventional: task shifting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatiana Fernandes Carpinteiro Silva

2014-10-01

Full Text Available One strategy that has been used for treat patients with mental health disorder is the implementation of psychosocial interventions. Like the development of a new drug, which requires safety studies before efficacy assessment, the psychosocial interventions should be implemented following defined stages, with the objective of increase the validity and reliability of such interventions. These stages are IA (pre-pilot, IB (pilot study, II (randomized clinical trial and III (additional studies. This study proposes a description of all activities carried out in implementation of the pre-pilot (IA Critical Time Intervention – Task Shifting (CTI-TS, including the development of manuals and the development of an instrument to assess fidelity to the original protocol. As a result, were performed the adaptation of instruments to be used in the pilot study, the adaptation of CTI-TS manual to Brazilian context, the adaptation of the agents CTI-TS training manual, as well the development of the CTI-TS assessment scale fidelity and its instruction manual. This allows multicentric studies conducted in different contexts could be performed avoiding biases. Considering that Brazil is a country that lacks resources allocated to mental care, it is expected that more psychosocial interventions can be implemented, since it was possible to develop the implementation process according to the methods recommended by the international scientific literature.

Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument (CEAI): Refinement and Validation of a Survey Measure

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Cates, Michael S

2007-01-01

.... The measurement instrument known as the Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Index (CEAI) has been designed to tap the climate-related organizational factors that represent and potentially encourage corporate entrepreneurship...

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of an Instrument to Assess Cross-Cultural Competence of Healthcare Professionals (CCCHP)

Science.gov (United States)

Bernhard, Gerda; Knibbe, Ronald A.; von Wolff, Alessa; Dingoyan, Demet; Schulz, Holger; Mösko, Mike

2015-01-01

Background Cultural competence of healthcare professionals (HCPs) is recognized as a strategy to reduce cultural disparities in healthcare. However, standardised, valid and reliable instruments to assess HCPs’ cultural competence are notably lacking. The present study aims to 1) identify the core components of cultural competence from a healthcare perspective, 2) to develop a self-report instrument to assess cultural competence of HCPs and 3) to evaluate the psychometric properties of the new instrument. Methods The conceptual model and initial item pool, which were applied to the cross-cultural competence instrument for the healthcare profession (CCCHP), were derived from an expert survey (n = 23), interviews with HCPs (n = 12), and a broad narrative review on assessment instruments and conceptual models of cultural competence. The item pool was reduced systematically, which resulted in a 59-item instrument. A sample of 336 psychologists, in advanced psychotherapeutic training, and 409 medical students participated, in order to evaluate the construct validity and reliability of the CCCHP. Results Construct validity was supported by principal component analysis, which led to a 32-item six-component solution with 50% of the total variance explained. The different dimensions of HCPs’ cultural competence are: Cross-Cultural Motivation/Curiosity, Cross-Cultural Attitudes, Cross-Cultural Skills, Cross-Cultural Knowledge/Awareness and Cross-Cultural Emotions/Empathy. For the total instrument, the internal consistency reliability was .87 and the dimension’s Cronbach’s α ranged from .54 to .84. The discriminating power of the CCCHP was indicated by statistically significant mean differences in CCCHP subscale scores between predefined groups. Conclusions The 32-item CCCHP exhibits acceptable psychometric properties, particularly content and construct validity to examine HCPs’ cultural competence. The CCCHP with its five dimensions offers a comprehensive

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of an Instrument to Assess Cross-Cultural Competence of Healthcare Professionals (CCCHP).

Science.gov (United States)

Bernhard, Gerda; Knibbe, Ronald A; von Wolff, Alessa; Dingoyan, Demet; Schulz, Holger; Mösko, Mike

2015-01-01

Cultural competence of healthcare professionals (HCPs) is recognized as a strategy to reduce cultural disparities in healthcare. However, standardised, valid and reliable instruments to assess HCPs' cultural competence are notably lacking. The present study aims to 1) identify the core components of cultural competence from a healthcare perspective, 2) to develop a self-report instrument to assess cultural competence of HCPs and 3) to evaluate the psychometric properties of the new instrument. The conceptual model and initial item pool, which were applied to the cross-cultural competence instrument for the healthcare profession (CCCHP), were derived from an expert survey (n = 23), interviews with HCPs (n = 12), and a broad narrative review on assessment instruments and conceptual models of cultural competence. The item pool was reduced systematically, which resulted in a 59-item instrument. A sample of 336 psychologists, in advanced psychotherapeutic training, and 409 medical students participated, in order to evaluate the construct validity and reliability of the CCCHP. Construct validity was supported by principal component analysis, which led to a 32-item six-component solution with 50% of the total variance explained. The different dimensions of HCPs' cultural competence are: Cross-Cultural Motivation/Curiosity, Cross-Cultural Attitudes, Cross-Cultural Skills, Cross-Cultural Knowledge/Awareness and Cross-Cultural Emotions/Empathy. For the total instrument, the internal consistency reliability was .87 and the dimension's Cronbach's α ranged from .54 to .84. The discriminating power of the CCCHP was indicated by statistically significant mean differences in CCCHP subscale scores between predefined groups. The 32-item CCCHP exhibits acceptable psychometric properties, particularly content and construct validity to examine HCPs' cultural competence. The CCCHP with its five dimensions offers a comprehensive assessment of HCPs' cultural competence, and has the

Psychometric properties of assessment instruments for autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review of Brazilian studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bárbara Backes

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Objective To systematically review the scientific literature on the psychometric properties of international instruments for the assessment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD in the Brazilian population. Methods A search of bibliographic references was conducted in six electronic databases: PsycINFO, PubMed, IndexPsi, Lilacs, Capes (theses and dissertations and SciELO. The studies were selected by two independent researchers. Results The procedure identified 11 studies of the Brazilian population that encompassed six ASD assessment tools. Given the information provided, the adaptation of the M-CHAT, a screening instrument, was the best conducted. All steps of the adaptation process were described and the changes made to the final version of the instrument were presented, which was not addressed in other studies. In terms of reliability, all of the instruments that assessed internal consistency showed adequate values. In addition, the ADI-R and the CARS adaptations also satisfactorily contemplated inter-rater reliability and test-retest indices, respectively. Finally, all studies aiming to validate instruments showed evidence of validity and sensitivity, and specificity values above 0.90 were observed in the ASQ, ADI-R and ABC. Conclusion Considering both the psychometric aspects and the copyright information, the screening instrument that currently appears to be best indicated for clinical and research use is the M-CHAT. It was also noticed that there are still no specific ASD diagnostic tools available for use in Brazil. This lack of diagnostic instruments consists in a critical situation for the improvement of clinical practice and the development of research in this area.

Evaluating the effectiveness of impact assessment instruments: Theorising the nature and implications of their political constitution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cashmore, Matthew; Richardson, Tim; Hilding-Ryedvik, Tuija; Emmelin, Lars

2010-01-01

The central role of impact assessment instruments globally in policy integration initiatives has been cemented in recent years. Associated with this trend, but also reflecting political emphasis on greater accountability in certain policy sectors and a renewed focus on economic competitiveness in Western countries, demand has increased for evidence that these instruments are effective (however defined). Resurgent interest in evaluation has not, however, been accompanied by the conceptual developments required to redress longstanding theoretical problems associated with such activities. In order to sharpen effectiveness evaluation theory for impact assessment instruments this article critically examines the neglected issue of their political constitution. Analytical examples are used to concretely explore the nature and significance of the politicisation of impact assessment. It is argued that raising awareness about the political character of impact assessment instruments, in itself, is a vital step in advancing effectiveness evaluation theory. Broader theoretical lessons on the framing of evaluation research are also drawn from the political analysis. We conclude that, at least within the contemporary research context, learning derived from analysing the meaning and implications of plural interpretations of effectiveness represents the most constructive strategy for advancing impact assessment and policy integration theory.

[The methodological assessment and qualitative evaluation of psychometric performance tests based on the example of modern tests that assess reading and spelling skills].

Science.gov (United States)

Galuschka, Katharina; Rothe, Josefine; Schulte-Körne, Gerd

2015-09-01

This article looks at a means of objectively evaluating the quality of psychometric tests. This approach enables users to evaluate psychometric tests based on their methodological characteristics, in order to decide which instrument should be used. Reading and spelling assessment tools serve as examples. The paper also provides a review of German psychometric tests for the assessment of reading and spelling skills. This method facilitates the identification of psychometric tests.of high methodological quality which can be used for the assessment of reading and spelling skills. Reading performance should ideally be assessed with the following instruments: ELFE 1-6, LGVT 6-12, LESEN 6-7, LESEN 8-9, or WLLP-R. The tests to be used for the evaluation of spelling skills are DERET 1-2+, DERET 3-4+, WRT 1+, WRT 2+, WRT 3+, WRT 4+ or HSP 1-10.

The Self-assessment Practices of Hong Kong Secondary Students: Findings with a New Instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Zi

Self-assessment is a core skill that enables students to engage in self-regulated learning. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a Self-assessment Practice Scale and to depict the characteristics of self-assessment practices of Hong Kong secondary students using this newly developed instrument. A total of 6,125 students from 10 Hong Kong secondary schools completed the survey. Both Rasch and factor analyses revealed a two-dimension scale structure (i.e., Self-directed Feedback Seeking and Self-reflection). The two subscales demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties and suggestions for further improvement were proposed. The findings regarding self-assessment practices of secondary students indicated that, in general, students were quite used to engaging in self-reflection based on available feedback, but they were less disposed to taking the initiative to seek feedback on their own performance. Key demographic variables, e.g., gender and year level, played important roles in students' self-assessment practices. Girls had significantly higher self-assessment measures on both scales than did boys. Junior students had higher measures on both scales than did their senior counterparts. Implications and directions for future research were discussed.

An instrument to perform automated quality assurance and patient dosimetry in diagnostic radiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapple, C.-L.; Faulkner, K.

1992-01-01

A computerised method of automatically monitoring tube and generator parameters to perform on-line quality assurance and patient dosimetry has been developed. A microcomputer has been interfaced to a microprocessor controlled X ray generator and dose-area product meter. The instrument prompts the operator to enter details of the examination and projection before an examination is made. The field size and dose-area product are monitored by the instrument. These data, together with information on the tube potential are used to deduce the patient entrance dose and energy imparted. Organ doses are estimated using normalised organ dose data. The accuracy and reproducibility of the instrument were investigated. Doses measured in a Rando phantom were compared with calculations made by the instrument. The instrument will compare various measured quality assurance parameters against their nominal values. The implications of this instrument for both patient dosimetry studies and effective continuous quality assurance are discussed. (author)

Strategies to Enhance Online Learning Teams. Team Assessment and Diagnostics Instrument and Agent-based Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-12

Strategies to Enhance Online Learning Teams Team Assessment and Diagnostics Instrument and Agent-based Modeling Tristan E. Johnson, Ph.D. Learning ...REPORT DATE AUG 2010 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2010 to 00-00-2010 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Strategies to Enhance Online Learning ...TeamsTeam Strategies to Enhance Online Learning Teams: Team Assessment and Diagnostics Instrument and Agent-based Modeling 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT

Performance acceptance test of a portable instrument to detect uranium in water at the DOE Advanced Waste Water Treatment Plant, Fernald, Ohio

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, M.S.; Weeks, S.J.

1997-01-01

The Eppendorf-Biotronik Model IC 2001-2, a portable field ruggedized ion chromatography instrument, was rigorously tested at the DOE Advanced Waste Water Treatment Plant, Fernald, Ohio. This instrument rapidly detected the uranium concentration in water, and has a detection limit in the low ppb range without using the sample concentrating feature. The test set of samples analyzed included: ''Real World'' water samples from the AWWT containing uranium concentrations in the 9--110 ppb range, a sample blank, and a performance evaluation sample. The AWWT samples contained sets of both raw water and acid-preserved water samples. Selected samples were analyzed in quadruplicate to asses the instrument's precision, and these results were compared with the results from an off-site confirmatory laboratory to assess the instrument's accuracy. Additional comparisons with on-site laboratory instruments, Chemcheck KPA-11 and Scintrex UA-3 are reported. Overall, the Eppendorf-Biotronik IC 2001-2 performed exceptionally well providing a detection limit in the low ppb region (< 10 ppb) and giving rapid (< 5 minutes) accurate and reproducible analytical results for the AWWT, ''real world'', water samples with uranium concentrations in the region of interest (10--40 ppb). The per sample operating cost for this instrument is equivalent to the per sample cost for the currently used KPA. The time required to analyze a sample and provide a result is approximately the same for the CI 2001-2, KPA, and Scintrex instruments

Geotechnical assessment and instrumentation needs for isolation of nuclear waste in crystalline rocks: symposium proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ubbes, W.F.; Duguid, J.O.

1985-09-01

On October 15-19, 1984, the Geotechnical Assessment and Instrumentation Needs (GAIN) Symposium was convened to examine the status of technology for the isolation of nuclear waste in crystalline rock. The objective of the 1984 GAIN Symposium was to provide technical input to the Crystalline Repository Project concerning: critical issues and information needs associated with development and assessment of a repository in crystalline rock; appropriate techniques and instrumentation for determining the information needed; and technology required to provide the measurement techniques and instrumentation for application in an exploratory shaft in crystalline rock. The findings and recommendations of the symposium are presented in these proceedings

In vitro assessment of cutting efficiency and durability of zirconia removal diamond rotary instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Joon-Soo; Bae, Ji-Hyeon; Yun, Mi-Jung; Huh, Jung-Bo

2017-06-01

Recently, zirconia removal diamond rotary instruments have become commercially available for efficient cutting of zirconia. However, research of cutting efficiency and the cutting characteristics of zirconia removal diamond rotary instruments is limited. The purpose of this in vitro study was to assess and compare the cutting efficiency, durability, and diamond rotary instrument wear pattern of zirconia diamond removal rotary instruments with those of conventional diamond rotary instruments. In addition, the surface characteristics of the cut zirconia were assessed. Block specimens of 3 mol% yttrium cation-doped tetragonal zirconia polycrystal were machined 10 times for 1 minute each using a high-speed handpiece with 6 types of diamond rotary instrument from 2 manufacturers at a constant force of 2 N (n=5). An electronic scale was used to measure the lost weight after each cut in order to evaluate the cutting efficiency. Field emission scanning electron microscopy was used to evaluate diamond rotary instrument wear patterns and machined zirconia block surface characteristics. Data were statistically analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test, followed by the Mann-Whitney U test (α=.05). Zirconia removal fine grit diamond rotary instruments showed cutting efficiency that was reduced compared with conventional fine grit diamond rotary instruments. Diamond grit fracture was the most dominant diamond rotary instrument wear pattern in all groups. All machined zirconia surfaces were primarily subjected to plastic deformation, which is evidence of ductile cutting. Zirconia blocks machined with zirconia removal fine grit diamond rotary instruments showed the least incidence of surface flaws. Although zirconia removal diamond rotary instruments did not show improved cutting efficiency compared with conventional diamond rotary instruments, the machined zirconia surface showed smoother furrows of plastic deformation and fewer surface flaws. Copyright © 2016 Editorial Council

A comparison of the predictive properties of nine sex offender risk assessment instruments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smid, W.J.; Kamphuis, J.H.; Wever, E.C.; van Beek, D.J.

2014-01-01

Sex offender treatment is most effective when tailored to risk-need-responsivity principles, which dictate that treatment levels should match risk levels as assessed by structured risk assessment instruments. The predictive properties, missing values, and interrater agreement of the scores of 9

Attention to gender in communication skills assessment instruments in medical education: a review.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dielissen, P.W.; Bottema, B.J.A.M.; Verdonk, P.; Lagro-Janssen, T.

2011-01-01

CONTEXT: Gender is increasingly regarded as an important factor in doctor-patient communication education. This review aims to assess if and how gender is addressed by current assessment instruments for communication skills in medical education. METHODS: In 2009 at Radboud University Nijmegen

Development of the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST) Assessment Instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Slater, Timothy F.; Slater, S. J.

2008-05-01

Considerable effort in the astronomy education research (AER) community over the past several years has focused on developing assessment tools in the form of multiple-choice conceptual diagnostics and content knowledge surveys. This has been critically important in advancing the AER discipline so that researchers could establish the initial knowledge state of students as well as to attempt measure some of the impacts of innovative instructional interventions. Unfortunately, few of the existing instruments were constructed upon a solid list of clearly articulated and widely agreed upon learning objectives. This was not done in oversight, but rather as a result of the relative youth of AER as a discipline. Now that several important science education reform documents exist and are generally accepted by the AER community, we are in a position to develop, validate, and disseminate a new assessment instrument which is tightly aligned to the consensus learning goals stated by the American Astronomical Society - Chair's Conference on ASTRO 101, the American Association of the Advancement of Science's Project 2061 Benchmarks, and the National Research Council's National Science Education Standards. In response, researchers from the Cognition in Astronomy, Physics and Earth sciences Research (CAPER) Team at the University of Wyoming's Science & Math Teaching Center (UWYO SMTC) have designed a criterion-referenced assessment tool, called the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST). Through iterative development, this instrument has a high degree of reliability and validity for instructors and researchers needing information on students’ initial knowledge state at the beginning of a course and can be used, in aggregate, to help measure the impact of course-length duration instructional strategies for courses with learning goals tightly aligned to the consensus goals of our community.

Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills Performance: 2D Versus 3D Vision and Classic Instrument Versus New Hand-Held Robotic Device for Laparoscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Leite, Mariana; Carvalho, Ana F; Costa, Patrício; Pereira, Ricardo; Moreira, Antonio; Rodrigues, Nuno; Laureano, Sara; Correia-Pinto, Jorge; Vilaça, João L; Leão, Pedro

2016-02-01

Laparoscopic surgery has undeniable advantages, such as reduced postoperative pain, smaller incisions, and faster recovery. However, to improve surgeons' performance, ergonomic adaptations of the laparoscopic instruments and introduction of robotic technology are needed. The aim of this study was to ascertain the influence of a new hand-held robotic device for laparoscopy (HHRDL) and 3D vision on laparoscopic skills performance of 2 different groups, naïve and expert. Each participant performed 3 laparoscopic tasks-Peg transfer, Wire chaser, Knot-in 4 different ways. With random sequencing we assigned the execution order of the tasks based on the first type of visualization and laparoscopic instrument. Time to complete each laparoscopic task was recorded and analyzed with one-way analysis of variance. Eleven experts and 15 naïve participants were included. Three-dimensional video helps the naïve group to get better performance in Peg transfer, Wire chaser 2 hands, and Knot; the new device improved the execution of all laparoscopic tasks (P < .05). For expert group, the 3D video system benefited them in Peg transfer and Wire chaser 1 hand, and the robotic device in Peg transfer, Wire chaser 1 hand, and Wire chaser 2 hands (P < .05). The HHRDL helps the execution of difficult laparoscopic tasks, such as Knot, in the naïve group. Three-dimensional vision makes the laparoscopic performance of the participants without laparoscopic experience easier, unlike those with experience in laparoscopic procedures. © The Author(s) 2015.

Investigating Assessment Bias for Constructed Response Explanation Tasks: Implications for Evaluating Performance Expectations for Scientific Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Federer, Meghan Rector

Assessment is a key element in the process of science education teaching and research. Understanding sources of performance bias in science assessment is a major challenge for science education reforms. Prior research has documented several limitations of instrument types on the measurement of students' scientific knowledge (Liu et al., 2011; Messick, 1995; Popham, 2010). Furthermore, a large body of work has been devoted to reducing assessment biases that distort inferences about students' science understanding, particularly in multiple-choice [MC] instruments. Despite the above documented biases, much has yet to be determined for constructed response [CR] assessments in biology and their use for evaluating students' conceptual understanding of scientific practices (such as explanation). Understanding differences in science achievement provides important insights into whether science curricula and/or assessments are valid representations of student abilities. Using the integrative framework put forth by the National Research Council (2012), this dissertation aimed to explore whether assessment biases occur for assessment practices intended to measure students' conceptual understanding and proficiency in scientific practices. Using a large corpus of undergraduate biology students' explanations, three studies were conducted to examine whether known biases of MC instruments were also apparent in a CR instrument designed to assess students' explanatory practice and understanding of evolutionary change (ACORNS: Assessment of COntextual Reasoning about Natural Selection). The first study investigated the challenge of interpreting and scoring lexically ambiguous language in CR answers. The incorporation of 'multivalent' terms into scientific discourse practices often results in statements or explanations that are difficult to interpret and can produce faulty inferences about student knowledge. The results of this study indicate that many undergraduate biology majors

Intelligence Assessment Instruments in Adult Prison Populations: A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

van Esch, A Y M; Denzel, A D; Scherder, E J A; Masthoff, E D M

2017-10-01

Detection of intellectual disability (ID) in the penitentiary system is important for the following reasons: (a) to provide assistance to people with ID in understanding their legal rights and court proceedings; (b) to facilitate rehabilitation programs tailored to ID patients, which improves the enhancement of their quality of life and reduces their risk of reoffending; and (c) to provide a reliable estimate of the risk of offence recidivism. It requires a short assessment instrument that provides a reliable estimation of a person's intellectual functioning at the earliest possible stage of this process. The aim of this systematic review is (a) to provide an overview of recent short assessment instruments that provide a full-scale IQ score in adult prison populations and (b) to achieve a quality measurement of the validation studies regarding these instruments to determine which tests are most feasible in this target population. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses Statement is used to ensure reliability. The Satz-Mögel, an item-reduction short form of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, shows the highest correlation with the golden standard and is described to be most reliable. Nevertheless, when it comes to applicability in prison populations, the shorter and less verbal Quick Test can be preferred over others. Without affecting these conclusions, major limitations emerge from the present systematic review, which give rise to several important recommendations for further research.

Assessing the body image: relevance, application and instruments for oncological settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Annunziata, Maria Antonietta; Giovannini, Lorena; Muzzatti, Barbara

2012-05-01

Body image is the sum of physical, cognitive, emotional, and relational elements that, when integrated, allow the development of a whole, healthy self-identity. Even though body image is normally studied in relation to eating disorders, it can also be influenced by other pathologies, including cancer. In oncology, an effective body image assessment is fundamental. The physical effects of cancer and cancer treatments are important and frequently irreversible also on a functional and emotional level; however, only few surveys have investigated body image in this peculiar context. An extensive literature review was carried out in PubMed and PsycINFO. We considered articles published from 1990 to 2010. Two hundred sixty-three papers matched the search criteria. Assessment methodologies included clinical interviews, self-report measures, questionnaires, symptom check lists, and graphic tests and projective techniques. After excluding the instruments that referred to eating disorders, validated only for adolescents, and/or projective and graphic tests, we found 81 articles with six questionnaires specifically dedicated to body image assessment in oncology. From our systematic review, we could identify six instruments specifically designed for assessing body image in the oncological area. In this paper, we discuss their general characteristics, psychometrics properties and the clinical implications, and body image relevance on the quality of life in cancer patients.

First Results from the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST) Assessment Instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Slater, Stephanie

2009-01-01

Considerable effort in the astronomy education research over the past several years has focused on developing assessment tools in the form of multiple-choice conceptual diagnostics and content knowledge surveys. This has been critically important in advancing astronomy as a sub-discipline of physics education research, allowing researchers to establish the initial knowledge state of students as well as to attempt to measure some of the impacts of innovative instructional interventions. Before now, few of the existing instruments were constructed upon a solid list of clearly articulated and widely agreed upon learning objectives. Moving beyond the 10-year old Astronomy Diagnostics Test, we have developed and validated a new assessment instrument that is tightly aligned to the consensus learning goals stated by the American Astronomical Society - Chair's Conference on ASTRO 101, the American Association of the Advancement of Science's Project 2061 Benchmarks, and the National Research Council's National Science Education Standards. Researchers from the Cognition in Astronomy, Physics and Earth sciences Research (CAPER) Team at the University of Wyoming's Science and Math Teaching Center (UWYO SMTC) designed a criterion-referenced assessment tool, called the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST). Through iterative development, this multiple-choice instrument has a high degree of reliability and validity for instructors and researchers needing information on students’ initial knowledge state at the beginning of a course and can be used, in aggregate, to help measure the impact of course-length duration instructional strategies for undergraduate science survey courses with learning goals tightly aligned to the consensus goals of the astronomy education community.

Development of an instrument to assess readiness to recover in anorexia nervosa.

Science.gov (United States)

Rieger, E; Touyz, S; Schotte, D; Beumont, P; Russell, J; Clarke, S; Kohn, M; Griffiths, R

2000-12-01

The degree to which patients with anorexia nervosa demonstrate readiness to recover from their illness has received scant theoretical or empirical attention. Investigating the prevalence and degree of amotivation for recovery in anorexia nervosa, its role in outcome, and the effectiveness of interventions designed to enhance readiness to recover necessitates the existence of a reliable and valid measure of motivational issues relevant to the disorder. The present study aimed to develop and evaluate an instrument for assessing readiness to recover in anorexia nervosa, namely, the Anorexia Nervosa Stages of Change Questionnaire (ANSOCQ), a 23-item self-report questionnaire based on Prochaska and DiClemente's stages of change model. Seventy-one inpatients with anorexia nervosa participated in the study. On several occasions during their admission, participants completed the ANSOCQ as well as questionnaires assessing readiness to recover, anorexic symptomatology, general distress, and social desirability. The ANSOCQ demonstrated good internal consistency (.90) and 1-week test-retest reliability (.89). Various aspects of validity were also supported, such as significant relationships with other instruments assessing readiness to recover and the prediction of weight gain during different periods of treatment. The results suggest that the ANSOCQ is a psychometrically sound instrument that may prove useful in investigating the role of readiness to recover in anorexia nervosa. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Development and initial validation of an instrument to assess stressors among South African sports coaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Kubayi, Alliance; Toriola, Abel; Didymus, Faye

2018-06-01

The aim of this series of studies was to develop and initially validate an instrument to assess stressors among South African sports coaches. In study one, a preliminary pool of 45 items was developed based on existing literature and an expert panel was employed to assess the content validity and applicability of these items. In study two, the 32 items that were retained after study one were analysed using principal component analysis (PCA). The resultant factorial structure comprised four components: environmental stressors, performance stressors, task-related stressors, and athlete stressors. These four components were made up of 26 items and, together, the components and items comprised the provisional Stressors in Sports Coaching Questionnaire (SSCQ). The results show that the SSCQ demonstrates acceptable internal consistency (.73-.89). The findings provide preliminary evidence that SSCQ is a valid tool to assess stressors among South African sports coaches.

Comparing instrumental and deliberative paradigms underpinning the assessment of social values for cultural ecosystem services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Raymond, Christopher M.; Kenter, Jasper O.; Plieninger, Tobias

2014-01-01

Despite rapid advancements in the development of non-monetary techniques for the assessment of social values for ecosystem services, little research attention has been devoted to the evaluation of their underpinning paradigms. This study evaluates two contrasting paradigms for the assessment...... of social values in non-monetary terms: an instrumental paradigm involving an objective assessment of the distribution, type and/or intensity of values that individuals assign to the current state of ecosystems and a deliberative paradigm involving the exploration of desired end states through group...... discussion. We present and then justify through case examples two approaches for assessing social values for ecosystem services using the instrumental paradigm and two approaches using the deliberative paradigm. Each approach makes different assumptions about: the underlying rationale for values assessment...

Instrument reliability for high-level nuclear-waste-repository applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogue, F.; Binnall, E.P.; Armantrout, G.A.

1983-01-01

Reliable instrumentation will be needed to evaluate the characteristics of proposed high-level nuclear-wasted-repository sites and to monitor the performance of selected sites during the operational period and into repository closure. A study has been done to assess the reliability of instruments used in Department of Energy (DOE) waste repository related experiments and in other similar geological applications. The study included experiences with geotechnical, hydrological, geochemical, environmental, and radiological instrumentation and associated data acquisition equipment. Though this paper includes some findings on the reliability of instruments in each of these categories, the emphasis is on experiences with geotechnical instrumentation in hostile repository-type environments. We review the failure modes, rates, and mechanisms, along with manufacturers modifications and design changes to enhance and improve instrument performance; and include recommendations on areas where further improvements are needed

Using Performance in Multiple Simulated Scenarios to Assess Bronchoscopy Skills

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Konge, Lars; Arendrup, Henrik; Buchwald, Christian von

2011-01-01

using a standardized scoring form. Methods: The test was administered on a virtual reality bronchoscopy simulator to a total of 42 test subjects (14 senior consultants, 14 trainees and 14 medical students). The inter-rater reliability of the test procedure was explored according to examination of test......Background: International guidelines suggest that trainees should perform at least 100 flexible bronchoscopies in a supervised setting, but this number is not evidence based. An objective assessment method could provide educational feedback to trainees and help supervisors decide when basic...... competency is established. No former assessment instrument has been able to distinguish between trainees and experts. Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the validity and reliability of a new assessment procedure relating to testing operators across multiple tasks with increasing difficulty...

[Caregiving consequences in mental disorders--definitions and instruments of assessment].

Science.gov (United States)

Ciałkowska-Kuźmińska, Magdalena; Kiejna, Andrzej

2010-01-01

Severe mental illnesses have far-reaching consequences for both patients and their relatives. This paper reviews literature on the measures of caregiving consequences. Authors provide a condensed knowledge and research results in the area of caregiving consequences, especially both subjective and objective caregivers' burden. The consequences of care apply to carers' social and leisure activities, financial status, health condition. The burden of care has three fundamental causes: the reorganisation of mental health services, a social isolation of patients and their families and the lack of systemic support for caregivers. The problem of caregiving consequences has been investigated in several studies. In order to identify factors, which have impact on caregiver distress, a variety instruments have been developed. This paper focuses on questionnaires useful for the systematic assessment of both objective and subjective burden: Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire (IEQ), Perceived Family Burden Scale (PFBS), Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale (ZCBS), Experience of Caregiving Inventory (ECI), Family Problems Questionnaire (FPQ). The mentioned instruments proved to be a reliable instrument for measuring caregiver consequences in mental healthcare.

Food Sanitation and Safety Self-Assessment Instrument for School Nutrition Programs.

Science.gov (United States)

California State Dept. of Education, Sacramento.

Like food-service establishments, child nutrition programs are responsible for preserving the quality and wholesomeness of food. Proper food-handling practices prevent contamination and job-related accidents. Application of the evaluation instrument presented in this document to individual programs helps to define proper practices, assess the…

Validation of Modified Soft Skills Assessment Instrument (MOSSAI) for Use in Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Aworanti, O. A.; Taiwo, M. B.; Iluobe, O. I.

2015-01-01

Currently, it has become an accepted norm nearly all over the globe to teach and assess soft skills. However, in Nigeria, it is an emerging area of interest that needs to be addressed squarely. In the light of the fore-going, this study validated a modified version of Measuring and Assessment Soft Skills (MASS) (an instrument developed and used by…

Parsimonious and efficient assessment of health-related quality of life in osteoarthritis research: validation of the Assessment of Quality of Life (AQoL instrument

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Segal Leonie

2006-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Assessment of Quality of Life (AQoL utility instrument was psychometrically developed for the general population. This study aimed to explore its potential as an osteoarthritis (OA outcome measure. Methods WOMAC, Lequesne index, SF-36, Visual analogue scales and the AQoL were administered to 222 people with OA. The ability of each questionnaire to detect differences between groups was based on (i self-rated health (SRH and, (ii differences between people on an orthopedic waiting list (WL vs people with OA in the community (C. Comparisons included effect size, relative efficiency and receiver operator characteristic curves. Results All instruments detected differences between groups; however no one instrument exhibited superior efficiency. The AQoL demonstrated strong psychometric properties. Conclusion The AQoL has equivalent performance to comparator questionnaires commonly used in OA research and would be a useful adjunct to well-established disease specific scales. The AQoL has important advantages; brevity (12 items, facilitates comparisons between disease groups, and delivers a utility score that can be used in health economic evaluations.

Assessing health status and quality-of-life instruments: attributes and review criteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Aaronson, Neil; Alonso, Jordi; Burnam, Audrey; Lohr, Kathleen N; Patrick, Donald L; Perrin, Edward; Stein, Ruth E

2002-05-01

The field of health status and quality of life (QoL) measurement - as a formal discipline with a cohesive theoretical framework, accepted methods, and diverse applications--has been evolving for the better part of 30 years. To identify health status and QoL instruments and review them against rigorous criteria as a precursor to creating an instrument library for later dissemination, the Medical Outcomes Trust in 1994 created an independently functioning Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC). In the mid-1990s, the SAC defined a set of attributes and criteria to carry out instrument assessments; 5 years later, it updated and revised these materials to take account of the expanding theories and technologies upon which such instruments were being developed. This paper offers the SAC's current conceptualization of eight key attributes of health status and QoL instruments (i.e., conceptual and measurement model; reliability; validity; responsiveness; interpretability; respondent and administrative burden; alternate forms; and cultural and language adaptations) and the criteria by which instruments would be reviewed on each of those attributes. These are suggested guidelines for the field to consider and debate; as measurement techniques become both more familiar and more sophisticated, we expect that experts will wish to update and refine these criteria accordingly.

The Assessment of Expressive and Instrumental Power Value Orientations in Sport and in Everyday Life.

Science.gov (United States)

Bredemeier, B. J.

A typical assumption has been that women and men possess distinct power orientations: women have expressive characteristics, such as interdependence and cooperativeness, while men have instrumental characteristics, such as self reliance and competitiveness. An inventory assessing expressive and instrumental power orientations (PVO's) was developed…

Instrumentation availability during severe accidents for a boiling water reactor with a Mark I containment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arcieri, W.C.; Hanson, D.J.

1992-02-01

In support of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Accident Management Research Program, the availability of instruments to supply accident management information during a broad range of severe accidents is evaluated for a Boiling Water Reactor with a Mark I containment. Results from this evaluation include: (1) the identification of plant conditions that would impact instrument performance and information needs during severe accidents; (2) the definition of envelopes of parameters that would be important in assessing the performance of plant instrumentation for a broad range of severe accident sequences; and (3) assessment of the availability of plant instrumentation during severe accidents

Enhanced performance of aged rats in contingency degradation and instrumental extinction tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Samson, Rachel D; Venkatesh, Anu; Patel, Dhara H; Lipa, Peter; Barnes, Carol A

2014-04-01

Normal aging in rats affects behavioral performance on a variety of associative learning tasks under Pavlovian conditions. There is little information, however, on whether aging also impacts performance of instrumental tasks. Young (9-12 months) and aged (24-27 months) Fisher 344 rats were trained to press distinct levers associated with either maltodextrin or sucrose. The rats in both age groups increased their lever press frequency at a similar rate, suggesting that the initial acquisition of this instrumental task is not affected by aging. Using a contingency degradation procedure, we then addressed whether aged rats could adapt their behavior to changes in action-outcome contingencies. We found that young and aged rats do adapt, but that a different schedule of reinforcement is necessary to optimize performance in each age group. Finally, we also addressed whether aged rats can extinguish a lever press action as well as young rats, using 2 40-min extinction sessions on consecutive days. While extinction profiles were similar in young and aged rats on the first day of training, aged rats were faster to extinguish their lever presses on the second day, in spite of their performance levels being similar at the beginning of the session. Together these data support the finding that acquisition of instrumental lever press behaviors is preserved in aged rats and suggest that they have a different threshold for switching strategies in response to changes in action-outcome associations. This pattern of result implies that age-related changes in the brain are heterogeneous and widespread across structures.

State of the art on power performance assessments for wind energy conversion systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maribo Pedersen, B. [ed.

1997-12-31

It is the intention of this meeting to clarify the status of power performance verification and assessment and identify the future needs in terms of applications, research fields and standardization actions, putting emphasis on the following items: Power performance verification for wind farms; Power performance verification for large wind turbines; Power performance verification for wind turbines operating in complex terrain; Assessment of the available international and national standards; Assessment of developed, applied and verified tools for WECS power performance. This Experts Meeting had gathered 14 participants from 6 different countries. 12 presentations were given and although countries with a sizeable wind program, ie. Italy, UK and Spain were not present, it is felt that the meeting gave a fair impression of the contemporary state of the art world wide. Specific problems concerning accurate definition and measurement of wind speed by cup-anemometers were dealt with. Different sources of errors were analysed and valuable new experimental results were presented. Other instruments for wind-speed measurements than cup-anemometers were discussed as well. (EG)

Reference Proteome Extracts for Mass Spec Instrument Performance Validation and Method Development

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenblatt, Mike; Urh, Marjeta; Saveliev, Sergei

2014-01-01

Biological samples of high complexity are required to test protein mass spec sample preparation procedures and validate mass spec instrument performance. Total cell protein extracts provide the needed sample complexity. However, to be compatible with mass spec applications, such extracts should meet a number of design requirements: compatibility with LC/MS (free of detergents, etc.)high protein integrity (minimal level of protein degradation and non-biological PTMs)compatibility with common sample preparation methods such as proteolysis, PTM enrichment and mass-tag labelingLot-to-lot reproducibility Here we describe total protein extracts from yeast and human cells that meet the above criteria. Two extract formats have been developed: Intact protein extracts with primary use for sample preparation method development and optimizationPre-digested extracts (peptides) with primary use for instrument validation and performance monitoring

The design of an instrumented rebar for assessment of corrosion in cracked reinforced concrete

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pease, Bradley Justin; Geiker, Mette Rica; Stang, Henrik

2011-01-01

rebar with 17 electronically isolated corrosion sensors. Instrumented and standard rebars were cast into concrete beams and bending cracks were induced and held open using steel frames. Epoxy impregnation was used to assess and compare cracks in the concrete around the instrumented and standard rebar...... between the steel and concrete. Cracked beams with cast-in instrumented and standard rebars were ponded with a 10\\% chloride solution and the open circuit corrosion potential (OCP) of the 17 sensors was measured for up to 62 days. Measurements from the individual sensors indicate when and where active...

Instrumentation requirements from the user's view

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harsha, P.T.

1988-01-01

The use of combustor diagnostics is considered from the point of view of demonstration of performance of an airbreathing hypersonic engine. The basic need is seen to be that of providing the data necessary to verify performance predictions for the engine as installed in the airplane. This necessitates the use of a diagnostics capability that can provide the inputs required by the computational analyses that will be used to assess this performance. Because of the cost of ground test facilities, a premium is placed on measurement technique reliability and redundancy of instrumentation. A mix of nonintrusive optical techniques and probe-based measurements is seen to be the best approach using current diagnostics capability; one such instrument mix is outlined for a ramjet/scramjet test program. 11 references

Assessment of Equipment Capability to Perform Reliably under Severe Accident Conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-07-01

The experience from the last 40 years has shown that severe accidents can subject electrical and instrumentation and control (I&C) equipment to environmental conditions exceeding the equipment’s original design basis assumptions. Severe accident conditions can then cause rapid degradation or damage to various degrees up to complete failure of such equipment. This publication provides the technical basis to consider when assessing the capability of electrical and I&C equipment to perform reliably during a severe accident. It provides examples of calculation tools to determine the environmental parameters as well as examples and methods that Member States can apply to assess equipment reliability.

Development of a simple 12-item theory-based instrument to assess the impact of continuing professional development on clinical behavioral intentions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

France Légaré

Full Text Available Decision-makers in organizations providing continuing professional development (CPD have identified the need for routine assessment of its impact on practice. We sought to develop a theory-based instrument for evaluating the impact of CPD activities on health professionals' clinical behavioral intentions.Our multipronged study had four phases. 1 We systematically reviewed the literature for instruments that used socio-cognitive theories to assess healthcare professionals' clinically-oriented behavioral intentions and/or behaviors; we extracted items relating to the theoretical constructs of an integrated model of healthcare professionals' behaviors and removed duplicates. 2 A committee of researchers and CPD decision-makers selected a pool of items relevant to CPD. 3 An international group of experts (n = 70 reached consensus on the most relevant items using electronic Delphi surveys. 4 We created a preliminary instrument with the items found most relevant and assessed its factorial validity, internal consistency and reliability (weighted kappa over a two-week period among 138 physicians attending a CPD activity. Out of 72 potentially relevant instruments, 47 were analyzed. Of the 1218 items extracted from these, 16% were discarded as improperly phrased and 70% discarded as duplicates. Mapping the remaining items onto the constructs of the integrated model of healthcare professionals' behaviors yielded a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 275 items per construct. The partnership committee retained 61 items covering all seven constructs. Two iterations of the Delphi process produced consensus on a provisional 40-item questionnaire. Exploratory factorial analysis following test-retest resulted in a 12-item questionnaire. Cronbach's coefficients for the constructs varied from 0.77 to 0.85.A 12-item theory-based instrument for assessing the impact of CPD activities on health professionals' clinical behavioral intentions showed adequate validity and

A systematic review of instruments that assess the implementation of hospital quality management systems.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groene, O.; Botje, D.; Suñol, R.; Lopez, M.A.; Wagner, C.

2013-01-01

Purpose: Health-care providers invest substantial resources to establish and implement hospital quality management systems. Nevertheless, few tools are available to assess implementation efforts and their effect on quality and safety outcomes. This review aims to (i) identify instruments to assess

Developing an instrument to assess information technology staff motivation

OpenAIRE

Belfo, Fernando Paulo; Sousa, Rui Dinis

2011-01-01

Motivation is a key factor that influences individual effort, which, in turn, affects individual and organizational performance. Nevertheless, motivation at work depends on the organizational rewards and incentives, according to individual goals. This paper reports on the development of an instrument designed to measure the motivation of Information Technology people at their workplace. Psychology theories and work addressing intrinsic and extrinsic motivation have been studied. Some motivati...

How do trained raters take context factors into account when assessing GP trainee communication performance? An exploratory, qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Essers, Geurt; Dielissen, Patrick; van Weel, Chris; van der Vleuten, Cees; van Dulmen, Sandra; Kramer, Anneke

2015-03-01

Communication assessment in real-life consultations is a complex task. Generic assessment instruments help but may also have disadvantages. The generic nature of the skills being assessed does not provide indications for context-specific behaviour required in practice situations; context influences are mostly taken into account implicitly. Our research questions are: 1. What factors do trained raters observe when rating workplace communication? 2. How do they take context factors into account when rating communication performance with a generic rating instrument? Nineteen general practitioners (GPs), trained in communication assessment with a generic rating instrument (the MAAS-Global), participated in a think-aloud protocol reflecting concurrent thought processes while assessing videotaped real-life consultations. They were subsequently interviewed to answer questions explicitly asking them to comment on the influence of predefined contextual factors on the assessment process. Results from both data sources were analysed. We used a grounded theory approach to untangle the influence of context factors on GP communication and on communication assessment. Both from the think-aloud procedure and from the interviews we identified various context factors influencing communication, which were categorised into doctor-related (17), patient-related (13), consultation-related (18), and education-related factors (18). Participants had different views and practices on how to incorporate context factors into the GP(-trainee) communication assessment. Raters acknowledge that context factors may affect communication in GP consultations, but struggle with how to take contextual influences into account when assessing communication performance in an educational context. To assess practice situations, raters need extra guidance on how to handle specific contextual factors.

Assessment of Customer Service in Academic Health Care Libraries (ACSAHL): an instrument for measuring customer service.

Science.gov (United States)

Crossno, J E; Berkins, B; Gotcher, N; Hill, J L; McConoughey, M; Walters, M

2001-04-01

In a pilot study, the library had good results using SERVQUAL, a respected and often-used instrument for measuring customer satisfaction. The SERVQUAL instrument itself, however, received some serious and well-founded criticism from the respondents to our survey. The purpose of this study was to test the comparability of the results of SERVQUAL with a revised and shortened instrument modeled on SERVQUAL. The revised instrument, the Assessment of Customer Service in Academic Health Care Libraries (ACSAHL), was designed to better assess customer service in academic health care libraries. Surveys were sent to clients who had used the document delivery services at three academic medical libraries in Texas over the previous twelve to eighteen months. ACSAHL surveys were sent exclusively to clients at University of Texas (UT) Southwestern, while the client pools at the two other institutions were randomly divided and provided either SERVQUAL or ACSAHL surveys. Results indicated that more respondents preferred the shorter ACSAHL instrument to the longer and more complex SERVQUAL instrument. Also, comparing the scores from both surveys indicated that ACSAHL elicited comparable results. ACSAHL appears to measure the same type of data in similar settings, but additional testing is recommended both to confirm the survey's results through data replication and to investigate whether the instrument applies to different service areas.

Assessment of the wish to hasten death in patients with advanced disease: A systematic review of measurement instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Bellido-Pérez, Mercedes; Monforte-Royo, Cristina; Tomás-Sábado, Joaquín; Porta-Sales, Josep; Balaguer, Albert

2017-06-01

Patients with advanced conditions may present a wish to hasten death. Assessing this wish is complex due to the nature of the phenomenon and the difficulty of conceptualising it. To identify and analyse existing instruments for assessing the wish to hasten death and to rate their reported psychometric properties. Systematic review based on PRISMA guidelines. The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments checklist was used to evaluate the methodological quality of validation studies and the measurement properties of the instrument described. The CINAHL, PsycINFO, Pubmed and Web of Science databases were searched from inception to November 2015. A total of 50 articles involving assessment of the wish to hasten death were included. Eight concerned instrument validation and were evaluated using COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments criteria. They reported data for between two and seven measurement properties, with ratings between fair and excellent. Of the seven instruments identified, the Desire for Death Rating Scale or the Schedule of Attitudes toward Hastened Death feature in 48 of the 50 articles. The Schedule of Attitudes toward Hastened Death is the most widely used and is the instrument whose psychometric properties have been most often analysed. Versions of the Schedule of Attitudes toward Hastened Death are available in five languages other than the original English. This systematic review has analysed existing instruments for assessing the wish to hasten death. It has also explored the methodological quality of studies that have examined the measurement properties of these instruments and offers ratings of the reported properties. These results will be useful to clinicians and researchers with an interest in a phenomenon of considerable relevance to advanced patients.

Experimental Methods for UAV Aerodynamic and Propulsion Performance Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefan ANTON

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an experimental method for assessing the performances and the propulsion power of a UAV in several points based on telemetry. The points in which we make the estimations are chosen based on several criteria and the fallowing parameters are measured: airspeed, time-to-climb, altitude and the horizontal distance. With the estimated propulsion power and knowing the shaft motor power, the propeller efficiency is determined at several speed values. The shaft motor power was measured in the lab using the propeller as a break. Many flights, using the same UAV configuration, were performed before extracting flight data, in order to reduce the instrumental or statistic errors. This paper highlights both the methodology of processing the data and the validation of theoretical results.

Development of measurement standards for verifying functional performance of surface texture measuring instruments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fujii, A [Life and Industrial Product Development Department Olympus Corporation, 2951 Ishikawa-machi, Hachiouji-shi, Tokyo (Japan); Suzuki, H [Industrial Marketing and Planning Department Olympus Corporation, Shinjyuku Monolith, 3-1 Nishi-Shinjyuku 2-chome, Tokyo (Japan); Yanagi, K, E-mail: a_fujii@ot.olympus.co.jp [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Nagaoka University of Technology, 1603-1 Kamitomioka-machi, Nagaoka-shi, Niigata (Japan)

2011-08-19

A new measurement standard is proposed for verifying overall functional performance of surface texture measuring instruments. Its surface is composed of sinusoidal surface waveforms of chirp signals along horizontal cross sections of the material measure. One of the notable features is that the amplitude of each cycle in the chirp signal form is geometrically modulated so that the maximum slope is kept constant. The maximum slope of the chirp-like signal is gradually decreased according to movement in the lateral direction. We fabricated the measurement standard by FIB processing, and it was calibrated by AFM. We tried to evaluate the functional performance of Laser Scanning Microscope by this standard in terms of amplitude response with varying slope angles. As a result, it was concluded that the proposed standard can easily evaluate the performance of surface texture measuring instruments.

Using method triangulation to validate a new instrument (CPWQ-com) assessing cancer patients' satisfaction with communication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ross, Lone; Lundstrøm, Louise Hyldborg; Petersen, Morten Aagaard

2012-01-01

Patients' perceptions of care including the communication with health care staff is recognized as an important aspect of the quality of cancer care. Using mixed methods, we developed and validated a short instrument assessing this communication.......Patients' perceptions of care including the communication with health care staff is recognized as an important aspect of the quality of cancer care. Using mixed methods, we developed and validated a short instrument assessing this communication....

Instrument-Aided Assessment of the Effect of Natural and Technogenic Factors on the Geomechanical State of a Massif Enclosing an HPP Turbine Room

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abramov, N. N., E-mail: Abramov@goi.kolasc.net.ru; Epimakhov, Yu. A. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Mining Institute, Kola Scientific Center (Russian Federation)

2016-05-15

A package of geophysical criteria has been developed using seismic spatiotemporal tomography (SST) of a rock massif to perform an instrument-aided assessment of the effect of natural and technogenic factors on the geomechanical state of a rock massif enclosing an underground turbine room at an HPP. Results are presented for a detailed assessment for the underground turbine room at the Verkhnyaya Tuloma HPP on the Kola peninsula.

Quality of synthetic speech perceptual dimensions, influencing factors, and instrumental assessment

CERN Document Server

Hinterleitner, Florian

2017-01-01

This book reviews research towards perceptual quality dimensions of synthetic speech, compares these findings with the state of the art, and derives a set of five universal perceptual quality dimensions for TTS signals. They are: (i) naturalness of voice, (ii) prosodic quality, (iii) fluency and intelligibility, (iv) absence of disturbances, and (v) calmness. Moreover, a test protocol for the efficient indentification of those dimensions in a listening test is introduced. Furthermore, several factors influencing these dimensions are examined. In addition, different techniques for the instrumental quality assessment of TTS signals are introduced, reviewed and tested. Finally, the requirements for the integration of an instrumental quality measure into a concatenative TTS system are examined.

pODI at WIYN: Instrument Performance and Upgrade Path

Science.gov (United States)

Harbeck, Daniel R.; Boroson, T. A.; Rajagopal, J.; ODI Team; PPA Team

2013-06-01

A preliminary version of the WIYN One Degree Imager (ODI) has been commissioned throughout the semester 2012B, and has been put into scientific operation February 2013. ODI was devised to take advantage of the excellent image quality and wide field of view of the WIYN 3.5m telescope. To further improve delivered image quality, ODI uses Orthogonal Transfer Array (OTA) detectors that have the capability to electronically correct for image motion in the detectors during an exposure. The partial ODI (pODI) populates 13 out of the 64 OTAs in the focal plane, and coherent image motion correction is enabled. The 13 OTAs are configured as a 24 x 24 arcminute central “science field”, plus 4 outer OTAs, allowing the sampling of all radii within the one square degree field. Guide star signals from the outer detectors are either directed to the telescope only, or additionally used to calculate a global, coherent shift correction that is sent to the OTAs. The performance of pODI is excellent. Image quality is site seeing limited, and, on good seeing nights, we can achieve images around 0.4 arcsec FWHM over the entire field. We are still in the process of characterizing the gains from active image motion correction, but the detectors perform well in this mode. Data are immediately transferred to an archive at Indiana University, where they are pipeline-processed to remove instrumental signature. In this poster we summarize the current performance of the pODI instrument and outline a path towards a future, expanded version of ODI with a 6x6 central detector array, or a field of view of 48 x 48 arcminutes.

Novel Scanning Lens Instrument for Evaluating Fresnel Lens Performance: Equipment Development and Initial Results (Presentation)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herrero, R.; Miller, D. C.; Kurtz, S. R.; Anton, I.; Sala, G.

2013-07-01

A system dedicated to the optical transmittance characterization of Fresnel lenses has been developed at NREL, in collaboration with the UPM. The system quantifies the optical efficiency of the lens by generating a performance map. The shape of the focused spot may also be analyzed to understand change in the lens performance. The primary instrument components (lasers and CCD detector) have been characterized to confirm their capability for performing optical transmittance measurements. Measurements performed on SoG and PMMA lenses subject to a variety of indoor conditions (e.g., UV and damp heat) identified differences in the optical efficiency of the evaluated lenses, demonstrating the ability of the Scanning Lens Instrument (SLI) to distinguish between the aged lenses.

Validating the Assessment for Measuring Indonesian Secondary School Students Performance in Ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Rachmatullah, A.; Roshayanti, F.; Ha, M.

2017-09-01

The aims of this current study are validating the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Ecology assessment and examining the performance of Indonesian secondary school students on the assessment. A total of 611 Indonesian secondary school students (218 middle school students and 393 high school students) participated in the study. Forty-five items of AAAS assessment in the topic of Interdependence in Ecosystems were divided into two versions which every version has 21 similar items. Linking item method was used as the method to combine those two versions of assessment and further Rasch analyses were utilized to validate the instrument. Independent sample t-test was also run to compare the performance of Indonesian students and American students based on the mean of item difficulty. We found that from the total of 45 items, three items were identified as misfitting items. Later on, we also found that both Indonesian middle and high school students were significantly lower performance with very large and medium effect size compared to American students. We will discuss our findings in the regard of validation issue and the connection to Indonesian student’s science literacy.

Hardware performance assessment recommendations and tools for baropodometric sensor systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Giacomozzi

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Accurate plantar pressure measurements are mandatory in both clinical and research contexts. Differences in accuracy, precision, reliability of pressure measurement devices (PMDs prevented so far the onset of standardization processes and of reliable reference datasets. The Italian National Institute of Health (ISS approved and conducted a scientific project aimed to design, validate and implement dedicated testing methods for both in-factory and on-the-field PMD assessment. A general-purpose experimental set-up was built, complete and suitable for the assessment of PMDs based on different sensor technology, electronic conditioning and mechanical solutions. Preliminary assessments have been conducted on 5 commercial PMDs. The study lead to the definition of: i an appropriate set of instruments and procedures for PMD technical assessment; ii a minimum set of significant parameters for the technical characterization of the PMD performance; iii some recommendations to both manufacturers and end users for an appropriate use in clinics and in research context

Instrumentation availability for a pressurized water reactor with a large dry containment during severe accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arcieri, W.C.; Hanson, D.J.

1991-03-01

In support of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Accident Management Research Program, the availability of instruments to supply accident management information during a broad range of severe accidents is evaluated for a pressurized water reactor with a large dry containment. Results from this evaluation include the following: (a) identification of plant conditions that would impact instrument performance and information needs during severe accidents, (b) definition of envelopes of parameters that would be important in assessing the performance of plant instrumentation for a broad range of severe accident sequences, and (c) assessment of the availability of plant instrumentation during severe accidents. 16 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs

New Contemporary Criterion-Referenced Assessment Instruments for Astronomy & Geology: TOAST & EGGS

Science.gov (United States)

Guffey, Sarah Katie; Slater, Stephanie J.; Slater, Timothy F.

2015-08-01

Considerable effort in the astronomy and Earth sciences education research over the past decade has focused on developing assessment tools in the form of multiple-choice conceptual diagnostics and content knowledge surveys. This has been critically important in advancing discipline-based education research allowing scholar to establish the initial, incoming knowledge state of students as well as to attempt to measure some of the impacts of innovative instructional interventions. Before now, few of the existing instruments were constructed upon a solid list of clearly articulated and widely agreed upon learning objectives. Whereas first-generation assessment tools, such as the Astronomy Diagnostics Test ADT2) were based primarily upon further identifying documented astronomy misconceptions, scholars from the CAPER Center for Astronomy & Physics Education Research team are creating contemporary instruments based instead by developing items using modern test construction techniques and tightly aligned to the consensus learning goals identified by the American Association of the Advancement of Science’s Project 2061 Benchmarks, and the National Research Council’s National Science Education Standards, and the National Research Council’s Frameworks for A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. These consensus learning goals are further enhanced guiding documents from the American Astronomical Society - Chair’s Conference on ASTRO 101 and the NSF-funded Earth Science Literacy Initiative. Two of the resulting criterion-referenced assessment tools widely used by researchers are the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST) and the Exam of GeoloGy StandardS (EGGS). These easy-to-use and easy-to-score multiple-choice instruments have a high degree of reliability and validity for instructors and researchers needing information on students’ initial knowledge state at the beginning of a course and can be used, in aggregate, to

An ecologically valid performance-based social functioning assessment battery for schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Chuan; He, Yi; Cheung, Eric F C; Yu, Xin; Chan, Raymond C K

2013-12-30

Psychiatrists pay more attention to the social functioning outcome of schizophrenia nowadays. How to evaluate the real world function among schizophrenia is a challenging task due to culture difference, there is no such kind of instrument in terms of the Chinese setting. This study aimed to report the validation of an ecologically valid performance-based everyday functioning assessment for schizophrenia, namely the Beijing Performance-based Functional Ecological Test (BJ-PERFECT). Fifty community-dwelling adults with schizophrenia and 37 healthy controls were recruited. Fifteen of the healthy controls were re-tested one week later. All participants were administered the University of California, San Diego, Performance-based Skill Assessment-Brief version (UPSA-B) and the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). The finalized assessment included three subdomains: transportation, financial management and work ability. The test-retest and inter-rater reliabilities were good. The total score significantly correlated with the UPSA-B. The performance of individuals with schizophrenia was significantly more impaired than healthy controls, especially in the domain of work ability. Among individuals with schizophrenia, functional outcome was influenced by premorbid functioning, negative symptoms and neurocognition such as processing speed, visual learning and attention/vigilance. © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Appetitive Aggression Scale—development of an instrument for the assessment of human's attraction to violence.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roland Weierstall

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Background : Several instruments, notably Buss and Perry's Aggression Questionnaire, have been developed for the assessment of aggressive behavior. However, in these instruments, the focus has been on reactive rather than instrumental forms of aggression, even though men in particular may find aggressive behavior attractive. A questionnaire or structured interview for the systematic assessment of the attraction to violence is not yet available. Objective : We, therefore, developed a freely available short form for the assessment of a person's attraction to violent and planned forms of aggression based on reports of former combatants on the attraction to violence and the characteristics of instrumental aggression described in the literature. Method : The Appetitive Aggression Scale (AAS was administered to nine samples drawn from different populations, with a total of 1,632 former combatants and participants from war-affected regions (1,193 male and 439 female respondents. Results : From the initial set of 31 items, a selection of 15 items was extracted to improve the scale's psychometric properties and assess the construct of appetitive aggression validly with respect to content. Cronbach's Alpha coefficient of 0.85 was appropriate. All items loaded significantly on a single factor accounting for 32% of the total variance. Further analysis revealed that the scale measures a specific construct that can be distinguished from other concepts of human aggression. Conclusions : With the AAS, we present an easily administrable tool for the assessment of the attraction to violence.

Process of performance assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, C.M.; Halford, D.K.

1987-01-01

Performance assessment is the process used to evaluate the environmental consequences of disposal of radioactive waste in the biosphere. An introductory review of the subject is presented. Emphasis is placed on the process of performance assessment from the standpoint of defining the process. Performance assessment, from evolving experience at DOE sites, has short-term and long-term subprograms, the components of which are discussed. The role of mathematical modeling in performance assessment is addressed including the pros and cons of current approaches. Finally, the system/site/technology issues as the focal point of this symposium are reviewed

NRC performance assessment program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coplan, S.M.

1986-01-01

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) performance assessment program includes the development of guidance to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on preparation of a license application and on conducting the studies to support a license application. The nature of the licensing requirements of 10 CFR Part 60 create a need for performance assessments by the DOE. The NRC and DOE staffs each have specific roles in assuring the adequacy of those assessments. Performance allocation is an approach for determining what testing and analysis will be needed during site characterization to assure that an adequate data base is available to support the necessary performance assessments. From the standpoint of establishing is implementable methodology, the most challenging performance assessment needed for licensing is the one that will be used to determine compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) containment requirement

Content validity of governing in Building Information Modelling (BIM) implementation assessment instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Hadzaman, N. A. H.; Takim, R.; Nawawi, A. H.; Mohamad Yusuwan, N.

2018-04-01

BIM governance assessment instrument is a process of analysing the importance in developing BIM governance solution to tackle the existing problems during team collaboration in BIM-based projects. Despite the deployment of integrative technologies in construction industry particularly BIM, it is still insufficient compare to other sectors. Several studies have been established the requirements of BIM implementation concerning all technical and non-technical BIM adoption issues. However, the data are regarded as inadequate to develop a BIM governance framework. Hence, the objective of the paper is to evaluate the content validity of the BIM governance instrument prior to the main data collection. Two methods were employed in the form of literature review and questionnaire survey. Based on the literature review, 273 items with six main constructs are suggested to be incorporated in the BIM governance instrument. The Content Validity Ratio (CVR) scores revealed that 202 out of 273 items are considered as the utmost critical by the content experts. The findings for Item Level Content Validity Index (I-CVI) and Modified Kappa Coefficient however revealed that 257 items in BIM governance instrument are appropriate and excellent. The instrument is highly reliable for future strategies and the development of BIM projects in Malaysia.

Inter-laboratory evaluation of instrument platforms and experimental workflows for quantitative accuracy and reproducibility assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew J. Percy

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The reproducibility of plasma protein quantitation between laboratories and between instrument types was examined in a large-scale international study involving 16 laboratories and 19 LC–MS/MS platforms, using two kits designed to evaluate instrument performance and one kit designed to evaluate the entire bottom-up workflow. There was little effect of instrument type on the quality of the results, demonstrating the robustness of LC/MRM-MS with isotopically labeled standards. Technician skill was a factor, as errors in sample preparation and sub-optimal LC–MS performance were evident. This highlights the importance of proper training and routine quality control before quantitation is done on patient samples.

Instrument for assessing mobile technology acceptability in diabetes self-management: a validation and reliability study.

Science.gov (United States)

Frandes, Mirela; Deiac, Anca V; Timar, Bogdan; Lungeanu, Diana

2017-01-01

Nowadays, mobile technologies are part of everyday life, but the lack of instruments to assess their acceptability for the management of chronic diseases makes their actual adoption for this purpose slow. The objective of this study was to develop a survey instrument for assessing patients' attitude toward and intention to use mobile technology for diabetes mellitus (DM) self-management, as well as to identify sociodemographic characteristics and quality of life factors that affect them. We first conducted the documentation and instrument design phases, which were subsequently followed by the pilot study and instrument validation. Afterward, the instrument was administered 103 patients (median age: 37 years; range: 18-65 years) diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 DM, who accepted to participate in the study. The reliability and construct validity were assessed by computing Cronbach's alpha and using factor analysis, respectively. The instrument included statements about the actual use of electronic devices for DM management, interaction between patient and physician, attitude toward using mobile technology, and quality of life evaluation. Cronbach's alpha was 0.9 for attitude toward using mobile technology and 0.97 for attitude toward using mobile device applications for DM self-management. Younger patients (Spearman's ρ =-0.429; P higher education level (Kendall's τ =0.51; P mobile assistive applications for DM control. Moreover, patients with a higher quality of life presented a significantly more positive attitude toward using modern technology (Spearman's ρ =0.466; P mobile technology for DM self-management. Additionally, we found that even if most of the patients showed positive attitude toward mobile applications, only a moderate level of intention to indeed use them was observed. Moreover, the study indicated that barriers were truthfulness and easiness to use.

Problems with radiological surveillance instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swinth, K.L.; Tanner, J.E.; Fleming, D.M.

1984-09-01

Many radiological surveillance instruments are in use at DOE facilities throughout the country. These instruments are an essential part of all health physics programs, and poor instrument performance can increase program costs or compromise program effectiveness. Generic data from simple tests on newly purchased instruments shows that many instruments will not meet requirements due to manufacturing defects. In other cases, lack of consideration of instrument use has resulted in poor acceptance of instruments and poor reliability. The performance of instruments is highly variable for electronic and mechanical performance, radiation response, susceptibility to interferences and response to environmental factors. Poor instrument performance in these areas can lead to errors or poor accuracy in measurements

Problems with radiological surveillance instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swinth, K.L.; Tanner, J.E.; Fleming, D.M.

1985-01-01

Many radiological surveillance instruments are in use at DOE facilities throughout the country. These instruments are an essential part of all health physics programs, and poor instrument performance can increase program costs or compromise program effectiveness. Generic data from simple tests on newly purchased instruments shows that many instruments will not meet requirements due to manufacturing defects. In other cases, lack of consideration of instrument use has resulted in poor acceptance of instruments and poor reliability. The performance of instruments is highly variable for electronic and mechanical performance, radiation response, susceptibility to interferences and response to environmental factors. Poor instrument performance in these areas can lead to errors or poor accuracy in measurements

An assessment of self-reported physical activity instruments in young people for population surveillance: Project ALPHA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pearson Natalie

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The assessment of physical activity is an essential part of understanding patterns and influences of behaviour, designing interventions, and undertaking population surveillance and monitoring, but it is particularly problematic when using self-report instruments with young people. This study reviewed available self-report physical activity instruments developed for use with children and adolescents to assess their suitability and feasibility for use in population surveillance systems, particularly in Europe. Methods Systematic searches and review, supplemented by expert panel assessment. Results Papers (n = 437 were assessed as potentially relevant; 89 physical activity measures were identified with 20 activity-based measures receiving detailed assessment. Three received support from the majority of the expert group: Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children/Adolescents (PAQ-C/PAQ-A, Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance Survey (YRBS, and the Teen Health Survey. Conclusions Population surveillance of youth physical activity is strongly recommended and those involved in developing and undertaking this task should consider the three identified shortlisted instruments and evaluate their appropriateness for application within their national context. Further development and testing of measures suitable for population surveillance with young people is required.

Development of a quality instrument for assessing the spontaneous reports of ADR/ADE using Delphi method in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Lixun; Jiang, Ling; Shen, Aizong; Wei, Wei

2016-09-01

The frequently low quality of submitted spontaneous reports is of an increasing concern; to our knowledge, no validated instrument exists for assessing case reports' quality comprehensively enough. This work was conducted to develop such a quality instrument for assessing the spontaneous reports of adverse drug reaction (ADR)/adverse drug event (ADE) in China. Initial evaluation indicators were generated using systematic and literature data analysis. Final indicators and their weights were identified using Delphi method. The final quality instrument was developed by adopting the synthetic scoring method. A consensus was reached after four rounds of Delphi survey. The developed quality instrument consisted of 6 first-rank indicators, 18 second-rank indicators, and 115 third-rank indicators, and each rank indicator has been weighted. It evaluates the quality of spontaneous reports of ADR/ADE comprehensively and quantitatively on six parameters: authenticity, duplication, regulatory, completeness, vigilance level, and reporting time frame. The developed instrument was tested with good reliability and validity, which can be used to comprehensively and quantitatively assess the submitted spontaneous reports of ADR/ADE in China.

The Relationship between Pre-Service Music Teachers' Self-Efficacy Belief in Musical Instrument Performance and Personality Traits

Science.gov (United States)

Girgin, Demet

2017-01-01

Purpose: Strong self-efficacy bring achievement in instrument education as in other disciplines. Achievement will increase the quality of instrument education, and it will be reflected in the professional lives of pre-service teachers and their students. This suggests that research on belief in musical instrument performance is necessary.…

Preliminary results on a new instrument to assess patient motivation for treatment in cognitive-behaviour therapy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keijsers, G.P.J.; Schaap, C.P.D.R.; Hoogduin, C.A.L.; Hoogsteyns, B.; Kemp, E.C.M. de

1999-01-01

The Nijmegen Motivation List 2 (NML2) is a new instrument to assess patient motivation for psychotherapy. A previous version of the instrument was associated with positive treatment outcome in cognitive-behaviour therapy in several studies but its psychometric properties were poor. The present study

An instrument to assess subjective task value beliefs regarding the decision to pursue postgraduate training.

Science.gov (United States)

Hagemeier, Nicholas E; Murawski, Matthew M

2014-02-12

To develop and validate an instrument to assess subjective ratings of the perceived value of various postgraduate training paths followed using expectancy-value as a theoretical framework; and to explore differences in value beliefs across type of postgraduate training pursued and type of pharmacy training completed prior to postgraduate training. A survey instrument was developed to sample 4 theoretical domains of subjective task value: intrinsic value, attainment value, utility value, and perceived cost. Retrospective self-report methodology was employed to examine respondents' (N=1,148) subjective task value beliefs specific to their highest level of postgraduate training completed. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic techniques were used to evaluate and validate value belief constructs. Intrinsic, attainment, utility, cost, and financial value constructs resulted from exploratory factor analysis. Cross-validation resulted in a 26-item instrument that demonstrated good model fit. Differences in value beliefs were noted across type of postgraduate training pursued and pharmacy training characteristics. The Postgraduate Training Value Instrument demonstrated evidence of reliability and construct validity. The survey instrument can be used to assess value beliefs regarding multiple postgraduate training options in pharmacy and potentially inform targeted recruiting of individuals to those paths best matching their own value beliefs.

MODERN INSTRUMENTS FOR MEASURING ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE

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RADU CATALINA

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Any significant management action can be assessed both in terms of success of immediate goals and as effect of the organization ability to embrace change. Market competition intensifies with the development of Romanian society and its needs. Companies that offer different products and services need to impose certain advantages and to increase their performances. The paper will present modern tools for measuring and evaluating organizational performance, namely: Balanced Scorecard, Deming model and Baldrige model. We also present an example for Balance Scorecard, of an organizations belonging to the cosmetics industry.

Temporal and spectral contributions to musical instrument identification and discrimination among cochlear implant users.

Science.gov (United States)

Prentiss, Sandra M; Friedland, David R; Fullmer, Tanner; Crane, Alison; Stoddard, Timothy; Runge, Christina L

2016-09-01

To investigate the contributions of envelope and fine-structure to the perception of timbre by cochlear implant (CI) users as compared to normal hearing (NH) listeners. This was a prospective cohort comparison study. Normal hearing and cochlear implant patients were tested. Three experiments were performed in sound field using musical notes altered to affect the characteristic pitch of an instrument and the acoustic envelope. Experiment 1 assessed the ability to identify the instrument playing each note, while experiments 2 and 3 assessed the ability to discriminate the different stimuli. Normal hearing subjects performed better than CI subjects in all instrument identification tasks, reaching statistical significance for 4 of 5 stimulus conditions. Within the CI population, acoustic envelope modifications did not significantly affect instrument identification or discrimination. With envelope and pitch cues removed, fine structure discrimination performance was similar between normal hearing and CI users for the majority of conditions, but some specific instrument comparisons were significantly more challenging for CI users. Cochlear implant users perform significantly worse than normal hearing listeners on tasks of instrument identification. However, cochlear implant listeners can discriminate differences in envelope and some fine structure components of musical instrument sounds as well as normal hearing listeners. The results indicated that certain fine structure cues are important for cochlear implant users to make discrimination judgments, and therefore may affect interpretation toward associating with a specific instrument for identification.

The Effects of Performance-Based Assessment Criteria on Student Performance and Self-Assessment Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Fastre, Greet Mia Jos; van der Klink, Marcel R.; van Merrienboer, Jeroen J. G.

2010-01-01

This study investigated the effect of performance-based versus competence-based assessment criteria on task performance and self-assessment skills among 39 novice secondary vocational education students in the domain of nursing and care. In a performance-based assessment group students are provided with a preset list of performance-based…

Instruments used in the assessment of expectation toward a spine surgery: an integrative review

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Eliane Nepomuceno

Full Text Available Abstract OBJECTIVE To identify and describe the instruments used to assess patients' expectations toward spine surgery. METHOD An integrative review was carried out in the databases PubMed, CINAHL, LILACS and PsycINFO. RESULTS A total of 4,402 publications were identified, of which 25 met the selection criteria. Of the studies selected, only three used tools that had confirmed validity and reliability to be applied; in five studies, clinical scores were used, and were modified for the assessment of patients' expectations, and in 17 studies the researchers developed scales without an adequate description of the method used for their development and validation. CONCLUSION The assessment of patients' expectations has been methodologically conducted in different ways. Until the completion of this integrative review, only two valid and reliable instruments had been used in three of the selected studies.

Performance of the HIRS/2 instrument on TIROS-N. [High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder

Science.gov (United States)

Koenig, E. W.

1980-01-01

The High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS/2) was developed and flown on the TIROS-N satellite as one means of obtaining atmospheric vertical profile information. The HIRS/2 receives visible and infrared spectrum radiation through a single telescope and selects 20 narrow radiation channels by means of a rotating filter wheel. A passive radiant cooler provides an operating temperature of 106.7 K for the HgCdTe and InSb detectors while the visible detector operates at instrument frame temperature. Low noise amplifiers and digital processing provide 13 bit data for spacecraft data multiplexing and transmission. The qualities of system performance that determine sounding capability are the dynamic range of data collection, the noise equivalent radiance of the system, the registration of the air columns sampled in each channel and the ability to upgrade the calibration of the instrument to maintain the performance standard throughout life. The basic features, operating characteristics and performance of the instrument in test are described. Early orbital information from the TIROS-N launched on October 13, 1978 is given and some observations on system quality are made.

Initial experience using a robotic-driven laparoscopic needle holder with ergonomic handle: assessment of surgeons' task performance and ergonomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez-Margallo, Juan A; Sánchez-Margallo, Francisco M

2017-12-01

The objective of this study is to assess the surgeons' performance and ergonomics during the use of a robotic-driven needle holder in laparoscopic suturing tasks. Six right-handed laparoscopic surgeons with different levels of experience took part in this study. Participants performed a set of three different intracorporeal suturing tasks organized in ten trials during a period of five weeks. Surgeons used both conventional (Conv) and robotic (Rob) laparoscopic needle holders. Precision using the surgical needle, quality of the intracorporeal suturing performance, execution time and leakage pressure for the urethrovesical anastomosis, as well as the ergonomics of the surgeon's hand posture, were analyzed during the first, fifth and last trials. No statistically significant differences in precision and quality of suturing performance were obtained between both groups of instruments. Surgeons required more time using the robotic instrument than using the conventional needle holder to perform the urethrovesical anastomosis, but execution time was significantly reduced after training ([Formula: see text] 0.05). There were no differences in leakage pressure for the anastomoses carried out by both instruments. After training, novice surgeons significantly improved the ergonomics of the wrist ([Formula: see text] 0.05) and index finger (Conv: 36.381[Formula: see text], Rob: 30.389[Formula: see text]; p = 0.024) when using the robotic instrument compared to the conventional needle holder. Results have shown that, although both instruments offer similar technical performance, the robotic-driven instrument results in better ergonomics for the surgeon's hand posture compared to the use of a conventional laparoscopic needle holder in intracorporeal suturing.

The challenges of developing an instrument to assess health provider motivation at primary care level in rural Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Tanzania

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Helen Prytherch

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Background: The quality of health care depends on the competence and motivation of the health workers that provide it. In the West, several tools exist to measure worker motivation, and some have been applied to the health sector. However, none have been validated for use in sub-Saharan Africa. The complexity of such tools has also led to concerns about their application at primary care level. Objective: To develop a common instrument to monitor any changes in maternal and neonatal health (MNH care provider motivation resulting from the introduction of pilot interventions in rural, primary level facilities in Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Tanzania. Design: Initially, a conceptual framework was developed. Based upon this, a literature review and preliminary qualitative research, an English-language instrument was developed and validated in an iterative process with experts from the three countries involved. The instrument was then piloted in Ghana. Reliability testing and exploratory factor analysis were used to produce a final, parsimonious version. Results and discussion: This paper describes the actual process of developing the instrument. Consequently, the concepts and items that did not perform well psychometrically at pre-test are first presented and discussed. The final version of the instrument, which comprises 42 items for self-assessment and eight for peer-assessment, is then shown. This is followed by a presentation and discussion of the findings from first use of the instrument with MNH providers from 12 rural, primary level facilities in each of the three countries. Conclusions: It is possible to undertake work of this nature at primary health care level, particularly if the instruments are kept as straightforward as possible and well introduced. However, their development requires very lengthy preparatory periods. The effort needed to adapt such instruments for use in different countries within the region of sub-Saharan Africa should not

The challenges of developing an instrument to assess health provider motivation at primary care level in rural Burkina Faso, Ghana and Tanzania

Science.gov (United States)

Prytherch, Helen; Leshabari, Melkidezek T.; Wiskow, Christiane; Aninanya, Gifty A.; Kakoko, Deodatus C.V.; Kagoné, Moubassira; Burghardt, Juliane; Kynast-Wolf, Gisela; Marx, Michael; Sauerborn, Rainer

2012-01-01

Background The quality of health care depends on the competence and motivation of the health workers that provide it. In the West, several tools exist to measure worker motivation, and some have been applied to the health sector. However, none have been validated for use in sub-Saharan Africa. The complexity of such tools has also led to concerns about their application at primary care level. Objective To develop a common instrument to monitor any changes in maternal and neonatal health (MNH) care provider motivation resulting from the introduction of pilot interventions in rural, primary level facilities in Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Tanzania. Design Initially, a conceptual framework was developed. Based upon this, a literature review and preliminary qualitative research, an English-language instrument was developed and validated in an iterative process with experts from the three countries involved. The instrument was then piloted in Ghana. Reliability testing and exploratory factor analysis were used to produce a final, parsimonious version. Results and discussion This paper describes the actual process of developing the instrument. Consequently, the concepts and items that did not perform well psychometrically at pre-test are first presented and discussed. The final version of the instrument, which comprises 42 items for self-assessment and eight for peer-assessment, is then shown. This is followed by a presentation and discussion of the findings from first use of the instrument with MNH providers from 12 rural, primary level facilities in each of the three countries. Conclusions It is possible to undertake work of this nature at primary health care level, particularly if the instruments are kept as straightforward as possible and well introduced. However, their development requires very lengthy preparatory periods. The effort needed to adapt such instruments for use in different countries within the region of sub-Saharan Africa should not be underestimated. PMID

Position requirements for space station personnel and linkages to portable microcomputer performance assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Jeanneret, P. R.

1988-01-01

The development and use of a menu of performance tests that can be self-administered on a portable microcomputer are investigated. In order to identify, develop, or otherwise select the relevant human capabilities/attributes to measure and hence include in the performance battery, it is essential that an analysis be conducted of the jobs or functions that will be performed throughout a space shuttle mission. The primary job analysis instrument, the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ), is discussed in detail so the reader will have sufficient background for understanding the application of the instrument to the various work activities included within the scope of the study, and the derivation of the human requirements (abilities/attributes) from the PAQ analyses. The research methodology is described and includes the procedures used for gathering the PAQ data. The results are presented in detail with specific emphasis on identifying critical requirements that can be measured with a portable computerized assessment battery. A discussion of the results is given with implications for future research.

Validation of Taiwan Performance-Based Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (TPIADL), a Performance- Based Measurement of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living for Patients with Vascular Cognitive Impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hui-Mei; Lin, Hsiu-Fen; Huang, Mei-Feng; Chang, Chun-Wei; Yeh, Yi-Chun; Lo, Yi-Ching; Yen, Cheng-Fang; Chen, Cheng-Sheng

2016-01-01

Patients with cerebrovascular diseases often presented both cognitive and physical impairment. Disability in everyday functioning involving cognitive impairment among patients may be hard to completely rely on informants' reports, as their reports may be confounded with physical impairment. The aim of this study was to validate a performance-based measure of functional assessment, the Taiwan Performance-Based Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (TPIADL), for vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) by examining its psychometric properties and diagnostic accuracy. Ninety-seven patients with cerebrovascular diseases, including 30 with vascular dementia (VaD), 28 with mild cognitive impairment and 39 with no cognitive impairment, and 49 healthy control adults were recruited during study period. The TPIADL, as well as the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Lawton-IADL and Barthel Index (BI), were performed. The internal consistency, convergent and criteria validity of the TPIADL were examined. Cronbach's alpha of the TPIADL test was 0.84. The TPIADL scores were significantly correlated with the Lawton IADL (r = -0.587, p cognitive domain of Lawton IADL (r = -0.663) than with physical domain of Lawton IADL (r = -0.541). The area under the relative operating characteristic curve was 0.888 (95% CI = 0.812-0.965) to differentiate VaD from other groups. The optimal cut-off point of the TPIADL for detecting VaD was 6/7, which gives a sensitivity of 73.3% and a specificity of 84.5%. The TPIADL is a brief and sensitive tool for the detection of IADL impairment in patients with VaD.

24 CFR 115.206 - Performance assessments; Performance standards.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Performance assessments; Performance standards. 115.206 Section 115.206 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing... AGENCIES Certification of Substantially Equivalent Agencies § 115.206 Performance assessments; Performance...

The Self-Assessment Process and Impacts on the Health Information Management Program Performance: A Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Spohn, Renae

2015-01-01

This study examined how health information management (HIM) educational programs can use the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Model (MBNQAM) educational criteria to meet the self-assessment requirement for Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM) accreditation. An existing instrument, Quantum Performance Group's Organizational Assessment Survey authored by Dr. Mark Blazey, was used in this study. The instrument was designed to self-assess the entire organization. Results of the study demonstrate how the MBNQAM can be used to successfully self-assess HIM programs. This research adds to the body of literature surrounding the application of the MBNQAM for HIM programs and provides new information to deans, administrators, and educators that may be useful, as an added component, when self-assessing HIM programs. The results of this study will help to establish a foundation for HIM programs to strengthen the self-assessment process, providing a strong starting point for strategic planning prioritization for HIM program improvement initiatives. The improved process will help in maturing the HIM program while fulfilling accreditation requirements for self-assessment. As additional HIM programs formalize the self-assessment process, benchmarking opportunities with other HIM programs will be created. PMID:26755899

Validity of instruments to assess students' travel and pedestrian safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Mendoza, Jason A; Watson, Kathy; Baranowski, Tom; Nicklas, Theresa A; Uscanga, Doris K; Hanfling, Marcus J

2010-05-18

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs are designed to make walking and bicycling to school safe and accessible for children. Despite their growing popularity, few validated measures exist for assessing important outcomes such as type of student transport or pedestrian safety behaviors. This research validated the SRTS school travel survey and a pedestrian safety behavior checklist. Fourth grade students completed a brief written survey on how they got to school that day with set responses. Test-retest reliability was obtained 3-4 hours apart. Convergent validity of the SRTS travel survey was assessed by comparison to parents' report. For the measure of pedestrian safety behavior, 10 research assistants observed 29 students at a school intersection for completion of 8 selected pedestrian safety behaviors. Reliability was determined in two ways: correlations between the research assistants' ratings to that of the Principal Investigator (PI) and intraclass correlations (ICC) across research assistant ratings. The SRTS travel survey had high test-retest reliability (kappa = 0.97, n = 96, p < 0.001) and convergent validity (kappa = 0.87, n = 81, p < 0.001). The pedestrian safety behavior checklist had moderate reliability across research assistants' ratings (ICC = 0.48) and moderate correlation with the PI (r = 0.55, p = < 0.01). When two raters simultaneously used the instrument, the ICC increased to 0.65. Overall percent agreement (91%), sensitivity (85%) and specificity (83%) were acceptable. These validated instruments can be used to assess SRTS programs. The pedestrian safety behavior checklist may benefit from further formative work.

Accuracy assessment of ALOS optical instruments: PRISM and AVNIR-2

Science.gov (United States)

Tadono, Takeo; Shimada, Masanobu; Iwata, Takanori; Takaku, Junichi; Kawamoto, Sachi

2017-11-01

This paper describes the updated results of calibration and validation to assess the accuracies for optical instruments onboard the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS, nicknamed "Daichi"), which was successfully launched on January 24th, 2006 and it is continuously operating very well. ALOS has an L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar called PALSAR and two optical instruments i.e. the Panchromatic Remotesensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping (PRISM) and the Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type-2 (AVNIR-2). PRISM consists of three radiometers and is used to derive a digital surface model (DSM) with high spatial resolution that is an objective of the ALOS mission. Therefore, geometric calibration is important in generating a precise DSM with stereo pair images of PRISM. AVNIR-2 has four radiometric bands from blue to near infrared and uses for regional environment and disaster monitoring etc. The radiometric calibration and image quality evaluation are also important for AVNIR-2 as well as PRISM. This paper describes updated results of geometric calibration including geolocation determination accuracy evaluations of PRISM and AVNIR-2, image quality evaluation of PRISM, and validation of generated PRISM DSM. These works will be done during the ALOS mission life as an operational calibration to keep absolute accuracies of the standard products.

An instrument assessing satisfaction with iron chelation therapy: Psychometric testing from an open-label clinical trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Rofail, Diana; Viala, Muriel; Gater, Adam; Abetz-Webb, Linda; Baladi, Jean-Francois; Cappellini, Maria Domenica

2010-08-01

The Satisfaction with Iron Chelation Therapy (SICT) instrument was developed based on a literature review, in-depth patient and clinician interviews, and cognitive debriefing interviews. An, open-label, single arm, multicenter trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of deferasirox in patients diagnosed with transfusion-dependent iron overload, provided an opportunity to assess the psychometric measurement properties of the instrument. Psychometric analyses were performed using data at baseline from 273 patients with a range of transfusion-dependent iron overload conditions who were participating in a multinational study. Responsiveness was further evaluated for all patients who also had subsequent satisfaction domain scores collected at week 4. Baseline SICT domain scores had acceptable floor and ceiling effects and internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha: 0.75-0.85). Item discriminant and item convergent validity were both excellent although one item in each analysis did not meet the specified criterion. Small to moderate correlations were observed between SICT and Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) domain scores. Patients with the highest levels of serum ferritin at baseline (>3100 ng/mL) were the least satisfied about the Perceived Effectiveness of ICT and vice versa. Satisfaction improved in all patients, although there were no clear differences observed between groups of patients defined according to changes in serum ferritin levels from baseline to week 4 (stable, improved, or worsened). The SICT domains are reliable and valid. Further testing using a more specific criterion (such as assessing patient global ratings of change in satisfaction domains that correspond to the SICT domains) could help to establish with greater confidence the responsiveness of the instrument.

Does learning style influence academic performance in different forms of assessment?

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkinson, Tracey; Boohan, Mairead; Stevenson, Michael

2014-03-01

Educational research on learning styles has been conducted for some time, initially within the field of psychology. Recent research has widened to include more diverse disciplines, with greater emphasis on application. Although there are numerous instruments available to measure several different dimensions of learning style, it is generally accepted that styles differ, although the qualities of more than one style may be inherent in any one learner. But do these learning styles have a direct effect on student performance in examinations, specifically in different forms of assessment? For this study, hypotheses were formulated suggesting that academic performance is influenced by learning style. Using the Honey and Mumford Learning Style Questionnaire, learning styles of a cohort of first year medical and dental students at Queen's University Belfast were assessed. Pearson correlation was performed between the score for each of the four learning styles and the student examination results in a variety of subject areas (including anatomy) and in different types of assessments - single best answer, short answer questions and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations. In most of the analyses, there was no correlation between learning style and result and in the few cases where the correlations were statistically significant, they generally appeared to be weak. It seems therefore from this study that although the learning styles of students vary, they have little effect on academic performance, including in specific forms of assessment. © 2013 Anatomical Society.

Development of the instrument IMAQE-Food to measure effectiveness of quality management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Spiegel, van der M.; Luning, P.A.; Ziggers, G.W.; Jongen, W.M.F.

2005-01-01

Purpose - Manufacturers use several quality assurance systems to assure quality. However, their effectiveness cannot be assessed because an instrument does not exist. This article is based on a study that was set up to identify performance measurement indicators of an instrument that measures

Development and validation of an instrument to evaluate science teachers' assessment beliefs and practices

Science.gov (United States)

Genc, Evrim

The primary purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable instrument to examine science teachers' assessment beliefs and practices in science classrooms. The present study also investigated the relationship between teachers' beliefs and practices in terms of assessment issues in science, their perceptions of the factors that influenced their assessment practices and their feelings towards high-stakes testing. The participants of the study were 408 science teachers teaching at middle and high school levels in the State of Florida. Data were collected through two modes of administration of the instrument as a paper-and-pencil and a web-based form. The response rate for paper-and-pencil administration was estimated as 68% whereas the response for the web administration was found to be 27%. Results from the various dimensions of validity and reliability analyses revealed that the 24 item-four-factor belief and practice measures were psychometrically sound and conceptually anchored measures of science teachers' assessment beliefs and self-reported practices. Reliability estimates for the belief measure ranged from .83 to .91 whereas alpha values for the practice measure ranged from .56 to .90. Results from the multigroup analysis supported that the instrument has the same theoretical structure across both administration groups. Therefore, future researchers may use either a paper-and-pencil or web-based format of the instrument. This study underscored a discrepancy between what teachers believe and how they act in classroom settings. It was emphasized that certain factors were mediating the dynamics between the belief and the practice. The majority of teachers reported that instruction time, class size, professional development activities, availability of school funding, and state testing mandates impact their assessment routines. Teachers reported that both the preparation process and the results of the test created unbelievable tension both on students and

Reliability and Validity of Three Instruments (DSM-IV, CPGI, and PPGM) in the Assessment of Problem Gambling in South Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Back, Ki-Joon; Williams, Robert J; Lee, Choong-Ki

2015-09-01

Most research on the assessment, epidemiology, and treatment of problem gambling has occurred in Western jurisdictions. This potentially limits the cross-cultural validity of problem gambling assessment instruments as well as etiological models of problem gambling. The primary objective of the present research was to investigate the reliability and validity of three problem gambling assessment instruments within a South Korean context. A total of 4,330 South Korean adults participated in a comprehensive assessment of their gambling behavior that included the administration of the DSM-IV criteria for pathological gambling (NODS), the Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI), and the Problem and Pathological Gambling Measure (PPGM). Cronbach alpha showed that all three instruments had good internal consistency. Concurrent validity was established by the significant associations observed between scores on the instruments and measures of gambling involvement (number of gambling formats engaged in; frequency of gambling; and gambling expenditure). Most importantly, kappa statistics showed that all instruments have satisfactory classification accuracy against clinical assessment of problem gambling conducted by South Korean clinicians (NODS κ = .66; PPGM κ = .62; CPGI κ = .51). These results confirm that Western-derived operationalizations of problem gambling have applicability in a South Korean setting.

Building a framework for ergonomic research on laparoscopic instrument handles.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zheng; Wang, Guohui; Tan, Juan; Sun, Xulong; Lin, Hao; Zhu, Shaihong

2016-06-01

Laparoscopic surgery carries the advantage of minimal invasiveness, but ergonomic design of the instruments used has progressed slowly. Previous studies have demonstrated that the handle of laparoscopic instruments is vital for both surgical performance and surgeon's health. This review provides an overview of the sub-discipline of handle ergonomics, including an evaluation framework, objective and subjective assessment systems, data collection and statistical analyses. Furthermore, a framework for ergonomic research on laparoscopic instrument handles is proposed to standardize work on instrument design. Copyright © 2016 IJS Publishing Group Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quality assessment in lan houses through the adaptation of the servqual instrument

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tiago José Menezes Gonçalves

2012-03-01

Full Text Available This work was conducted with the objective of developing an adapted questionnaire from the SERVQUAL instrument to measure the quality of services provided by Lan Houses. In addition, the use of analysis Quartiles  was investigated in prioritizing the items to perform corrective actions to improve the quality of service analysis. For achieve this objectives, an adaptation of the SERVQUAL instrument was developed based on the literature and interviews with managers of Lan Houses, from where information was extracted for its adaptation to the object of study. Once developed, the instrument was used and the managerial implications of its use (in conjunction with the Quartiles Analysis were discussed with the Lan House’s manager, from where feedback was obtained for the validity of the model developed.

How does Architecture Sound for Different Musical Instrument Performances?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Saher, Konca; Rindel, Jens Holger

2006-01-01

This paper discusses how consideration of sound _in particular a specific musical instrument_ impacts the design of a room. Properly designed architectural acoustics is fundamental to improve the listening experience of an instrument in rooms in a conservatory. Six discrete instruments (violin, c...... different instruments and the choir experience that could fit into same category of room. For all calculations and the auralizations, a computational model is used: ODEON 7.0....

The patient assessment questionnaire: a new instrument for evaluating the interpersonal skills of vocational dental practitioners.

Science.gov (United States)

Hurst, Y K; Prescott-Clements, L E; Rennie, J S

2004-10-23

This paper describes a pilot study aimed at evaluating a new instrument, the patient assessment questionnaire (PAQ), which uses patient ratings for the assessment of communication skills and professionalism in vocational practitioners (VDPs). The PAQ was developed as part of an assessment system designed to address all round competence. Acohort of 99 VDPs took part in the study. Questionnaires were distributed to consecutive patients in the general dental service at two time points in the training year. Data from the pilot study was analysed to determine whether the PAQ fulfilled the criteria for robust assessment. Results provide evidence of high levels of reliability, validity and feasibility of the PAQ instrument. All indications to date suggest that the PAQ will prove to be a valuable assessment tool. It is currently being evaluated as part of the system used to assess the all round competence of dental graduates undertaking vocational training in Scotland.

Assessing learning outcomes in middle-division classical mechanics: The Colorado Classical Mechanics and Math Methods Instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Caballero, Marcos D.; Doughty, Leanne; Turnbull, Anna M.; Pepper, Rachel E.; Pollock, Steven J.

2017-06-01

Reliable and validated assessments of introductory physics have been instrumental in driving curricular and pedagogical reforms that lead to improved student learning. As part of an effort to systematically improve our sophomore-level classical mechanics and math methods course (CM 1) at CU Boulder, we have developed a tool to assess student learning of CM 1 concepts in the upper division. The Colorado Classical Mechanics and Math Methods Instrument (CCMI) builds on faculty consensus learning goals and systematic observations of student difficulties. The result is a 9-question open-ended post test that probes student learning in the first half of a two-semester classical mechanics and math methods sequence. In this paper, we describe the design and development of this instrument, its validation, and measurements made in classes at CU Boulder and elsewhere.

Torsional Performance of ProTaper Gold Rotary Instruments during Shaping of Small Root Canals after 2 Different Glide Path Preparations.

Science.gov (United States)

Arias, Ana; de Vasconcelos, Rafaela Andrade; Hernández, Alexis; Peters, Ove A

2017-03-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the ex vivo torsional performance of a novel rotary system in small root canals after 2 different glide path preparations. Each independent canal of 8 mesial roots of mandibular molars was randomly assigned to achieve a reproducible glide path with a new set of either PathFile #1 (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) and #2 or ProGlider (Dentsply Maillefer) after negotiation with a 10 K-file. After glide path preparation, root canals in both groups were shaped with the same sequence of ProTaper Gold (Dentsply Tulsa Dental Specialties, Tulsa, OK) following the directions for use recommended by the manufacturer. A total of 16 new sets of each instrument of the ProTaper Gold (PTG) system were used. The tests were run in a standardized fashion in a torque-testing platform. Peak torque (Ncm) and force (N) were registered during the shaping procedure and compared with Student t tests after normal distribution of data was confirmed. No significant differences were found for any of the instruments in peak torque or force after the 2 different glide path preparations (P > .05). Data presented in this study also serve as a basis for the recommended torque for the use of PTG instruments. Under the conditions of this study, differences in the torsional performance of PTG rotary instruments after 2 different glide path preparations could not be shown. The different geometry of glide path rotary systems seemed to have no effect on peak torque and force induced by PTG rotary instruments when shaping small root canals in extracted teeth. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Final draft position on geotechnical instrumentation in a salt repository environment: Requirements, performance, recommendations, and development needs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-07-01

This report presents the results of a study of the present status of geotechnical instrumentation with respect to potential use in an underground test facility at a candidate nuclear waste repository site in salt. Programmatic factors that have a general impact on the success of underground instrumentation are discussed. Performance requirements relating to accuracy, temperature range, longevity, and capability for automation are established on the basis of criteria proposed for other rock types, perceived needs of the Site Characterization Program, and the authors' experience and judgment. Test site conditions are discussed including underground logistics, corrosion, and other factors that affect instrument reliability. The status of existing instrumentation for measuring deformation, stress, temperature, fluid pressure, acoustic emission, and other less critical parameters is presented. For each instrument not presently capable of satisfying its associated performance requirements, specific development needs and possible approaches are identified, and necessary testing is describe to a conceptual level of detail. A brief discussion of instrument considerations relating to automatic data acquisition is also included. The position of instrument development as a key activity on the critical path under current schedules for the Site Characterization Program is discussed. Annotated references and reports on site visits and meetings used as the data base in evaluating present instrument status are appended to this report. 110 refs., 14 figs., 26 tabs

Temporal and spectral contributions to musical instrument identification and discrimination among cochlear implant users

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Sandra M. Prentiss; David R. Friedland; Tanner Fullmer; Alison Crane; Timothy Stoddard; Christina L. Runge

2016-01-01

Objective:To investigate the contributions of envelope and fine-structure to the perception of timbre by cochlear implant (CI) users as compared to normal hearing (NH) lis-teners. Methods: This was a prospective cohort comparison study. Normal hearing and cochlear implant patients were tested. Three experiments were performed in sound field using musical notes altered to affect the characteristic pitch of an instrument and the acoustic envelope. Experiment 1 assessed the ability to identify the instrument playing each note, while experi-ments 2 and 3 assessed the ability to discriminate the different stimuli. Results:Normal hearing subjects performed better than CI subjects in all instrument identifi-cation tasks, reaching statistical significance for 4 of 5 stimulus conditions. Within the CI pop-ulation, acoustic envelope modifications did not significantly affect instrument identification or discrimination. With envelope and pitch cues removed, fine structure discrimination perfor-mance was similar between normal hearing and CI users for the majority of conditions, but some specific instrument comparisons were significantly more challenging for CI users. Conclusions:Cochlear implant users perform significantly worse than normal hearing listeners on tasks of instrument identification. However, cochlear implant listeners can discriminate differences in envelope and some fine structure components of musical instrument sounds as well as normal hearing listeners. The results indicated that certain fine structure cues are important for cochlear implant users to make discrimination judgments, and therefore may affect interpretation toward associating with a specific instrument for identification.

Concordance of Barthel Index, ECOG-PS, and Palliative Performance Scale in the assessment of functional status in patients with advanced medical diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernández-Quiles, C; Bernabeu-Wittel, M; Pérez-Belmonte, L M; Macías-Mir, P; Camacho-González, D; Massa, B; Maiz-Jiménez, M; Ollero-Baturone, M

2017-09-01

Analysing most relevant clinical features and concordance between different functional scales in patients with advanced medical diseases (PAMD). Cross-sectional multicentre study that included PAMD (heart, lung, kidney, liver, and neurological diseases) in hospital settings from February 2009 to October 2010. We analysed clinical, biological and functional features in performing activities of daily living (ADL) by medians of Barthel Index (BI); additionally we assessed their performance status by medians of Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group-Performance Status (ECOG-PS) and Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) scores. We evaluated the concordance of these instruments in assessing functional impairment by κ and intraclass correlation coefficient tests. 1847 patients were included (average age 79 years, 50.1% men). Most common symptoms were dyspnoea (62.31%), asthenia (23%) and delirium (20.14%). Functional assessment showed a high prevalence of severe or total impairment in performing basic ADL by medians of used instruments (BI median=35 (IQR=70), and 52.1% of patients with severe-total impairment; ECOG-PS median=2 (IQR 30), and 44% of patients with severe-total impairment; and PPS median=50 (IQR 30), and 32% of patients with severe-total impairment). Concordance among these instruments was acceptably good ( κ indexes ranging from 0.653 to 0.745 (pmanagement. Assessment of functional ability in this population by BI, ECOG-PS, and PPS showed good concordance. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

The interpersonal relationship in clinical practice. The Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory as an assessment instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Simmons, J; Roberge, L; Kendrick, S B; Richards, B

1995-03-01

The biomedical model that has long been central to medical practice is gradually being expanded to a broader biopsychosocial model. Relationship-building skills commensurate with the new paradigm need to be understood by educators and taught to medical practitioners. The person-centered, or humanistic, model of psychologist Carl Rogers provides a theoretical approach for the development of effective biopsychosocial relationships. The Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory (BLRI) was developed in 1962 as an assessment instrument for the person-centered model. In this article, the person-centered model and the use of the BLRI as an assessment instrument of this model are discussed. Current and potential uses of the BLRI are explored.

Diagnosing paratonia in the demented elderly : reliability and validity of the Paratonia Assessment Instrument (PAI)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hobbelen, Hans; Koopmans, Raymond T C M; Verhey, Frans R J; Habraken, Kitty M; de Bie, Rob A.

BACKGROUND: Paratonia is one of the associated movement disorders characteristic of dementia. The aim of this study was to develop an assessment tool (the Paratonia Assessment Instrument, PAI), based on the new consensus definition of paratonia. An additional aim was to investigate the reliability

Diagnosing paratonia in the demented elderly: reliability and validity of the Paratonia Assessment Instrument (PAI).

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hobbelen, J.S.; Koopmans, R.T.C.M.; Verhey, F.R.J.; Habraken, K.M.; Bie, R.A. de

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND: Paratonia is one of the associated movement disorders characteristic of dementia. The aim of this study was to develop an assessment tool (the Paratonia Assessment Instrument, PAI), based on the new consensus definition of paratonia. An additional aim was to investigate the reliability

The BaBar instrumented flux return performance: lessons learned

CERN Document Server

Anulli, F; Baldini, R; Band, H R; Bionta, R; Brau, J E; Brigljevic, V; Buzzo, A; Calcaterra, A; Carpinelli, M; Cartaro, C; Cavallo, N; Crosetti, G; De Nardo, Gallieno; De Sangro, R; Eichenbaum, A; Fabozzi, F; Falciai, D; Ferrarotto, F; Ferroni, F; Finocchiaro, G; Forti, F; Frey, R; Gatto, C; Graug; Iakovlev, N I; Iwasaki, M; Johnson, J R; Lange, D J; Lista, L; Lo Vetere, M; Lü, C; Macri, M; Messner, R; Moore, T B; Morganti, S; Neal, H; Neri, N; Palano, A; Paoloni, E; Paolucci, P; Passaggio, S; Pastore, F C; Patteri, P; Peruzzi, I; Piccolo, D; Piccolo, M; Piredda, G; Robutti, E; Roodman, A; Santroni, A; Sciacca, C; Sinev, N B; Soha, A; Strom, D; Tosi, S; Vavra, J; Wisniewski, W J; Wright, D M; Xie, Y; Zallo, A

2002-01-01

The BaBar Collaboration has operated an instrumented flux return (IFR) system covering over 2000 m sup 2 with resistive plate chambers (RPCs) for nearly 3 years. The chambers are constructed of bakelite sheets separated by 2 mm. The inner surfaces are coated with linseed oil. This system provides muon and neutral hadron detection for BaBar. Installation and commissioning were completed in 1998, and operation began mid-year 1999. While initial performance of the system reached design, over time, a significant fraction of the RPCs demonstrated significant degradation, marked by increased currents and reduced efficiency. A coordinated effort of investigations have identified many of the elements responsible for the degradation. This article presents our current understanding of the aging process of the BaBar RPCs along with the action plan to combat performance degradation of the IFR system.

Redesign of the Attention Process of Patients with Rheumatologic Diseases: Assessing the Performance with Analytic Hierarchy Process

OpenAIRE

Gorbanev, Iouri; Cortes, Ariel; Agudelo-Londoño, Sandra

2017-01-01

Objective. To compare the Business process management and the analytic hierarchy process as the tools of process performance assessment. Instruments and Methods. Case study of the attention process of rheumatology patients. Business process management and analytic hierarchy process were applied to assess the redesign of the attention process. The two methods were compared. The data were obtained through personal observations, an interview with a Colombian health insurer’s senior executive, an...

Assessment of Customer Service in Academic Health Care Libraries (ACSAHL): an instrument for measuring customer service*†

Science.gov (United States)

Crossno, Jon E.; Berkins, Brenda; Gotcher, Nancy; Hill, Judith L.; McConoughey, Michelle; Walters, Mitchel

2001-01-01

Objectives: In a pilot study, the library had good results using SERVQUAL, a respected and often-used instrument for measuring customer satisfaction. The SERVQUAL instrument itself, however, received some serious and well-founded criticism from the respondents to our survey. The purpose of this study was to test the comparability of the results of SERVQUAL with a revised and shortened instrument modeled on SERVQUAL. The revised instrument, the Assessment of Customer Service in Academic Health Care Libraries (ACSAHL), was designed to better assess customer service in academic health care libraries. Methods: Surveys were sent to clients who had used the document delivery services at three academic medical libraries in Texas over the previous twelve to eighteen months. ACSAHL surveys were sent exclusively to clients at University of Texas (UT) Southwestern, while the client pools at the two other institutions were randomly divided and provided either SERVQUAL or ACSAHL surveys. Results: Results indicated that more respondents preferred the shorter ACSAHL instrument to the longer and more complex SERVQUAL instrument. Also, comparing the scores from both surveys indicated that ACSAHL elicited comparable results. Conclusions: ACSAHL appears to measure the same type of data in similar settings, but additional testing is recommended both to confirm the survey's results through data replication and to investigate whether the instrument applies to different service areas. PMID:11337948

Development of an instrument to assess the health related quality of life of kidney stone formers.

Science.gov (United States)

Penniston, Kristina L; Nakada, Stephen Y

2013-03-01

Urolithiasis is associated with pain and other decreases in health related quality of life, yet there is no urolithiasis specific instrument to measure quality of life. Quality of life is an important end point in the management of urolithiasis. Therefore, we developed the Wisconsin StoneQOL, a disease specific instrument to assess the quality of life of patients with urolithiasis. Patients and urology providers identified important concepts related to quality of life of stone formers in groups and in individual cognitive interviews. Patients were recurrent stone formers including those with and those without current stones. A preliminary instrument was created, followed by patient feedback and item reduction. A 28-question instrument was ultimately developed which was tested for reliability as well as internal face, construct and discriminant validity in 248 stone formers. The internal consistency (for questions within domains) was high (mean Cronbach's α = 0.81). Correlation between domains was confirmed (Cronbach's α = 0.86). Discriminant validity was shown as stone formers with current stones scored lower than those who were stone-free. Among patients with active stones, those with symptoms scored lower on most questions and for the total score (p instrument that captures the unique symptoms and challenges associated with urolithiasis. As such, the Wisconsin StoneQOL is capable of assessing the health related quality of life of stone formers at various points along the disease continuum. Future assessment will establish minimal clinically important differences for use in individual patients. Copyright © 2013 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Applying neural networks to optimize instrumentation performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Start, S.E.; Peters, G.G.

1995-06-01

Well calibrated instrumentation is essential in providing meaningful information about the status of a plant. Signals from plant instrumentation frequently have inherent non-linearities, may be affected by environmental conditions and can therefore cause calibration difficulties for the people who maintain them. Two neural network approaches are described in this paper for improving the accuracy of a non-linear, temperature sensitive level probe ised in Expermental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) that was difficult to calibrate.

Applying neural networks to optimize instrumentation performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Start, S.E.; Peters, G.G.

1995-01-01

Well calibrated instrumentation is essential in providing meaningful information about the status of a plant. Signals from plant instrumentation frequently have inherent non-linearities, may be affected by environmental conditions and can therefore cause calibration difficulties for the people who maintain them. Two neural network approaches are described in this paper for improving the accuracy of a non-linear, temperature sensitive level probe ised in Expermental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) that was difficult to calibrate

Quality control of nuclear medicine instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mould, R.F.

1983-09-01

The proceedings of a conference held by the Hospital Physicists' Association in London 1983 on the quality control of nuclear medicine instrumentation are presented. Section I deals with the performance of the Anger gamma camera including assessment during manufacture, acceptance testing, routine testing and long-term assessment of results. Section II covers interfaces, computers, the quality control problems of emission tomography and the quality of software. Section III deals with radionuclide measurement and impurity assessment and Section IV the presentation of images and the control of image quality. (U.K.)

Instrumental interaction

OpenAIRE

Luciani , Annie

2007-01-01

International audience; The expression instrumental interaction as been introduced by Claude Cadoz to identify a human-object interaction during which a human manipulates a physical object - an instrument - in order to perform a manual task. Classical examples of instrumental interaction are all the professional manual tasks: playing violin, cutting fabrics by hand, moulding a paste, etc.... Instrumental interaction differs from other types of interaction (called symbolic or iconic interactio...

Radiation protection commissioning of neutron beam instruments at the OPAL research reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parkes, Alison; Saratsopoulos, John; Deura, Michael; Kenny, Pat

2008-01-01

The neutron beam facilities at the 20 MW OPAL Research Reactor were commissioned in 2007 and 2008. The initial suite of eight neutron beam instruments on two thermal neutron guides, two cold neutron guides and one thermal beam port located at the reactor face, together with their associated shielding were progressively installed and commissioned according to their individual project plans. Radiation surveys were systematically conducted as reactor power was raised in a step-wise manner to 20 MW in order to validate instrument shielding design and performance. The performance of each neutron guide was assessed by neutron energy spectrum and flux measurements. The activation of beam line components, decay times assessments and access procedures for Bragg Institute beam instrument scientists were established. The multiple configurations for each instrument and the influence of operating more than one instrument or beamline simultaneously were also tested. Areas of interest were the shielding around the secondary shutters, guide shield and bunker shield interfaces and monochromator doors. The shielding performance, safety interlock checks, improvements, radiation exposures and related radiation protection challenges are discussed. This paper discusses the health physics experience of commissioning the OPAL Research Reactor neutron beam facilities and describes health physics results, actions taken and lessons learned during commissioning. (author)

Assessing learning outcomes in middle-division classical mechanics: The Colorado Classical Mechanics and Math Methods Instrument

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcos D. Caballero

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Reliable and validated assessments of introductory physics have been instrumental in driving curricular and pedagogical reforms that lead to improved student learning. As part of an effort to systematically improve our sophomore-level classical mechanics and math methods course (CM 1 at CU Boulder, we have developed a tool to assess student learning of CM 1 concepts in the upper division. The Colorado Classical Mechanics and Math Methods Instrument (CCMI builds on faculty consensus learning goals and systematic observations of student difficulties. The result is a 9-question open-ended post test that probes student learning in the first half of a two-semester classical mechanics and math methods sequence. In this paper, we describe the design and development of this instrument, its validation, and measurements made in classes at CU Boulder and elsewhere.

Validation of Taiwan Performance-Based Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (TPIADL, a Performance- Based Measurement of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living for Patients with Vascular Cognitive Impairment.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui-Mei Chen

Full Text Available Patients with cerebrovascular diseases often presented both cognitive and physical impairment. Disability in everyday functioning involving cognitive impairment among patients may be hard to completely rely on informants' reports, as their reports may be confounded with physical impairment. The aim of this study was to validate a performance-based measure of functional assessment, the Taiwan Performance-Based Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (TPIADL, for vascular cognitive impairment (VCI by examining its psychometric properties and diagnostic accuracy.Ninety-seven patients with cerebrovascular diseases, including 30 with vascular dementia (VaD, 28 with mild cognitive impairment and 39 with no cognitive impairment, and 49 healthy control adults were recruited during study period. The TPIADL, as well as the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE, Lawton-IADL and Barthel Index (BI, were performed. The internal consistency, convergent and criteria validity of the TPIADL were examined.Cronbach's alpha of the TPIADL test was 0.84. The TPIADL scores were significantly correlated with the Lawton IADL (r = -0.587, p <0.01. Notably, the TPIADL had a higher correlation coefficient with the cognitive domain of Lawton IADL (r = -0.663 than with physical domain of Lawton IADL (r = -0.541. The area under the relative operating characteristic curve was 0.888 (95% CI = 0.812-0.965 to differentiate VaD from other groups. The optimal cut-off point of the TPIADL for detecting VaD was 6/7, which gives a sensitivity of 73.3% and a specificity of 84.5%.The TPIADL is a brief and sensitive tool for the detection of IADL impairment in patients with VaD.

Assessing patient-centred communication in teaching: a systematic review of instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Brouwers, Marianne; Rasenberg, Ellemieke; van Weel, Chris; Laan, Roland; van Weel-Baumgarten, Evelyn

2017-11-01

Patient-centred communication is a key component of patient centredness in medical care. Therefore, adequate education in and assessment of patient-centred communication skills are necessary. In general, feedback on communication skills is most effective when it is provided directly and is systematic. This calls for adequate measurement instruments. The aim of this study was to provide a systematic review of existing instruments that measure patient centredness in doctor-patient communication and can be used to provide direct feedback. A systematic review was conducted using an extensive validated search strategy for measurement instruments in PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO and CINAHL. The databases were searched from their inception to 1 July 2016. Articles describing the development or evaluation of the measurement properties of instruments that measure patient centredness (by applying three or more of the six dimensions of a published definition of patient centredness) in doctor-patient communication and that can be used for the provision of direct feedback were included. The methodological quality of measurement properties was evaluated using the COSMIN checklist. Thirteen articles describing 14 instruments measuring patient centredness in doctor-patient communication were identified. These studies cover a wide range of settings and patient populations, and vary in the dimensions of patient centredness applied and in methodological quality on aspects of reliability and validity. This review gives a comprehensive overview of all instruments available for the measurement of patient centredness in doctor-patient communication that can be used for the provision of direct feedback and are described in the literature. Despite the widely felt need for valid and reliable instruments for the measurement of patient-centred communication, most of the instruments currently available have not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, we recommend further research into and

A review of psychological assessment instruments for use in bariatric surgery evaluations.

Science.gov (United States)

Marek, Ryan J; Heinberg, Leslie J; Lavery, Megan; Merrell Rish, Julie; Ashton, Kathleen

2016-09-01

Bariatric surgery is a viable treatment option for patients with extreme obesity and associated medical comorbidities; however, optimal surgical outcomes are not universal. Surgical societies, such as the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), recommend that patients undergo a presurgical psychological evaluation that includes reviewing patients' medical charts, conducting a comprehensive clinical interview, and employing some form of objective psychometric testing. Despite numerous societies recommending the inclusion of self-report assessments, only about 2/3 of clinics actively use psychological testing-some of which have limited empirical support to justify their use. This review aims to critically evaluate the psychometric properties of self-report measures when used in bariatric surgery settings and provide recommendations to help guide clinicians in selecting instruments to use in bariatric surgery evaluations. Recommended assessment batteries include use of a broadband instrument along with a narrowband eating measure. Suggestions for self-report measures to include in a presurgical psychological evaluation in bariatric surgery settings are also provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Evaluation of a draft standard on performance specifications for health physics instrumentation - program overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kathren, R.L.; Selby, J.M.; Kenoyer, J.L.; Swinth, K.L.

1983-01-01

The draft ANSI Standard N42.17 on performance specifications for health physics instrumentation was written in 1981 by a task group that included both manufacturers and users of these instruments as well as representation from the regulatory bodies; the second draft of this standard is currently being evaluated by Pacific Northwest Laboratory. Objectives of this project include the evaluation of the applicability and practicality of the proposed standard and the determination of the degree of conformance of a cross-section of currently available commercial instruments to the proposed standard. This standard is being tested against such instruments as ionization chambers. G.M. detectors, alpha survey meters, and neutron dose equivalent survey meters. Radiological, electrical, mechanical, safety, and environmental performance criteria are specified and tests to evaluate conformance are detailed. Specific criteria which are discussed in this draft standard include inspection tests (e.g., readout units, scaling and zero set, decontamination, moisture protection, alarm threshold, battery status indication), AC and battery power requirements, alarm reset, stability, geotropism, response time, accuracy, precision, IER, beta, and neutron energy dependence, radiation overloads, angular dependence, extracameral response, nonionizing electromagnetic radiations, magnetic fields, interfering ionizing radiations, and effect of temperature, humidity, ambient pressure, shock, and vibration. The testing procedures were developed with emphasis on the requirements found in ANSI N42.17 with additional criteria from other draft and current ANSI and IEC standards

Physiology, anatomy, and plasticity of the cerebral cortex in relation to musical instrument performance

Science.gov (United States)