WorldWideScience

Sample records for relevant contextual factors

  1. Task-relevant information is prioritized in spatiotemporal contextual cueing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higuchi, Yoko; Ueda, Yoshiyuki; Ogawa, Hirokazu; Saiki, Jun

    2016-11-01

    Implicit learning of visual contexts facilitates search performance-a phenomenon known as contextual cueing; however, little is known about contextual cueing under situations in which multidimensional regularities exist simultaneously. In everyday vision, different information, such as object identity and location, appears simultaneously and interacts with each other. We tested the hypothesis that, in contextual cueing, when multiple regularities are present, the regularities that are most relevant to our behavioral goals would be prioritized. Previous studies of contextual cueing have commonly used the visual search paradigm. However, this paradigm is not suitable for directing participants' attention to a particular regularity. Therefore, we developed a new paradigm, the "spatiotemporal contextual cueing paradigm," and manipulated task-relevant and task-irrelevant regularities. In four experiments, we demonstrated that task-relevant regularities were more responsible for search facilitation than task-irrelevant regularities. This finding suggests our visual behavior is focused on regularities that are relevant to our current goal.

  2. Recovery from equipment failures in ATC: Determination of contextual factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Subotic, Branka; Ochieng, Washington Y.; Straeter, Oliver

    2007-01-01

    Human reliability assessment (HRA) currently uses various approaches to determine and quantify human error. These approaches are increasingly being employed in various safety-critical domains, such as air traffic management and its ground component air traffic control. HRA research over the years has shown the important role of the context in which human errors take place. Recent techniques now put more emphasis on the definition of key contextual factors and their impact on the reliability of human performance. This paper presents a review of the current understanding of contextual factors in various industries. It uses this together with results from controller interviews to identify the contextual factors relevant to controller recovery from equipment failures in air traffic control. These factors should be used in conjunction with an appropriate method to analyse the performance of a controller during the process of recovery from failures

  3. e-Health and new moms: Contextual factors associated with sources of health information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Lorraine O; Mackert, Michael S; Ahn, Jisoo; Vaughan, Misha W; Sterling, Bobbie S; Guy, Sarah; Hendrickson, Sherry

    2017-11-01

    Guided by the Uses and Gratifications approach, to examine mothers' use and preference of e-Health media, and associated contextual factors. Cross-sectional survey of 165 mothers (White, African-American, and Hispanic) from a stratified random sample. Use of online media about mother-baby care; favorite websites about motherhood and best-liked features of Web sites; channel preferences (Web site, postal mail, text) for receiving three types of health information; and contextual factors, e.g., education. Media use ranged from 96% for health information searches about babies to 46% for YouTube viewing about mother-baby topics. Contextual factors, such as education, were associated with media use. Babycenter was the most frequently reported favorite Web site and rich, relevant information was the best-liked feature. Across three health topics (weight, stress/depression, parenting) mothers preferred receiving information by Web site, followed by postal mail and least by text messaging (χ 2 statistics, p < .001). Stress and race/ethnicity were among factors associated with preferences. Mothers widely used e-Health related media, but use was associated with contextual factors. In public health efforts to reach new mothers, partnering with mother-favored Web sites, focusing on audience-relevant media, and adopting attributes of successful sites are recommended strategies. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. Contextual Factors in Adolescent Substance Use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hochhauser, Mark; And Others

    Research on adolescent substance use has focused on prevalence and incidence; however, contextual factors have been largely ignored. A survey of 155 adolescents from a Minneapolis suburb was conducted to assess contextual factors affecting adolescent substance use. Subjects reported their use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marihuana with respect to…

  5. Contextual Factors for Finding Similar Experts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hofmann, Katja; Balog, Krisztian; Bogers, Toine

    2010-01-01

    -seeking models, are rarely taken into account. In this article, we extend content-based expert-finding approaches with contextual factors that have been found to influence human expert finding. We focus on a task of science communicators in a knowledge-intensive environment, the task of finding similar experts......, given an example expert. Our approach combines expertise-seeking and retrieval research. First, we conduct a user study to identify contextual factors that may play a role in the studied task and environment. Then, we design expert retrieval models to capture these factors. We combine these with content......-based retrieval models and evaluate them in a retrieval experiment. Our main finding is that while content-based features are the most important, human participants also take contextual factors into account, such as media experience and organizational structure. We develop two principled ways of modeling...

  6. Contextual factors and effective school improvement

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sun, Hechuan; Creemers, Bert P. M.; de Jong, Rob

    This research provides policy-makers, researchers, and educators at all levels with a glimpse of the contextual influence on effective school improvement (ESI) in 8 European countries. What are the factors at the contextual level, particularly at the national level, which influence ESI? Are there

  7. Contextual Hub Analysis Tool (CHAT): A Cytoscape app for identifying contextually relevant hubs in biological networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muetze, Tanja; Goenawan, Ivan H; Wiencko, Heather L; Bernal-Llinares, Manuel; Bryan, Kenneth; Lynn, David J

    2016-01-01

    Highly connected nodes (hubs) in biological networks are topologically important to the structure of the network and have also been shown to be preferentially associated with a range of phenotypes of interest. The relative importance of a hub node, however, can change depending on the biological context. Here, we report a Cytoscape app, the Contextual Hub Analysis Tool (CHAT), which enables users to easily construct and visualize a network of interactions from a gene or protein list of interest, integrate contextual information, such as gene expression or mass spectrometry data, and identify hub nodes that are more highly connected to contextual nodes (e.g. genes or proteins that are differentially expressed) than expected by chance. In a case study, we use CHAT to construct a network of genes that are differentially expressed in Dengue fever, a viral infection. CHAT was used to identify and compare contextual and degree-based hubs in this network. The top 20 degree-based hubs were enriched in pathways related to the cell cycle and cancer, which is likely due to the fact that proteins involved in these processes tend to be highly connected in general. In comparison, the top 20 contextual hubs were enriched in pathways commonly observed in a viral infection including pathways related to the immune response to viral infection. This analysis shows that such contextual hubs are considerably more biologically relevant than degree-based hubs and that analyses which rely on the identification of hubs solely based on their connectivity may be biased towards nodes that are highly connected in general rather than in the specific context of interest. CHAT is available for Cytoscape 3.0+ and can be installed via the Cytoscape App Store ( http://apps.cytoscape.org/apps/chat).

  8. Context matters: the experience of 14 research teams in systematically reporting contextual factors important for practice change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomoaia-Cotisel, Andrada; Scammon, Debra L; Waitzman, Norman J; Cronholm, Peter F; Halladay, Jacqueline R; Driscoll, David L; Solberg, Leif I; Hsu, Clarissa; Tai-Seale, Ming; Hiratsuka, Vanessa; Shih, Sarah C; Fetters, Michael D; Wise, Christopher G; Alexander, Jeffrey A; Hauser, Diane; McMullen, Carmit K; Scholle, Sarah Hudson; Tirodkar, Manasi A; Schmidt, Laura; Donahue, Katrina E; Parchman, Michael L; Stange, Kurt C

    2013-01-01

    We aimed to advance the internal and external validity of research by sharing our empirical experience and recommendations for systematically reporting contextual factors. Fourteen teams conducting research on primary care practice transformation retrospectively considered contextual factors important to interpreting their findings (internal validity) and transporting or reinventing their findings in other settings/situations (external validity). Each team provided a table or list of important contextual factors and interpretive text included as appendices to the articles in this supplement. Team members identified the most important contextual factors for their studies. We grouped the findings thematically and developed recommendations for reporting context. The most important contextual factors sorted into 5 domains: (1) the practice setting, (2) the larger organization, (3) the external environment, (4) implementation pathway, and (5) the motivation for implementation. To understand context, investigators recommend (1) engaging diverse perspectives and data sources, (2) considering multiple levels, (3) evaluating history and evolution over time, (4) looking at formal and informal systems and culture, and (5) assessing the (often nonlinear) interactions between contextual factors and both the process and outcome of studies. We include a template with tabular and interpretive elements to help study teams engage research participants in reporting relevant context. These findings demonstrate the feasibility and potential utility of identifying and reporting contextual factors. Involving diverse stakeholders in assessing context at multiple stages of the research process, examining their association with outcomes, and consistently reporting critical contextual factors are important challenges for a field interested in improving the internal and external validity and impact of health care research.

  9. Relevance of Student and Contextual School Variables in Explaining a Student's Severity of Violence Experienced

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mooij, Ton

    2015-01-01

    Teachers conceptualise and interpret violent behaviour of secondary students in different ways. They also differ in their estimates of the relevance of student and contextual school variables when explaining the severity of violence experienced by students. Research can assist here by explicating the role of different types of contextual school…

  10. Consequences of contextual factors on clinical reasoning in resident physicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McBee, Elexis; Ratcliffe, Temple; Picho, Katherine; Artino, Anthony R; Schuwirth, Lambert; Kelly, William; Masel, Jennifer; van der Vleuten, Cees; Durning, Steven J

    2015-12-01

    Context specificity and the impact that contextual factors have on the complex process of clinical reasoning is poorly understood. Using situated cognition as the theoretical framework, our aim was to evaluate the verbalized clinical reasoning processes of resident physicians in order to describe what impact the presence of contextual factors have on their clinical reasoning. Participants viewed three video recorded clinical encounters portraying straightforward diagnoses in internal medicine with select patient contextual factors modified. After watching each video recording, participants completed a think-aloud protocol. Transcripts from the think-aloud protocols were analyzed using a constant comparative approach. After iterative coding, utterances were analyzed for emergent themes with utterances grouped into categories, themes and subthemes. Ten residents participated in the study with saturation reached during analysis. Participants universally acknowledged the presence of contextual factors in the video recordings. Four categories emerged as a consequence of the contextual factors: (1) emotional reactions (2) behavioral inferences (3) optimizing the doctor patient relationship and (4) difficulty with closure of the clinical encounter. The presence of contextual factors may impact clinical reasoning performance in resident physicians. When confronted with the presence of contextual factors in a clinical scenario, residents experienced difficulty with closure of the encounter, exhibited as diagnostic uncertainty. This finding raises important questions about the relationship between contextual factors and clinical reasoning activities and how this relationship might influence the cost effectiveness of care. This study also provides insight into how the phenomena of context specificity may be explained using situated cognition theory.

  11. Questioning context: a set of interdisciplinary questions for investigating contextual factors affecting health decision making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charise, Andrea; Witteman, Holly; Whyte, Sarah; Sutton, Erica J.; Bender, Jacqueline L.; Massimi, Michael; Stephens, Lindsay; Evans, Joshua; Logie, Carmen; Mirza, Raza M.; Elf, Marie

    2011-01-01

    Abstract Objective  To combine insights from multiple disciplines into a set of questions that can be used to investigate contextual factors affecting health decision making. Background  Decision‐making processes and outcomes may be shaped by a range of non‐medical or ‘contextual’ factors particular to an individual including social, economic, political, geographical and institutional conditions. Research concerning contextual factors occurs across many disciplines and theoretical domains, but few conceptual tools have attempted to integrate and translate this wide‐ranging research for health decision‐making purposes. Methods  To formulate this tool we employed an iterative, collaborative process of scenario development and question generation. Five hypothetical health decision‐making scenarios (preventative, screening, curative, supportive and palliative) were developed and used to generate a set of exploratory questions that aim to highlight potential contextual factors across a range of health decisions. Findings  We present an exploratory tool consisting of questions organized into four thematic domains – Bodies, Technologies, Place and Work (BTPW) – articulating wide‐ranging contextual factors relevant to health decision making. The BTPW tool encompasses health‐related scholarship and research from a range of disciplines pertinent to health decision making, and identifies concrete points of intersection between its four thematic domains. Examples of the practical application of the questions are also provided. Conclusions  These exploratory questions provide an interdisciplinary toolkit for identifying the complex contextual factors affecting decision making. The set of questions comprised by the BTPW tool may be applied wholly or partially in the context of clinical practice, policy development and health‐related research. PMID:21029277

  12. Testing the relationship between personality characteristics, contextual factors and entrepreneurial intentions in a developing country.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karimi, Saeid; Biemans, Harm J A; Naderi Mahdei, Karim; Lans, Thomas; Chizari, Mohammad; Mulder, Martin

    2017-06-01

    Drawing upon the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), we developed and tested a conceptual model which integrates both internal personality factors and external contextual factors to determine their associations with motivational factors and entrepreneurial intentions (EIs). We then investigated if the model of EI applies in a developing country, namely Iran. We also set out to identify the most relevant factors for EI within this developing country context. Do distal predictors of EI including personality factors (i.e. need for achievement, risk taking and locus of control) and contextual factors (i.e. perceived barriers and support) significantly relate to EI via proximal predictors including motivational factors (i.e. attitudes towards entrepreneurship and perceived behavioural control [PBC])? Data were collected on 331 students from 7 public universities. The findings support the TPB for EI in Iran. All three motivational factors related to EI, but PBC showed the strongest association, which is different than in developed country contexts. Possible explanations for these differences are discussed. All three personality characteristics indirectly related to EI via the proximal attitudes towards entrepreneurship and PBC. Perceived contextual support and barriers indirectly related to EI via proximal PBC while perceived barriers also directly related to EI. © 2015 International Union of Psychological Science.

  13. Contextual factors in maternal and newborn health evaluation: a protocol applied in Nigeria, India and Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabot, Kate; Marchant, Tanya; Spicer, Neil; Berhanu, Della; Gautham, Meenakshi; Umar, Nasir; Schellenberg, Joanna

    2018-01-01

    Understanding the context of a health programme is important in interpreting evaluation findings and in considering the external validity for other settings. Public health researchers can be imprecise and inconsistent in their usage of the word "context" and its application to their work. This paper presents an approach to defining context, to capturing relevant contextual information and to using such information to help interpret findings from the perspective of a research group evaluating the effect of diverse innovations on coverage of evidence-based, life-saving interventions for maternal and newborn health in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and India. We define "context" as the background environment or setting of any program, and "contextual factors" as those elements of context that could affect implementation of a programme. Through a structured, consultative process, contextual factors were identified while trying to strike a balance between comprehensiveness and feasibility. Thematic areas included demographics and socio-economics, epidemiological profile, health systems and service uptake, infrastructure, education, environment, politics, policy and governance. We outline an approach for capturing and using contextual factors while maximizing use of existing data. Methods include desk reviews, secondary data extraction and key informant interviews. Outputs include databases of contextual factors and summaries of existing maternal and newborn health policies and their implementation. Use of contextual data will be qualitative in nature and may assist in interpreting findings in both quantitative and qualitative aspects of programme evaluation. Applying this approach was more resource intensive than expected, in part because routinely available information was not consistently available across settings and more primary data collection was required than anticipated. Data was used only minimally, partly due to a lack of evaluation results that needed further explanation

  14. Contextually-relevant resources in Speech-language Therapy and Audiology in South Africa: Are there any?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michelle Pascoe

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available In this editorial introduction we aim to explore the notion of contextually-relevant resources. We argue that it is the responsibility of Speech Language Therapists (SLTs and Audiologists (As working in South Africa to develop contextually relevant resources, and not to rely on the countries or cultures where the professions originated to do so. Language is often cited as the main barrier to contextually relevant resources: most SLTs and As are aware of the need for more resources in the indigenous local languages. However, the issue is not as straightforward as translating resources from English into other languages. The challenges related to culture, e.g. formal education, familiarity with the test situation, have to be considered; as well as the population on which norms were obtained; the nature of vocabulary or picture items. This paper introduces four original research papers that follow in this edition of the journal, and showcases them as examples of innovative development in our field. At the same time we call for the further development of assessment materials, intervention resources, and contributions to the evidence base in our context. We emphasise the importance of local knowledge to drive the development of these resources in innovative and perhaps unexpected ways, and suggest that all clinicians have an important role to play in this process.

  15. [Relevance of personal contextual factors of the ICF for use in practical social medicine and rehabilitation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grotkamp, S; Cibis, W; Bahemann, A; Baldus, A; Behrens, J; Nyffeler, I D; Echterhoff, W; Fialka-Moser, V; Fries, W; Fuchs, H; Gmünder, H P; Gutenbrunner, C; Keller, K; Nüchtern, E; Pöthig, D; Queri, S; Rentsch, H P; Rink, M; Schian, H-M; Schian, M; Schmitt, K; Schwarze, M; Ulrich, P; von Mittelstaedt, G; Seger, W

    2014-03-01

    Personal contextual factors play an essential part in the model of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). The WHO has not yet classified personal factors for global use although they impact on the functioning of persons positively or negatively. In 2010, the ICF working group of the German Society of Social Medicine and Prevention (DGSMP) presented a proposal for the classification of personal factors into 72 categories previously arranged in 6 chapters. Now a positioning paper has been added in order to stimulate a discussion about the fourth component of the ICF, to contribute towards a broader and common understanding about the nature of personal factors and to incite a dialogue among all those involved in health care as well as those people with or with-out health problems in order to gain a comprehensive perspective about a person's condition. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  16. Contextual Hub Analysis Tool (CHAT: A Cytoscape app for identifying contextually relevant hubs in biological networks [version 2; referees: 2 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tanja Muetze

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Highly connected nodes (hubs in biological networks are topologically important to the structure of the network and have also been shown to be preferentially associated with a range of phenotypes of interest. The relative importance of a hub node, however, can change depending on the biological context. Here, we report a Cytoscape app, the Contextual Hub Analysis Tool (CHAT, which enables users to easily construct and visualize a network of interactions from a gene or protein list of interest, integrate contextual information, such as gene expression or mass spectrometry data, and identify hub nodes that are more highly connected to contextual nodes (e.g. genes or proteins that are differentially expressed than expected by chance. In a case study, we use CHAT to construct a network of genes that are differentially expressed in Dengue fever, a viral infection. CHAT was used to identify and compare contextual and degree-based hubs in this network. The top 20 degree-based hubs were enriched in pathways related to the cell cycle and cancer, which is likely due to the fact that proteins involved in these processes tend to be highly connected in general. In comparison, the top 20 contextual hubs were enriched in pathways commonly observed in a viral infection including pathways related to the immune response to viral infection. This analysis shows that such contextual hubs are considerably more biologically relevant than degree-based hubs and that analyses which rely on the identification of hubs solely based on their connectivity may be biased towards nodes that are highly connected in general rather than in the specific context of interest.   Availability: CHAT is available for Cytoscape 3.0+ and can be installed via the Cytoscape App Store (http://apps.cytoscape.org/apps/chat.

  17. Effects of Contextual Factors on Information Seeking Behavior on the Web by Postgraduate Students at Kerman University of Medical Sciences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mozhgan Rahimi

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to determine the influence of contextual factors on information seeking behavior. This survey investigates search tactics used and users’ perceptions of the search results on the Web by postgraduate students at Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This study was conducted through a mixed method. Thirty postgraduate students voluntarily participated. The study was carried out in the first semester of the academic year 2012-2013. The data was gathered using two questionnaires and log files recorded with Camtasia Studio software. The findings indicated more than half of the participants (53.3 percent used Google, short queries were more used than long queries, advanced search options were used rarely (23 percent, and the participants view few search result pages. According to the results, the contextual factors significantly influenced the search time, search tactics (including querying and navigating and users’ perceptions of the search results (including ease of use, usefulness, satisfaction and relevance judgment. Navigating tactic was primarily used by the participants. Among different aspects of users’ perceptions of the search results, ease of use and relevance judgments were significantly different based on the contextual factors, whereas scanning, extracting, and confidence were less affected by the contextual factors. The findings suggest practical implications for information retrieval systems designers that can design of systems with better user interface in order to meet the needs of users with different knowledge and skills, in this way it leads in promotion of search process and improvement of search results quality.

  18. Anchoring contextual analysis in health policy and systems research: A narrative review of contextual factors influencing health committees in low and middle income countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    George, Asha; Scott, Kerry; Garimella, Surekha; Mondal, Shinjini; Ved, Rajani; Sheikh, Kabir

    2015-05-01

    Health committees, councils or boards (HCs) mediate between communities and health services in many health systems. Despite their widespread prevalence, HC functions vary due to their diversity and complexity, not least because of their context specific nature. We undertook a narrative review to better understand the contextual features relevant to HCs, drawing from Scopus and the internet. We found 390 English language articles from journals and grey literature since 1996 on health committees, councils and boards. After screening with inclusion and exclusion criteria, we focused on 44 articles. Through an iterative process of exploring previous attempts at understanding context in health policy and systems research (HPSR) and the HC literature, we developed a conceptual framework that delineates these contextual factors into four overlapping spheres (community, health facilities, health administration, society) with cross-cutting issues (awareness, trust, benefits, resources, legal mandates, capacity-building, the role of political parties, non-governmental organizations, markets, media, social movements and inequalities). While many attempts at describing context in HPSR result in empty arenas, generic lists or amorphous detail, we suggest anchoring an understanding of context to a conceptual framework specific to the phenomena of interest. By doing so, our review distinguishes between contextual elements that are relatively well understood and those that are not. In addition, our review found that contextual elements are dynamic and porous in nature, influencing HCs but also being influenced by them due to the permeability of HCs. While reforms focus on tangible HC inputs and outputs (training, guidelines, number of meetings held), our review of contextual factors highlights the dynamic relationships and broader structural elements that facilitate and/or hinder the role of health committees in health systems. Such an understanding of context points to its

  19. An Analysis on the Contextual Factors Affecting Motivation in SLA

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2007-01-01

    <正>For us Chinese,a foreign language is something to be acquired as a kind of communicative tool,so we can infer that an effective way in SLA(Second Language Acquisition) must be learning the target language in a communicative context.A communicative context certainly concerns not only the interactional classroom activities designed in accordance with some stated curriculum tasks to lead the L2 students to learning swimming by swimming,but also other relevant elements which have a lot to do with all the situational,interactional and cultural contexts.In order to lessen some potential sources of conflict between L2 teacher and L2 learner,this article is an attempt to urge a careful study on the contextual factors affecting motivation in SLA.

  20. Relevance of student and contextual school variables in explaining a student’s severity of violence experienced

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mooij, Ton

    2015-01-01

    Teachers conceptualise and interpret violent behaviour of secondary students in different ways. They also differ in their estimates of the relevance of student and contextual school variables when explaining the severity of violence experienced by students. Research can assist here by explicating

  1. Contextual risk factors for low birth weight: a multilevel analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gbenga A Kayode

    Full Text Available Low birth weight (LBW remains to be a leading cause of neonatal death and a major contributor to infant and under-five mortality. Its prevalence has not declined in the last decade in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA and Asia. Some individual level factors have been identified as risk factors for LBW but knowledge is limited on contextual risk factors for LBW especially in SSA.Contextual risk factors for LBW in Ghana were identified by performing multivariable multilevel logistic regression analysis of 6,900 mothers dwelling in 412 communities that participated in the 2003 and 2008 Demographic and Health Surveys in Ghana.Contextual-level factors were significantly associated with LBW: Being a rural dweller increased the likelihood of having a LBW infant by 43% (OR 1.43; 95% CI 1.01-2.01; P-value <0.05 while living in poverty-concentrated communities increased the risk of having a LBW infant twofold (OR 2.16; 95% CI 1.29-3.61; P-value <0.01. In neighbourhoods with a high coverage of safe water supply the odds of having a LBW infant reduced by 28% (OR 0.74; 95% CI 0.57-0.96; P-value <0.05.This study showed contextual risk factors to have independent effects on the prevalence of LBW infants. Being a rural dweller, living in a community with a high concentration of poverty and a low coverage of safe water supply were found to increase the prevalence of LBW infants. Implementing appropriate community-based intervention programmes will likely reduce the occurrence of LBW infants.

  2. Validating Domains of Patient Contextual Factors Essential to Preventing Contextual Errors: A Qualitative Study Conducted at Chicago Area Veterans Health Administration Sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Binns-Calvey, Amy E; Malhiot, Alex; Kostovich, Carol T; LaVela, Sherri L; Stroupe, Kevin; Gerber, Ben S; Burkhart, Lisa; Weiner, Saul J; Weaver, Frances M

    2017-09-01

    "Patient context" indicates patient circumstances and characteristics or states that are essential to address when planning patient care. Specific patient "contextual factors," if overlooked, result in an inappropriate plan of care, a medical error termed a "contextual error." The myriad contextual factors that constitute patient context have been grouped into broad domains to create a taxonomy of challenges to consider when planning care. This study sought to validate a previously identified list of contextual domains. This qualitative study used directed content analysis. In 2014, 19 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) providers (84% female) and 49 patients (86% male) from two VA medical centers and four outpatient clinics in the Chicago area participated in semistructured interviews and focus groups. Topics included patient-specific, community, and resource-related factors that affect patients' abilities to manage their care. Transcripts were analyzed with a previously identified list of contextual domains as a framework. Analysis of responses revealed that patients and providers identified the same 10 domains previously published, plus 3 additional ones. Based on comments made by patients and providers, the authors created a revised list of 12 domains from themes that emerged. Six pertain to patient circumstances such as access to care and financial situation, and 6 to patient characteristics/states including skills, abilities, and knowledge. Contextual factors in patients' lives may be essential to address for effective care planning. The rubric developed can serve as a "contextual differential" for clinicians to consider when addressing challenges patients face when planning their care.

  3. Empathy and contextual social cognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melloni, Margherita; Lopez, Vladimir; Ibanez, Agustin

    2014-03-01

    Empathy is a highly flexible and adaptive process that allows for the interplay of prosocial behavior in many different social contexts. Empathy appears to be a very situated cognitive process, embedded with specific contextual cues that trigger different automatic and controlled responses. In this review, we summarize relevant evidence regarding social context modulation of empathy for pain. Several contextual factors, such as stimulus reality and personal experience, affectively link with other factors, emotional cues, threat information, group membership, and attitudes toward others to influence the affective, sensorimotor, and cognitive processing of empathy. Thus, we propose that the frontoinsular-temporal network, the so-called social context network model (SCNM), is recruited during the contextual processing of empathy. This network would (1) update the contextual cues and use them to construct fast predictions (frontal regions), (2) coordinate the internal (body) and external milieus (insula), and (3) consolidate the context-target associative learning of empathic processes (temporal sites). Furthermore, we propose these context-dependent effects of empathy in the framework of the frontoinsular-temporal network and examine the behavioral and neural evidence of three neuropsychiatric conditions (Asperger syndrome, schizophrenia, and the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia), which simultaneously present with empathy and contextual integration impairments. We suggest potential advantages of a situated approach to empathy in the assessment of these neuropsychiatric disorders, as well as their relationship with the SCNM.

  4. Moderating effects of contextual factors on relationship between ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Decision–making by physicians on patients' treatment has received increased research attention. ... The main objective of this paper is to review the influence of the marketing strategies by pharmaceutical firms and contextual factors on ...

  5. A qualitative study of contextual factors' impact on measures to reduce surgery cancellations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hovlid, Einar; Bukve, Oddbjørn

    2014-05-13

    Contextual factors influence quality improvement outcomes. Understanding this influence is important when adapting and implementing interventions and translating improvements into new settings. To date, there is limited knowledge about how contextual factors influence quality improvement processes. In this study, we explore how contextual factors affected measures to reduce surgery cancellations, which are a persistent problem in healthcare. We discuss the usefulness of the theoretical framework provided by the model for understanding success in quality (MUSIQ) for this kind of research. We performed a qualitative case study at Førde Hospital, Norway, where we had previously demonstrated a reduction in surgery cancellations. We interviewed 20 clinicians and performed content analysis to explore how contextual factors affected measures to reduce cancellations of planned surgeries. We identified three common themes concerning how contextual factors influenced the change process: 1) identifying a need to change, 2) facilitating system-wide improvement, and 3) leader involvement and support. Input from patients helped identify a need to change and contributed to the consensus that change was necessary. Reducing cancellations required improving the clinical system. This improvement process was based on a strategy that emphasized the involvement of frontline clinicians in detecting and improving system problems. Clinicians shared information about their work by participating in improvement teams to develop a more complete understanding of the clinical system and its interdependencies. This new understanding allowed clinicians to detect system problems and design adequate interventions. Middle managers' participation in the improvement teams and in regular work processes was important for successfully implementing and adapting interventions. Contextual factors interacted with one another and with the interventions to facilitate changes in the clinical system, reducing

  6. Using the Contextual Hub Analysis Tool (CHAT) in Cytoscape to Identify Contextually Relevant Network Hubs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muetze, Tanja; Lynn, David J

    2017-09-13

    Highly connected nodes in biological networks are called network hubs. Hubs are topologically important to the structure of the network and have been shown to be preferentially associated with a range of phenotypes of interest. The relative importance of a hub node, however, can change depending on the biological context. Here, we provide a step-by-step protocol for using the Contextual Hub Analysis Tool (CHAT), an application within Cytoscape 3, which enables users to easily construct and visualize a network of interactions from a gene or protein list of interest, integrate contextual information, such as gene or protein expression data, and identify hub nodes that are more highly connected to contextual nodes than expected by chance. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

  7. [Relevance of Personality Factors for Successful Vocational Rehabilitation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arling, V; Slavchova, V; Knispel, J; Spijkers, W

    2016-02-01

    like vocational center contextual factors (R(2)=0,280) appeared to be relevant for reintegration 6 months later. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  8. Psychological distress among children and adolescents. Do individual or contextual factors matter?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Meilstrup, Charlotte; Ersbøll, Annette Kjær; Nielsen, Line

    Psychological distress among children and adolescents. Do individual or contextual factors matter? Authors Meilstrup C, Ersbøll AK, Nielsen L, Due P, Holstein BE Background A large minority of children and adolescents suffer from mental distress and it is important to identify contributing factors......% across schools. Individual level variables such as low socio-economic position and family composition explained much of the variation across schools. Still, class level variables also contributed to this variation. In classes where many students reported that the class-mates doesn´t like being together...... (compositional effects), this study suggest that contextual factors are important to take into account in the research on psychological complaints among children and adolescents. This analytical model presents a way for future studies about contextual influences on psychological complaints....

  9. Individual and Contextual Factors Influencing Engagement in Learning Activities after Errors at Work: A Replication Study in a German Retail Bank

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leicher, Veronika; Mulder, Regina H.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this replication study is to identify relevant individual and contextual factors influencing learning from errors at work and to determine if the predictors for learning activities are the same for the domains of nursing and retail banking. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional replication study was carried out in…

  10. Contextual factors and social consequences of incident disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Ulla; Kriegbaum, Margit; Hougaard, Charlotte Ørsted

    2008-01-01

    practice modify the employment effect of disease. We have studied risk of labour market exclusion following incident hospitalization for ischaemic heart disease (IHD), and whether this risk may be modified by contextual factors on the municipal level. Methods: A cohort design on a 10% random sample...

  11. Correlates of Parental Differential Treatment: Parental and Contextual Factors during Middle Childhood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atzaba-Poria, Naama; Pike, Alison

    2008-01-01

    The current study examined whether parental and contextual risk factors contribute to mothers' and fathers' differential treatment (MDT/FDT) when accounting for sibling dyad characteristics. Also explored was whether family type (single mothers vs. 2 parents) moderated the links between the parental and contextual correlates and MDT. One hundred…

  12. Identifying Contextual Factors of Employee Satisfaction of Performance Management at a Thai State Enterprise

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Molraudee Saratun

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false IN X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Although there has been an increase in Performance Management (PM literature over the years arguing that PM perceptions are likely to be a function of PM process components and contextual factors, the actual relationship between the contextual factors and employee satisfaction of PM remains little explored.  Extending previous research, this study examines relationships between contextual factors and employees’ PM satisfaction.  Derived from the literature, these contextual factors are motivation and empowerment of employees, role conflict, role ambiguity, perceived organisational support, procedural justice and distributive justice.  Seven directional hypotheses are tested accordingly through a series of regression analyses.  This article finds that these contextual factors, with the exception of role conflict, are directly predictive of enhanced employees’ PM satisfaction at the Thai state enterprise. Keywords: Performance management, contextual factors, performance management satisfaction, public organisations, Thailand. /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

  13. [Alcohol consumption in men punished for intimate partner violence: individual and contextual factors].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catalá-Miñana, Alba; Lila, Marisol; Oliver, Amparo

    2013-01-01

    Alcohol consumption is often associated with violence against women. The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between alcohol and other relevant variables in the intervention with men convicted of intimate partner violence, both at the individual and contextual spheres. Clinical symptomatology, Drug abuse, Impulsivity, Self-esteem, Assumption of responsibility, Intimate support perception, Social rejection perception, Accumulation of stressful life events, Income perception and Social support in community are assessed in a sample of 291 participants in an intervention program for men condemned for intimate partner violence. Data were analyzed using bivariate correlations and ANOVAs. Statistically significant differences were obtained among Risk consumers and Not risk consumers in Clinical symptomatology, Drug abuse, Impulsivity, Self-esteem and Attribution of blame to personal context as individual variables and Intimate support perception, Social rejection and Accumulation of stressful life events as contextual variables. Results of previous work are confirmed and the importance of considering social factors in the participants' environment when considering decreasing alcohol consumption and intimate partner violence is demonstrated. New tools for enhancing interventions in rehabilitation programs with men convicted for violence against women is provided.

  14. Maternal Burnout Syndrome: Contextual and Psychological Associated Factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Astrid Lebert-Charron

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: Becoming a parent is one of the most significant experiences in a woman’s life. Including substantial and long-lasting mental, social, and physical charge, the parenting experience may also be a potentially stressful and overwhelming task. Since the eighties, the notion of parental burnout syndrome has gained increasing attention, but its contextual and psychological factors need to be better identified.Aims: To investigate a large array of contextual and psychological factors associated with maternal burnout syndrome in a French community-based population in order to contribute to better operationalize the notion of parental burnout and to explore its determinants.Method: A total of 304 French-speaking mothers (mean age = 34.8 years, SD = 6.72 completed a set of questionnaires including a sociodemographic form (in order to gather general information about the mothers, their spouses, and children living at home. The Perceived Stress Scale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory adapted to parents (MBI-parental, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Parental Stress Index-Short Form and the Ways of Coping Checklist were used in this study.Results: Multivariate linear regression analyses revealed that scores on the MBI-parental version were strongly and positively associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms, as well as with perceived stress related to parenthood and parenting stress levels. Moreover, using the task-oriented coping style in parenthood was strongly and positively associated with personal accomplishment. Conversely, some sociodemographic characteristics were found to be negatively associated with maternal burnout: being employed, working full time and being a mother living without a coparent.Conclusion: The construct of maternal burnout syndrome seems to be linked to a conjunction of psychological and contextual factors associated with maternal exhaustion. The implication of the results for prevention and

  15. Maternal Burnout Syndrome: Contextual and Psychological Associated Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lebert-Charron, Astrid; Dorard, Géraldine; Boujut, Emilie; Wendland, Jaqueline

    2018-01-01

    Background: Becoming a parent is one of the most significant experiences in a woman’s life. Including substantial and long-lasting mental, social, and physical charge, the parenting experience may also be a potentially stressful and overwhelming task. Since the eighties, the notion of parental burnout syndrome has gained increasing attention, but its contextual and psychological factors need to be better identified. Aims: To investigate a large array of contextual and psychological factors associated with maternal burnout syndrome in a French community-based population in order to contribute to better operationalize the notion of parental burnout and to explore its determinants. Method: A total of 304 French-speaking mothers (mean age = 34.8 years, SD = 6.72) completed a set of questionnaires including a sociodemographic form (in order to gather general information about the mothers, their spouses, and children living at home). The Perceived Stress Scale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory adapted to parents (MBI-parental), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Parental Stress Index-Short Form and the Ways of Coping Checklist were used in this study. Results: Multivariate linear regression analyses revealed that scores on the MBI-parental version were strongly and positively associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms, as well as with perceived stress related to parenthood and parenting stress levels. Moreover, using the task-oriented coping style in parenthood was strongly and positively associated with personal accomplishment. Conversely, some sociodemographic characteristics were found to be negatively associated with maternal burnout: being employed, working full time and being a mother living without a coparent. Conclusion: The construct of maternal burnout syndrome seems to be linked to a conjunction of psychological and contextual factors associated with maternal exhaustion. The implication of the results for prevention and intervention strategies

  16. The influence of contextual factors on patient involvement during follow-up consultations after colorectal cancer surgery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, Thora G; Soelver, Lisbeth; Hølge-Hazelton, Bibi

    2017-01-01

    AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To identify the contextual factors that influence individual patient involvement during colorectal cancer surgical follow-up consultations. BACKGROUND: The healthcare system is subject to the requirement and expectation of greater involvement of patients and relatives...... the identification of current contextual factors. RESULTS: The results showed five contextual factors that seemed to have an impact on patient involvement. The first, 'Two dimensions of patient involvement: treatment-oriented and person-oriented' highlighted a dual interpretation of patient involvement....... Increased patient involvement requires the development and implementation of new communication initiatives. Research shows that it is also necessary to consider the contextual circumstances surrounding patient involvement in specific situations. DESIGN: Case study of a single Danish outpatient clinic, which...

  17. An analysis of contextual information relevant to medical care unexpectedly volunteered to researchers by asthma patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, Heather L; Priolo, Chantel; Gonzalez, Rodalyn; Geer, Sabrina; Adam, Bariituu; Apter, Andrea J

    2012-09-01

    To describe and categorize contextual information relevant to patients' medical care unexpectedly volunteered to research personnel as part of a patient advocate (PA) intervention to facilitate access health care, communication with medical personnel, and self-management of a chronic disease such as asthma. We adapted a patient navigator intervention, to overcome barriers to access and communication for adults with moderate or severe asthma. Informed by focus groups of patients and providers, our PAs facilitated preparation for a visit with an asthma provider, attended the visit, confirmed understanding, and assisted with post-visit activities. During meetings with researchers, either for PA activities or for data collection, participants frequently volunteered personal and medical information relevant for achieving successful self-management that was not routinely shared with medical personnel. For this project, researchers journaled information not captured by the structured questionnaires and protocol. Using a qualitative analysis, we describe (1) researchers' journals of these unique communications; (2) their relevance for accomplishing self-management; (3) PAs' formal activities including teach-back, advocacy, and facilitating appointment making; and (4) observations of patients' interactions with the clinical practices. In 83 journals, patients' social support (83%), health (68%), and deportment (69%) were described. PA assistance with navigating the medical system (59%), teach-back (46%), and observed interactions with patient and medical staff (76%) were also journaled. Implicit were ways patients and practices could overcome barriers to access and communication. These journals describe the importance of seeking contextual and medically relevant information from all patients and, especially, those with significant morbidities, prompting patients for barriers to access to health care, and confirming understanding of medical information.

  18. Contextual factors, methodological principles and teacher cognition

    OpenAIRE

    Walsh, Rupert; Wyatt, Mark

    2014-01-01

    Teachers in various contexts worldwide are sometimes unfairly criticized for not putting teaching methods developed for the well-resourced classrooms of Western countries into practice. Factors such as the teachers’ “misconceptualizations” of “imported” methods, including Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), are often blamed, though the challenges imposed by “contextual demands,” such as large class sizes, are sometimes recognised. Meanwhile, there is sometimes an assumption that in the Wes...

  19. Contextual factors, methodological principles and teacher cognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rupert Walsh

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Teachers in various contexts worldwide are sometimes unfairly criticized for not putting teaching methods developed for the well-resourced classrooms of Western countries into practice. Factors such as the teachers’ “misconceptualizations” of “imported” methods, including Communicative Language Teaching (CLT, are often blamed, though the challenges imposed by “contextual demands,” such as large class sizes, are sometimes recognised. Meanwhile, there is sometimes an assumption that in the West there is a happy congruence between policy supportive of CLT or Task-Based Language Teaching, teacher education and supervision, and curriculum design with teachers’ cognitions and their practices. Our case study of three EFL teachers at a UK adult education college is motivated by a wish to question this assumption. Findings from observational and interview data suggest the practices of two teachers were largely consistent with their methodological principles, relating to stronger and weaker forms of CLT respectively, as well as to more general educational principles, such as a concern for learners; the supportive environment seemed to help. The third teacher appeared to put “difficult” contextual factors, for example, tests, ahead of methodological principles without, however, obviously benefiting. Implications highlight the important role of teacher cognition research in challenging cultural assumptions.

  20. Contextual factors and clinical reasoning: differences in diagnostic and therapeutic reasoning in board certified versus resident physicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McBee, Elexis; Ratcliffe, Temple; Picho, Katherine; Schuwirth, Lambert; Artino, Anthony R; Yepes-Rios, Ana Monica; Masel, Jennifer; van der Vleuten, Cees; Durning, Steven J

    2017-11-15

    The impact of context on the complex process of clinical reasoning is not well understood. Using situated cognition as the theoretical framework and videos to provide the same contextual "stimulus" to all participants, we examined the relationship between specific contextual factors on diagnostic and therapeutic reasoning accuracy in board certified internists versus resident physicians. Each participant viewed three videotaped clinical encounters portraying common diagnoses in internal medicine. We explicitly modified the context to assess its impact on performance (patient and physician contextual factors). Patient contextual factors, including English as a second language and emotional volatility, were portrayed in the videos. Physician participant contextual factors were self-rated sleepiness and burnout.. The accuracy of diagnostic and therapeutic reasoning was compared with covariates using Fisher Exact, Mann-Whitney U tests and Spearman Rho's correlations as appropriate. Fifteen board certified internists and 10 resident physicians participated from 2013 to 2014. Accuracy of diagnostic and therapeutic reasoning did not differ between groups despite residents reporting significantly higher rates of sleepiness (mean rank 20.45 vs 8.03, U = 0.5, p reasoning performance. Further, the processes of diagnostic and therapeutic reasoning, although related, may not be interchangeable. This raises important questions about the impact that contextual factors have on clinical reasoning and provides insight into how clinical reasoning processes in more authentic settings may be explained by situated cognition theory.

  1. Consequences of contextual factors on clinical reasoning in resident physicians

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    McBee, E.; Ratcliffe, T.; Picho, K.; Artino, A.R.; Schuwirth, L.; Kelly, W.; Masel, J.; Vleuten, C. van der; Durning, S.J.

    2015-01-01

    Context specificity and the impact that contextual factors have on the complex process of clinical reasoning is poorly understood. Using situated cognition as the theoretical framework, our aim was to evaluate the verbalized clinical reasoning processes of resident physicians in order to describe

  2. Perceived Best Friend Delinquency Moderates the Link between Contextual Risk Factors and Juvenile Delinquency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fite, Paula; Preddy, Teresa; Vitulano, Michael; Elkins, Sara; Grassetti, Stevie; Wimsatt, Amber

    2012-01-01

    The current study evaluated the effects of contextual risk factors (i.e., negative life events and neighborhood problems) and perceived best friend delinquency on child self-reported delinquency. More specifically, the present study extended the literature by evaluating whether best friend delinquency moderated the effects of contextual risk…

  3. Contextual socioeconomic determinants of cardiovascular risk factors in rural south-west China: a multilevel analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geater Alan

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background We examined independent influences of contextual variables on cardiovascular risk factors in Shilin county, Yunnan province, South-west China. Methods Three villages were selected from each of the ten townships based on probability proportional to size. In each selected village, 200 individuals aged ≥ 45 years were chosen based on simple random sampling method. From 6006 individuals, information on demographic characteristics, smoking and drinking status was obtained by interview. Blood pressure, height, weight, and waist and hip girth were measured. Fasting blood sugar was measured in a 10-percent subsample. Contextual data were from official reports. Multi-level regression modelling with adjustment for individual and contextual variables was used. Results Contextual variables associated with CVD risk factors included: remoteness of village with higher blood pressure and fasting blood sugar, high proportion of Yi minority with drinking, high literacy rate with a lower rate of smoking and a lower mean waist-hip ratio, and high average income with lower systolic blood pressure and body mass index (BMI but higher FBS. Conclusion While contextual SES is associated with a few CVD risk factors, villages with high level of income are worse off in fasting blood sugar. Strategies of economic development should be reviewed to avoid adverse effects on health.

  4. Contextual factors associated with smoking among Brazilian adolescents

    OpenAIRE

    Barreto, Sandhi Maria; Giatti, Luana; Casado, Leticia; de Moura, Lenildo; Crespo, Claudio; Malta, Deborah

    2011-01-01

    Background Very few studies have examined the role of school, household and family contexts in youth smoking in middle-income countries. Methods This work describes smoking exposure among 59 992 high school students who took part in the Brazilian Survey of School Health and investigates contextual factors associated with regular smoking, defined as smoking cigarettes at least once in the past 30 days. The explaining variables were grouped into: socio-demographic characteristics, school contex...

  5. Drinking games and contextual factors of 21st birthday drinking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neighbors, Clayton; Rodriguez, Lindsey M; Rinker, Dipali V; DiBello, Angelo M; Young, Chelsie M; Chen, Chun-Han

    2014-09-01

    21st birthday celebrations are among the highest risks for alcohol use throughout emerging adulthood and celebrants often experience a range of alcohol-related consequences. The present research considered what happens when drinking games are paired with an already high-risk event (i.e., 21st birthday celebrations) and how drinking games compare with other contextual factors on 21st birthdays. Approximately four days after turning 21, 1124 college students (55% women) completed an online survey assessing alcohol use and related consequences experienced during their birthday celebrations. Participants were also asked whether drinking games and other contextual factors were associated with their celebrations. Overall, 18% of participants reported playing drinking games during their 21st birthday celebrations. These individuals reported consuming more alcohol, had higher estimated BACs, and experienced more negative consequences than those who did not play drinking games. The association between playing drinking games and alcohol use and negative consequences was stronger for men. The effect of drinking games on negative consequences was mediated through elevated BAC levels. Receiving bar specials, having drinks purchased, playing drinking games, and loud music were uniquely and significantly associated with all alcohol outcomes. Together, these results suggest that drinking games are part of a larger context of risk contributing to extreme drinking on 21st birthdays. Furthermore, these results will help to facilitate interventions that are more individually tailored to target specific contextual risks, behaviors, and events.

  6. Chinese Children's Perceived School Satisfaction: The Role of Contextual and Intrapersonal Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hui, Eadaoin K. P.; Sun, Rachel C. F.

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated the contribution of school contextual factors and intrapersonal factors to school satisfaction among a sample of Hong Kong Chinese primary school children. A total of 760 children completed the School Satisfaction Subscale of the Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale for Children along with self-report measures of…

  7. Contextual Factors for Establishing Nursing Regulation in Iran: A Qualitative Content Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nejatian, Ahmad; Joulaei, Hassan

    2018-04-01

    Professional regulation is one of the strategies of the governments which protect the public's right. Nursing practice is not an exception; hence, it is regulated to protect the public against nursing services' adverse effects. Although modern nursing in Iran started from 100 years ago, documents show that there was no regulation mechanism for nursing in Iran till 2016. Hence, this study was conducted to illuminate the contextual factors affecting the nursing regulation process in Iran. To explore the contextual elements of late establishment of nursing registration as an important part of nursing regulation, we applied directed qualitative content analysis. For this purpose, all the historical events and related materials including articles published in scientific journals, gray literature, statements, news articles, and interviews in the period of 2006-2016 were reviewed and analyzed by expert panel and categorized in predetermined groups. Pooled analysis data showed four contributing elements that affected the emerging nursing regulation in Iran. These elements include 1) cultural determinants, 2) structural determinants, 3) situational determinants, and 4) international or exogenous determinants. Nursing regulation is an important health policy issue in Iran which needs to be facilitated by contextual factors. These factors are complicated and country-specific. Political willingness should be accompanied by nursing association willingness to establish and improve nursing regulation. Other researches are recommended to explore actors and process and content of nursing regulation policy in Iran.

  8. Implementation of health promotion programmes in schools: an approach to understand the influence of contextual factors on the process?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darlington, Emily Joan; Violon, Nolwenn; Jourdan, Didier

    2018-01-22

    Implementing complex and multi-level public health programmes is challenging in school settings. Discrepancies between expected and actual programme outcomes are often reported. Such discrepancies are due to complex interactions between contextual factors. Contextual factors relate to the setting, the community, in which implementation occurs, the stakeholders involved, and the characteristics of the programme itself. This work uses realist evaluation to understand how contextual factors influence the implementation process, to result in variable programme outcomes. This study focuses on identifying contextual factors, pinpointing combinations of contextual factors, and understanding interactions and effects of such factors and combinations on programme outcomes on different levels of the implementation process. Schools which had participated in a school-based health promotion programme between 2012 and 2015 were included. Two sets of qualitative data were collected: semi-structured interviews with school staff and programme coordinators; and written documents about the actions implemented in a selection of four schools. Quantitative data included 1553 questionnaires targeting pupils aged 8 to 11 in 14 schools to describe the different school contexts. The comparison between what was expected from the programme (programme theory) and the outcomes identified in the field data, showed that some of the mechanisms expected to support the implementation of the programme, did not operate as anticipated (e.g. inclusion of training, initiation by decision-maker). Key factors which influenced the implementation process included, amongst other factors, the mode of introduction of the programme, home/school relationship, leadership of the management team, and the level of delegated power. Five types of interactions between contextual factors were put forward: enabling, hindering, neutral, counterbalancing and moderating effects. Recurrent combinations of factors were

  9. Individual and contextual factors influencing dental health care utilization by preschool children: a multilevel analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piovesan, Chaiana; Ardenghi, Thiago Machado; Mendes, Fausto Medeiros; Agostini, Bernardo Antonio; Michel-Crosato, Edgard

    2017-03-30

    The effect of contextual factors on dental care utilization was evaluated after adjustment for individual characteristics of Brazilian preschool children. This cross-sectional study assessed 639 preschool children aged 1 to 5 years from Santa Maria, a town in Rio Grande do Sul State, located in southern Brazil. Participants were randomly selected from children attending the National Children's Vaccination Day and 15 health centers were selected for this research. Visual examinations followed the ICDAS criteria. Parents answered a questionnaire about demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Contextual influences on children's dental care utilization were obtained from two community-related variables: presence of dentists and presence of workers' associations in the neighborhood. Unadjusted and adjusted multilevel logistic regression models were used to describe the association between outcome and predictor variables. A prevalence of 21.6% was found for regular use of dental services. The unadjusted assessment of the associations of dental health care utilization with individual and contextual factors included children's ages, family income, parents' schooling, mothers' participation in their children's school activities, dental caries, and presence of workers' associations in the neighborhood as the main outcome covariates. Individual variables remained associated with the outcome after adding contextual variables in the model. In conclusion, individual and contextual variables were associated with dental health care utilization by preschool children.

  10. Individual- and contextual-level factors associated with client-initiated HIV testing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Renata dos Santos Barros

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Background: Knowing the reasons for seeking HIV testing is central for HIV prevention. Despite the availability of free HIV counseling and testing in Brazil, coverage remains lacking. Methods: Survey of 4,760 respondents from urban areas was analyzed. Individual-level variables included sociodemographic characteristics; sexual and reproductive health; HIV/AIDS treatment knowledge and beliefs; being personally acquainted with a person with HIV/AIDS; and holding discriminatory ideas about people living with HIV. Contextual-level variables included the Human Development Index (HDI of the municipality; prevalence of HIV/AIDS; and availability of local HIV counseling and testing (CT services. The dependent variable was client-initiated testing. Multilevel Poisson regression models with random intercepts were used to assess associated factors. Results: Common individual-level variables among men and women included being personally acquainted with a person with HIV/AIDS and age; whereas discordant variables included those related to sexual and reproductive health and experiencing sexual violence. Among contextual-level factors, availability of CT services was variable associated with client-initiated testing among women only. The contextual-level variable “HDI of the municipality” was associated with client-initiated testing among women. Conclusion: Thus, marked gender differences in HIV testing were found, with a lack of HIV testing among married women and heterosexual men, groups that do not spontaneously seek testing.

  11. How Individual and Contextual Factors Affects Antisocial and Delinquent Behaviors: A Comparison between Young Offenders, Adolescents at Risk of Social Exclusion, and a Community Sample

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia Duran-Bonavila

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The problems associated with violence during adolescence have been on the rise in recent decades. Many studies have focused only on environmental causes or individual causes of violence, although a combination of both variables would seem to be the best option for prediction. The current study aims to assess the relevance of individual characteristics (personality traits, intelligence, and historical and clinical factors linked to the risk of violence, contextual risk factors and protective factors in explaining antisocial and delinquent behaviors in adolescence by comparing three different samples: a community sample, a sample at risk of social exclusion, and a sample of juvenile offenders. The results show that the samples at risk of social exclusion and the sample of juvenile offenders have a very similar profile in terms of personality traits and intelligence, although they differ from the community sample. However, these two samples do differ in such contextual variables as peer delinquency, poor parental management, community disorganization, or early caregiver disruption.

  12. An empirical analysis on the adoption of electronic banking in the financial institutes using structural, behavioral and contextual factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Akbar Ahmadi

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available This research examines contextual, structural and organizational factors, which can facilitate or slow down adoption of innovation in Electronic Banking in the financial Institutions. Three-dimensional model co-structure, co-behavioral, contextual (3C is used in this research. This schema is a logical model in the categories of models and many of concepts, events and organizational phenomena can be examined. Structural factors including type of the organization of institution, work distribution, preparing mobilization of resources and equipment and risk of decision-making sophistication influence on adoption of Electronic Banking. There are four contextual factors, which contribute in adoption of Electronic Banking including goals, strategies, culture and common norms. The five Behavioral Factors, which affect on electronic banking are connections and relations, skills and personal characters of employees, education, job satisfaction and banking work process. By studying the mentioned factors, we have realized that contextual factors plays important role on adoption of electronic Banking by employee and the behavioral and structural factors have minor impacts. The mentioned proposals are methods, which facilitate the adoption of electronic banking in the country.

  13. Contextual factors affecting autonomy for patients in Iranian hospitals: A qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebrahimi, Hossein; Sadeghian, Efat; Seyedfatemi, Naeimeh; Mohammadi, Eesa; Crowley, Maureen

    2016-01-01

    Consideration of patient autonomy is an essential element in individualized, patient-centered, ethical care. Internal and external factors associated with patient autonomy are related to culture and it is not clear what they are in Iran. The aim of this study was to explore contextual factors affecting the autonomy of patients in Iranian hospitals. This was a qualitative study using conventional content analysis methods. Thirty-four participants (23 patients, 9 nurses, and 2 doctors) from three Iranian teaching hospitals, selected using purposive sampling, participated in semi-structured interviews. Unstructured observation and filed notes were other methods for data collection. The data were subjected to qualitative content analysis and analyzed using the MAXQDA-10 software. Five categories and sixteen subcategories were identified. The five main categories related to patient autonomy were: Intrapersonal factors, physical health status, supportive family and friends, communication style, and organizational constraints. In summary, this study uncovered contextual factors that the care team, managers, and planners in the health field should target in order to improve patient autonomy in Iranian hospitals.

  14. Contextual factors affecting autonomy for patients in Iranian hospitals: A qualitative study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebrahimi, Hossein; Sadeghian, Efat; Seyedfatemi, Naeimeh; Mohammadi, Eesa; Crowley, Maureen

    2016-01-01

    Background: Consideration of patient autonomy is an essential element in individualized, patient-centered, ethical care. Internal and external factors associated with patient autonomy are related to culture and it is not clear what they are in Iran. The aim of this study was to explore contextual factors affecting the autonomy of patients in Iranian hospitals. Materials and Methods: This was a qualitative study using conventional content analysis methods. Thirty-four participants (23 patients, 9 nurses, and 2 doctors) from three Iranian teaching hospitals, selected using purposive sampling, participated in semi-structured interviews. Unstructured observation and filed notes were other methods for data collection. The data were subjected to qualitative content analysis and analyzed using the MAXQDA-10 software. Results: Five categories and sixteen subcategories were identified. The five main categories related to patient autonomy were: Intrapersonal factors, physical health status, supportive family and friends, communication style, and organizational constraints. Conclusions: In summary, this study uncovered contextual factors that the care team, managers, and planners in the health field should target in order to improve patient autonomy in Iranian hospitals. PMID:27186203

  15. Contextual Factors Affecting E-Government Strategy Implementation and Its Impact on Public Sector Performance in Kenya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr. James Gathungu

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper assesses the contextual factors affecting the implementation of e-government strategy and its impact on the performance of the public sector in Kenya using the Wing Lam, (2005 E-government Integration Model. Electronic government (E-government is viewed in this study as the utilization of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs to transform the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of exchanges within government, between government and citizens and businesses locally and abroad; and to empower citizens through access and use of information. Although e-government is a rapidly growing concept in both developing and developed countries very few e-government initiatives progress to maturity. Different countries are faced with different contextual circumstances and environments in the realization of e-government initiatives. This study attempts to address the gap between theory and rhetoric about the potential of e-government and the reality of its application on the ground in Kenya. The study attempts to analyze the philosophy, theories and paradigms of e-government. The development of the commercial concept as a new paradigm in public administration replacing the traditional bureaucratic systems of government is highlighted in the study. A detailed conceptual discussion anchors the study on the Wing Lam, (2005 E-government Integration Model (EGI basing it on the Kenyan perspective. The study also reviews relevant e-government studies from an international, regional and local perspective anchoring the study on the configuration school of management thought. These discussions are used to develop new insights in view of the emerging issues and their relevance to the public sector in Kenya.

  16. Contextual Factors Affecting E-Government Strategy Implementation and Its Impact on Public Sector Performance in Kenya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr. James Gathungu

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper assesses the contextual factors affecting the implementation of e-government strategy and its impact on the performance of the public sector in Kenya using the Wing Lam, (2005 E-government Integration Model. Electronic government (E-government is viewed in this study as the utilization of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs to transform the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of exchanges within government, between government and citizens and businesses locally and abroad; and to empower citizens through access and use of information. Although e-government is a rapidly growing concept in both developing and developed countries very few e-government initiatives progress to maturity. Different countries are faced with different contextual circumstances and environments in the realization of e-government initiatives. This study attempts to address the gap between theory and rhetoric about the potential of e-government and the reality of its application on the ground in Kenya. The study attempts to analyze the philosophy, theories and paradigms of e-government. The development of the commercial concept as a new paradigm in public administration replacing the traditional bureaucratic systems of government is highlighted in the study. A detailed conceptual discussion anchors the study on the Wing Lam, (2005 E-government Integration Model (EGI basing it on the Kenyan perspective. The study also reviews relevant e-government studies from an international, regional and local perspective anchoring the study on the configuration school of management thought. These discussions are used to develop new insights in view of the emerging issues and their relevance to the public sector in Kenya.  

  17. Factors affecting public prejudice and social distance on mental illness: analysis of contextual effect by multi-level analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Hyeongap; Lim, Jun-Tae; Oh, Juhwan; Lee, Seon-Young; Kim, Yong-Ik; Lee, Jin-Seok

    2012-03-01

    While there have been many quantitative studies on the public's attitude towards mental illnesses, it is hard to find quantitative study which focused on the contextual effect on the public's attitude. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that affect the public's beliefs and attitudes including contextual effects. We analyzed survey on the public's beliefs and attitudes towards mental illness in Korea with multi-level analysis. We analyzed the public's beliefs and attitudes in terms of prejudice as an intermediate outcome and social distance as a final outcome. Then, we focused on the associations of factors, which were individual and regional socio-economic factors, familiarity, and knowledge based on the comparison of the intermediate and final outcomes. Prejudice was not explained by regional variables but was only correlated with individual factors. Prejudice increased with age and decreased by high education level. However, social distance controlling for prejudice increased in females, in people with a high education level, and in regions with a high education level and a high proportion of the old. Therefore, social distance without controlling for prejudice increased in females, in the elderly, in highly educated people, and in regions with a high education and aged community. The result of the multi-level analysis for the regional variables suggests that social distance for mental illness are not only determined by individual factors but also influenced by the surroundings so that it could be tackled sufficiently with appropriate considering of the relevant regional context with individual characteristics.

  18. Factor analysis of the contextual fine motor questionnaire in children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chin-Kai; Meng, Ling-Fu; Yu, Ya-Wen; Chen, Che-Kuo; Li, Kuan-Hua

    2014-02-01

    Most studies treat fine motor as one subscale in a developmental test, hence, further factor analysis of fine motor has not been conducted. In fact, fine motor has been treated as a multi-dimensional domain from both clinical and theoretical perspectives, and therefore to know its factors would be valuable. The aim of this study is to analyze the internal consistency and factor validity of the Contextual Fine Motor Questionnaire (CFMQ). Based on the ecological observation and literature, the Contextual Fine Motor Questionnaire (CFMQ) was developed and includes 5 subscales: Pen Control, Tool Use During Handicraft Activities, the Use of Dining Utensils, Connecting and Separating during Dressing and Undressing, and Opening Containers. The main purpose of this study is to establish the factorial validity of the CFMQ through conducting this factor analysis study. Among 1208 questionnaires, 904 were successfully completed. Data from the children's CFMQ submitted by primary care providers was analyzed, including 485 females (53.6%) and 419 males (46.4%) from grades 1 to 5, ranging in age from 82 to 167 months (M=113.9, SD=16.3). Cronbach's alpha was used to measure internal consistency and explorative factor analysis was applied to test the five factor structures within the CFMQ. Results showed that Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the CFMQ for 5 subscales ranged from .77 to .92 and all item-total correlations with corresponding subscales were larger than .4 except one item. The factor loading of almost all items classified to their factor was larger than .5 except 3 items. There were five factors, explaining a total of 62.59% variance for the CFMQ. In conclusion, the remaining 24 items in the 5 subscales of the CFMQ had appropriate internal consistency, test-retest reliability and construct validity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Individual and contextual factors influencing dental health care utilization by preschool children: a multilevel analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chaiana PIOVESAN

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The effect of contextual factors on dental care utilization was evaluated after adjustment for individual characteristics of Brazilian preschool children. This cross-sectional study assessed 639 preschool children aged 1 to 5 years from Santa Maria, a town in Rio Grande do Sul State, located in southern Brazil. Participants were randomly selected from children attending the National Children’s Vaccination Day and 15 health centers were selected for this research. Visual examinations followed the ICDAS criteria. Parents answered a questionnaire about demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Contextual influences on children’s dental care utilization were obtained from two community-related variables: presence of dentists and presence of workers’ associations in the neighborhood. Unadjusted and adjusted multilevel logistic regression models were used to describe the association between outcome and predictor variables. A prevalence of 21.6% was found for regular use of dental services. The unadjusted assessment of the associations of dental health care utilization with individual and contextual factors included children’s ages, family income, parents’ schooling, mothers’ participation in their children’s school activities, dental caries, and presence of workers’ associations in the neighborhood as the main outcome covariates. Individual variables remained associated with the outcome after adding contextual variables in the model. In conclusion, individual and contextual variables were associated with dental health care utilization by preschool children.

  20. Factors Influencing Choices of Contextualized versus Traditional Practices with Children and Adolescents Who Have Traumatic Brain Injury

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koole, Heather; Nelson, Nickola W.; Curtis, Amy B.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: This preliminary investigation examined speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') use of contextualized practices (i.e., functional, personally relevant, nonhierarchical, and collaborative) compared with traditional practices (i.e., clinical, generic, hierarchical, and expert driven) with school-age children and adolescents with traumatic…

  1. An OMERACT Initiative Toward Consensus to Identify and Characterize Candidate Contextual Factors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Finger, Monika E; Boonen, Annelies; Woodworth, Thasia G

    2017-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: The importance of contextual factors (CF) for appropriate patient-specific care is widely acknowledged. However, evidence in clinical trials on how CF influence outcomes remains sparse. The 2014 Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Handbook introduced the role of CF in outcome as...

  2. Social and economic inequalities in induced abortion in Spain as a function of individual and contextual factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez, Gloria; Ruiz-Muñoz, Dolores; Gotsens, Merce; Cases, Mariona Casals; Rodríguez-Sanz, Maica

    2014-02-01

    The socioeconomic position of women who have an induced abortion has been explored extensively, but without taking contextual factors into account. The objective was to describe socioeconomic inequalities in the rate of induced abortion in Spain in 2001, jointly evaluating the effects of both regional and individual socioeconomic characteristics. A cross-sectional study using a multilevel approach was carried out among women who were resident in Spain in 2001, considering the hierarchical structure of relevant factors. Analyses were carried out at the individual and regional level. We fit Poisson regression models to calculate adjusted relative risks (aRR) of induced abortion and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The estimated abortion rate was 6.26 per 1000 women aged 20-49 years. Induced abortion was more frequent among younger women (aRR = 1.55 for women aged 20-24 years, compared with those aged 25-34 years) and those with less than primary education (aRR = 2.25 compared with women with university studies). Women residing in regions with lower public spending on non-university education (aRR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.70-0.98) and a higher percentage of non-European Union immigrants (aRR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.02-1.10) were also more likely to have had an induced abortion. Socioeconomic inequalities in the practice of induced abortion in Spain exist not only at the individual level but also at the regional level. The prevention of unintended pregnancy should be approached using a global political strategy aimed at changing contextual and individual factors that contribute to unintended pregnancy.

  3. Creative thinking in prospective teachers: the status quo and the impact of contextual factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hannetjie Meintjes

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available To create unique and appropriate learning opportunities and environments and to nurture the development of creative thinking abilities among learners are some of the demands for creative thinking currently expected of teachers globally and also in South Africa. Creative thinking in academic context assumes, among other things, the ability to generate a variety of original ideas, to see different viewpoints and elaborate on ideas. We report on the findings of a quantitative pilot investigation by means of experimental research utilizing an ex post facto design to determine the status quo regarding the creative thinking abilities of a hetrogeneous group of 207 pre-service teachers studying at a South African university, using the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA and a Partial Least Squares (PLS exploration into the relationship between contextual factors and the students' creative thinking abilities. Strong correlations were found among a variety of contextual factors such as the type of school model and culture and creative thinking abilities and also between specific contextual factors such as the choice of role model and socio economic and acculturation factors and certain creative thinking abilities. This research explores a largely unknown field, namely, the creative thinking abilities of a group of South African pre-service teachers of different cultural groups and creates an awareness of the need for the development of creative thinking abilities among these prospective teachers.

  4. Role of contextual factors in the rehabilitation of adolescent survivors of traumatic brain injury: emerging concepts identified through modified narrative review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciccia, Angela Hein; Threats, Travis

    2015-07-01

    Recently research in traumatic brain injury (TBI) intervention has identified the benefits of contextualized, embedded, functionally based approaches to maximize treatment outcomes. An essential component of contextualized intervention is the direct and purposeful consideration of the broader context, in which the person with TBI functions. However, systematic consideration of contextual factors remains limited both in research and clinical practice. The purposes of this modified narrative review were (1) to provide a succinct review of the available literature regarding the contextual factors that are specific to adolescent survivors of TBI, one of highest incidence groups for brain injury; (2) to connect these contextual factors to the direct long-term management of TBI and to identify their potential impact on outcome; and (3) to highlight areas that are open to research and clinical advances that could enhance positive outcomes for adolescent survivors of TBI. The framework of the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health-Children and Youth Version (ICF-CY; 2007) was used as a foundation for this review. A systematic literature search was conducted using databases and hand searches. A total of 102 articles were originally identified. Twenty-five original research articles, eight review papers and four expert opinion papers met inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in the final review. The body of research specifically focused on contextual factors is an emerging area. Early findings indicate that a focus on the direct modification of contextual factors is promising for the facilitation of positive outcomes long into the chronic phase of management for adolescences who have survived a TBI. The contextual factors included in this review were the overall ability of the school to support a student post-TBI, family psychosocial risk (sibling/sibling relationships/stress/burden/support), coping

  5. Contextual and individual factors associated with dental services utilisation by Brazilian adults: A multilevel analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herkrath, Fernando José; Vettore, Mario Vianna; Werneck, Guilherme Loureiro

    2018-01-01

    Inequalities in the utilisation of dental services in Brazil are remarkable. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of contextual and individual factors with the utilisation of dental services by Brazilian adults using the Andersen's behavioural model. Individual-level data from 27,017 adults residents in the State capitals who were interviewed in the 2013 Brazilian National Health Survey were pooled with contextual city-level data. The outcomes were non-utilisation of dental services and last dental visit over 12 months ago. Individual predisposing variables were age, sex, race/skin colour, schooling and social network. Individual enabling variables included income, health insurance and registration in primary health care. Individual need variables were self-perceived dental health and self-reported missing teeth. Multilevel logistic regression models were performed to estimate odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of the association of contextual and individual predisposing, enabling and need-related variables with dental services outcomes. Predisposing (OR = 0.89; 95% CI 0.81-0.97) and enabling (OR = 0.90; 95% CI 0.85-0.96) contextual factors were associated with non-utilisation of dental services. Individual predisposing (sex, race/skin colour, schooling), enabling (income, health insurance) and need (self-perceived oral health, missing teeth) were associated with non-utilisation of dental services and last dental visit over 12 months ago. The latter was also associated with other individual predisposing (age, social network) and need (eating difficulties due to oral problems) characteristics. Individual and contextual determinants influenced dental services utilisation in Brazilian adults. These factors should be on the policy agenda and considered in the organisation of health services aiming to reduce oral health inequalities related to access and utilisation of dental services.

  6. Ethical decision making in the conduct of research: role of individual, contextual and organizational factors. Commentary on "Science, human nature, and a new paradigm for ethics education".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langlais, Philip J

    2012-09-01

    Despite the importance of scientific integrity to the well-being of society, recent findings suggest that training and mentoring in the responsible conduct of research are not very reliable or effective inhibitors of research misbehavior. Understanding how and why individual scientists decide to behave in ways that conform to or violate norms and standards of research is essential to the development of more effective training programs and the creation of more supportive environments. Scholars in business management, psychology, and other disciplines have identified many important factors that affect ethical behavior, including individual, contextual, and organizational factors. Surprisingly little research has been conducted to examine the role of these factors in either the development of ethical decision-making skills, or their applicability to ethical issues commonly encountered in research and other scholarly and professional activities. Interdisciplinary approaches combined with research and discipline relevant paradigms should greatly enhance understanding of the individual contextual and organizational factors involved in ethical and unethical research conduct. Such studies will inform and facilitate the development of more effective ethics education programs in the sciences and engineering professions.

  7. Social contextual factors contributing to child and adolescent labor: an ecological analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vilma Sousa Santana

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between social contextual factors and child and adolescent labor. METHODS: Population-based cohort study carried out with 2,512 families living in 23 subareas of a large urban city in Brazil from 2000 to 2002. A random one-stage cluster sampling was used to select families. Data were obtained through individual household interviews using questionnaires. The annual cumulative incidence of child and adolescent labor was estimated for each district. New child and adolescent labor cases were those who had their first job over the two-year follow-up. The annual cumulative incidence of child and adolescent labor was the response variable and predictors were contextual factors such as lack of social support, social deprivation, unstructured family, perceived violence, poor school quality, poor environment conditions, and poor public services. Pearson's correlation and multiple linear regression were used to assess the associations. RESULTS: There were selected 943 families corresponding to 1,326 non-working children and adolescents aged 8 to 17 years. Lack of social support, social deprivation, perceived violence were all positively and individually associated with the annual cumulative incidence of child and adolescent labor. In the multiple linear regression model, however, only lack of social support and perceived violence in the neighborhood were positively associated to child and adolescent labor. No effect was found for poor school quality, poor environment conditions, poor public services or unstructured family. CONCLUSIONS: Poverty reduction programs can reduce the contextual factors associated with child and adolescent labor. Violence reduction programs and strengthening social support at the community level may contribute to reduce CAL.

  8. Contextual sensitivity in scientific reproducibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Bavel, Jay J.; Mende-Siedlecki, Peter; Brady, William J.; Reinero, Diego A.

    2016-01-01

    In recent years, scientists have paid increasing attention to reproducibility. For example, the Reproducibility Project, a large-scale replication attempt of 100 studies published in top psychology journals found that only 39% could be unambiguously reproduced. There is a growing consensus among scientists that the lack of reproducibility in psychology and other fields stems from various methodological factors, including low statistical power, researcher’s degrees of freedom, and an emphasis on publishing surprising positive results. However, there is a contentious debate about the extent to which failures to reproduce certain results might also reflect contextual differences (often termed “hidden moderators”) between the original research and the replication attempt. Although psychologists have found extensive evidence that contextual factors alter behavior, some have argued that context is unlikely to influence the results of direct replications precisely because these studies use the same methods as those used in the original research. To help resolve this debate, we recoded the 100 original studies from the Reproducibility Project on the extent to which the research topic of each study was contextually sensitive. Results suggested that the contextual sensitivity of the research topic was associated with replication success, even after statistically adjusting for several methodological characteristics (e.g., statistical power, effect size). The association between contextual sensitivity and replication success did not differ across psychological subdisciplines. These results suggest that researchers, replicators, and consumers should be mindful of contextual factors that might influence a psychological process. We offer several guidelines for dealing with contextual sensitivity in reproducibility. PMID:27217556

  9. Contextual sensitivity in scientific reproducibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Bavel, Jay J; Mende-Siedlecki, Peter; Brady, William J; Reinero, Diego A

    2016-06-07

    In recent years, scientists have paid increasing attention to reproducibility. For example, the Reproducibility Project, a large-scale replication attempt of 100 studies published in top psychology journals found that only 39% could be unambiguously reproduced. There is a growing consensus among scientists that the lack of reproducibility in psychology and other fields stems from various methodological factors, including low statistical power, researcher's degrees of freedom, and an emphasis on publishing surprising positive results. However, there is a contentious debate about the extent to which failures to reproduce certain results might also reflect contextual differences (often termed "hidden moderators") between the original research and the replication attempt. Although psychologists have found extensive evidence that contextual factors alter behavior, some have argued that context is unlikely to influence the results of direct replications precisely because these studies use the same methods as those used in the original research. To help resolve this debate, we recoded the 100 original studies from the Reproducibility Project on the extent to which the research topic of each study was contextually sensitive. Results suggested that the contextual sensitivity of the research topic was associated with replication success, even after statistically adjusting for several methodological characteristics (e.g., statistical power, effect size). The association between contextual sensitivity and replication success did not differ across psychological subdisciplines. These results suggest that researchers, replicators, and consumers should be mindful of contextual factors that might influence a psychological process. We offer several guidelines for dealing with contextual sensitivity in reproducibility.

  10. Spatial factors as contextual qualifiers of information seeking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Savolainen

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. This paper investigates the ways in which spatial factors have been approached in information seeking studies. The main attention was focused on studies discussing information seeking on the level of source selection and use. Method. Conceptual analysis of about 100 articles and books thematizing spatial issues of information seeking. Due to research economy, the main attention was paid to studies on everyday life information seeking. Results. Three major viewpoints were identified with regard to the degree of objectivity of spatial factors. The objectifying approach conceives of spatial factors as external and entity-like qualifiers that primarly constrain information seeking. The realistic-pragmatic approach emphasizes the ways in which the availabilty of information sources in different places such as daily work environments orient information seeking. The perspectivist approach focuses on how people subjectively assess the significance of various sources by means of spatial constructs such as information horizons. Conclusion. Spatial factors are centrally important contextual qualifiers of information seeking. There is a need to further explore the potential of the above viewpoints by relating the spatial and temporal factors of information seeking.

  11. Contextual factors and challenges to e-health literacy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bolanle A. Olaniran

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available We live in a digital world or digital era. Hence, People will argue that not only do information communication technologies (ICTs make e-health possible but rather that it is an innovation advance whose time has come. Notwithstanding, e-health while hoping to create well needed improvement in health care, it is rife with certain challenges which are not limited to e-health literacy. However, this paper looks specifically at e-health literacy. The paper, in particular overviews e-health while addressing the impacts of key contextual factors that impacts e-health and e-health literacy regarding the propensity to adopt and use e-health in LEDCs.

  12. Personal health records: retrieving contextual information with Google Custom Search.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahsan, Mahmud; Seldon, H Lee; Sayeed, Shohel

    2012-01-01

    Ubiquitous personal health records, which can accompany a person everywhere, are a necessary requirement for ubiquitous healthcare. Contextual information related to health events is important for the diagnosis and treatment of disease and for the maintenance of good health, yet it is seldom recorded in a health record. We describe a dual cellphone-and-Web-based personal health record system which can include 'external' contextual information. Much contextual information is available on the Internet and we can use ontologies to help identify relevant sites and information. But a search engine is required to retrieve information from the Web and developing a customized search engine is beyond our scope, so we can use Google Custom Search API Web service to get contextual data. In this paper we describe a framework which combines a health-and-environment 'knowledge base' or ontology with the Google Custom Search API to retrieve relevant contextual information related to entries in a ubiquitous personal health record.

  13. The Influence of Contextual Factors on the Sustainability of Professional Development Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandholtz, Judith Haymore; Ringstaff, Cathy

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated how contextual factors influenced the sustainability of outcomes from a 3-year, state-funded professional development program that provided science assistance for K-2 teachers in small, rural school districts. The research used a case-study approach with a purposive sample of five elementary schools that varied in…

  14. Community Advisory Boards Guiding Engaged Research Efforts within a Clinical Translational Sciences Award: Key Contextual Factors Explored.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halladay, Jacqueline R; Donahue, Katrina E; Sleath, Betsy; Reuland, Dan; Black, Adina; Mitchell, C Madeline; Breland, Carol E; Coyne-Beasley, Tamera; Mottus, Kathleen; Watson, Sable Noelle; Lewis, Virginia; Wynn, Mysha; Corbie-Smith, Giselle

    2017-01-01

    Engaging stakeholders in research carries the promise of enhancing the research relevance, transparency, and speed of getting findings into practice. By describing the context and functional aspects of stakeholder groups, like those working as community advisory boards (CABs), others can learn from these experiences and operationalize their own CABs. Our objective is to describe our experiences with diverse CABs affiliated with our community engagement group within our institution's Clinical Translational Sciences Award (CTSA). We identify key contextual elements that are important to administering CABs. A group of investigators, staff, and community members engaged in a 6-month collaboration to describe their experiences of working with six research CABs. We identified the key contextual domains that illustrate how CABS are developed and sustained. Two lead authors, with experience with CABs and identifying contextual domains in other work, led a team of 13 through the process. Additionally, we devised a list of key tips to consider when devising CABs. The final domains include (1) aligned missions among stakeholders (2) resources/support, (3) defined operational processes/shared power, (4) well-described member roles, and (5) understanding and mitigating challenges. The tips are a set of actions that support the domains. Identifying key contextual domains was relatively easy, despite differences in the respective CAB's condition of focus, overall mission, or patient demographics represented. By contextualizing these five domains, other research and community partners can take an informed approach to move forward with CAB planning and engaged research.

  15. Contextual Factors Affecting the Innovation Performance of Manufacturing SMEs in Korea: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ye Seul Choi

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This study empirically explores the relationship between innovation performance and the internal and contextual factors driving technological innovation in manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs in metropolitan areas of Korea using structural equation modeling (SEM. Our analysis is based on firm-level data from the Korean Innovation Survey conducted by the Science and Technology Policy Institute in 2012. According to the results, SMEs’ innovation capacity was positively related to technological innovation performance, and SMEs’ skills and technology acquisition is a contextual factor that positively influences their innovation performance. In this process, SMEs’ innovation capacity is a partial mediator between skills and technology acquisition and SMEs’ technological innovation performance. Moreover, the results show that the relationship between government and public policies and SMEs’ innovation performance is mediated by SMEs’ internal innovation capacity. The results imply that both skills and technology acquisition and government and public policies are important contextual factors can increase SMEs’ innovation performance. Based on the results, this study provides implications for policy makers in terms of the policies that provide both direct and support roles in fostering and sustaining innovation, which drives regional economic growth and development.

  16. Stimulus homogeneity enhances implicit learning: evidence from contextual cueing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feldmann-Wüstefeld, Tobias; Schubö, Anna

    2014-04-01

    Visual search for a target object is faster if the target is embedded in a repeatedly presented invariant configuration of distractors ('contextual cueing'). It has also been shown that the homogeneity of a context affects the efficiency of visual search: targets receive prioritized processing when presented in a homogeneous context compared to a heterogeneous context, presumably due to grouping processes at early stages of visual processing. The present study investigated in three Experiments whether context homogeneity also affects contextual cueing. In Experiment 1, context homogeneity varied on three levels of the task-relevant dimension (orientation) and contextual cueing was most pronounced for context configurations with high orientation homogeneity. When context homogeneity varied on three levels of the task-irrelevant dimension (color) and orientation homogeneity was fixed, no modulation of contextual cueing was observed: high orientation homogeneity led to large contextual cueing effects (Experiment 2) and low orientation homogeneity led to low contextual cueing effects (Experiment 3), irrespective of color homogeneity. Enhanced contextual cueing for homogeneous context configurations suggest that grouping processes do not only affect visual search but also implicit learning. We conclude that memory representation of context configurations are more easily acquired when context configurations can be processed as larger, grouped perceptual units. However, this form of implicit perceptual learning is only improved by stimulus homogeneity when stimulus homogeneity facilitates grouping processes on a dimension that is currently relevant in the task. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Multilevel analysis of individual and contextual factors as predictors of return to work

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Labriola, Merete; Lund, Thomas; Christensen, Karl B

    2006-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine if individual and contextual levels of work environment factors predict return to work (RTW). METHODS: Baseline data from 52 workplaces was linked to a national absence register. Four hundred twenty-eight persons with more than 2 weeks...

  18. Age-Related Differences in Emotion Regulation Strategies: Examining the Role of Contextual Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schirda, Brittney; Valentine, Thomas R.; Aldao, Amelia; Prakash, Ruchika Shaurya

    2016-01-01

    Increasing age is characterized by greater positive affective states. However, there is mixed evidence on the implementation of emotion regulation strategies across the life span. To clarify the discrepancies in the literature, we examined the modulating influence of contextual factors in understanding emotion regulation strategy use in older and…

  19. Contextual Factors Influencing Student Absenteeism at a Higher Education Institution in South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramchander, Manduth

    2017-01-01

    Student absenteeism at higher education institutions (HEIs) is a cause for concern as it has implications for students' academic performance and therefore graduation rates. Graduation rates to some extent influence funding to which universities are entitled. This study aimed to establish the contextual factors that influenced student absenteeism…

  20. A Relevance-Extended Multi-dimensional Model for a Data Warehouse Contextualized with Documents

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Perez, Juan Manuel; Pedersen, Torben Bach; Berlanga, Rafael

    2005-01-01

    Current data warehouse and OLAP technologies can be applied to analyze the structured data that companies store in their databases. The circumstances that describe the context associated with these data can be found in other internal and external sources of documents. In this paper we propose...... to combine the traditional corporate data warehouse with a document warehouse, resulting in a contextualized warehouse. Thus, contextualized warehouses keep a historical record of the facts and their contexts as described by the documents. In this framework, the user selects an analysis context which...

  1. The changing food outlet distributions and local contextual factors in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hsin-Jen; Wang, Youfa

    2014-01-16

    Little is known about the dynamics of the food outlet distributions associated with local contextual factors in the U.S. This study examines the changes in food stores/services at the 5-digit Zip Code Tabulated Area (ZCTA5) level in the U.S., and assesses contextual factors associated with the changes. Data from 27,878 ZCTA5s in the contiguous United States without an extreme change in the number of 6 types of food stores/services (supermarkets, small-size grocery stores, convenience stores, fresh/specialty food markets, carry-out restaurants, and full-service restaurants) were used. ZCTA5s' contextual factors were from the 2000 Census. Numbers of food stores/services were derived from the Census Business Pattern databases. Linear regression models assessed contextual factors' influences (racial/ethnic compositions, poverty rate, urbanization level, and foreign-born population%) on 1-year changes in food stores/services during 2000-2001, adjusted for population size, total business change, and census regions. Small-size grocery stores and fresh/specialty food markets increased more and convenience stores decreased more in Hispanic-predominant than other areas. Among supermarket-free places, new supermarkets were less likely to be introduced into black-predominant than white-predominant areas (odds ratio (OR) = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.30-0.92). However, among areas without the following type of store at baseline, supermarket (OR = 0.48 (0.33-0.70)), small-size grocery stores (OR = 1.32 (1.08-1.62)), and fresh/specialty food markets (OR = 0.70 (0.53-0.92)) were less likely to be introduced into areas of low foreign-born population than into areas of high foreign-born population. Higher poverty rate was associated with a greater decrease in supermarket, a less decrease in small-size grocery stores, and a less increase in carry-out restaurants (all p for trends restaurants than suburban areas. Local area characteristics affect 1-year changes in food

  2. The impact of structural and contextual factors on trust formation in product development teams

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dayan, M.; Benedetto, Di A.C.

    2010-01-01

    This study examines antecedents of trust formation in new product development (NPD) teams and the effects of trust on NPD team performance. A theoretical framework relating structural and contextual factors to interpersonal trust and project outcomes was built, including task complexity as a

  3. The influence of contextual factors on patient involvement during follow-up consultations after colorectal cancer surgery: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomsen, Thora G; Soelver, Lisbeth; Hølge-Hazelton, Bibi

    2017-11-01

    To identify the contextual factors that influence individual patient involvement during colorectal cancer surgical follow-up consultations. The healthcare system is subject to the requirement and expectation of greater involvement of patients and relatives. Increased patient involvement requires the development and implementation of new communication initiatives. Research shows that it is also necessary to consider the contextual circumstances surrounding patient involvement in specific situations. Case study of a single Danish outpatient clinic, which allows the issues and circumstances involved in an everyday situation to be captured. 12 nonparticipative observations of outpatient visits and, subsequently, seven in-depth patient interviews. Content analysis based on a dialogical, interactive framework, which underpinned the identification of current contextual factors. The results showed five contextual factors that seemed to have an impact on patient involvement. The first, 'Two dimensions of patient involvement: treatment-oriented and person-oriented' highlighted a dual interpretation of patient involvement in the consultation situation. The two dimensions seemed to be influenced by four additional factors: 'Doctors leading the agenda', 'Traditional health professional roles', 'Unclear responsibilities' and 'Guidance primarily focused on treatment'. The results showed how patient involvement in clinical practice could be understood as a two-way movement, in which patients are invited to participate in clinical practice, while health professionals are invited to participate in the patients' lives. The movement will change from situation to situation and is influenced by several contextual factors. The results can help doctors and nurses to navigate using a goal-oriented approach towards patient involvement. The study makes visible the need for research-based development of the independent role of the nursing profession in cancer care follow-up, with a view to

  4. Impact of Contextual Factors and Substance Characteristics on Perspectives toward Cognitive Enhancement

    OpenAIRE

    Sattler, Sebastian; Forlini, Cynthia; Racine, ?ric; Sauer, Carsten

    2013-01-01

    Enhancing cognitive performance with substances--especially prescription drugs--is a fiercely debated topic among scholars and in the media. The empirical basis for these discussions is limited, given that the actual nature of factors that influence the acceptability of and willingness to use cognitive enhancement substances remains unclear. In an online factorial survey, contextual and substance-specific characteristics of substances that improve academic performance were varied experimental...

  5. Residential rurality and oral health disparities: influences of contextual and individual factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahn, SangNam; Burdine, James N; Smith, Matthew Lee; Ory, Marcia G; Phillips, Charles D

    2011-02-01

    The purposes of the study were (a) to identify disparities between urban and rural adults in oral health and (b) to examine contextual (i.e., external environment and access to dental care) and individual (i.e., predisposing, enabling, and lifestyle behavioral) factors associated with oral health problems in a community population. Study data were derived from a two-stage, telephone-mailed survey conducted in 2006. The subjects were 2,591 adults aged 18 years and older. Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel statistics for categorical variables were applied to explore conditional independence between both health access and individual factors and oral health problems after controlling for the urban or rural residence. Logistic regression was used to investigate the simultaneous associations of contextual and individual factors in both rural and urban areas. Approximately one quarter (24.1%) of the study population reported oral health problems. Participants residing in rural areas reported more oral health disparities. Oral health problems were significantly associated with delaying dental care. These problems also were more common among those who were less educated, were African American, skipped breakfast every day, and currently smoked. The study findings suggest that oral health disparities persist for people in rural areas, and improving oral health status is strongly related to better access to oral health care and improved lifestyles in both rural and urban areas.

  6. Understanding contextual influences of community reintegration among injured servicemembers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawkins, Brent L; McGuire, Francis A; Linder, Sandra M; Britt, Thomas W

    2015-01-01

    As part of a larger mixed-methods research project investigating the influence of contextual factors on community reintegration (CR), this qualitative study sought to understand the subjective experiences of injured servicemembers and their perception of how contextual factors influenced their CR. More specifically, this article addresses how the influences of contextual factors differ between injured servicemembers with different levels of CR. Using a phenomenological framework, semistructured interviews were conducted with nine injured, community-dwelling servicemembers with low, moderate, and high levels of CR (three per category). Participants provided in-depth descriptions of the contextual barriers and facilitators of CR. Thematic analysis indicated the importance of social support and personal factors (e.g., self-efficacy, personal motivation) as the primary means for being reintegrated into their homes and communities. Other themes indicated factors that had an indirect but important influence on CR, including adapted sports, recreation, and other social programs; rehabilitation programs and therapists; school, work, and volunteering; and organizations and policies in developing social supports and personal factors. Comparisons between servicemembers indicated participants with low CR described many more contextual barriers and far fewer contextual facilitators to reintegration than those with high CR. Those with moderate CR were unique in that they described many facilitators and barriers to reintegration.

  7. Individual and Contextual Factors Related to Secondary Special Education Teachers' Reading Instructional Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leko, Melinda M.; Chiu, Ming Ming; Roberts, Carly A.

    2018-01-01

    This article reports findings from an initial investigation of the impact multiple individual and contextual factors have on secondary special educators' reading instructional practices. Data from 577 special educators from 221 school districts in a large Midwestern state were collected via an online and paper survey and analyzed using…

  8. Individual and contextual factors related to binge drinking among adolescents in Spain: a multilevel approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teixidó-Compañó, Ester; Sordo, Luis; Bosque-Prous, Marina; Puigcorbé, Susanna; Barrio, Gregorio; Brugal, M Teresa; Belza, María José J; Espelt, Albert

    2018-01-15

    The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of binge drinking by regions in Spain and assess the effect of individual and contextual factors related to this drinking pattern in adolescents. A cross-sectional study was performed with data from the 2014 Spanish School Survey on Drug Use (ESTUDES) in students aged 14-18 years (N = 34,259). The outcome was binge drinking in adolescents during the last 30 days. Individual independent variables were socioeconomic variables and variables related to access to alcohol and its availability. Contextual variables consisted of adult alcohol consumption, public policies on alcohol, and socioeconomic factors. Multilevel Poisson regression models with robust variance were estimated, obtaining prevalence ratios (PR) and their 95% confidence intervals.  The results showed that the prevalence of youth binge drinking by region of residence was similar for both sexes (r = 0.72). At the individual level, binge drinking was mainly associated with the perception of easy access to alcohol (PR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.23-1.55), consumption in open areas [(PR: 3.82; 95% CI: 3.44-4.24) < once a month and (PR: 6.57; 95% CI: 5.85-7.37) ≥ once a month], at least one parent allowing alcohol consumption (PR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.37-1.47), and receiving >30 euros weekly (PR :1.51; 95% CI: 1.37-1.67). Contextual variables were not associated with youth binge drinking when individual variables were considered. In conclusion, youth binge drinking was associated with individual variables related to high alcohol accessibility and availability, regardless of contextual variables. These variables explained the variability in binge drinking among Spanish regions.

  9. Teachers' Psychological Functioning in the Workplace: Exploring the Roles of Contextual Beliefs, Need Satisfaction, and Personal Characteristics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collie, Rebecca J.; Shapka, Jennifer D.; Perry, Nancy E.; Martin, Andrew J.

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of the current study was to provide a greater depth of knowledge about teachers' psychological functioning at work-including the contextual, basic psychological need satisfaction and personal factors relevant to this. We examined the extent to which perceived autonomy support predicts basic psychological need satisfaction and, in turn,…

  10. Perceived participation and autonomy: aspects of functioning and contextual factors predicting participation after stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fallahpour, Mandana; Tham, Kerstin; Joghataei, Mohammad Taghi; Jonsson, Hans

    2011-04-01

    To describe perceived participation and autonomy among a sample of persons with stroke in Iran and to identify different aspects of functioning and contextual factors predicting participation after stroke. A cross-sectional study. A total of 102 persons, between 27 and 75 years of age, diagnosed with first-ever stroke. Participants were assessed for different aspects of functioning, contextual factors and health conditions. Participation was assessed using the Persian version of the Impact on Participation and Autonomy questionnaire. This study demonstrated that the majority of the study population perceived their participation and autonomy to be good to fair in the different domains of their participation, but not with respect to the autonomy outdoors domain. In addition, physical function was found to be the most important variable predicting performance-based participation, whereas mood state was the most important variable predicting social-based participation. The results emphasize the importance of physical function, mood state and access to caregiving services as predictors of participation in everyday life after stroke. Whilst there are two dimensions of participation in this Persian sample of persons with stroke, the factors explaining participation seem to be the same across the cultures.

  11. How Health Department Contextual Factors Affect Public Health Preparedness (PHP) and Perceptions of the 15 PHP Capabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horney, Jennifer A; Carbone, Eric G; Lynch, Molly; Wang, Z Joan; Jones, Terrance; Rose, Dale A

    2017-09-01

    To assess how health department contextual factors influence perceptions of the 15 Public Health Preparedness Capabilities, developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide guidance on organizing preparedness activities. We conducted an online survey and focus group between September 2015 and May 2016 with directors of preparedness programs in state, metropolitan, and territorial jurisdictions funded by CDC's Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement. The survey collected demographic information and data on contextual factors including leadership, partnerships, organizational structure, resources and structural capacity, and data and evaluation. Seventy-seven percent (48 of 62) of PHEP directors completed the survey and 8 participated in the focus group. Respondents were experienced directors (mean = 10.6 years), and 58% led 7 or more emergency responses. Leadership, partnerships, and access to fiscal and human resources were associated with perception and use of the capabilities. Despite some deficiencies, PHEP awardees believe the capabilities provide useful guidance and a flexible framework for organizing their work. Contextual factors affect perceptions of the capabilities and possibly the effectiveness of their use. Public Health Implications. The capabilities can be used to address challenges in preparedness, including identifying evidence-based practices, developing performance measures, and improving responses.

  12. The impact of state energy programs and other contextual factors on U.S. buildings energy consumption

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ofori-Boadu, Andrea N. Y. A.

    High energy consumption in the United States has been influenced by populations, climates, income and other contextual factors. In the past decades, U.S. energy policies have pursued energy efficiency as a national strategy for reducing U.S. environmental degradation and dependence on foreign oils. The quest for improved energy efficiency has led to the development of energy efficient technologies and programs. The implementation of energy programs in the complex U.S. socio-technical environment is believed to promote the diffusion of energy efficiency technologies. However, opponents doubt the fact that these programs have the capacity to significantly reduce U.S. energy consumption. In order to contribute to the ongoing discussion, this quantitative study investigated the relationships existing among electricity consumption/ intensity, energy programs and contextual factors in the U.S. buildings sector. Specifically, this study sought to identify the significant predictors of electricity consumption and intensity, as well as estimate the overall impact of selected energy programs on electricity consumption and intensity. Using state-level secondary data for 51 U.S. states from 2006 to 2009, seven random effects panel data regression models confirmed the existence of significant relationships among some energy programs, contextual factors, and electricity consumption/intensity. The most significant predictors of improved electricity efficiency included the price of electricity, public benefits funds program, building energy codes program, financial and informational incentives program and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Consistently, the Southern region of the U.S. was associated with high electricity consumption and intensity; while the U.S. commercial sector was the greater benefactor from energy programs. On the average, energy programs were responsible for approximately 7% of the variation observed in electricity consumption

  13. CONTEXTUALIZED ASSESSMENT WITH BATTERED WOMEN: STRATEGIC SAFETY PLANNING TO COPE WITH MULTIPLE HARMS

    OpenAIRE

    Lindhorst, Taryn; Nurius, Paula; Macy, Rebecca J.

    2005-01-01

    Given the prevalence of domestic violence and the likelihood that many victims will not receive services from specialized domestic violence providers, this article provides a framework for contextualized assessment that can be used by generalist practitioners. Drawing from stress and coping theory, the authors discuss the relevance of assessing appraisals and emotional responses within the context of environmental and individual risk and protective factors. Through an illustrative case assess...

  14. Global Repetition Influences Contextual Cueing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zang, Xuelian; Zinchenko, Artyom; Jia, Lina; Li, Hong

    2018-01-01

    Our visual system has a striking ability to improve visual search based on the learning of repeated ambient regularities, an effect named contextual cueing. Whereas most of the previous studies investigated contextual cueing effect with the same number of repeated and non-repeated search displays per block, the current study focused on whether a global repetition frequency formed by different presentation ratios between the repeated and non-repeated configurations influence contextual cueing effect. Specifically, the number of repeated and non-repeated displays presented in each block was manipulated: 12:12, 20:4, 4:20, and 4:4 in Experiments 1–4, respectively. The results revealed a significant contextual cueing effect when the global repetition frequency is high (≥1:1 ratio) in Experiments 1, 2, and 4, given that processing of repeated displays was expedited relative to non-repeated displays. Nevertheless, the contextual cueing effect reduced to a non-significant level when the repetition frequency reduced to 4:20 in Experiment 3. These results suggested that the presentation frequency of repeated relative to the non-repeated displays could influence the strength of contextual cueing. In other words, global repetition statistics could be a crucial factor to mediate contextual cueing effect. PMID:29636716

  15. Contextual and social influences on valuation and choice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engelmann, Jan B; Hein, Grit

    2013-01-01

    To survive in our complex environment, we have to adapt to changing contexts. Prior research that investigated how contextual changes are processed in the human brain has demonstrated important modulatory influences on multiple cognitive processes underlying decision-making, including perceptual judgments, working memory, as well as cognitive and attentional control. However, in everyday life, the importance of context is even more obvious during economic and social interactions, which often have implicit rule sets that need to be recognized by a decision-maker. Here, we review recent evidence from an increasing number of studies in the fields of Neuroeconomics and Social Neuroscience that investigate the neurobiological basis of contextual effects on valuation and social choice. Contrary to the assumptions of rational choice theory, multiple contextual factors, such as the availability of alternative choice options, shifts in reference point, and social context, have been shown to modulate behavior, as well as signals in task-relevant neural networks. A consistent picture that emerges from neurobiological results is that valuation-related activity in striatum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex is highly context dependent during both social and nonsocial choice. Alternative approaches to model and explain choice behavior, such as comparison-based choice models, as well as implications for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. A taxonomy for contextual information in electronic health records.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weir, Charlene R; Staggers, Nancy; Doing-Harris, Kristina; Dunlea, Robert; McCormick, Teresa; Barrus, Robyn

    2012-01-01

    Contextual information is functional, social and financial information about patients and is central to many health-care decisions, including end-of-life care, living arrangements, and the aggressiveness of treatment. It is the language of patients when talking about their health and frequently the focus of nursing interventions. In this study, we report the results of a qualitative analysis of interviews of 17 clinicians focusing on their use of contextual information during the process of care, decision-making and documentation. We identified seven characteristics of contextual information relevant to its use in a clinical setting. Implications for Natural Language Processing and Ontology construction are discussed.

  17. A contextual approach to social skills assessment in the peer group: who is the best judge?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, Kyongboon; Kim, Elizabeth Moorman; Sheridan, Susan M

    2012-09-01

    Using a contextual approach to social skills assessment in the peer group, this study examined the criterion-related validity of contextually relevant social skills and the incremental validity of peers and teachers as judges of children's social skills. Study participants included 342 (180 male and 162 female) students and their classroom teachers (N = 22) from rural communities. As expected, contextually relevant social skills were significantly related to a variety of social status indicators (i.e., likability, peer- and teacher-assessed popularity, reciprocated friendships, clique centrality) and positive school functioning (i.e., school liking and academic competence). Peer-assessed social skills, not teacher-assessed social skills, demonstrated consistent incremental validity in predicting various indicators of social status outcomes; peer- and teacher-assessed social skills alike showed incremental validity in predicting positive school functioning. The relation between contextually relevant social skills and study outcomes did not vary by child gender. Findings are discussed in terms of the significance of peers in the assessment of children's social skills in the peer group as well as the usefulness of a contextual approach to social skills assessment.

  18. More than Numbers: Individual and Contextual Factors in How Gender Diversity Affects Women's Well-Being

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miner-Rubino, Kathi; Settles, Isis H.; Stewart, Abigail J.

    2009-01-01

    This study examined factors related to workplace gender diversity in a sample of 87 college-educated White women. Specifically, we investigated the moderating effects of one individual difference variable (sensitivity to sexism) and one contextual variable (perceptions of the workplace climate) in the relationship between the gender composition at…

  19. The changing food outlet distributions and local contextual factors in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Little is known about the dynamics of the food outlet distributions associated with local contextual factors in the U.S. This study examines the changes in food stores/services at the 5-digit Zip Code Tabulated Area (ZCTA5) level in the U.S., and assesses contextual factors associated with the changes. Methods Data from 27,878 ZCTA5s in the contiguous United States without an extreme change in the number of 6 types of food stores/services (supermarkets, small-size grocery stores, convenience stores, fresh/specialty food markets, carry-out restaurants, and full-service restaurants) were used. ZCTA5s’ contextual factors were from the 2000 Census. Numbers of food stores/services were derived from the Census Business Pattern databases. Linear regression models assessed contextual factors’ influences (racial/ethnic compositions, poverty rate, urbanization level, and foreign-born population%) on 1-year changes in food stores/services during 2000–2001, adjusted for population size, total business change, and census regions. Results Small-size grocery stores and fresh/specialty food markets increased more and convenience stores decreased more in Hispanic-predominant than other areas. Among supermarket-free places, new supermarkets were less likely to be introduced into black-predominant than white-predominant areas (odds ratio (OR) = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.30-0.92). However, among areas without the following type of store at baseline, supermarket (OR = 0.48 (0.33-0.70)), small-size grocery stores (OR = 1.32 (1.08-1.62)), and fresh/specialty food markets (OR = 0.70 (0.53-0.92)) were less likely to be introduced into areas of low foreign-born population than into areas of high foreign-born population. Higher poverty rate was associated with a greater decrease in supermarket, a less decrease in small-size grocery stores, and a less increase in carry-out restaurants (all p for trends <0.001). Urban areas experienced more increases in full

  20. Pathways between acculturation and health behaviors among residents of low-income housing: the mediating role of social and contextual factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Jennifer Dacey; Caspi, Caitlin; Yang, May; Leyva, Bryan; Stoddard, Anne M; Tamers, Sara; Tucker-Seeley, Reginald D; Sorensen, Glorian C

    2014-12-01

    Acculturation may influence health behaviors, yet mechanisms underlying its effect are not well understood. In this study, we describe relationships between acculturation and health behaviors among low-income housing residents, and examine whether these relationships are mediated by social and contextual factors. Residents of 20 low-income housing sites in the Boston metropolitan area completed surveys that assessed acculturative characteristics, social/contextual factors, and health behaviors. A composite acculturation scale was developed using latent class analysis, resulting in four distinct acculturative groups. Path analysis was used to examine interrelationships between acculturation, health behaviors, and social/contextual factors, specifically self-reported social ties, social support, stress, material hardship, and discrimination. Of the 828 respondents, 69% were born outside of the U.S. Less acculturated groups exhibited healthier dietary practices and were less likely to smoke than more acculturated groups. Acculturation had a direct effect on diet and smoking, but not physical activity. Acculturation also showed an indirect effect on diet through its relationship with material hardship. Our finding that material hardship mediated the relationship between acculturation and diet suggests the need to explicate the significant role of financial resources in interventions seeking to promote healthy diets among low-income immigrant groups. Future research should examine these social and contextual mediators using larger, population-based samples, preferably with longitudinal data. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  1. Demographic and contextual factors associated with inhalant use among youth in rural Alaska

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David L. Driscoll

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Abuse of harmful legal products that can be inhaled or ingested is a serious and growing problem in many rural Alaskan communities, and particularly so among preteens. Methods: This study analyses data collected during baseline measurements of a 5-year NIH/NIDA-funded study entitled A Community Trial to Prevent Youth's Abuse of Harmful Legal Products in Alaska. Youth in 8 communities located throughout the state participated in a survey during the fall of 2009 to measure the prevalence and availability of harmful legal products (n=697. The goal of the analysis presented here is to compare the contextual factors of inhalant users and non-users in rural Alaskan communities. Results: As reported in national surveys of substance use among youth, participants in this study indicated using alcohol more than any other substance. Inhalants were the second-most common substance abused, higher than either cigarettes or marijuana. Lifetime use varied among demographic factors such as age, gender and ethnicity as well as contextual factors including academic performance, parent employment, household living situation and income. When compared to non-users, significantly larger proportions of participants reporting lifetime inhalant use indicated easy availability of inhalants in their home, school and retail outlets. Users were also significantly more likely than non-users to have consumed alcohol. Conclusion: Results of this study may inform the development of effective interventions in other rural communities.

  2. Web-Based Survey Application to Collect Contextually Relevant Geographic Data With Exposure Times: Application Development and Feasibility Testing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tobin, Karin; Rudolph, Jonathan; Latkin, Carl

    2018-01-01

    Background Although studies that characterize the risk environment by linking contextual factors with individual-level data have advanced infectious disease and substance use research, there are opportunities to refine how we define relevant neighborhood exposures; this can in turn reduce the potential for exposure misclassification. For example, for those who do not inject at home, injection risk behaviors may be more influenced by the environment where they inject than where they live. Similarly, among those who spend more time away from home, a measure that accounts for different neighborhood exposures by weighting each unique location proportional to the percentage of time spent there may be more correlated with health behaviors than one’s residential environment. Objective This study aimed to develop a Web-based application that interacts with Google Maps application program interfaces (APIs) to collect contextually relevant locations and the amount of time spent in each. Our analysis examined the extent of overlap across different location types and compared different approaches for classifying neighborhood exposure. Methods Between May 2014 and March 2017, 547 participants enrolled in a Baltimore HIV care and prevention study completed an interviewer-administered Web-based survey that collected information about where participants were recruited, worked, lived, socialized, injected drugs, and spent most of their time. For each location, participants gave an address or intersection which they confirmed using Google Map and Street views. Geographic coordinates (and hours spent in each location) were joined to neighborhood indicators by Community Statistical Area (CSA). We computed a weighted exposure based on the proportion of time spent in each unique location. We compared neighborhood exposures based on each of the different location types with one another and the weighted exposure using analysis of variance with Bonferroni corrections to account for

  3. Towards policy relevant environmental modeling: contextual validity and pragmatic models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miles, Scott B.

    2000-01-01

    "What makes for a good model?" In various forms, this question is a question that, undoubtedly, many people, businesses, and institutions ponder with regards to their particular domain of modeling. One particular domain that is wrestling with this question is the multidisciplinary field of environmental modeling. Examples of environmental models range from models of contaminated ground water flow to the economic impact of natural disasters, such as earthquakes. One of the distinguishing claims of the field is the relevancy of environmental modeling to policy and environment-related decision-making in general. A pervasive view by both scientists and decision-makers is that a "good" model is one that is an accurate predictor. Thus, determining whether a model is "accurate" or "correct" is done by comparing model output to empirical observations. The expected outcome of this process, usually referred to as "validation" or "ground truthing," is a stamp on the model in question of "valid" or "not valid" that serves to indicate whether or not the model will be reliable before it is put into service in a decision-making context. In this paper, I begin by elaborating on the prevailing view of model validation and why this view must change. Drawing from concepts coming out of the studies of science and technology, I go on to propose a contextual view of validity that can overcome the problems associated with "ground truthing" models as an indicator of model goodness. The problem of how we talk about and determine model validity has much to do about how we perceive the utility of environmental models. In the remainder of the paper, I argue that we should adopt ideas of pragmatism in judging what makes for a good model and, in turn, developing good models. From such a perspective of model goodness, good environmental models should facilitate communication, convey—not bury or "eliminate"—uncertainties, and, thus, afford the active building of consensus decisions, instead

  4. Contextual Fraction as a Measure of Contextuality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abramsky, Samson; Barbosa, Rui Soares; Mansfield, Shane

    2017-08-01

    We consider the contextual fraction as a quantitative measure of contextuality of empirical models, i.e., tables of probabilities of measurement outcomes in an experimental scenario. It provides a general way to compare the degree of contextuality across measurement scenarios; it bears a precise relationship to violations of Bell inequalities; its value, and a witnessing inequality, can be computed using linear programing; it is monotonic with respect to the "free" operations of a resource theory for contextuality; and it measures quantifiable advantages in informatic tasks, such as games and a form of measurement-based quantum computing.

  5. The time course of attentional deployment in contextual cueing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Yuhong V; Sigstad, Heather M; Swallow, Khena M

    2013-04-01

    The time course of attention is a major characteristic on which different types of attention diverge. In addition to explicit goals and salient stimuli, spatial attention is influenced by past experience. In contextual cueing, behaviorally relevant stimuli are more quickly found when they appear in a spatial context that has previously been encountered than when they appear in a new context. In this study, we investigated the time that it takes for contextual cueing to develop following the onset of search layout cues. In three experiments, participants searched for a T target in an array of Ls. Each array was consistently associated with a single target location. In a testing phase, we manipulated the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between the repeated spatial layout and the search display. Contextual cueing was equivalent for a wide range of SOAs between 0 and 1,000 ms. The lack of an increase in contextual cueing with increasing cue durations suggests that as an implicit learning mechanism, contextual cueing cannot be effectively used until search begins.

  6. Cultural and Contextual Issues in Exemplar Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Pamela Ebstyne; Oakes Mueller, Ross A.; Furrow, James

    2013-01-01

    This chapter specifically addresses how exemplar methods are especially relevant to examining cultural and contextual issues. Cross-cultural, cultural, and indigenous psychologies are discussed in order to highlight how studying actual exemplars in their unique and complex developmental contexts has the potential to identify themes that either…

  7. Examining transgender health through the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health's (ICF) Contextual Factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacob, Melissa; Cox, Steven R

    2017-12-01

    For many transgender individuals, medical intervention is necessary to live as their desired gender. However, little is known about Contextual Factors (i.e., Environmental and Personal) that may act as facilitators and barriers in the health of transgender individuals. Therefore, this paper sought to examine Contextual Factors of the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health that may facilitate or negatively impact the physical, psychological, and social functioning of transgender individuals. A literature review was conducted to identify Environmental and Personal Factors that may influence transgender individuals' physical, psychological, and social functioning. Seven electronic databases were searched. In total, 154 records were reviewed, and 41 articles and other records met inclusion criteria. Three general themes emerged for Environmental Factors: family and social networks, education, and health care. Three general themes also emerged for Personal Factors: socioeconomic status, race, and age. Transgender individuals benefit from gender-affirming services, improved family and social support systems, and competent provider care. Educational training programs, including medical curricula or workshops, might provide the greatest benefit in improving transgender health by increasing the knowledge and cultural competency of health professionals working with this population. Given the diversity of gender expression, differences in lived experiences, and potential for enduring persistent "double discrimination" due to the intersectional relationships between socioeconomic status, race, and/or age, health professionals must approach transgender health using a holistic lens such as the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health.

  8. Using multilevel models to evaluate the influence of contextual factors on HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, and risky sexual behavior in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward-Peterson, Melissa; Fennie, Kristopher; Mauck, Daniel; Shakir, Maryam; Cosner, Chelsea; Bhoite, Prasad; Trepka, Mary Jo; Madhivanan, Purnima

    2018-02-01

    To describe the use of multilevel models (MLMs) in evaluating the influence of contextual factors on HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and risky sexual behavior (RSB) in sub-Saharan Africa. Ten databases were searched through May 29, 2016. Two reviewers completed screening and full-text review. Studies examining the influence of contextual factors on HIV/AIDS, STIs, and RSB and using MLMs for analysis were included. The Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies was used to evaluate study quality. A total of 118 studies met inclusion criteria. Seventy-four studies focused on HIV/AIDS-related topics; 46 focused on RSB. No studies related to STIs other than HIV/AIDS met the eligibility criteria. Of five studies examining HIV serostatus and community socioeconomic factors, three found an association between poverty and measures of inequality and increased HIV prevalence. Among studies examining RSB, associations were found with numerous contextual factors, including poverty, education, and gender norms. Studies using MLMs indicate that several contextual factors, including community measures of socioeconomic status and educational attainment, are associated with a number of outcomes related to HIV/AIDS and RSB. Future studies using MLMs should focus on contextual-level interventions to strengthen the evidence base for causality. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Understanding Contextual and Social Meaning in Typically Developing Finnish-Speaking Four- To Eight-Year-Old Children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Loukusa Soile

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This study examined the development of social-pragmatic comprehension in 170 Finnish four- to eight-year-old children. The children were asked to respond to socially and contextually demanding questions targeting their social-pragmatic language processing, and to explain their correct answers in order to elicit their awareness of how they had derived the answers from the context. The results showed that the number of correct answers increased especially between the ages of four and seven years. We found that questions demanding contextual processing without mind-reading were the easiest to understand, followed by questions demanding processing of feelings of others and false beliefs. The questions demanding understanding of relevant language use and processing of contextual factors including mental states and intentions were the most challenging for the children. Between four and five years of age there was a remarkable developmental phase in children’s ability to give proper explanations.

  10. Gene-environment correlation in the development of adolescent substance abuse: selection effects of child personality and mediation via contextual risk factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hicks, Brian M; Johnson, Wendy; Durbin, C Emily; Blonigen, Daniel M; Iacono, William G; McGue, Matt

    2013-02-01

    We used a longitudinal twin design to examine selection effects of personality traits at age 11 on high-risk environmental contexts at age 14 and the extent to which these contexts mediated risk for substance abuse at age 17. Socialization at age 11 (willingness to follow rules and endorse conventional values) predicted exposure to contextual risk at age 14. Contextual risk partially mediated the effect of socialization on substance abuse, though socialization also had a direct effect. In contrast, boldness at age 11 (social engagement and assurance, thrill seeking, and stress resilience) also predicted substance abuse directly but was unrelated to contextual risk. There was substantial overlap in the genetic and shared environmental influences on socialization and contextual risk, and genetic risk in socialization contributed to substance abuse indirectly via increased exposure to contextual risk. This suggests that active gene-environment correlations related to individual differences in socialization contributed to an early, high-risk developmental trajectory for adolescent substance abuse. In contrast, boldness appeared to index an independent and direct genetic risk factor for adolescent substance abuse.

  11. Teacher beliefs, teacher characteristics, and school contextual factors: what are the relationships?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rubie-Davies, Christine M; Flint, Annaline; McDonald, Lyn G

    2012-06-01

    There is a plethora of research around student beliefs and their contribution to student outcomes. However, there is less research in relation to teacher beliefs. Teacher factors are important to consider since beliefs mould thoughts and resultant instructional behaviours that, in turn, can contribute to student outcomes. The purpose of this research was to explore relationships between the teacher characteristics of gender and teaching experience, school contextual variables (socio-economic level of school and class level), and three teacher socio-psychological variables: class level teacher expectations, teacher efficacy, and teacher goal orientation. The participants were 68 male and female teachers with varying experience, from schools in a variety of socio-economic areas and from rural and urban locations within New Zealand. Teachers completed a questionnaire containing items related to teacher efficacy and goal orientation in reading. They also completed a teacher expectation survey. Reading achievement data were collected on students. Interrelationships were explored between teacher socio-psychological beliefs and the teacher and school factors included in the study. Mastery-oriented beliefs predicted teacher efficacy for student engagement and classroom management. The socio-economic level of the school and teacher gender predicted teacher efficacy for engagement, classroom management, instructional strategies, and a mastery goal orientation. Being male predicted a performance goal orientation. Teacher beliefs, teacher characteristics, and school contextual variables can result in differences in teacher instructional practices and differing classroom climates. Further investigation of these variables is important since differences in teachers contribute to differences in student outcomes. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

  12. Assessment of the magnitude of geographical variations in the duration of non-work-related sickness absence by individual and contextual factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torá-Rocamora, Isabel; Martínez, José Miguel; Gimeno, David; Alberti, Constança; Jardí, Josefina; Manzanera, Rafael; Benavides, Fernando G; Delclos, George

    2015-01-01

    To examine variation in the duration of non-work-related sickness absence (NWRSA) across geographical areas and the degree to which this variation can be explained by individual and/or contextual factors. All first NWRSA episodes ending in 2007 and 2010 were analyzed. Individual (diagnosis, age, sex) and contextual factors (healthcare resources, socioeconomic factors) were analyzed to assess how much of the geographical variation was explained by these factors. Median NWRSA durations in quartiles were mapped by counties in Catalonia. Multilevel Cox proportional hazard regression models with episodes nested within counties were fitted to quantify the magnitude of this variation. The proportional change in variance (PCV), median hazard ratios (MHR) and interquartile hazard ratios (IHR) were calculated. We found a geographical pattern in the duration of NWRSA, with longer duration in northwestern Catalonia. There was a small, but statistically significant, geographical variation in the duration of NWRSA, which mostly decreased after adjustment for individual factors in both women (PCV=34.98%, MHR=1.09, IHR=1.13 in 2007; PCV=34.68%, MHR=1.11, IHR=1.28 in 2010) and men (PCV=39.88%, MHR=1.10, IHR=1.27 in 2007; PCV=45.93%, MHR=1.10, IHR=1.25 in 2010); only in the case of women in 2010 was there a reduction in county-level variance due to contextual covariates (PCV=16.18%, MHR=1.12, IHR=1.32). County-level variation in the duration of NWRSA was small and was explained more by individual than by contextual variables. Knowledge of geographic differences in NWRSA duration is needed to plan specific programs and interventions to minimize these differences. Copyright © 2014 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  13. Using contextual advertising in Internet marketing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Тетяна Олександрівна Левицька

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This article is devoted to the substantiation of the use of contextual advertising in Internet marketing as one of the most universal and expedient tools of modern advertising, applied for the first time in 1994, describing the principles of its implementation and the prospects for using it. The shortcomings and advantages of Internet marketing and contextual advertising in particular, its types and technologies, on which it is implemented, the possibilities, as well as the purposes of application, are considered. The main characteristics of contextual advertising, namely its characteristic properties as compared to the other types of Internet marketing, were highlighted. The use of contextual advertising in the search, on partner sites of the advertising network and an example of the report that was received by means of the Yandex.Metrika service have been shown. On the basis of the analysis the use of contextual advertising has been proved and its basic types and methods of measuring the effectiveness of advertising campaigns using deep analytics services have been demonstrated. The factor of the complexity of the configuration process has been singled out, and in this connection, a variant of professional intervention in setting up contextual advertising by specialized agencies has been offered. In the long term, the tools of contextual advertising are to expand. Every year, more and more services are being created for a deeper analysis of statistics, end-to-end analytics, and the improvement of the campaign management interface

  14. COMBATTING SEXUAL HARASSMENT AGAINST WOMEN MIGRANT WORKERS OVERSEAS: LOOKING AT THE CONTEXTUAL FACTORS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agus Joko Pitoyo

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Violence against women is a criminal act. It involves not only in personal domain, but also within social arenas. It could be happened in social life, such as the fact of sexual harassment at work. Through qualitative retrospective cross-sectional methods, the study aimed to explore the contextual factors of sexual harassment which have occurred overseas among women migrant workers from Ponorogo, East Java, Indonesia. Several factors altogether were identi ed as logical elements contributing to the existence of sexual harassment, composed of personal factors, relationship, working environment and structural regulation. The poor mechanism of placing Indonesian workers overseas was also perceived as an exacerbating factor to the presence of the conducts. Sexual harassment was more likely happened for female migrants in young age, low skill, and poor language in host countries. Several kinds of dependencies upon employers, such as administrative dependency, social and economic dependencies, and the existence of con ict at work were identi ed as other precipitating factors to the malpractice.

  15. Generalized anxiety disorder in racial and ethnic minorities: a case of nativity and contextual factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Budhwani, Henna; Hearld, Kristine Ria; Chavez-Yenter, Daniel

    2015-04-01

    Minorities comprise more than one third of the U.S., and research on the correlates and causes of depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses have yielded mixed results in minority groups necessitating an understanding of causes and correlates of health. Thus, the aim of this paper is to evaluate the relationship between minority status, contextual factors, and lifetime Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Logistic regression models were implemented, comparing immigrants to their American-born counterparts as well as to American-born Whites. Foreign-born Afro-Caribbeans exhibited lower rates of lifetime GAD. A lower percentage of foreign-born minorities met the criteria for GAD as compared to their American-born counterparts, and all racial and ethnic groups met the criteria for lifetime GAD at a lower rate as compared to American-born Whites. By using theory proactively and including contextual factors, this multi-faceted approach to health disparities research yielded findings which both supported historic beliefs but created opportunities for supplemental research looking at immigrants and GAD. Key findings were that health lifestyle choices and exposure to discrimination significantly affected the chance of having GAD. Nativity was protective; however, its effect was ameliorated by exposure to discrimination or engagement in alcohol abuse. Thus, this study offers practical insight into environmental factors for clinicians caring for racial and ethnic minorities diagnosed with GAD. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Impact of contextual factors and substance characteristics on perspectives toward cognitive enhancement.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastian Sattler

    Full Text Available Enhancing cognitive performance with substances--especially prescription drugs--is a fiercely debated topic among scholars and in the media. The empirical basis for these discussions is limited, given that the actual nature of factors that influence the acceptability of and willingness to use cognitive enhancement substances remains unclear. In an online factorial survey, contextual and substance-specific characteristics of substances that improve academic performance were varied experimentally and presented to respondents. Students in four German universities rated their willingness to use and moral acceptance of different substances for cognitive enhancement. We found that the overall willingness to use performance enhancing substances is low. Most respondents considered the use of these substances as morally unacceptable. Situational influences such as peer pressure, policies concerning substance use, relative performance level of peers, but also characteristics of the substance, such as perceptions of substance safety, shape the willingness and acceptability of using a substance to enhance academic performance. Among the findings is evidence of a contagion effect meaning that the willingness was higher when the respondents have more CE drug users in their social network. We also found deterrence effects from strong side effects of using the substance, as well as from policy regulations and sanctions. Regulations might activate social norms against usage and sanctions can be seen as costly to users. Moreover, enhancement substances seem to be most tempting to low performers to catch up with others compared to high performers. By identifying contextual factors and substance characteristics influencing the willingness and acceptability of cognitive enhancers, policy approaches could consider these insights to better manage the use of such substances.

  17. Impact of contextual factors and substance characteristics on perspectives toward cognitive enhancement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sattler, Sebastian; Forlini, Cynthia; Racine, Eric; Sauer, Carsten

    2013-01-01

    Enhancing cognitive performance with substances--especially prescription drugs--is a fiercely debated topic among scholars and in the media. The empirical basis for these discussions is limited, given that the actual nature of factors that influence the acceptability of and willingness to use cognitive enhancement substances remains unclear. In an online factorial survey, contextual and substance-specific characteristics of substances that improve academic performance were varied experimentally and presented to respondents. Students in four German universities rated their willingness to use and moral acceptance of different substances for cognitive enhancement. We found that the overall willingness to use performance enhancing substances is low. Most respondents considered the use of these substances as morally unacceptable. Situational influences such as peer pressure, policies concerning substance use, relative performance level of peers, but also characteristics of the substance, such as perceptions of substance safety, shape the willingness and acceptability of using a substance to enhance academic performance. Among the findings is evidence of a contagion effect meaning that the willingness was higher when the respondents have more CE drug users in their social network. We also found deterrence effects from strong side effects of using the substance, as well as from policy regulations and sanctions. Regulations might activate social norms against usage and sanctions can be seen as costly to users. Moreover, enhancement substances seem to be most tempting to low performers to catch up with others compared to high performers. By identifying contextual factors and substance characteristics influencing the willingness and acceptability of cognitive enhancers, policy approaches could consider these insights to better manage the use of such substances.

  18. Contextual control over expression of fear is affected by cortisol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vanessa Anna Van Ast

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available At the core of anxiety disorders is the inability to use contextual information to modulate behavioral responses to potentially threatening events. Models of the pathogenesis of anxiety disorders incorporate stress and concomitant stress hormones as important vulnerability factors, while others emphasize sex as an important factor. However, translational basic research has not yet investigated the effects of stress hormones and sex on the ability to use contextual information to modulate responses to threat. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was threefold: first, we aimed at developing an experimental paradigm specifically capable of capturing contextual modulation of the expression of fear. Second, we tested whether cortisol would alter the contextualization of fear expression. Third, we aimed at assessing whether alterations in contextualization due to cortisol were different for men and women. Healthy participants (n = 42 received placebo or hydrocortisone (20 mg prior to undergoing a newly developed differential contextual fear conditioning paradigm. The results indicated that people rapidly acquire differential contextual modulation of the expression of fear, as measured by fear potentiated startle and skin conductance responses. In addition, cortisol impaired the contextualization of fear expression leading to increased fear generalization on fear potentiated startle data in women. The opposite pattern was found in men. Finally, as assessed by skin conductance responses, cortisol impaired differential conditioning in men. The results are in line with models suggesting heightened vulnerability in women for developing anxiety disorders after stressful events.

  19. Contextual factors influencing strategic information systems planning in a network: Evaluation of two inter-municipality projects in Finland

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Den Broek, T.; Spil, T.; Kestilä, T.; Ehrenhard, M.; Salmela, H.

    2008-01-01

    Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) is mostly studied within organizations. Recently, preliminary attempts are made to study SISP on network level. As network studies up to now focus on the planning process and its outcome, we choose to study contextual factors that give input to the

  20. Contextual influences on reverse knowledge transfer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søberg, Peder Veng

    2010-01-01

    Further development of theories about how contextual factors influence the beneficial reverse knowledge transfer from subsidiary to head quarters in disparate national country contexts, is the aim of our study. Earlier studies do not fully capture the different effects national country cultures can....... A proposition model is developed where the dependent variable is beneficial reverse knowledge transfer. The independent variables are: higher relative knowledge level in subsidiaty than in HQ, authority respect, activity fit with contextual learning preference. The conclusion suggest that different contexts...

  1. A systematic review of individual and contextual factors affecting ART initiation, adherence, and retention for HIV-infected pregnant and postpartum women.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ian Hodgson

    Full Text Available Despite progress reducing maternal mortality, HIV-related maternal deaths remain high, accounting, for example, for up to 24 percent of all pregnancy-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. Antiretroviral therapy (ART is effective in improving outcomes among HIV-infected pregnant and postpartum women, yet rates of initiation, adherence, and retention remain low. This systematic literature review synthesized evidence about individual and contextual factors affecting ART use among HIV-infected pregnant and postpartum women.Searches were conducted for studies addressing the population (HIV-infected pregnant and postpartum women, intervention (ART, and outcomes of interest (initiation, adherence, and retention. Quantitative and qualitative studies published in English since January 2008 were included. Individual and contextual enablers and barriers to ART use were extracted and organized thematically within a framework of individual, interpersonal, community, and structural categories.Thirty-four studies were included in the review. Individual-level factors included both those within and outside a woman's awareness and control (e.g., commitment to child's health or age. Individual-level barriers included poor understanding of HIV, ART, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission, and difficulty managing practical demands of ART. At an interpersonal level, disclosure to a spouse and spousal involvement in treatment were associated with improved initiation, adherence, and retention. Fear of negative consequences was a barrier to disclosure. At a community level, stigma was a major barrier. Key structural barriers and enablers were related to health system use and engagement, including access to services and health worker attitudes.To be successful, programs seeking to expand access to and continued use of ART by integrating maternal health and HIV services must identify and address the relevant barriers and enablers in their own context that are

  2. Contextualized personality: traditional and new assessment procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heller, Daniel; Watson, David; Komar, Jennifer; Min, Ji-A; Perunovic, Wei Qi Elaine

    2007-12-01

    We describe our ongoing program of research related to the assessment of contextualized personality, focusing on social roles and cultural cues as contextual factors. First, we present our research employing the traditional assessment approach, wherein participants are asked to rate explicitly their personality across several different roles. We argue that this hypothetical approach is potentially susceptible to the influence of stereotypes, social desirability, and demand characteristics. We therefore describe the development of three novel and subtle assessment procedures that are based on obtaining online self-representations that are activated while occupying a specific context. Finally, the strengths and limitations of all four approaches, as well as directions for future research in the study of contextualized personality, are discussed.

  3. Elder Abuse by Adult Children: An Applied Ecological Framework for Understanding Contextual Risk Factors and the Intergenerational Character of Quality of Life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiamberg, Lawrence B.; Gans, Daphna

    2000-01-01

    Using an applied ecological model, this study focuses on contextual risk factors of elder abuse. Five levels of environment were used to interpret existing research on risk factors. Configuration of risk factors provides a framework for understanding the intergenerational character of quality of life for older adults, developing recommendations…

  4. Contextual factors associated with uptake of breast and cervical cancer screening: A systematic review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plourde, Natasha; Brown, Hilary K; Vigod, Simone; Cobigo, Virginie

    2016-01-01

    Existing research on barriers to breast and cervical cancer screening uptake has focused primarily on socio-demographic characteristics of individuals. However, contextual factors, such as service organization, as well as healthcare providers' training and practices, are more feasibly altered to increase health service use. The objective of the authors in this study was to perform a critical systematic review of the literature to identify contextual factors at the provider- and system-level that were associated with breast and cervical cancer screening uptake. Studies published from 2000 to 2013 were identified through PubMed and PsycInfo. Methodologic quality was assessed, and studies were examined for themes related to provider- and system-level factors associated with screening uptake. Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings revealed a positive association between patients' receipt of provider recommendation and uptake of breast and cervical cancer screening. Uptake was also higher among patients of female providers. Facilities with flexible appointment times and reminders had higher mammography and Pap test uptake. Similarly, greater organizational commitment to quality and performance had higher breast and cervical cancer screening rates. Knowledge provided in this review could be used in future research to inform the development of public health policy and clinical programs to improve screening uptake.

  5. Does Contextual Cueing Guide the Deployment of Attention?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kunar, Melina A.; Flusberg, Stephen; Horowitz, Todd S.; Wolfe, Jeremy M.

    2008-01-01

    Contextual cueing experiments show that when displays are repeated, reaction times (RTs) to find a target decrease over time even when observers are not aware of the repetition. It has been thought that the context of the display guides attention to the target. We tested this hypothesis by comparing the effects of guidance in a standard search task to the effects of contextual cueing. Firstly, in standard search, an improvement in guidance causes search slopes (derived from RT × Set Size functions) to decrease. In contrast, we found that search slopes in contextual cueing did not become more efficient over time (Experiment 1). Secondly, when guidance is optimal (e.g. in easy feature search) we still found a small, but reliable contextual cueing effect (Experiments 2a and 2b), suggesting that other factors, such as response selection, contribute to the effect. Experiment 3 supported this hypothesis by showing that the contextual cueing effect disappeared when we added interference to the response selection process. Overall, our data suggest that the relationship between guidance and contextual cueing is weak and that response selection can account for part of the effect. PMID:17683230

  6. The Role of Search Speed in the Contextual Cueing of Children's Attention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darby, Kevin; Burling, Joseph; Yoshida, Hanako

    2014-01-01

    The contextual cueing effect is a robust phenomenon in which repeated exposure to the same arrangement of random elements guides attention to relevant information by constraining search. The effect is measured using an object search task in which a target (e.g., the letter T) is located within repeated or nonrepeated visual contexts (e.g., configurations of the letter L). Decreasing response times for the repeated configurations indicates that contextual information has facilitated search. Although the effect is robust among adult participants, recent attempts to document the effect in children have yielded mixed results. We examined the effect of search speed on contextual cueing with school-aged children, comparing three types of stimuli that promote different search times in order to observe how speed modulates this effect. Reliable effects of search time were found, suggesting that visual search speed uniquely constrains the role of attention toward contextually cued information.

  7. Contextual mediation of perceptions in hauntings and poltergeist-like experiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lange, R; Houran, J; Harte, T M; Havens, R A

    1996-06-01

    The content of perceived apparitions, e.g., bereavement hallucinations, cannot be explained entirely in terms of electromagnetically induced neurochemical processes. It was shown that contextual variables influential in hallucinatory and hypnotic states also structured reported haunting experiences. As predicted, high congruency was found between the experiential content and the nature of the contextual variables. Further, the number of contextual variables involved in an experience was related to the type of experience and the state or arousal preceding the experience. Based on these findings we argue that a more complete explanation of haunting experiences should take into account both electromagnetically induced neurochemical processes and factors related to contextual mediation.

  8. Contextual Stress and Health Risk Behaviors among African American Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Copeland-Linder, Nikeea; Lambert, Sharon F.; Chen, Yi-Fu; Ialongo, Nicholas S.

    2011-01-01

    This study examined the longitudinal association between contextual stress and health risk behaviors and the role of protective factors in a community epidemiologically-defined sample of urban African American adolescents (N = 500; 46.4% female). Structural equation modeling was used to create a latent variable measuring contextual stress…

  9. Multiculturalism and contextualism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lægaard, Sune

    2015-01-01

    Many political theorists of multiculturalism (e.g. Joseph Carens, Bhikhu Parekh, James Tully) describe their theories as “contextualist.” But it is unclear what “contextualism” means and what difference it makes for political theory. I use a specific prominent example of a multiculturalist...... discussion, namely Tariq Modood’s argument about “moderate secularism,” as a test case and distinguish between different senses of contextualism. I discuss whether the claim that political theory is contextual in each sense is novel and interesting, and whether contextualism is a distinct feature...... of political theory of multiculturalism. I argue that the forms of contextualism which concern the scope and methodology of political theory are sensible, but not novel or distinctive of multiculturalism. I then discuss the more controversial forms of contextualism, which I call political and theoretical...

  10. Exploring socio-contextual factors associated with male smoker’s intention to quit smoking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Minsoo Jung

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Programs to encourage smokers to quit smoking tobacco have been implemented worldwide and are generally viewed as an effective public health intervention program. However, few studies have examined the social factors that influence a smoker’s intention to quit smoking. This study investigated the socio-contextual factors that are associated with the intention to quit smoking among male smokers in South Korea. Methods Data were obtained from a 2014 nationally representative panel that examined the influences of mass media on the health of the Korean population. Members of this panel were recruited using a mixed-method sampling and a combination of random digit dial and address-based sampling designs. Survey questions were based on those used in previous studies that assessed the effects of social context, including mass media and social capital, on health. Multivariate logistic regression analyses of the answers of 313 male smokers were undertaken. Results Male smokers who participated in community-based activities were 2.45 times more likely to intend to quit smoking compared to male smokers in general (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.25–6.82. In addition, male smokers who participated in informal social gathering networks were 2.38 times more likely to intend to quit smoking compared to male smokers in general (95 % CI: 1.11–5.10. Moreover, male smokers with high smartphone use were 1.93 times more likely than smokers with low smartphone use to intend to quit smoking within one year (95 % CI: 1.07–3.46. Conclusions A supportive environment that enables male smokers to access beneficial health information and that encourages them to quit smoking is necessary for a stop-smoking program to be effective. The result of this study contribute to establishing a new smoking control policy by identifying socio-contextual factors related to the intention to quit smoking.

  11. Social relevance enhances memory for impressions in older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cassidy, Brittany S; Gutchess, Angela H

    2012-01-01

    Previous research has demonstrated that older adults have difficulty retrieving contextual material over items alone. Recent research suggests this deficit can be reduced by adding emotional context, allowing for the possibility that memory for social impressions may show less age-related decline than memory for other types of contextual information. Two studies investigated how orienting to social or self-relevant aspects of information contributed to the learning and retrieval of impressions in young and older adults. Participants encoded impressions of others in conditions varying in the use of self-reference (Experiment 1) and interpersonal meaningfulness (Experiment 2), and completed memory tasks requiring the retrieval of specific traits. For both experiments, age groups remembered similar numbers of impressions. In Experiment 1 using more self-relevant encoding contexts increased memory for impressions over orienting to stimuli in a non-social way, regardless of age. In Experiment 2 older adults had enhanced memory for impressions presented in an interpersonally meaningful relative to a personally irrelevant way, whereas young adults were unaffected by this manipulation. The results provide evidence that increasing social relevance ameliorates age differences in memory for impressions, and enhances older adults' ability to successfully retrieve contextual information.

  12. College students' drinking motives and social-contextual factors: Comparing associations across levels of analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Hara, Ross E; Armeli, Stephen; Tennen, Howard

    2015-06-01

    Prior investigations have established between-person associations between drinking motives and both levels of alcohol use and social-contextual factors surrounding that use, but these relations have yet to be examined at the within-person level of analysis. Moreover, exploring previously posited subtypes of coping motives (i.e., coping with depression, anxiety, and anger) may shed light on the within-person processes underlying drinking to cope. In this daily diary study of college student drinking (N = 722; 54% female), students reported each day how many drinks they consumed the previous evening in both social and nonsocial settings along with their motives for each drinking episode. Additionally, they reported whether they attended a party the evening before, the number of people they were with, the gender makeup of that group, and their perceptions of their companions' drinking prevalence and quantity. External reasons for drinking-social and conformity motives-showed patterns largely consistent across levels of analysis and in agreement with motivational models. However, internal reasons for drinking-enhancement and coping motives-demonstrated divergent associations that suggest different processes across levels of analysis. Finally, coping subtypes showed differing associations with drinking levels and social-contextual factors dependent on the predisposing emotion and the level of analysis. These results suggest that internal drinking motives have unique state and trait components, which could have important implications for the application of motivational models to prevention and treatment efforts. We recommend including drinking motives (including coping subtypes) as within-person measures in future microlongitudinal studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. College Students’ Drinking Motives and Social-Contextual Factors: Comparing Associations across Levels of Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Hara, Ross E.; Armeli, Stephen; Tennen, Howard

    2014-01-01

    Prior investigations have established between-person associations between drinking motives and both levels of alcohol use and social-contextual factors surrounding that use, but these relations have yet to be examined at the within-person level of analysis. Moreover, exploring previously posited subtypes of coping motives (i.e., coping with depression, anxiety, and anger) may shed light on the within-person processes underlying drinking to cope. In this daily diary study of college student drinking (N = 722; 54% female), students reported each day how many drinks they consumed the previous evening in both social and nonsocial settings along with their motives for each drinking episode. Additionally, they reported whether they attended a party the evening before, the number of people they were with, the gender makeup of that group, and their perceptions of their companions’ drinking prevalence and quantity. External reasons for drinking—social and conformity motives—showed patterns largely consistent across levels of analysis and in agreement with motivational models. However, internal reasons for drinking—enhancement and coping motives—demonstrated divergent associations that suggest different processes across levels of analysis. Finally, coping subtypes showed differing associations with drinking levels and social-contextual factors dependent on the predisposing emotion and the level of analysis. These results suggest that internal drinking motives have unique state and trait components, which could have important implications for the application of motivational models to prevention and treatment efforts. We recommend including drinking motives (including coping subtypes) as within-person measures in future micro-longitudinal studies. PMID:25546143

  14. Life stories of people with rheumatoid arthritis who retired early: how gender and other contextual factors shaped their everyday activities, including paid work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stamm, T A; Machold, K P; Smolen, J; Prodinger, B

    2010-06-01

    The aim of the present study was to explore how contextual factors affect the everyday activities of women and men with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as evident in their life stories. Fifteen people with RA, who had retired early due to the disease, were interviewed up to three times, according to a narrative biographic interview style. The life stories of the participants, which were reconstructed from the biographical data and from the transcribed 'told story' were analysed from the perspective of contextual factors, including personal and environmental factors. The rigour and accuracy of the analysis were enhanced by reflexivity and peer-review of the results. The life stories of the participants in this study reflected how contextual factors (such as gender, the healthcare system, the support of families and social and cultural values) shaped their everyday activities. In a society such as in Austria, which is based on traditional patriarchal values, men were presented with difficulties in developing a non-paid-work-related role. For women, if paid work had to be given up, they were more likely to engage in alternative challenging activities which enabled them to develop reflective skills, which in turn contributed to a positive and enriching perspective on their life stories. Health professionals may thus use some of the women's strategies to help men. Interventions by health professionals in people with RA may benefit from an approach sensitive to personal and environmental factors.

  15. IoT Contextual Factors on Healthcare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michalakis, Konstantinos; Caridakis, George

    2017-01-01

    With the emergence of the Internet of Things, new services in healthcare will be available and existing systems will be integrated in the IoT framework, providing automated medical supervision and efficient medical treatment. Context awareness plays a critical role in realizing the vision of the IoT, providing rich contextual information that can help the system act more efficiently. Since context in healthcare has its unique characteristics, it is necessary to define an appropriate context aware framework for healthcare IoT applications. We identify this context as perceived in healthcare applications and describe the context aware procedures. We also present an architecture that connects the sensors that measure biometric data with the sensory networks of the environment and the various IoT middleware that reside in the geographical area. Finally, we discuss the challenges for the realization of this vision.

  16. Contextual effects and cancer outcomes in the United States: a systematic review of characteristics in multilevel analyses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zahnd, Whitney E; McLafferty, Sara L

    2017-11-01

    There is increasing call for the utilization of multilevel modeling to explore the relationship between place-based contextual effects and cancer outcomes in the United States. To gain a better understanding of how contextual factors are being considered, we performed a systematic review. We reviewed studies published between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2016 and assessed the following attributes: (1) contextual considerations such as geographic scale and contextual factors used; (2) methods used to quantify contextual factors; and (3) cancer type and outcomes. We searched PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science and initially identified 1060 studies. One hundred twenty-two studies remained after exclusions. Most studies utilized a two-level structure; census tracts were the most commonly used geographic scale. Socioeconomic factors, health care access, racial/ethnic factors, and rural-urban status were the most common contextual factors addressed in multilevel models. Breast and colorectal cancers were the most common cancer types, and screening and staging were the most common outcomes assessed in these studies. Opportunities for future research include deriving contextual factors using more rigorous approaches, considering cross-classified structures and cross-level interactions, and using multilevel modeling to explore understudied cancers and outcomes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. The Emergence of Contextual Social Psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pettigrew, Thomas F

    2018-07-01

    Social psychology experiences recurring so-called "crises." This article maintains that these episodes actually mark advances in the discipline; these "crises" have enhanced relevance and led to greater methodological and statistical sophistication. New statistical tools have allowed social psychologists to begin to achieve a major goal: placing psychological phenomena in their larger social contexts. This growing trend is illustrated with numerous recent studies; they demonstrate how cultures and social norms moderate basic psychological processes. Contextual social psychology is finally emerging.

  18. Dimensions of organizational learning: contextual variables in companies under lean manufacturing implementation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guilherme Luz Tortorella

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The Lean Production (LP is an approach that encompasses a variety of management practices to reduce losses and improve operational efficiency. Due to this fact, the ability to innovate, change and learn continuously presents itself as a key element in the implementation of the LP. Several contextual variables were mentioned in the literature as potential impediments to implementing lean. However, little is known about the influence of these variables on the dimensions of Organizational Learning (OL. This study aims to examine the relationship between six contextual variables and the frequency of occurrence of problems in companies that are implementing the LP. Furthermore, the identification of relevant relationships between dimensions of OL and contextual variables contribute to the identification of the contexts in which problems can be expected to occur. The sample contains thirteen companies implementing the LP. The results indicate that the same contextual variables, which are deemed as influential to implement LP, have a different influence on the ability of organizational learning.

  19. Functional dyspepsia: Are psychosocial factors of relevance?

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Sandra Barry; Timothy G Dinan

    2006-01-01

    The pathogenesis of Functional Dyspepsia (FD) remains unclear, appears diverse and is thus inadequately understood. Akin to other functional gastrointestinal disorders, research has demonstrated an association between this common diagnosis and psychosocial factors and psychiatric morbidity. Conceptualising the relevance of these factors within the syndrome of FD requires application of the biopsychosocial model of disease.Using this paradigm, dysregulation of the reciprocal communication between the brain and the gut is central to symptom generation, interpretation and exacerbation.Appreciation and understanding of the neurobiological correlates of various psychological states is also relevant.The view that psychosocial factors exert their influence in FD predominantly through motivation of health care seeking also persists. This appears too one-dimensional an assertion in light of the evidence available supporting a more intrinsic aetiological link. Evolving understanding of pathogenic mechanisms and the heterogeneous nature of the syndrome will facilitate effective management.Co-morbid psychiatric illness warrants treatment with conventional therapies. Acknowledging the relevance of psychosocial variables in FD, the degree of which is subject to variation, has implications for assessment and management. Available evidence suggests psychological therapies may benefit FD patients particularly those with chronic symptoms. The rationale for use of psychotropic medications in FD is apparent but the evidence base to support the use of antidepressant pharmacotherapy is to date limited.

  20. Predicting Arrest in a Sample of Youth Perinatally Exposed to HIV: The Intersection of HIV and Key Contextual Factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elkington, Katherine S; Peters, Zachary; Choi, C Jean; Bucek, Amelia; Leu, Cheng-Shiun; Abrams, Elaine J; Mellins, Claude A

    2017-11-22

    We examined the role of youth HIV status and other key factors on past-year arrest in perinatally HIV-exposed but uninfected (PHIV-) and perinatally HIV-infected (PHIV+) youth using data from a multi-site study of psychosocial behaviors in PHIV-exposed urban youth (N = 340; 61% PHIV+; 51% female; ages 9-16 at baseline). Youth and caregivers were administered 5 interviews, spanning approximately 7.5 years. Using longitudinal logistic mixed-effect models, we explored the association between past year arrest, internal [e.g., substance use disorder (SUD)] and external (e.g., neighborhood arrest rates) contextual factors, and social-regulation processes (e.g., in-school/work). Arrest rates increased from 2.6 to 19.7% across follow-ups; there were no differences in arrest over time by HIV status. In the final model, odds of arrest were greater for youth who were male, with SUD, ≥ 18 years old, with high levels of city stress, and neither in school nor employed. PHIV-exposed, urban youth have much higher rates of arrest than national samples. Lack of differences in arrest by HIV status suggests key contextual factors are more important in promoting arrest.

  1. Contextual factors influencing leisure physical activity of urbanized indigenous adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lo, Feng-En; Tsai, Feng-Chou; Lee, Ming-Been; Tsai, Liang-Ting; Lyu, Shu-Yu; Yang, Chih-Chien

    2015-11-01

    Indigenous populations suffer from disparities in socioeconomic resources and health status. One approach to addressing these disparities is by targeting modifiable risk factors such as leisure physical activity (LPA). This study investigated and compared factors related to LPA among urbanized indigenous and nonindigenous adolescent students. This cross-sectional survey comprised fifth to ninth grade indigenous and nonindigenous students (n = 733). The nonindigenous students were matched with indigenous students on sex and academic achievement and used as a reference group. Data were collected through telephone interviews using structured questionnaires. Major items included: demographic characteristics; average time spent watching television per bout; participation in LPA; and stress and depression experiences. With the exception of the duration of television watching per bout, Chi-square and independent t tests demonstrated that there were no significant differences between indigenous and nonindigenous adolescents in the selected LPA-related factors. Multiple logistic regression analysis including terms investigating interaction between ethnicity and the contextual factors included in this study indicated that the following factors were correlated with LPA participation: age [odds ratio (OR) = 0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.71-0.94], male sex (OR = 1.77, 95%CI = 1.19-2.61), total hours spent watching television in the past 2 weeks (OR = 0.79, 95%CI = 0.63-0.99), life satisfaction (OR = 2.25, 95%CI = 1.04-4.90), and exercise enjoyment (OR = 3.40, 95%CI = 1.71-6.74). However, neither indigenous status (OR = 1.03, 95%CI = 0.19-5.79) nor any of the interaction terms reached the significant level. No significant ethnic differences were found in LPA participation. LPA was significantly correlated with age, male sex, total time spent watching television, life satisfaction, and enjoyment of exercise. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  2. Contextual and individual determinants of periodontal disease: Multilevel analysis based on Andersen's model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valente, Maria I B; Vettore, Mario V

    2018-04-01

    To investigate the relationship of contextual and individual factors with periodontal disease in dentate adults and older people using the Andersen's behavioural model. Secondary individual data from 6011 adults and 2369 older people from the Brazilian Oral Health Survey (2010) were combined with contextual data for 27 cities. Attachment loss (AL) categories for each sextant were coded and summed to obtain the periodontal disease measure. The association of predisposing, enabling and need characteristics at city and individual level with periodontal disease was assessed using an adapted version of the Andersen's behavioural model. Multilevel Poisson regression was used to estimate rate ratios (RR) and 95% CIs. Periodontal disease was associated with contextual predisposing (RR 0.93; 95% CI = 0.87-0.99) and enabling factors (RR 0.99; 95% CI = 0.98-0.99) in adults. Contextual predisposing was also associated with periodontal disease in older people (RR 0.82; 95% CI = 0.73-0.92). Individual predisposing (age, sex and schooling) and need characteristics (perceived treatment need) were common predictors of periodontal disease in adults and older people. Periodontal disease was also associated with behaviours in the latter age group. Contextual predisposing factors and individual characteristics influenced periodontal disease experience in adults and older people. Contextual enabling factors were also meaningful determinants of periodontal disease in the former age group. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. The Role of Search Speed in the Contextual Cueing of Children’s Attention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darby, Kevin; Burling, Joseph; Yoshida, Hanako

    2013-01-01

    The contextual cueing effect is a robust phenomenon in which repeated exposure to the same arrangement of random elements guides attention to relevant information by constraining search. The effect is measured using an object search task in which a target (e.g., the letter T) is located within repeated or nonrepeated visual contexts (e.g., configurations of the letter L). Decreasing response times for the repeated configurations indicates that contextual information has facilitated search. Although the effect is robust among adult participants, recent attempts to document the effect in children have yielded mixed results. We examined the effect of search speed on contextual cueing with school-aged children, comparing three types of stimuli that promote different search times in order to observe how speed modulates this effect. Reliable effects of search time were found, suggesting that visual search speed uniquely constrains the role of attention toward contextually cued information. PMID:24505167

  4. Contextual Risk Profiles and Trajectories of Adolescent Dating Violence Perpetration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reyes, H Luz McNaughton; Foshee, Vangie A; Markiewitz, Nathan; Chen, May S; Ennett, Susan T

    2018-04-09

    Social ecological and developmental system perspectives suggest that interactions among factors within and across multiple contexts (e.g., neighborhood, peer, family) must be considered in explaining dating violence perpetration. Yet, to date, most extant research on dating violence has focused on individual, rather than contextual predictors, and used variable-centered approaches that fail to capture the configurations of factors that may jointly explain involvement in dating violence. The current study used a person-centered approach, latent profile analysis, to identify key configurations (or profiles) of contextual risk and protective factors for dating violence perpetration across the neighborhood, school, friend and family contexts. We then examine the longitudinal associations between these contextual risk profiles, assessed during middle school, and trajectories of psychological and physical dating violence perpetration across grades 8 through 12. Five contextual risk profiles were identified: school, neighborhood, and family risk; school and family risk; school and friend risk; school and neighborhood risk; and low risk. The highest levels of psychological and physical perpetration across grades 8 through 12 were among adolescents in the profile characterized by high levels of school, neighborhood, and family risk. Results suggest that early interventions to reduce violence exposure and increase social regulation across multiple social contexts may be effective in reducing dating violence perpetration across adolescence.

  5. Effect of immigration background and country-of-origin contextual factors on adolescent substance use in Spain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarasa-Renedo, Ana; Sordo, Luis; Pulido, José; Guitart, Anna; González-González, Rocío; Hoyos, Juan; Bravo, María J; Barrio, Gregorio

    2015-08-01

    The effects of adolescent- and parental-birthplace and country-of-origin contextual factors on substance use among adolescents with recent immigrant background (ARIBs) are poorly understood. We aimed to assess these effects and identify the main mediating factors in Spain. Participants were 12,432 ARIBs (≥1 foreign-born parent) and 75,511 autochthonous adolescents from pooled 2006-2010 school surveys. Outcomes were prevalence of use of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, stimulants and sedative-hypnotics. ARIBs were classified by adolescent birthplace (Spain/abroad), whether they had mixed-parents (one Spanish-born and one foreign-born), and country-of-origin characteristics. Adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) and percent change expressing disparities in risk were estimated using Poisson regression with robust variance. Compared to autochthonous adolescents, foreign-born ARIBs without mixed-parents showed significant aPRs leisure environments and less association with peers who use such substances. ARIBs' lower risk depended more on country-of-origin characteristics and not having mixed-parents than being foreign-born. Tobacco, cannabis and stimulant use in ARIBs increased with increasing population use of these substances in the country-of-origin. ARIBs from the non-Muslim-regions had a lower risk of using alcohol and higher risk of using sedative-hypnotics than those from the Muslim-region. Among ARIBs in Spain, parental transmission of norms and values could influence substance use as much as or more than exposure to the Spanish context. Future research should better assess effects of adolescent- and parental-birthplace and country-of-origin contextual factors on substance use. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Intrapersonal, interpersonal, and contextual risk factors for overprovision of partner support in marriage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brock, Rebecca L; Lawrence, Erika

    2014-02-01

    Recent research indicates that receiving too much support from one's spouse (i.e., overprovision of support) is actually more detrimental to marriage than not receiving enough support. The principal goal of the present study was to develop a novel framework for explaining the pathways through which couples experience overprovision of support in their marriages. Intrapersonal factors (anxious and avoidant attachment), interpersonal factors (conflict management and emotional intimacy), and contextual factors (stress originating outside of the marriage) were assessed during the transition into marriage as potential risk factors for experiencing higher levels of support overprovision during the first 5 years of marriage in a sample of 103 couples using growth curve analytic techniques. To the extent that (a) husbands were higher in avoidant attachment, (b) husbands reported greater chronic role strain, and (c) couples had lower levels of emotional intimacy, support overprovision was greater for both husbands and wives. In addition, emotional intimacy (lower levels) was a partial pathway through which husband avoidant attachment contributed to support overprovision. Finally, factors placing couples at risk for support overprovision in their marriages appear to be distinct from those increasing the risk for support underprovision. The potential for results to inform contemporary marital theories and marital preparation programs is discussed.

  7. Contextualism Revisited: Towards a More Relevant Conceptualization of Public Administration for Ethical and Sustainable Leadership in the Global Context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asghar Zomorrodian

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper examines how the contextual approach to the conceptualization and the design of public administration systems can still be a viable alternative for today’s environment. By making reference to a proposed conceptual model, predominantly based on the cultural and social values in different contexts, the paper juxtaposes both the traditional Universalists and recent NPM approaches to the Contextual model by reviewing the literature on the impacts of globalization and other recent developments in the area public administration and public policy both at the national and international levels. Special attention is paid to the significance of two major elements of ethical leadership and governance for creating a viable and sustainable public administration system that incorporates and emphasizes the process of political development and enhancing the civil society based on indigenous cultural and social values. The conclusion of the paper reinforces the validity and utility of the contextual approach by including these two major elements into its original conceptual framework.

  8. The effects of contextual learning instruction on science achievement of male and female tenth-grade students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ingram, Samantha Jones

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the contextual learning method on science performance, attitudes toward science, and motivational factors that influence high school students to learn science. Gender differences in science performance and attitudes toward science were also investigated. The sample included four tenth-grade classes of African-American students enrolled in Chemistry I. All students were required to review for the Alabama High School Graduation Exam in Science. Students were administered a science pretest and posttest to measure science performance. A two-way analysis of covariance was performed on the test data. The results showed a main effect of contextual learning instruction on science achievement and no significant differences between females' and males' performance in science. The Science Attitude and the Alabama High School Graduation Exam (AHSGE) Review Class Surveys were administered to assess students' beliefs and attitudes toward science. The Science Attitude Survey results indicated a control effect in three subscales: perception of guardian's attitude, attitude toward success in science, and perception of teacher's attitude. No significant differences resulted between males and females in their beliefs about science from the attitude survey. However, students' attitudes toward science were more favorable in the contextual learning classes based on the results of the Review Class Survey. The survey data revealed that both males and females in the contextual classes had positive attitudes toward science and toward being active participants in the learning process. Qualitative data on student motivation were collected to examine the meaningfulness of the contextual learning content and materials. The majority of the students in the treatment (96%) and the control groups (86%) reported high interest in the lesson on Newton's three laws of motion. Both the treatment and the control groups indicated their interest

  9. Contextual diversity facilitates learning new words in the classroom.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva Rosa

    Full Text Available In the field of word recognition and reading, it is commonly assumed that frequently repeated words create more accessible memory traces than infrequently repeated words, thus capturing the word-frequency effect. Nevertheless, recent research has shown that a seemingly related factor, contextual diversity (defined as the number of different contexts [e.g., films] in which a word appears, is a better predictor than word-frequency in word recognition and sentence reading experiments. Recent research has shown that contextual diversity plays an important role when learning new words in a laboratory setting with adult readers. In the current experiment, we directly manipulated contextual diversity in a very ecological scenario: at school, when Grade 3 children were learning words in the classroom. The new words appeared in different contexts/topics (high-contextual diversity or only in one of them (low-contextual diversity. Results showed that words encountered in different contexts were learned and remembered more effectively than those presented in redundant contexts. We discuss the practical (educational [e.g., curriculum design] and theoretical (models of word recognition implications of these findings.

  10. Maternal death inquiry and response in India - the impact of contextual factors on defining an optimal model to help meet critical maternal health policy objectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kalter Henry D

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Maternal death reviews have been utilized in several countries as a means of identifying social and health care quality issues affecting maternal survival. From 2005 to 2009, a standardized community-based maternal death inquiry and response initiative was implemented in eight Indian states with the aim of addressing critical maternal health policy objectives. However, state-specific contextual factors strongly influenced the effort's success. This paper examines the impact and implications of the contextual factors. Methods We identified community, public health systems and governance related contextual factors thought to affect the implementation, utilization and up-scaling of the death inquiry process. Then, according to selected indicators, we documented the contextual factors' presence and their impact on the process' success in helping meet critical maternal health policy objectives in four districts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. Based on this assessment, we propose an optimal model for conducting community-based maternal death inquiries in India and similar settings. Results The death inquiry process led to increases in maternal death notification and investigation whether civil society or government took charge of these tasks, stimulated sharing of the findings in multiple settings and contributed to the development of numerous evidence-based local, district and statewide maternal health interventions. NGO inputs were essential where communities, public health systems and governance were weak and boosted effectiveness in stronger settings. Public health systems participation was enabled by responsive and accountable governance. Communities participated most successfully through India's established local governance Panchayat Raj Institutions. In one instance this led to the development of a multi-faceted intervention well-integrated at multiple levels. Conclusions The impact of several contextual

  11. Contextualism in Normative Political Theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lægaard, Sune

    2016-01-01

    Contextualism denotes a set of ideas about the importance of attention to context. The topic of the article is contextualism in normative political theory/philosophy, in relation to the part of political theory concerned with systematic political argument for normative claims—evaluative claims...... that can be invoked to contextualize a specific object of political discussion such as a law, an institution, or the like. Contextualism denotes any view that political theory should take context into account, but there are many different views about what this means. Contextualism can be characterized...... by way of different contrasts, which imply that the resulting conceptions of contextualism are views about different things, such as justification, the nature of political theory, or methodology. Here the focus is on characterizations of contextualism in terms of methodology and justification...

  12. Impact of Contextual Factors on the Effect of Interventions to Improve Health Worker Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa: Review of Randomised Clinical Trials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mickan, Sharon; Willcox, Merlin; Roberts, Nia; Bergström, Anna; Mant, David

    2016-01-01

    Background Africa bears 24% of the global burden of disease but has only 3% of the world’s health workers. Substantial variation in health worker performance adds to the negative impact of this significant shortfall. We therefore sought to identify interventions implemented in sub-Saharan African aiming to improve health worker performance and the contextual factors likely to influence local effectiveness. Methods and Findings A systematic search for randomised controlled trials of interventions to improve health worker performance undertaken in sub-Saharan Africa identified 41 eligible trials. Data were extracted to define the interventions’ components, calculate the absolute improvement in performance achieved, and document the likelihood of bias. Within-study variability in effect was extracted where reported. Statements about contextual factors likely to have modified effect were subjected to thematic analysis. Interventions to improve health worker performance can be very effective. Two of the three trials assessing mortality impact showed significant reductions in death rates (agematernal in-hospital mortality 6.8/1000 versus 10.3/1000; pimprovement varying from 9% to 48%. However, reported range of improvement between centres within trials varied substantially, in many cases exceeding the mean effect. Nine contextual themes were identified as modifiers of intervention effect across studies; most frequently cited were supply-line failures, inadequate supervision or management, and failure to follow-up training interventions with ongoing support, in addition to staff turnover. Conclusions Interventions to improve performance of existing staff and service quality have the potential to improve patient care in underserved settings. But in order to implement interventions effectively, policy makers need to understand and address the contextual factors which can contribute to differences in local effect. Researchers therefore must recognise the importance of

  13. Impact of Contextual Factors on the Effect of Interventions to Improve Health Worker Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa: Review of Randomised Clinical Trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blacklock, Claire; Gonçalves Bradley, Daniela C; Mickan, Sharon; Willcox, Merlin; Roberts, Nia; Bergström, Anna; Mant, David

    2016-01-01

    Africa bears 24% of the global burden of disease but has only 3% of the world's health workers. Substantial variation in health worker performance adds to the negative impact of this significant shortfall. We therefore sought to identify interventions implemented in sub-Saharan African aiming to improve health worker performance and the contextual factors likely to influence local effectiveness. A systematic search for randomised controlled trials of interventions to improve health worker performance undertaken in sub-Saharan Africa identified 41 eligible trials. Data were extracted to define the interventions' components, calculate the absolute improvement in performance achieved, and document the likelihood of bias. Within-study variability in effect was extracted where reported. Statements about contextual factors likely to have modified effect were subjected to thematic analysis. Interventions to improve health worker performance can be very effective. Two of the three trials assessing mortality impact showed significant reductions in death rates (age<5 case fatality 5% versus 10%, p<0.01; maternal in-hospital mortality 6.8/1000 versus 10.3/1000; p<0.05). Eight of twelve trials focusing on prescribing had a statistically significant positive effect, achieving an absolute improvement varying from 9% to 48%. However, reported range of improvement between centres within trials varied substantially, in many cases exceeding the mean effect. Nine contextual themes were identified as modifiers of intervention effect across studies; most frequently cited were supply-line failures, inadequate supervision or management, and failure to follow-up training interventions with ongoing support, in addition to staff turnover. Interventions to improve performance of existing staff and service quality have the potential to improve patient care in underserved settings. But in order to implement interventions effectively, policy makers need to understand and address the contextual

  14. The influence of contextual factors on healthcare quality improvement initiatives: what works, for whom and in what setting? Protocol for a realist review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coles, Emma; Wells, Mary; Maxwell, Margaret; Harris, Fiona M; Anderson, Julie; Gray, Nicola M; Milner, Gill; MacGillivray, Stephen

    2017-08-23

    Context shapes the effectiveness of knowledge implementation and influences health improvement. Successful healthcare quality improvement (QI) initiatives frequently fail to transfer to different settings, with local contextual factors often cited as the cause. Understanding and overcoming contextual barriers is therefore crucial to implementing effective improvement; yet context is still poorly understood. There is a paucity of information on the mechanisms underlying how and why QI projects succeed or fail in given settings. A realist review of empirical studies of healthcare QI initiatives will be undertaken to examine the influence and impact of contextual factors on quality improvement in healthcare settings and explore whether QI initiatives can work in all contexts. The review will explore which contextual factors are important, and how, why, when and for whom they are important, within varied settings. The dynamic nature of context and change over time will be explored by examining which aspects of context impact at key points in the improvement trajectory. The review will also consider the influence of context on improvement outcomes (provider- and patient-level), spread and sustainability. The review process will follow five iterative steps: (1) clarify scope, (2) search for evidence, (3) appraise primary studies and extract data, (4) synthesise evidence and draw conclusions and (5) disseminate findings. The reviewers will consult with experts and stakeholders in the early stages to focus the review and develop a programme theory consisting of explanatory 'context-mechanism-outcome' configurations. Searches for primary evidence will be conducted iteratively. Data will be extracted and tested against the programme theory. A review advisory group will oversee the review process. Review findings will follow RAMESES guidelines and will be disseminated via a report, presentations and peer-reviewed publications. The review will update and consolidate evidence

  15. Contextual knowledge reduces demands on working memory during reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Lisa M Soederberg; Cohen, Jason A; Wingfield, Arthur

    2006-09-01

    An experiment is reported in which young, middle-aged, and older adults read and recalled ambiguous texts either with or without the topic title that supplied contextual knowledge. Within each of the age groups, the participants were divided into those with high or low working memory (WM) spans, with available WM capacity further manipulated by the presence or absence of an auditory target detection task concurrent with the reading task. Differences in reading efficiency (reading time per proposition recalled) between low WM span and high WM span groups were greater among readers who had access to contextual knowledge relative to those who did not, suggesting that contextual knowledge reduces demands on WM capacity. This position was further supported by the finding that increased age and attentional demands, two factors associated with reduced WM capacity, exaggerated the benefits of contextual knowledge on reading efficiency. The relative strengths of additional potential predictors of reading efficiency (e.g., interest, effort, and memory beliefs), along with knowledge, WM span, and age, are reported. Findings showed that contextual knowledge was the strongest predictor of reading efficiency even after controlling for the effects of all of the other predictors.

  16. DISCOURSE STYLISTICS AS CONTEXTUALIZED STYLISTICS

    OpenAIRE

    Marina Katnić-Bakaršić

    2003-01-01

    The focus of the paper is on discourse stylistics, viewed as contextualized discipline. Context includes various factors (sociohistorical, cognitive, cultural and intertextual). The paper investigates the most important approaches to discourse stylistics: pragmatic stylistics, discourse and/ or conversational analysis, cognitive stylistics, critical stylistics, feminists stylistics. In discourse stylistics analysis is always combined with interpretation, and description is followed by explana...

  17. Contextual determinants of induced abortion: a panel analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mar Llorente-Marrón

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE Analyze the contextual and individual characteristics that explain the differences in the induced abortion rate, temporally and territorially. METHODS We conducted an econometric analysis with panel data of the influence of public investment in health and per capita income on induced abortion as well as a measurement of the effect of social and economic factors related to the labor market and reproduction: female employment, immigration, adolescent fertility and marriage rate. The empirical exercise was conducted with a sample of 22 countries in Europe for the 2001-2009 period. RESULTS The great territorial variability of induced abortion was the result of contextual and individual socioeconomic factors. Higher levels of national income and investments in public health reduce its incidence. The following sociodemographic characteristics were also significant regressors of induced abortion: female employment, civil status, migration, and adolescent fertility. CONCLUSIONS Induced abortion responds to sociodemographic patterns, in which the characteristics of each country are essential. The individual and contextual socioeconomic inequalities impact significantly on its incidence. Further research on the relationship between economic growth, labor market, institutions and social norms is required to better understand its transnational variability and to reduce its incidence.

  18. Contextual determinants of induced abortion: a panel analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Llorente-Marrón, Mar; Díaz-Fernández, Montserrat; Méndez-Rodríguez, Paz

    2016-01-01

    Analyze the contextual and individual characteristics that explain the differences in the induced abortion rate, temporally and territorially. We conducted an econometric analysis with panel data of the influence of public investment in health and per capita income on induced abortion as well as a measurement of the effect of social and economic factors related to the labor market and reproduction: female employment, immigration, adolescent fertility and marriage rate. The empirical exercise was conducted with a sample of 22 countries in Europe for the 2001-2009 period. The great territorial variability of induced abortion was the result of contextual and individual socioeconomic factors. Higher levels of national income and investments in public health reduce its incidence. The following sociodemographic characteristics were also significant regressors of induced abortion: female employment, civil status, migration, and adolescent fertility. Induced abortion responds to sociodemographic patterns, in which the characteristics of each country are essential. The individual and contextual socioeconomic inequalities impact significantly on its incidence. Further research on the relationship between economic growth, labor market, institutions and social norms is required to better understand its transnational variability and to reduce its incidence.

  19. Clinician and Parent Perspectives on Parent and Family Contextual Factors that Impact Community Mental Health Services for Children with Behavior Problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker-Ericzen, Mary J.; Jenkins, Melissa M.; Brookman-Frazee, Lauren

    2010-01-01

    The present study employed qualitative methods to examine multiple stakeholder perspectives regarding the role of parent and family contextual factors on community child mental health treatment for children with behavior problems. Findings suggest agreement between clinicians and parents on the number, types and importance of parent and family…

  20. Historical Perspective and Risk of Multiple Neglected Tropical Diseases in Coastal Tanzania: Compositional and Contextual Determinants of Disease Risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armah, Frederick Ato; Quansah, Reginald; Luginaah, Isaac; Chuenpagdee, Ratana; Hambati, Herbert; Campbell, Gwyn

    2015-01-01

    In the past decade, research on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) has intensified in response to the need to enhance community participation in health delivery, establish monitoring and surveillance systems, and integrate existing disease-specific treatment programs to control overlapping NTD burdens and detrimental effects. In this paper, we evaluated the geographical distribution of NTDs in coastal Tanzania. We also assessed the collective (compositional and contextual) factors that currently determine risks to multiple NTDs using a cross sectional survey of 1253 individuals in coastal Tanzania. The results show that the effect size in decreasing order of magnitude for non-binary predictors of NTD risks is as follows: NTD comorbidities > poverty > educational attainment > self-reported household quality of life > ethnicity. The multivariate analysis explained 95% of the variance in the relationship between NTD risks and the theoretically-relevant covariates. Compositional (biosocial and sociocultural) factors explained more variance at the neighbourhood level than at the regional level, whereas contextual factors, such as access to health services and household quality, in districts explained a large proportion of variance at the regional level but individually had modest statistical significance, demonstrating the complex interactions between compositional and contextual factors in generating NTD risks. NTD risks were inequitably distributed over geographic space, which has several important policy implications. First, it suggests that localities of high burden of NTDs are likely to diminish within statistical averages at higher (regional or national) levels. Second, it indicates that curative or preventive interventions will become more efficient provided they can be focused on the localities, particularly as populations in these localities are likely to be burdened by several NTDs simultaneously, further increasing the imperative of multi

  1. Contextual profiles of young adult Ecstasy users: a multisite study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramtekkar, Ujjwal P.; Striley, Catherine W; Cottler, Linda B

    2010-01-01

    These analyses assess contextual profiles of 612 young adult Ecstasy users, 18–30 years of age, from St. Louis (USA), Miami (USA) and Sydney (Australia). Bivariate analyses revealed different contextual factors influencing Ecstasy use. Friends were the most common sources of Ecstasy at all sites and most used with friends. St. Louis and Miami use mostly occurred in residences, whereas in Sydney use was mostly at clubs, bars or restaurants. Ecstasy consumption at public places and in cars, trains or ferries was significantly higher in Miami (89% and 77%) than in St. Louis (67% and 65%) and Sydney (67% and 61%). At all sites, simultaneous use of LSD/mushroom and nitrous oxide with Ecstasy was common; concurrent amphetamines predominated in Sydney and heroin/opiates in St. Louis Contextual factors influencing Ecstasy use among young adults vary by geographic region. Their inclusion may help tailor effective prevention programs to reduce or ameliorate Ecstasy use. PMID:21094585

  2. Predicting Effects of the Self and Contextual Factors on Violence: A Comparison between School Students and Youth Offenders in Macau

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Wing Lo

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available This study was designed to explore the self and contextual factors for violence in two samples of school students and youth offenders in Macau. There were 3085 participants who were between 12 and 20 years old; 48.3% of them were male and 51.7% female. Findings revealed that youth offenders exhibited more violence than school students. For the self factors, while lower self-esteem and higher self-efficacy of school students were associated with more violent behavior, these two variables had no significant effects for youth offenders. For the contextual factors, family conflict was the strongest predictor of violence, and school commitment/attachment was the weakest predictor for both samples. For youth offenders, family conflict had the largest direct effect, followed by susceptibility to negative peer influence and influence of the Triad gangs, while school commitment/attachment had a significant though mild direct effect. For school students, family conflict mediated the effect of self-esteem and self-efficacy on violence. While Triad gangs’ influence was the second strongest predictor of violence, being exposed to Triad gangs’ influence also mediated the effect of self-esteem and self-efficacy on violence. It is recommended that youth outreach services with a focus on family support and gang detachment for at-risk youth be strengthened.

  3. Predicting Effects of the Self and Contextual Factors on Violence: A Comparison between School Students and Youth Offenders in Macau

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lo, T. Wing; Cheng, Christopher H. K.

    2018-01-01

    This study was designed to explore the self and contextual factors for violence in two samples of school students and youth offenders in Macau. There were 3085 participants who were between 12 and 20 years old; 48.3% of them were male and 51.7% female. Findings revealed that youth offenders exhibited more violence than school students. For the self factors, while lower self-esteem and higher self-efficacy of school students were associated with more violent behavior, these two variables had no significant effects for youth offenders. For the contextual factors, family conflict was the strongest predictor of violence, and school commitment/attachment was the weakest predictor for both samples. For youth offenders, family conflict had the largest direct effect, followed by susceptibility to negative peer influence and influence of the Triad gangs, while school commitment/attachment had a significant though mild direct effect. For school students, family conflict mediated the effect of self-esteem and self-efficacy on violence. While Triad gangs’ influence was the second strongest predictor of violence, being exposed to Triad gangs’ influence also mediated the effect of self-esteem and self-efficacy on violence. It is recommended that youth outreach services with a focus on family support and gang detachment for at-risk youth be strengthened. PMID:29401666

  4. Acceptance of lean redesigns in primary care: A contextual analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, Dorothy; Gray, Caroline; Martinez, Meghan; Schmittdiel, Julie; Harrison, Michael I

    Lean is a leading change strategy used in health care to achieve short-term efficiency and quality improvement while promising longer-term system transformation. Most research examines Lean intervention to address isolated problems, rather than to achieve broader systemic changes to care delivery. Moreover, no studies examine contextual influences on system-wide Lean implementation efforts in primary care. The aim of this study was to identify contextual factors most critical to implementing and scaling Lean redesigns across all primary care clinics in a large, ambulatory care delivery system. Over 100 interviews and focus groups were conducted with frontline physicians, clinical staff, and operational leaders. Data analysis was guided by a modified Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), a popular implementation science framework. On the basis of expert recommendations, the modified framework targets factors influencing the implementation of process redesigns. This modified framework, the CFIR-PR, informed our identification of contextual factors that most impacted Lean acceptance among frontline physicians and staff. Several domains identified by the CFIR-PR were critical to acceptance of Lean redesigns. Regarding the implementation process acceptance was influenced by time and intensity of exposure to changes, "top-down" versus "bottom-up" implementation styles, and degrees of employee engagement in developing new workflows. Important factors in the inner setting were the clinic's culture and style of leadership, along with availability of information about Lean's effectiveness. Last, implementation efforts were impacted by individual and team characteristics regarding changed work roles and related issues of professional identity, authority, and autonomy. This study underscores the need for change leaders to consider the contextual factors that surround efforts to implement Lean in primary care. As Lean redesigns are scaled across a system

  5. “Words are also deeds”: Quentin Skinner, the contextual turn, and Educational Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jon IGELMO ZALDÍVAR

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper analyzes the way in which it is possible to apply the Quentin Skinner’s analytical method to study the ideas in the academic discipline of Educational Theory. The methodology of the contextual turn is presented as a useful and appropriate hermeneutic tool for the rigorous clarification of the ideas developed by relevant authors for the educational thought. To undertake this endeavor, we assume that Educational Theory involves knowing to do; without ruling out that knowing is a way of doing. Therefore, we aim at incorporating a rigorous methodology to study the ideas, which leads to explore the intentionality of some of relevant texts for the educational debate in the Spanish academic context of pedagogy. We include the application of the Skinner’s method based on contextual turn for the theoretical study of the thought of Ivan Illich and Rudolf Steiner.

  6. DISCOURSE STYLISTICS AS CONTEXTUALIZED STYLISTICS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marina Katnić-Bakaršić

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The focus of the paper is on discourse stylistics, viewed as contextualized discipline. Context includes various factors (sociohistorical, cognitive, cultural and intertextual. The paper investigates the most important approaches to discourse stylistics: pragmatic stylistics, discourse and/ or conversational analysis, cognitive stylistics, critical stylistics, feminists stylistics. In discourse stylistics analysis is always combined with interpretation, and description is followed by explanation and critique.

  7. Mental health of early adolescents from high-risk neighborhoods: the role of maternal HIV and other contextual, self-regulation, and family factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mellins, Claude A; Brackis-Cott, Elizabeth; Dolezal, Curtis; Leu, Cheng Shiun; Valentin, Cidna; Meyer-Bahlburg, Heino F L

    2008-01-01

    To examine the effect of maternal HIV infection, as well as other individual, family, and contextual factors on the mental health of inner-city, ethnic minority early adolescents. Participants included 220 HIV-negative early adolescents (10-14 years) and their mothers, half of whom were HIV-infected. Individual interviews were conducted regarding youth depression, anxiety, externalizing and internalizing behaviour problems, as well as a range of correlates of youth mental health guided by a modified version of Social Action Theory, a theoretical model of behavioral health. Although the HIV status of mothers alone did not predict youth mental health, youth knowledge of mother's HIV infection and mother's overall health were associated with worse youth mental health outcomes, as were contextual, self-regulation, and family interaction factors from our theoretical model. There is a need for family-based mental health interventions for this population, particularly focusing on parent-child relationships, disclosure, and youth self-esteem.

  8. International Perspectives on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Contextual Considerations for Advancing Global Discourse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolbin-MacNab, Megan L; Yancura, Loriena A

    2018-01-01

    Globally, it is common for grandparents to serve as surrogate parents to their grandchildren, often in response to family crises and other challenges such as poverty, disease epidemics, and migration. Despite the global nature of this intergenerational caregiving arrangement, there have been few contextually focused examinations of how grandparents' surrogate parenting roles are enacted across countries and cultures. This analytic review addresses this issue by exploring demographic and cultural contexts, needs and experiences, and formal and informal supports for grandparents raising grandchildren in four diverse countries: China, New Zealand, Romania, and South Africa. We conclude our analysis by discussing key contextual factors, and their associated interrelationships, from which future research may elucidate how cultural, historical, and sociopolitical factors uniquely shape grandparents' experiences. We also make recommendations for contextually informed policies and practice.

  9. Nicotine Withdrawal Disrupts Contextual Learning but Not Recall of Prior Contextual Associations: Implications for Nicotine Addiction

    OpenAIRE

    Portugal, George S.; Gould, Thomas J.

    2008-01-01

    Interactions between nicotine and learning could contribute to nicotine addiction. Although previous research indicates that nicotine withdrawal disrupts contextual learning, the effects of nicotine withdrawal on contextual memories acquired before withdrawal are unknown. The present study investigated whether nicotine withdrawal disrupted recall of prior contextual memories by examining the effects of nicotine withdrawal on recall of nicotine conditioned place preference (CPP) and contextual...

  10. Contextual Factors Related to Stereotype Threat and Student Success in Science Technology Engineering Mathematics Education: A Mixed Methods Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leker, Lindsey Beth

    Stereotype threat is a widely researched phenomenon shown to impact performance in testing and evaluation situations (Katz, Roberts, & Robinson, 1965; Steele & Aronson, 1995). When related to gender, stereotype threat can lead women to score lower than men on standardized math exams (Spencer, Steele, & Quinn, 1999). Stereotype threat may be one reason women have lower enrollment in most science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors, hold a smaller number of STEM careers than men, and have a higher attrition rate in STEM professions (Hill, Corbet, & Rose, 2010; Picho & Brown 2011; Sorby & Baartmans, 2000). Most research has investigated stereotype threat using experiments yielding mixed results (Stoet & Geary, 2012). Thus, there is a need to explore stereotype threat using quantitative surveys and qualitative methods to examine other contextual factors that contribute to gender difference in STEM fields. This dissertation outlined a mixed methods study designed to, first, qualitatively explore stereotype threat and contextual factors related to high achieving women in STEM fields, as well as women who have failed and/or avoided STEM fields. Then, the quantitative portion of the study used the themes from the qualitative phase to create a survey that measured stereotype threat and other contextual variables related to STEM success and failure/avoidance. Fifteen participants were interviewed for the qualitative phase of the study and six themes emerged. The quantitative survey was completed 242 undergraduate participants. T-tests, correlations, regressions, and mediation analyses were used to analyze the data. There were significant relationships between stereotype threat and STEM confidence, STEM anxiety, giving up in STEM, and STEM achievement. Overall, this mixed methods study advanced qualitative research on stereotype threat, developed a much-needed scale for the measurement of stereotype threat, and tested the developed scale.

  11. Association of Contextual Factors with Drug Use and Binge Drinking among White, Native American, and Mixed-Race Adolescents in the General Population

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hsing-Jung; Balan, Sundari; Price, Rumi Kato

    2012-01-01

    Large-scale surveys have shown elevated risk for many indicators of substance abuse among Native American and Mixed-Race adolescents compared to other minority groups in the United States. This study examined underlying contextual factors associated with substance abuse among a nationally representative sample of White, Native American, and…

  12. Understanding limitations in at-work productivity in patients with active ankylosing spondylitis: the role of work-related contextual factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boonen, Annelies; Boone, Caroline; Albert, Adelin; Mielants, Herman

    2015-01-01

    To explore the effect of health-related and contextual factors on presenteeism, absenteeism, and overall work productivity loss in patients with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Consecutive patients with AS starting their first tumor necrosis factor inhibitor and in paid employment were eligible. Patients completed the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI) questionnaire for AS to assess presenteeism, absenteeism, and overall work productivity loss in the previous 7 days. In addition, they answered questions about work characteristics (type, characteristics of workplace, satisfaction of contacts with colleagues, and importance of work in life) and health status [Bath AS Functional Index (BASFI), AS Disease Activity Score-C-reactive protein (ASDAS-CRP)]. Physicians assessed the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index, presence of articular and extraarticular manifestations, comorbidities, and laboratory indicators of inflammation. Stepwise regression models were computed to determine which work-related and health-related factors contributed to WPAI outcomes. The study included 80 patients. The WPAI presenteeism, absenteeism, and overall work productivity loss scores were 49.1%, 30.2%, and 53.1%, respectively. Presenteeism was associated with higher BASFI, female sex, and poor quality of contact with colleagues. Absenteeism was associated with increasing age, current smoking status, higher ASDAS-CRP, and low importance of work for life. Overall work productivity loss was associated with female sex, higher BASFI, past adaptation of job because of illness, number of working hours, and manual profession. Both health-related and contextual factors contribute to work limitations in patients with AS and suggest additional opportunities for improvement by addressing the working environment.

  13. Using mixed methods to identify and answer clinically relevant research questions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shneerson, Catherine L; Gale, Nicola K

    2015-06-01

    The need for mixed methods research in answering health care questions is becoming increasingly recognized because of the complexity of factors that affect health outcomes. In this article, we argue for the value of using a qualitatively driven mixed method approach for identifying and answering clinically relevant research questions. This argument is illustrated by findings from a study on the self-management practices of cancer survivors and the exploration of one particular clinically relevant finding about higher uptake of self-management in cancer survivors who had received chemotherapy treatment compared with those who have not. A cross-sectional study generated findings that formed the basis for the qualitative study, by informing the purposive sampling strategy and generating new qualitative research questions. Using a quantitative research component to supplement a qualitative study can enhance the generalizability and clinical relevance of the findings and produce detailed, contextualized, and rich answers to research questions that would be unachievable through quantitative or qualitative methods alone. © The Author(s) 2015.

  14. Contextual factors influencing readiness for dissemination of obesity prevention programs and policies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dreisinger, Mariah L; Boland, Elizabeth M; Filler, Carl D; Baker, Elizabeth A; Hessel, Amy S; Brownson, Ross C

    2012-04-01

    Within the realm of obesity prevention research, there have been many promising interventions to improve physical activity and nutrition among diverse target populations. However, very little information is known about the dissemination and replication of these interventions. In 2007 and 2008 as part of a larger obesity prevention initiative, Missouri Foundation for Health funded 19 community-based programs throughout the state that showed promise of being model practices and committed to promoting their dissemination. Semi-structured key informant interviews were conducted with 64 individuals across the grant sites to help stage their readiness for dissemination. Through these interviews, the project team was able to identify the variables that impact a program's readiness for widespread distribution. Some factors contributing to readiness include: strong intervention planning and an existing sustainability plan; physical space available for the intervention; staff and monetary resources; administrative buy-in; community buy-in and engagement; a strong partner base and an agency with a healthy and active mission. These findings add to the literature by systematically identifying a set of key contextual variables. The qualitative data collected support a proposed framework and helps to establish a process for maintaining successful interventions based on several important factors that impact dissemination.

  15. Contextual Variability in Free Recall

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lohnas, Lynn J.; Polyn, Sean M.; Kahana, Michael J.

    2011-01-01

    According to contextual-variability theory, experiences encoded at different times tend to be associated with different contextual states. The gradual evolution of context implies that spaced items will be associated with more distinct contextual states, and thus have more unique retrieval cues, than items presented in proximity. Ross and Landauer…

  16. Contextual Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janani Harish

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available When the knowledge gained over centuries has to be presented to students through a 12-15 year study, it has to be abridged and organized elaborately. This process of encapsulating all knowledge into an educational course often results in fragmentation of knowledge and a mental divorce from life. Life knowledge that is reduced to objective principles may be intelligible to the intellect, but is incomprehensible to the imagination, creativity and emotional intelligence, all of which are important to the full development of personality. A study of Economics without the human and social dimensions, industrialization detached from ecology, or science devoid of moral accountability results in problems. Education of each part must be in the context of the whole. Knowing the whole context helps one get the right perspective to address the issue effectively. In the education of the future, the gap between abstract concept and social relevance must be bridged. The following article explores the need for contextual education and the ways in which it can be implemented.

  17. Contextual risk and child psychopathology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flouri, Eirini

    2008-10-01

    In developmental psychopathology it almost goes without saying that contextual risk factors do not occur in isolation and that it is the combination of various risk factors that portends numerous negative child outcomes. Despite this, the body of literature that examines the relation between multiple risk exposure and child psychopathology using a cumulative risk approach is still relatively small. Even when studies use a cumulative risk approach they rarely test properly whether the relation between cumulative risk and child psychopathology is linear or nonlinear, with consequences for both theory development and intervention design: if cumulative risk impacts problem behavior in a positively accelerated exponential manner, for instance, it means that exposure to multiple risk is especially difficult to manage as problem behavior accelerates at a critical level of risk. Furthermore, few studies have actually examined factors that protect from negative outcomes in those exposed to cumulative risk and even fewer have explored cumulative protection in relation to cumulative risk. On the other hand, there is the view that a cumulative risk approach at least implicitly assumes that risk factors are, in essence, interchangeable. According to this view, the importance of testing for specificity should not be underestimated. Finally, the renewed interest in the role of neighborhood risk in child development has initiated a lively debate as to whether contextual risk should be operationalized at the family or the area level. In this letter I discuss these issues, and offer some suggestions as to how future research can address them.

  18. Historical Perspective and Risk of Multiple Neglected Tropical Diseases in Coastal Tanzania: Compositional and Contextual Determinants of Disease Risk.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frederick Ato Armah

    Full Text Available In the past decade, research on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs has intensified in response to the need to enhance community participation in health delivery, establish monitoring and surveillance systems, and integrate existing disease-specific treatment programs to control overlapping NTD burdens and detrimental effects. In this paper, we evaluated the geographical distribution of NTDs in coastal Tanzania.We also assessed the collective (compositional and contextual factors that currently determine risks to multiple NTDs using a cross sectional survey of 1253 individuals in coastal Tanzania. The results show that the effect size in decreasing order of magnitude for non-binary predictors of NTD risks is as follows: NTD comorbidities > poverty > educational attainment > self-reported household quality of life > ethnicity. The multivariate analysis explained 95% of the variance in the relationship between NTD risks and the theoretically-relevant covariates. Compositional (biosocial and sociocultural factors explained more variance at the neighbourhood level than at the regional level, whereas contextual factors, such as access to health services and household quality, in districts explained a large proportion of variance at the regional level but individually had modest statistical significance, demonstrating the complex interactions between compositional and contextual factors in generating NTD risks.NTD risks were inequitably distributed over geographic space, which has several important policy implications. First, it suggests that localities of high burden of NTDs are likely to diminish within statistical averages at higher (regional or national levels. Second, it indicates that curative or preventive interventions will become more efficient provided they can be focused on the localities, particularly as populations in these localities are likely to be burdened by several NTDs simultaneously, further increasing the imperative of multi

  19. Poverty as a contextual factor affecting sexual health behavior among female sex workers in India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dasgupta, Satarupa

    2013-06-01

    A thorough understanding of the environmental and structural factors that precipitate unsafe sexual practices is necessary for HIV/AIDS-prevention research among high-risk population groups like commercial sex workers. I examined how poverty contextualizes sexual health behavior, including condom compliance among commercial female sex workers in a red light district in Calcutta, India. For my research I did an ethnographic study and conducted in-depth interviews of 37 commercial female sex workers. I found that poverty, instead of serving as a catalyst for poor health choices among sex workers, acted as an impetus for pursuing safe sex practices and remaining healthy. The results indicate that sex work, poverty, and health do not always have a paradoxical relationship.

  20. A User-Centered Approach to Adaptive Hypertext Based on an Information Relevance Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathe, Nathalie; Chen, James

    1994-01-01

    Rapid and effective to information in large electronic documentation systems can be facilitated if information relevant in an individual user's content can be automatically supplied to this user. However most of this knowledge on contextual relevance is not found within the contents of documents, it is rather established incrementally by users during information access. We propose a new model for interactively learning contextual relevance during information retrieval, and incrementally adapting retrieved information to individual user profiles. The model, called a relevance network, records the relevance of references based on user feedback for specific queries and user profiles. It also generalizes such knowledge to later derive relevant references for similar queries and profiles. The relevance network lets users filter information by context of relevance. Compared to other approaches, it does not require any prior knowledge nor training. More importantly, our approach to adaptivity is user-centered. It facilitates acceptance and understanding by users by giving them shared control over the adaptation without disturbing their primary task. Users easily control when to adapt and when to use the adapted system. Lastly, the model is independent of the particular application used to access information, and supports sharing of adaptations among users.

  1. Contextual control of attentional allocation in human discrimination learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uengoer, Metin; Lachnit, Harald; Lotz, Anja; Koenig, Stephan; Pearce, John M

    2013-01-01

    In 3 human predictive learning experiments, we investigated whether the allocation of attention can come under the control of contextual stimuli. In each experiment, participants initially received a conditional discrimination for which one set of cues was trained as relevant in Context 1 and irrelevant in Context 2, and another set was relevant in Context 2 and irrelevant in Context 1. For Experiments 1 and 2, we observed that a second discrimination based on cues that had previously been trained as relevant in Context 1 during the conditional discrimination was acquired more rapidly in Context 1 than in Context 2. Experiment 3 revealed a similar outcome when new stimuli from the original dimensions were used in the test stage. Our results support the view that the associability of a stimulus can be controlled by the stimuli that accompany it.

  2. Individual, household and contextual factors associated with skilled delivery care in Ethiopia: Evidence from Ethiopian demographic and health surveys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mezmur, Markos; Navaneetham, Kannan; Letamo, Gobopamang; Bariagaber, Hadgu

    2017-01-01

    Despite evidence that social contexts are key determinants of health, research into factors associated with maternal health service utilization in Ethiopia has often focused on individual and household factors. The downside is that this underestimates the importance of taking contextual factors into account when planning appropriate interventions in promoting safe motherhood in the country. The purpose of this study is to fill this knowledge gap drawing attention to the largely unexplored contextual factors affecting the uptake of skilled attendance at delivery in a nationally representative sample. Data for the study comes from two rounds of the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys (EDHS) conducted in the year 2005 and 2011. Analysis was done using a two-level multivariable multilevel logistic regression model with data from 14, 242 women who had a live birth in the five years preceding the surveys clustered within 540 (in the year 2005) and 624 (in the year 2011) communities. The results of the study point to multiple levels of measured and unmeasured factors affecting the uptake of skilled delivery care in the country. At community level, place of residence, community level of female education and fertility significantly predict the uptake of skilled delivery care. At individual and household level, maternal age, birth order, maternal education, household wealth and access to media predict the uptake of such service. Thus, there is a need to consider community contexts in the design of maternal health programs and employ multi-sectorial approach to addressing barriers at different levels. For example, improving access and availability of skilled delivery care should eventually enhance the uptake of such services at community level in Ethiopia. At individual level, efforts to promote the uptake of such services should constitute targeted interventions paying special attention to the needs of the youth, the multiparous, the less educated and women in the

  3. Individual, household and contextual factors associated with skilled delivery care in Ethiopia: Evidence from Ethiopian demographic and health surveys.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Markos Mezmur

    Full Text Available Despite evidence that social contexts are key determinants of health, research into factors associated with maternal health service utilization in Ethiopia has often focused on individual and household factors. The downside is that this underestimates the importance of taking contextual factors into account when planning appropriate interventions in promoting safe motherhood in the country. The purpose of this study is to fill this knowledge gap drawing attention to the largely unexplored contextual factors affecting the uptake of skilled attendance at delivery in a nationally representative sample. Data for the study comes from two rounds of the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys (EDHS conducted in the year 2005 and 2011. Analysis was done using a two-level multivariable multilevel logistic regression model with data from 14, 242 women who had a live birth in the five years preceding the surveys clustered within 540 (in the year 2005 and 624 (in the year 2011 communities. The results of the study point to multiple levels of measured and unmeasured factors affecting the uptake of skilled delivery care in the country. At community level, place of residence, community level of female education and fertility significantly predict the uptake of skilled delivery care. At individual and household level, maternal age, birth order, maternal education, household wealth and access to media predict the uptake of such service. Thus, there is a need to consider community contexts in the design of maternal health programs and employ multi-sectorial approach to addressing barriers at different levels. For example, improving access and availability of skilled delivery care should eventually enhance the uptake of such services at community level in Ethiopia. At individual level, efforts to promote the uptake of such services should constitute targeted interventions paying special attention to the needs of the youth, the multiparous, the less educated and

  4. Economic contextual factors, food consumption, and obesity among U.S. adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell, Lisa M; Han, Euna; Chaloupka, Frank J

    2010-06-01

    Adolescents have poor dietary behaviors and high overweight prevalence. Economic contextual factors such as food prices and food store and restaurant availability are hypothesized and increasingly being explored empirically as contributors to the obesity epidemic. Evidence showed that healthful compared with less healthful foods increasingly cost more and that fast food restaurants are increasingly available. In addition, racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities have been documented in access to food outlets, particularly chain supermarkets, and such disparities have been shown to be increasing recently. Empirical evidence based on nationally representative U.S. adolescent data revealed that lower fruit and vegetable prices, higher fast food prices, and greater supermarket availability were related to higher fruit and vegetable consumption and lower BMI, in particular for BMI among teens who are overweight or at risk for overweight and who are low- to middle-socioeconomic status. The availability of fast food restaurants was not associated with youth BMI. Overall, this research implies that pricing interventions of taxes on energy-dense foods such as fast food and/or subsidies to healthful foods such as fruits and vegetables and policy efforts to improve access to supermarkets may help to improve adolescent weight outcomes.

  5. Personal and Contextual Influences on Township School Learners' Motivation and Self-Regulated Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geduld, Bernadette

    2017-01-01

    Learners' self-regulation, which includes motivational variables, is influenced by personal variables within learners themselves, as well as by contextual factors. A great deal of research has focused on personal variables in learners that influence their self-regulated behaviours; yet contextual influences that operate outside of formal schooling…

  6. Controle de injúrias sob a ótica da pediatria contextual Injury control from the perspective of contextual pediatrics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danilo Blank

    2005-11-01

    -systematic review of MEDLINE, SciELO and LILACS databases, using combinations of the words contextual, community, injury, accident and violence; and non-systematic review of book chapters and classic articles. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS: Safety depends on the interaction of family habits, cultural patterns and surroundings. Contextual pediatrics sees the child, the family, and the community as a continuum; health diagnosis (sequential observation of problems and assets is one of its cornerstones. Changing intrapersonal factors for injuries requires the use of both passive and active strategies. Family and cultural risk factors for injury: home overcrowding, moving, poverty, and young, illiterate and unemployed parents. The main neighborhood factors: material deprivation and traffic. Cultural factors: illiteracy, unsafe products, lack of mass transportation, handguns, workplaces without safety rules, faulty community organization, lack of communication between social sectors, inadequate legislation, low priority for safety among government actions, lack of economic resources, and low academic commitment with the field of safety. CONCLUSIONS: The pediatrician's roles include strengthening of the longitudinal relationship with families, integrated interdisciplinary work, constructive intervention, partnership with community, counseling on injury risks pertaining to each developmental stage, by using lists with explicit processes and contents, and by handing out written materials. Active advocacy for safety promotion in different environments, besides the clinical setting.

  7. The sheaf-theoretic structure of non-locality and contextuality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abramsky, Samson; Brandenburger, Adam

    2011-01-01

    We use the mathematical language of sheaf theory to give a unified treatment of non-locality and contextuality, in a setting that generalizes the familiar probability tables used in non-locality theory to arbitrary measurement covers; this includes Kochen-Specker configurations and more. We show that contextuality, and non-locality as a special case, correspond exactly to obstructions to the existence of global sections. We describe a linear algebraic approach to computing these obstructions, which allows a systematic treatment of arguments for non-locality and contextuality. We distinguish a proper hierarchy of strengths of no-go theorems, and show that three leading examples—due to Bell, Hardy and Greenberger, Horne and Zeilinger, respectively—occupy successively higher levels of this hierarchy. A general correspondence is shown between the existence of local hidden-variable realizations using negative probabilities, and no-signalling; this is based on a result showing that the linear subspaces generated by the non-contextual and no-signalling models, over an arbitrary measurement cover, coincide. Maximal non-locality is generalized to maximal contextuality, and characterized in purely qualitative terms, as the non-existence of global sections in the support. A general setting is developed for the Kochen-Specker-type results, as generic, model-independent proofs of maximal contextuality, and a new combinatorial condition is given, which generalizes the ‘parity proofs’ commonly found in the literature. We also show how our abstract setting can be represented in quantum mechanics. This leads to a strengthening of the usual no-signalling theorem, which shows that quantum mechanics obeys no-signalling for arbitrary families of commuting observables, not just those represented on different factors of a tensor product. (paper)

  8. Promoting High Quality Teacher-Child Interactions: Examining the Role of Teachers' Depression, Perceptions of Children's Peer Relationships, and Contextual Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Granger, Kristen

    2017-01-01

    The overall goal of this dissertation was to examine teacher characteristics, teachers' beliefs, and contextual factors that may motivate teachers' decisions to engage in high quality teacher-child interactions. I use two complementary studies to meet this goal. These two studies provide insight into several aspects of early childhood teachers'…

  9. A More Efficient Contextuality Distillation Protocol

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Hui-xian; Cao, Huai-xin; Wang, Wen-hua; Fan, Ya-jing; Chen, Liang

    2018-03-01

    Based on the fact that both nonlocality and contextuality are resource theories, it is natural to ask how to amplify them more efficiently. In this paper, we present a contextuality distillation protocol which produces an n-cycle box B ∗ B ' from two given n-cycle boxes B and B '. It works efficiently for a class of contextual n-cycle ( n ≥ 4) boxes which we termed as "the generalized correlated contextual n-cycle boxes". For any two generalized correlated contextual n-cycle boxes B and B ', B ∗ B ' is more contextual than both B and B '. Moreover, they can be distilled toward to the maximally contextual box C H n as the times of iteration goes to infinity. Among the known protocols, our protocol has the strongest approximate ability and is optimal in terms of its distillation rate. What is worth noting is that our protocol can witness a larger set of nonlocal boxes that make communication complexity trivial than the protocol in Brunner and Skrzypczyk (Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 160403 2009), this might be helpful for exploring the problem that why quantum nonlocality is limited.

  10. Templates and Queries in Contextual Hypermedia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Anderson, Kenneth Mark; Hansen, Frank Allan; Bouvin, Niels Olof

    2006-01-01

    discuss a framework, HyConSC, that implements this model and describe how it can be used to build new contextual hypermedia systems. Our framework aids the developer in the iterative development of contextual queries (via a dynamic query browser) and offers support for con-text matching, a key feature...... of contextual hypermedia. We have tested the framework with data and sensors taken from the HyCon contextual hypermedia system and are now migrating HyCon to this new framework....

  11. Contextual learning and context effects during infancy: 30 years of controversial research revisited.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Revillo, D A; Cotella, E; Paglini, M G; Arias, C

    2015-09-01

    Over the last 30years a considerable number of reports have explored learning about context during infancy in both humans and rats. This research was stimulated by two different theoretical frameworks. The first, known as the neuromaturational model, postulates that learning and behavior are context-independent during early ontogeny, a hypothesis based on the idea that contextual learning is dependent on the hippocampal function, and that this brain structure does not reach full maturity until late in infancy. The second theoretical framework views infants not as immature organisms, but rather as perfectly matured ones, given that their behavioral and cognitive capacities allow them to adapt appropriately to the demands of their specific environment in accordance with their maturational level. This model predicts significant ontogenetic variations in learning and memory due to developmental differences in what is perceived and attended to during learning episodes, which can result in ontogenetic differences in contextual learning depending on the specific demands of the task. The present manuscript reviews those studies that have examined potential developmental differences in contextual learning and context effects in rats. The reviewed results show that, during infancy, context can exert a similar influence over learning and memory as that described for the adult rat. Moreover, in some cases, contextual learning and context effects were greater in infants than in adults. In contrast, under other experimental conditions, no evidence of contextual learning or context effects was observed. We analyzed the procedural factors of these studies with the aim of detecting those that favor or impede contextual learning during infancy, and we discussed whether existing empirical evidence supports the claim that the functionality of the hippocampus is a limiting factor for this type of learning during infancy. Finally, conclusions from human research into contextual learning

  12. Modeling Contextual Determinants of HIV/AIDS Prevalence in South ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Erah

    As a result, it was argued to go beyond the KABP determinant studies to focus on contextual ... guided most of the determinant studies which formed a basis .... risk factor, i.e. gender power relations or ..... communication with Anna Meyer-Weitz.

  13. Contextual mediation of perceptions during hauntings and poltergeist-like experiences: a replication and extension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harte, T M

    2000-10-01

    This study is a replication of the experiment by Lange, Houran, Harte, and Havens (1996 on contextual variables, in which hallucinations appear to be affected by the environmental context. These contextual variables are influential in the reporting of haunting and poltergeist-like episodes. This study extended the previous study by adding new factors of time of day, climactic conditions, and emotional feelings. These were analyzed for a different sample, looking for further congruency between experiential content and the context. The sample (N=8431 were reports found on the Internet and in one book. The Lange, et al. study was replicated in that contextual variables were identified in 99.2% of the reports, the content of the reports was judged to be consistent with the nature of the contextual variables in 58.8% of the reports, and contextual variables were related to the percipients' state of arousal and the modalities of experience.

  14. Contextual inquiry for medical device design

    CERN Document Server

    Privitera, Mary Beth

    2015-01-01

    Contextual Inquiry for Medical Device Design helps users understand the everyday use of medical devices and the way their usage supports the development of better products and increased market acceptance. The text explains the concept of contextual inquiry using real-life examples to illustrate its application. Case studies provide a frame of reference on how contextual inquiry is successfully used during product design, ultimately producing safer, improved medical devices. Presents the ways contextual inquiry can be used to inform the evaluation and business case of technologyHelps users

  15. Structuring mobile and contextual learning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Glahn, Christian; Specht, Marcus

    2011-01-01

    Glahn, C., & Specht, M. (2011). Structuring mobile and contextual learning. In Proceedings of the 10th World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning (pp. 188-195). October, 18-21, 2011, Beijing, China.

  16. Educational Barriers of Rural Youth: Relation of Individual and Contextual Difference Variables

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irvin, Matthew J.; Byun, Soo-yong; Meece, Judith L.; Farmer, Thomas W.

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the relation of several individual and contextual difference factors to the perceived educational barriers of rural youth. Data were from a broader national investigation of students’ postsecondary aspirations and preparation in rural high schools across the United States. The sample involved more than 7,000 rural youth in 73 high schools across 34 states. Results indicated that some individual (e.g., African American race/ethnicity) and contextual (e.g., parent education) difference factors were predictive while others were not. Extensions to, similarities, and variations with previous research are discussed. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are also discussed. PMID:24474843

  17. Application of a contextual instructional framework in a continuing professional development training program for physiotherapists in Rwanda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunleavy, Kim; Chevan, Julia; Sander, Antoinette P; Gasherebuka, Jean Damascene; Mann, Monika

    2018-06-01

    Continuing professional development is an important component of capacity building in low resource countries. The purpose of this case study is to describe the use of a contextual instructional framework to guide the processes and instructional design choices for a series of continuing professional development courses for physiotherapists in Rwanda. Four phases of the project are described: (1) program proposal, needs assessment and planning, (2) organization of the program and instructional design, (3) instructional delivery and (4) evaluation. Contextual facilitating factors and needs informed choices in each phase. The model resulted in delivery of continuing professional development to the majority of physiotherapists in Rwanda (n = 168, 0.48 rural/0.52 urban) with participants reporting improvement in skills and perceived benefit for their patients. Environmental and healthcare system factors resulted in offering the courses in rural and urban areas. Content was developed and delivered in partnership with Rwandan coinstructors. Based on the domestic needs identified in early courses, the program included advocacy and leadership activities, in addition to practical and clinical instruction. The contextual factors (environment, healthcare service organization, need for rehabilitation and status and history of the physiotherapy profession) were essential for project and instructional choices. Facilitating factors included the established professional degree and association, continuing professional development requirements, a core group of active professionals and an existing foundation from other projects. The processes and contextual considerations may be useful in countries with established professional-level education but without established postentry-level training. Implications for Rehabilitation Organizations planning continuing professional development programs may benefit from considering the context surrounding training when planning, designing and

  18. Contextuality within quantum mechanics manifested in subensemble mean values

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pan, Alok Kumar; Home, Dipankar

    2009-01-01

    For spin-1/2 particles, using a suitable Mach-Zehnder-type setup with a spin-flipper, we argue that it is a direct consequence of the quantum mechanical treatment that an experimentally verifiable subensemble mean of the measured values of an arbitrarily chosen spin variable exhibits dependence on the choice of a comeasurable 'path' observable. This, in turn, enables inferring path-spin contextuality at the level of individual measured values of spin that are predetermined using a relevant hidden-variable model applied to our setup.

  19. Descriptive survey of the contextual support for nursing research in 15 countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uys, Leana R; Newhouse, Robin P; Oweis, Arwa; Liang, Xiaokun

    2013-01-01

    Global research productivity depends on the presence of contextual factors, such as a doctorally prepared faculty, graduate programmes, publication options, that enable the conduct and publication of studies to generate knowledge to inform nursing practice. The current study aimed to develop and test an instrument that measures the level of contextual support for nursing research within a specific country, allowing comparisons between countries. After development of a 20-item survey with seven factors and 11 criteria based on a literature review, a quantitative descriptive e-mail survey design was used. Nurse researchers (N=100) from 22 countries were invited to participate. The response rate was 39% from 15 countries. Ethics approval was obtained by investigators in their country of origin. Results showed wide variation in the level of contextual support. The average total level of support across all countries was 26.8% (standard deviation [SD]=14.97). The greatest variability was in the area of availability of publishing opportunities (ranging between no suitable journals in a country to over 100). The least variability was in the area of availability of local enabling support (SD=7.22). This research showed wide differences in the level of contextual support for nursing research. The survey instrument can be utilised as a country assessment that can be used to strategically plan the building of infrastructure needed to support nursing research. Contextual support for nursing research is an antecedent of strong science. Building infrastructure for nursing science is a priority for global health.

  20. Measuring student engagement in science classrooms: An investigation of the contextual factors and longitudinal outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spicer, Justina Judy

    using the results for chapters two and three to identify aspects of engagement and learning in science. These findings motivate a set of variables and analytic approach that is undertaken in chapter four. Specifically, the questions how engagement influences experiences in ninth grade science and students' interest in pursuing a career in STEM using the HSLS:09 data. This multifaceted study contributes to the conceptualization of student engagement, and will help bring clarity to the relationship among engagement, context, and long-term outcomes in science. Engagement is more than being on-task or paying attention, but is a condition influenced by many factors including student background, the learning context of the classroom, teacher characteristics, and the features of instruction. Understanding this relationship between engagement and contextual factors is helpful in uncovering teacher actions and instructional activities that may elicit higher engagement in science classes. These findings highlight the importance of science instruction using more cognitively-demanding activities, such as problem-based learning.

  1. Children and adolescents' internal models of food-sharing behavior include complex evaluations of contextual factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markovits, Henry; Benenson, Joyce F; Kramer, Donald L

    2003-01-01

    This study examined internal representations of food sharing in 589 children and adolescents (8-19 years of age). Questionnaires, depicting a variety of contexts in which one person was asked to share a resource with another, were used to examine participants' expectations of food-sharing behavior. Factors that were varied included the value of the resource, the relation between the two depicted actors, the quality of this relation, and gender. Results indicate that internal models of food-sharing behavior showed systematic patterns of variation, demonstrating that individuals have complex contextually based internal models at all ages, including the youngest. Examination of developmental changes in use of individual patterns is consistent with the idea that internal models reflect age-specific patterns of interactions while undergoing a process of progressive consolidation.

  2. Tools of Contextualization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bouvin, Niels Olof; Brodersen, Ann Christina; Hansen, Frank Allan

    2005-01-01

    Project based education is growing in importance in elementary schools though it is still quite poorly technologically supported, particularly with respect to actively taking advantage of contextual information. Based on an empirical study of teaching and in particular project based education...... in Danish elementary schools, we present the HyConExplorer, a geospatial hypermedia system supporting project based education and learning outside of the classroom through contextualization of information. More specifically, the HyCon-Explorer provides means for: browsing with your feet, annotating...

  3. Identifying Contextual and Emotional Factors to Explore Weight Disparities between Obese Black and White Women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    NiCole R. Keith

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background Obese black women enrolled in weight loss interventions experience 50% less weight reduction than obese white women. This suggests that current weight loss strategies may increase health disparities. Objective We evaluated the feasibility of identifying daily contextual factors that may influence obesity. Methods In-home interviews with 16 obese (body mass index ≥ 30 black and white urban poor women were performed. For 14 days, ecological momentary assessment (EMA was used to capture emotion and social interactions every other day, and day reconstruction method surveys were used the following day to reconstruct the context of the prior day's EMA. Results Factors included percentage of participants without weight scales (43.8% or fitness equipment (68.8% in the home and exposed to food at work (55.6%. The most frequently reported location, activity, and emotion were home (19.4 ± 8.53, working (7.1 ± 8.80, and happy (6.9 ± 10.03, respectively. Conclusion Identifying individual contexts may lead to valuable insights about obesogenic behaviors and new interventions to improve weight management.

  4. Contextualizing the Impacts of Homelessness on Academic Growth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavlakis, Alexandra E.; Goff, Peter; Miller, Peter M.

    2017-01-01

    Background/Context: Students experiencing homelessness are also often living in poverty and may share many of the same characteristics and experiences with children in low-income housing. Scholars aim to understand the impacts of homelessness above and beyond the effects of poverty, but studies are mixed. Contextual factors--such as the localized…

  5. Brogaard's Moral Contextualism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Binderup, Lars Grassme

    2008-01-01

    Brogaard's non-indexical version of moral contextualism has two related problems. It is unable to account for the function of truth-governed assertoric moral discourse, since it leaves two (semantically clearheaded) disputants without any incentive to resolve seemingly contradictory moral claims....... The moral contextualist could explain why people do feel such an incentive by ascribing false beliefs about the semantic workings of their own language. But, secondly, this leaves Brogaard's moral contextualism looking weaker than a Mackie-style invariantist error theory about morals. The latter is equally...

  6. Tyrosine receptor kinase B receptor activation reverses the impairing effects of acute nicotine on contextual fear extinction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kutlu, Munir Gunes; Cole, Robert D; Connor, David A; Natwora, Brendan; Gould, Thomas J

    2018-03-01

    Anxiety and stress disorders have been linked to deficits in fear extinction. Our laboratory and others have demonstrated that acute nicotine impairs contextual fear extinction, suggesting that nicotine exposure may have negative effects on anxiety and stress disorder symptomatology. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the acute nicotine-induced impairment of contextual fear extinction are unknown. Therefore, based on the previous studies showing that brain-derived neurotrophic factor is central for fear extinction learning and acute nicotine dysregulates brain-derived neurotrophic factor signaling, we hypothesized that the nicotine-induced impairment of contextual fear extinction may involve changes in tyrosine receptor kinase B signaling. To test this hypothesis, we systemically, intraperitoneally, injected C57BL/6J mice sub-threshold doses (2.5 and 4.0 mg/kg) of 7,8-dihydroxyflavone, a small-molecule tyrosine receptor kinase B agonist that fully mimics the effects of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or vehicle an hour before each contextual fear extinction session. Mice also received injections, intraperitoneally, of acute nicotine (0.18 mg/kg) or saline 2-4 min before extinction sessions. While the animals that received only 7,8-dihydroxyflavone did not show any changes in contextual fear extinction, 4.0 mg/kg of 7,8-dihydroxyflavone ameliorated the extinction deficits in mice administered acute nicotine. Overall, these results suggest that acute nicotine-induced impairment of context extinction may be related to a disrupted brain-derived neurotrophic factor signaling.

  7. Long-term contextual memory in infant rats as evidenced by an ethanol conditioned tolerance procedure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castelló, Stefanía; Molina, Juan Carlos; Arias, Carlos

    2017-08-14

    Conditioned tolerance can be conceptualized as a particular case of Pavlovian conditioning in which contextual cues play the role of the conditioned stimulus. Although the evidence is contradictory, it is frequently assumed that long-term contextual conditioning in pre-weanling rats is weak or even absent. This hypothesis comes from and is sustained mainly by behavioral studies that explored different contextual effects in 16-18day-old rats using a fear-conditioning paradigm, but their conclusions are stated in terms of an immature (hippocampal-dependent) declarative memory system. The main goal of the present manuscript was based on a recent antecedent from our laboratory, to analyze whether context-dependent tolerance induced by ethanol during the pre-weanling period persists over time. Results showed that the context was able to modulate ethanol-induced tolerance in 2- and 3-week-old rats. Interestingly, contextual conditioned tolerance was stronger (in terms of persistence) during the third than during the second postnatal week. When subjects were tested 8days after training, when the context presumably lost its influence over tolerance, the opposite effect emerged (sensitization). These results are important for the ethanol literature, adding new evidence of long-term retention of ethanol effects acquired during infancy, whilst also showing striking ontogenetic differences in the sensitivity to ethanol between the 2nd and 3rd postnatal weeks. Importantly, contextual information modulates the expression of these ethanol effects even eight days after training, a result that is particularly relevant to the discussion of the ontogeny of contextual memory. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. What are the key contextual factors when preparing for successful implementation of assistive living technology in primary elderly care? A case study from Norway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gjestsen, Martha Therese; Wiig, Siri; Testad, Ingelin

    2017-09-07

    To identify contextual factors at different organisational levels to guide the implementation of an assistive living technology intervention in Norwegian primary home care. A single embedded case study design was carried out in an urban municipality in Western Norway to get an overview of key contextual factors from the municipality's perspective. The data collection was based on a triangulation of methods involving document analysis, semi-structured individual interviews and focus group interviews to get a broad insight when preparing for an intervention. Data were collected on three levels of the healthcare system: (1) national policy documents and regulations (macro), (2) five individual interviews with senior managers and municipal strategy documents (meso) and (3) two focus group interviews with nurses and nurse managers in direct patient care (micro). The Model for Understanding Success in Quality framework was used as a guide in the data analysis. The main contextual factors identified were external motivators and project sponsorship (macro level); leadership, workforce focus and maturity (meso level);and motivation to change and maturity (micro level). Strategies developed in policy documents affected upper management in the municipality, but healthcare personnel at the micro level were not so familiar with strategies and emphasis on assistive living technologies. Healthcare personnel in our study were motivated to use technological solutions, but lack of data infrastructure and resource availability hindered this. Aligning interests across multiple stakeholders remain a challenge when planning for an assistive living technology intervention in primary care. In the studied municipality, integration of technological solutions into healthcare services was more a vision than a reality because of a low level of organisational readiness. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No

  9. Effects of postretrieval-extinction learning on return of contextually controlled cued fear.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meir Drexler, Shira; Merz, Christian J; Hamacher-Dang, Tanja C; Marquardt, Veronica; Fritsch, Nathalie; Otto, Tobias; Wolf, Oliver T

    2014-08-01

    Reactivation of an already consolidated memory makes it labile for a period of several hrs, which are required for its reconsolidation. Evidence suggests that the return of conditioned fear through spontaneous recovery, reinstatement, or renewal can be prevented by blockading this reconsolidation process using pharmacological or behavioral interventions. Postretrieval-extinction learning has been shown to prevent the return of cued fear in humans using fear-irrelevant stimuli, as well as cued and contextual fear in rodents. The effects of postretrieval extinction on human contextually controlled cued fear to fear-relevant stimuli remain unknown, and are the focus of the present study. The experimental design was based on 3 consecutive days: acquisition, reactivation and extinction, and re-extinction. For the fear conditioning, 2 zoo frames served as different contexts, 5 fear-relevant stimuli (aversive animal pictures) served as conditioned stimuli (CS), electric shocks served as unconditioned stimuli (UCS). Expectancy ratings and skin-conductance response (SCR) were used as measures of fear responses; spontaneous recovery and renewal were used as indicators of the return of fear. The expectancy ratings and SCR results indicated spontaneous recovery on the third day, regardless of retrieval prior to extinction. No robust renewal effect was seen. It is suggested that the use of fear-relevant stimuli, the context salience, or reactivation context may explain the lack of reconsolidation effect. Our study indicates that the beneficial effects of postretrieval-extinction learning are sensitive to subtle methodological changes.

  10. Representing idioms: syntactic and contextual effects on idiom processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holsinger, Edward

    2013-09-01

    Recent work on the processing of idiomatic expressions argues against the idea that idioms are simply big words. For example, hybrid models of idiom representation, originally investigated in the context of idiom production, propose a priority of literal computation, and a principled relationship between the conceptual meaning of an idiom, its literal lemmas and its syntactic structure. We examined the predictions of the hybrid representation hypothesis in the domain of idiom comprehension. We conducted two experiments to examine the role of syntactic, lexical and contextual factors on the interpretation of idiomatic expressions. Experiment I examines the role of syntactic compatibility and lexical compatibility on the real-time processing of potentially idiomatic strings. Experiment 2 examines the role of contextual information on idiom processing and how context interacts with lexical information during processing. We find evidence that literal computation plays a causal role in the retrieval of idiomatic meaning and that contextual, lexical and structural information influence the processing of idiomatic strings at early stages during processing, which provide support for the hybrid model of idiom representation in the domain of idiom comprehension.

  11. Time-dependent effects of cortisol on the contextualization of emotional memories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Ast, Vanessa A; Cornelisse, Sandra; Meeter, Martijn; Joëls, Marian; Kindt, Merel

    2013-12-01

    The inability to store fearful memories into their original encoding context is considered to be an important vulnerability factor for the development of anxiety disorders like posttraumatic stress disorder. Altered memory contextualization most likely involves effects of the stress hormone cortisol, acting via receptors located in the memory neurocircuitry. Cortisol via these receptors induces rapid nongenomic effects followed by slower genomic effects, which are thought to modulate cognitive function in opposite, complementary ways. Here, we targeted these time-dependent effects of cortisol during memory encoding and tested subsequent contextualization of emotional and neutral memories. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled design, 64 men were randomly assigned to one of three groups: 1) received 10 mg hydrocortisone 30 minutes (rapid cortisol effects) before a memory encoding task; 2) received 10 mg hydrocortisone 210 minutes (slow cortisol) before a memory encoding task; or 3) received placebo at both times. During encoding, participants were presented with neutral and emotional words in unique background pictures. Approximately 24 hours later, context dependency of their memories was assessed. Recognition data revealed that cortisol's rapid effects impair emotional memory contextualization, while cortisol's slow effects enhance it. Neutral memory contextualization remained unaltered by cortisol, irrespective of the timing of the drug. This study shows distinct time-dependent effects of cortisol on the contextualization of specifically emotional memories. The results suggest that rapid effects of cortisol may lead to impaired emotional memory contextualization, while slow effects of cortisol may confer protection against emotional memory generalization. © 2013 Society of Biological Psychiatry.

  12. Attentional and Contextual Priors in Sound Perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolmetz, Michael; Elhilali, Mounya

    2016-01-01

    Behavioral and neural studies of selective attention have consistently demonstrated that explicit attentional cues to particular perceptual features profoundly alter perception and performance. The statistics of the sensory environment can also provide cues about what perceptual features to expect, but the extent to which these more implicit contextual cues impact perception and performance, as well as their relationship to explicit attentional cues, is not well understood. In this study, the explicit cues, or attentional prior probabilities, and the implicit cues, or contextual prior probabilities, associated with different acoustic frequencies in a detection task were simultaneously manipulated. Both attentional and contextual priors had similarly large but independent impacts on sound detectability, with evidence that listeners tracked and used contextual priors for a variety of sound classes (pure tones, harmonic complexes, and vowels). Further analyses showed that listeners updated their contextual priors rapidly and optimally, given the changing acoustic frequency statistics inherent in the paradigm. A Bayesian Observer model accounted for both attentional and contextual adaptations found with listeners. These results bolster the interpretation of perception as Bayesian inference, and suggest that some effects attributed to selective attention may be a special case of contextual prior integration along a feature axis.

  13. Contextual Factors for Aging Well: Creating Socially Engaging Spaces Through the Use of Deliberative Dialogues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canham, Sarah L; Fang, Mei Lan; Battersby, Lupin; Woolrych, Ryan; Sixsmith, Judith; Ren, Tori Hui; Sixsmith, Andrew

    2018-01-18

    Home and community engagement are key contextual factors for aging well, particularly for older adults in vulnerable social positions. A community-based participatory action research project conducted in Western Canada examined how to best use the shared amenity spaces in a low-income seniors' apartment complex in order to connect services and programs with tenants and to provide opportunities for service providers and local stakeholders to build upon and create new relationships toward collaboration and service delivery. Pre-move deliberative dialogue workshops (n = 4) were conducted with stakeholders (e.g., service providers, developers, and municipal government employees). Workshop participants (n = 24) generated ideas and plans on how physical and social environments can contribute to the social engagement of senior tenants. Shared dialogue led to community investment and asset sharing by integrating the knowledge and experiences of multiple stakeholder groups into the planning process. This article highlights how collaborative planning approaches for the effective use of the social environment (e.g., social programming), within the physical environment (e.g., amenity and community spaces), can generate rich and illuminating data for informing enhancements in the social environment of apartment dwelling low-income seniors. Contextual challenges to service provision are discussed, including the need for communication about and coordination of on-site programming, culturally diverse and responsive programming, and long-term funding. Prolonging independent community living with the assistance of support services should be a goal to both delay premature relocation into institutional care and meet the preferences of older adults. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. Social anxiety and emotion regulation flexibility: considering emotion intensity and type as contextual factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Toole, Mia S; Zachariae, Robert; Mennin, Douglas S

    2017-11-01

    Individuals with social anxiety disorder have often been considered inflexible in their emotion regulation. The aim of this study was to investigate emotion regulation flexibility in socially anxious individuals in response to two contextual factors, namely different levels of emotion intensity and emotion type. A daily diary approach was employed, investigating emotion regulation (i.e., experiential avoidance, expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal) in college students scoring high (N = 62; HSA) and low (N = 52; LSA) on social anxiety. Results revealed that HSAs were found to use more experiential avoidance than LSAs, especially at higher levels of negative intensity. The use of this emotion regulation strategy appeared to be driven by guilt, nervousness, and sadness. There were no between-group differences concerning the other strategies in response to varying levels of emotional intensity. Together, the results provide evidence for inflexible emotion regulation in HSAs, reflected in an unwillingness to experience negative emotions.

  15. Individual, contextual and network characteristics of blood donors and non-donors: a systematic review of recent literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piersma, Tjeerd W.; Bekkers, René; Klinkenberg, Elisabeth F.; de Kort, Wim L.A.M.; Merz, Eva-Maria

    2017-01-01

    Background The ageing population and recent migration flows may negatively affect the blood supply in the long term, increasing the importance of targeted recruitment and retention strategies to address donors. This review sought to identify individual, network and contextual characteristics related to blood donor status and behaviour, to systematically discuss differences between study results, and to identify possible factors to target in recruitment and retention efforts. Methods The systematic review was conducted in accordance with a predefined PROSPERO protocol (CRD42016039591). After quality assessments by multiple independent raters, a final set of 66 peer-reviewed papers, published between October 2009 and January 2017, were included for review. Results Individual and contextual characteristics of blood donor status and behaviour were categorised into five main lines of research: donor demographics, motivations and barriers, adverse reactions and deferral, contextual factors, and blood centre factors. Results on donor demographics, motivations and barriers, and contextual factors were inconclusive, differing between studies, countries, and sample characteristics. Adverse reactions and deferral were negatively related to blood donor behaviour. Blood centre factors play an important role in donor management, e.g., providing information, reminders, and (non-)monetary rewards. No studies were found on network characteristics of (non-)donors. Discussion Although individual and contextual characteristics strongly relate to blood donor status and behaviour, mechanisms underlying these relations have not been studied sufficiently. We want to stress the importance of longitudinal studies in donor behaviour, exploring the role of life events and network characteristics within blood donor careers. Increased understanding of donor behaviour will assist policy makers of blood collection agencies, with the ultimate goal of safeguarding a sufficient and matching blood

  16. Individual, contextual and network characteristics of blood donors and non-donors: a systematic review of recent literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piersma, Tjeerd W; Bekkers, René; Klinkenberg, Elisabeth F; De Kort, Wim L A M; Merz, Eva-Maria

    2017-09-01

    The ageing population and recent migration flows may negatively affect the blood supply in the long term, increasing the importance of targeted recruitment and retention strategies to address donors. This review sought to identify individual, network and contextual characteristics related to blood donor status and behaviour, to systematically discuss differences between study results, and to identify possible factors to target in recruitment and retention efforts. The systematic review was conducted in accordance with a predefined PROSPERO protocol (CRD42016039591). After quality assessments by multiple independent raters, a final set of 66 peer-reviewed papers, published between October 2009 and January 2017, were included for review. Individual and contextual characteristics of blood donor status and behaviour were categorised into five main lines of research: donor demographics, motivations and barriers, adverse reactions and deferral, contextual factors, and blood centre factors. Results on donor demographics, motivations and barriers, and contextual factors were inconclusive, differing between studies, countries, and sample characteristics. Adverse reactions and deferral were negatively related to blood donor behaviour. Blood centre factors play an important role in donor management, e.g., providing information, reminders, and (non-)monetary rewards. No studies were found on network characteristics of (non-)donors. Although individual and contextual characteristics strongly relate to blood donor status and behaviour, mechanisms underlying these relations have not been studied sufficiently. We want to stress the importance of longitudinal studies in donor behaviour, exploring the role of life events and network characteristics within blood donor careers. Increased understanding of donor behaviour will assist policy makers of blood collection agencies, with the ultimate goal of safeguarding a sufficient and matching blood supply.

  17. Dissociative absorption: An empirically unique, clinically relevant, dissociative factor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soffer-Dudek, Nirit; Lassri, Dana; Soffer-Dudek, Nir; Shahar, Golan

    2015-11-01

    Research of dissociative absorption has raised two questions: (a) Is absorption a unique dissociative factor within a three-factor structure, or a part of one general dissociative factor? Even when three factors are found, the specificity of the absorption factor is questionable. (b) Is absorption implicated in psychopathology? Although commonly viewed as "non-clinical" dissociation, absorption was recently hypothesized to be specifically associated with obsessive-compulsive symptoms. To address these questions, we conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on 679 undergraduates. Analyses supported the three-factor model, and a "purified" absorption scale was extracted from the original inclusive absorption factor. The purified scale predicted several psychopathology scales. As hypothesized, absorption was a stronger predictor of obsessive-compulsive symptoms than of general psychopathology. In addition, absorption was the only dissociative scale that longitudinally predicted obsessive-compulsive symptoms. We conclude that absorption is a unique and clinically relevant dissociative tendency that is particularly meaningful to obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Ecological theories of systems and contextual change in medical education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellaway, Rachel H; Bates, Joanna; Teunissen, Pim W

    2017-12-01

    Contemporary medical practice is subject to many kinds of change, to which both individuals and systems have to respond and adapt. Many medical education programmes have their learners rotating through different training contexts, which means that they too must learn to adapt to contextual change. Contextual change presents many challenges to medical education scholars and practitioners, not least because of a somewhat fractured and contested theoretical basis for responding to these challenges. There is a need for robust concepts to articulate and connect the various debates on contextual change in medical education. Ecological theories of systems encompass a range of concepts of how and why systems change and how and why they respond to change. The use of these concepts has the potential to help medical education scholars explore the nature of change and understand the role it plays in affording as well as limiting teaching and learning. This paper, aimed at health professional education scholars and policy makers, explores a number of key concepts from ecological theories of systems to present a comprehensive model of contextual change in medical education to inform theory and practice in all areas of medical education. The paper considers a range of concepts drawn from ecological theories of systems, including biotic and abiotic factors, panarchy, attractors and repellers, basins of attraction, homeostasis, resilience, adaptability, transformability and hysteresis. Each concept is grounded in practical examples from medical education. Ecological theories of systems consider change and response in terms of adaptive cycles functioning at different scales and speeds. This can afford opportunities for systematic consideration of responses to contextual change in medical education, which in turn can inform the design of education programmes, activities, evaluations, assessments and research that accommodates the dynamics and consequences of contextual change.

  19. Contextualizing the global relevance of local land change observations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Magliocca, N R; Ellis, E C; Oates, T; Schmill, M

    2014-01-01

    To understand global changes in the Earth system, scientists must generalize globally from observations made locally and regionally. In land change science (LCS), local field-based observations are costly and time consuming, and generally obtained by researchers working at disparate local and regional case-study sites chosen for different reasons. As a result, global synthesis efforts in LCS tend to be based on non-statistical inferences subject to geographic biases stemming from data limitations and fragmentation. Thus, a fundamental challenge is the production of generalized knowledge that links evidence of the causes and consequences of local land change to global patterns and vice versa. The GLOBE system was designed to meet this challenge. GLOBE aims to transform global change science by enabling new scientific workflows based on statistically robust, globally relevant integration of local and regional observations using an online social-computational and geovisualization system. Consistent with the goals of Digital Earth, GLOBE has the capability to assess the global relevance of local case-study findings within the context of over 50 global biophysical, land-use, climate, and socio-economic datasets. We demonstrate the implementation of one such assessment – a representativeness analysis – with a recently published meta-study of changes in swidden agriculture in tropical forests. The analysis provides a standardized indicator to judge the global representativeness of the trends reported in the meta-study, and a geovisualization is presented that highlights areas for which sampling efforts can be reduced and those in need of further study. GLOBE will enable researchers and institutions to rapidly share, compare, and synthesize local and regional studies within the global context, as well as contributing to the larger goal of creating a Digital Earth

  20. An Order-Theoretic Quantification of Contextuality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ian T. Durham

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available In this essay, I develop order-theoretic notions of determinism and contextuality on domains and topoi. In the process, I develop a method for quantifying contextuality and show that the order-theoretic sense of contextuality is analogous to the sense embodied in the topos-theoretic statement of the Kochen–Specker theorem. Additionally, I argue that this leads to a relation between the entropy associated with measurements on quantum systems and the second law of thermodynamics. The idea that the second law has its origin in the ordering of quantum states and processes dates to at least 1958 and possibly earlier. The suggestion that the mechanism behind this relation is contextuality, is made here for the first time.

  1. The effect of contextual factors on unintentional injury hospitalization: from the Korea National Hospital Discharge Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hye Ah; Han, Hyejin; Lee, Seonhwa; Park, Bomi; Park, Bo Hyun; Lee, Won Kyung; Park, Ju Ok; Hong, Sungok; Kim, Young Taek; Park, Hyesook

    2018-03-13

    It has been suggested that health risks are affected by geographical area, but there are few studies on contextual effects using multilevel analysis, especially regarding unintentional injury. This study investigated trends in unintentional injury hospitalization rates over the past decade in Korea, and also examined community-level risk factors while controlling for individual-level factors. Using data from the 2004 to 2013 Korea National Hospital Discharge Survey (KNHDS), trends in age-adjusted injury hospitalization rate were conducted using the Joinpoint Regression Program. Based on the 2013 KNHDS, we collected community-level factors by linking various data sources and selected dominant factors related to injury hospitalization through a stepwise method. Multilevel analysis was performed to assess the community-level factors while controlling for individual-level factors. In 2004, the age-adjusted unintentional injury hospitalization rate was 1570.1 per 100,000 population and increased to 1887.1 per 100,000 population in 2013. The average annual percent change in rate of hospitalizations due to unintentional injury was 2.31% (95% confidence interval: 1.8-2.9). It was somewhat higher for females than for males (3.25% vs. 1.64%, respectively). Both community- and individual-level factors were found to significantly influence unintentional injury hospitalization risk. As community-level risk factors, finance utilization capacity of the local government and neighborhood socioeconomic status, were independently associated with unintentional injury hospitalization after controlling for individual-level factors, and accounted for 19.9% of community-level variation in unintentional injury hospitalization. Regional differences must be considered when creating policies and interventions. Further studies are required to evaluate specific factors related to injury mechanism.

  2. The impact of personal background and school contextual factors on academic competence and mental health functioning across the primary-secondary school transition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaz, Sharmila; Parsons, Richard; Falkmer, Torbjörn; Passmore, Anne Elizabeth; Falkmer, Marita

    2014-01-01

    Students negotiate the transition to secondary school in different ways. While some thrive on the opportunity, others are challenged. A prospective longitudinal design was used to determine the contribution of personal background and school contextual factors on academic competence (AC) and mental health functioning (MHF) of 266 students, 6-months before and after the transition to secondary school. Data from 197 typically developing students and 69 students with a disability were analysed using hierarchical linear regression modelling. Both in primary and secondary school, students with a disability and from socially disadvantaged backgrounds gained poorer scores for AC and MHF than their typically developing and more affluent counterparts. Students who attended independent and mid-range sized primary schools had the highest concurrent AC. Those from independent primary schools had the lowest MHF. The primary school organisational model significantly influenced post-transition AC scores; with students from Kindergarten--Year 7 schools reporting the lowest scores, while those from the Kindergarten--Year 12 structure without middle school having the highest scores. Attending a school which used the Kindergarten--Year 12 with middle school structure was associated with a reduction in AC scores across the transition. Personal background factors accounted for the majority of the variability in post-transition AC and MHF. The contribution of school contextual factors was relatively minor. There is a potential opportunity for schools to provide support to disadvantaged students before the transition to secondary school, as they continue to be at a disadvantage after the transition.

  3. Crisis-transitions in athletes: current emphases on cognitive and contextual factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stambulova, Natalia B

    2017-08-01

    During the last decade, the field of athlete career research has seen much expansion. Researchers established the holistic lifespan and ecological approaches, introduced cultural praxis of athletes' careers paradigm, and updated the taxonomy of athletes' transitions. However, recent transition research focused mainly on the transition process and factors contributing to successful transitions, while crisis-transitions and factors contributing to ineffective coping have been largely ignored. The aim of this paper is to facilitate relevant research and practice through (1) positioning athletes' developmental crises within the context of the current transition literature, (2) introducing two new approaches (termed 'cognitive turn' and 'cultural turn') with a potential to enhance our understanding of the phenomenon, and (3) outlining crisis-coping interventions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Combining individual and ecological data to determine compositional and contextual socio-economic risk factors for suicide

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agerbo, Esben; Sterne, J.A.; Gunnell, D.J.

    2006-01-01

    (contextual effects) is uncertain. Denmark's Medical Register on Vital Statistics and its Integrated Database for Longitudinal Labour Market Research were used to identify suicides and 20 matched controls per case in 25-60-year-old men and women between 1982 and 1997. Individual and area (municipality......The social and economic characteristics of geographic areas are associated with their suicide rates. The extent to which these ecological associations are due to the characteristics of the people living in the areas (compositional effects) or the influence of the areas themselves on risk...... area levels of employment and income and increasing proportions of people living alone were much attenuated after controlling for compositional effects. We found no consistent evidence that associations with individual-level risk factors differed depending on the areas' characteristics (cross...

  5. Combining individual and ecological data to determine compositional and contextual socio-economic risk factors for suicide

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agerbo, Esben; Sterne, J.A.; Gunnell, D.J.

    2007-01-01

    (contextual effects) is uncertain. Denmark's Medical Register on Vital Statistics and its Integrated Database for Longitudinal Labour Market Research were used to identify suicides and 20 matched controls per case in 25-60-year-old men and women between 1982 and 1997. Individual and area (municipality......The social and economic characteristics of geographic areas are associated with their suicide rates. The extent to which these ecological associations are due to the characteristics of the people living in the areas (compositional effects) or the influence of the areas themselves on risk...... area levels of employment and income and increasing proportions of people living alone were much attenuated after controlling for compositional effects. We found no consistent evidence that associations with individual-level risk factors differed depending on the areas' characteristics (cross...

  6. Explaining the ratification of nuclear waste disposal by the finnish parliament: political culture and contextual factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruostetsaari, I.

    2002-01-01

    According to the Nuclear Energy Act the government's Decision in Principle (DiP) on the nuclear waste disposal needs to be ratified by Parliament. The DiP was ratified by general consent (159-3) on 18 May 2001. How we can explain this parliamentary consensus taking account that the previous DiP concerning construction of a new nuclear power plant was overruled in 1993 and the public debate on nuclear power is still pronounced. The explanation can be sought, together with the institutional arrangements, from two sources; on one hand from the Finnish political culture, i.e., traditional and inherited ways of decision-makers to make decisions and citizens' ways to react to those decisions, and on the other hand, from current contextual factors linking to nuclear waste management. (authors)

  7. Dynamic Effects of Self-Relevance and Task on the Neural Processing of Emotional Words in Context.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fields, Eric C; Kuperberg, Gina R

    2015-01-01

    We used event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine the interactions between task, emotion, and contextual self-relevance on processing words in social vignettes. Participants read scenarios that were in either third person (other-relevant) or second person (self-relevant) and we recorded ERPs to a neutral, pleasant, or unpleasant critical word. In a previously reported study (Fields and Kuperberg, 2012) with these stimuli, participants were tasked with producing a third sentence continuing the scenario. We observed a larger LPC to emotional words than neutral words in both the self-relevant and other-relevant scenarios, but this effect was smaller in the self-relevant scenarios because the LPC was larger on the neutral words (i.e., a larger LPC to self-relevant than other-relevant neutral words). In the present work, participants simply answered comprehension questions that did not refer to the emotional aspects of the scenario. Here we observed quite a different pattern of interaction between self-relevance and emotion: the LPC was larger to emotional vs. neutral words in the self-relevant scenarios only, and there was no effect of self-relevance on neutral words. Taken together, these findings suggest that the LPC reflects a dynamic interaction between specific task demands, the emotional properties of a stimulus, and contextual self-relevance. We conclude by discussing implications and future directions for a functional theory of the emotional LPC.

  8. Dynamic effects of self-relevance and task on the neural processing of emotional words in context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric C. Fields

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available We used event-related potentials (ERPs to examine the interactions between task, emotion, and contextual self-relevance on processing words in social vignettes. Participants read scenarios that were in either third person (other-relevant or second person (self-relevant and we recorded ERPs to a neutral, pleasant, or unpleasant critical word. In a previously reported study (Fields & Kuperberg, 2012 with these stimuli, participants were tasked with producing a third sentence continuing the scenario. We observed a larger LPC to emotional words than neutral words in both the self-relevant and other-relevant scenarios, but this effect was smaller in the self-relevant scenarios because the LPC was larger on the neutral words (i.e., a larger LPC to self-relevant than other-relevant neutral words. In the present work, participants simply answered comprehension questions that did not refer to the emotional aspects of the scenario. Here we observed quite a different pattern of interaction between self-relevance and emotion: the LPC was larger to emotional versus neutral words in the self-relevant scenarios only, and there was no effect of self-relevance on neutral words. Taken together, these findings suggest that the LPC reflects a dynamic interaction between specific task demands, the emotional properties of a stimulus, and contextual self-relevance. We conclude by discussing implications and future directions for a functional theory of the emotional LPC.

  9. Culture and personality disorder: from a fragmented literature to a contextually grounded alternative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryder, Andrew G; Sunohara, Momoka; Kirmayer, Laurence J

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this review is twofold: to review recent literature on personality disorders, published in 2013 and the first half of 2014; and to use recent theoretical work to argue for a contextually grounded approach to culture and personality disorder. Recent large-sample studies suggest that U.S. ethnoracial groups differ in personality disorder diagnostic rates, but also that minority groups are less likely to receive treatment for personality disorder. Most of these studies do not test explanations for these differences. However, two studies demonstrate that socioeconomic status partly explains group differences between African-Americans and European Americans. Several new studies test the psychometric properties of instruments relevant to personality disorder research in various non-Western samples. Ongoing theoretical work advocates much more attention to cultural context. Recent investigations of hikikomori, a Japanese social isolation syndrome with similarities to some aspects of personality disorder, are used to demonstrate approaches to contextually grounded personality disorder research. Studies of personality disorder must understand patients in sociocultural context considering the dynamic interactions between personality traits, developmental histories of adversity and current social context. Research examining these interactions can guide contextually grounded clinical work with patients with personality disorder.

  10. Intact memory for implicit contextual information in Korsakoff's amnesia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oudman, Erik; Van der Stigchel, Stefan; Wester, Arie J.; Kessels, Roy P. C.; Postma, Albert

    Implicit contextual learning is the ability to acquire contextual information from our surroundings without conscious awareness. Such contextual information facilitates the localization of objects in space. In a typical implicit contextual learning paradigm, subjects need to find a target among a

  11. Intact memory for implicit contextual information in Korsakoff's amnesia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oudman, E.; Stigchel, S. van der; Wester, A.J.; Kessels, R.P.C.; Postma, A.

    2011-01-01

    Implicit contextual learning is the ability to acquire contextual information from our surroundings without conscious awareness. Such contextual information facilitates the localization of objects in space. In a typical implicit contextual learning paradigm, subjects need to find a target among a

  12. The Contextual Antecedents of Organizational Trust

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Peter Ping; Bai, Yuntao; Xi, Youmin

    2012-01-01

    In this article we seek to explore the contextual antecedents of organizational trust. In light of the complex links between organizational contexts and organizational behaviours, we focus on the effects of the three most critical contextual antecedents, i.e., leadership role, structural rule...... in China, lent support for our multidimensional cross-level model of context–trust–behaviour link. We extend the research on organizational trust by treating it as a cross-level phenomenon and by specifying its core contextual antecedents and behavioural consequences....

  13. Tracking Adolescents With Global Positioning System-Enabled Cell Phones to Study Contextual Exposures and Alcohol and Marijuana Use: A Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrnes, Hilary F; Miller, Brenda A; Wiebe, Douglas J; Morrison, Christopher N; Remer, Lillian G; Wiehe, Sarah E

    2015-08-01

    Measuring activity spaces, places adolescents spend time, provides information about relations between contextual exposures and risk behaviors. We studied whether contextual exposures in adolescents' activity spaces differ from contextual risks present in residential contexts and examined relationships between contextual exposures in activity spaces and alcohol/marijuana use. Adolescents (N = 18) aged 16-17 years carried global positioning system (GPS)-enabled smartphones for 1 week, with locations tracked. Activity spaces were created by connecting global positioning system points sequentially and adding buffers. Contextual exposure data (e.g., alcohol outlets) were connected to routes. Adolescents completed texts regarding behaviors. Adolescent activity spaces intersected 24.3 census tracts and contained nine times more alcohol outlets than that of residential census tracts. Outlet exposure in activity spaces was related to drinking. Low-socioeconomic status exposure was related to marijuana use. Findings suggest substantial differences between activity spaces and residential contexts and suggest that activity spaces are relevant for adolescent risk behaviors. Copyright © 2015 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Cognitive processes facilitated by contextual cueing: evidence from event-related brain potentials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schankin, Andrea; Schubö, Anna

    2009-05-01

    Finding a target in repeated search displays is faster than finding the same target in novel ones (contextual cueing). It is assumed that the visual context (the arrangement of the distracting objects) is used to guide attention efficiently to the target location. Alternatively, other factors, e.g., facilitation in early visual processing or in response selection, may play a role as well. In a contextual cueing experiment, participant's electrophysiological brain activity was recorded. Participants identified the target faster and more accurately in repeatedly presented displays. In this condition, the N2pc, a component reflecting the allocation of visual-spatial attention, was enhanced, indicating that attention was allocated more efficiently to those targets. However, also response-related processes, reflected by the LRP, were facilitated, indicating that guidance of attention cannot account for the entire contextual cueing benefit.

  15. Contextual Validity in Hybrid Logic

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blackburn, Patrick Rowan; Jørgensen, Klaus Frovin

    2013-01-01

    interpretations. Moreover, such indexicals give rise to a special kind of validity—contextual validity—that interacts with ordinary logi- cal validity in interesting and often unexpected ways. In this paper we model these interactions by combining standard techniques from hybrid logic with insights from the work...... of Hans Kamp and David Kaplan. We introduce a simple proof rule, which we call the Kamp Rule, and first we show that it is all we need to take us from logical validities involving now to contextual validities involving now too. We then go on to show that this deductive bridge is strong enough to carry us...... to contextual validities involving yesterday, today and tomorrow as well....

  16. The impact of signal-to-noise ratio on contextual cueing in children and adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Yingying; Merrill, Edward C

    2015-04-01

    Contextual cueing refers to a form of implicit spatial learning where participants incidentally learn to associate a target location with its repeated spatial context. Successful contextual learning produces an efficient visual search through familiar environments. Despite the fact that children exhibit the basic ability of implicit spatial learning, their general effectiveness in this form of learning can be compromised by other development-dependent factors. Learning to extract useful information (signal) in the presence of various amounts of irrelevant or distracting information (noise) characterizes one of the most important changes that occur with cognitive development. This research investigated whether signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) affects contextual cueing differently in children and adults. S/N was operationally defined as the ratio of repeated versus new displays encountered over time. Three ratio conditions were created: high (100%), medium (67%), and low (33%) conditions. Results suggested no difference in the acquisition of contextual learning effects in the high and medium conditions across three age groups (6- to 8-year-olds, 10- to 12-year-olds, and young adults). However, a significant developmental difference emerged in the low S/N condition. As predicted, adults exhibited significant contextual cueing effects, whereas older children showed marginally significant contextual cueing and younger children did not show cueing effects. Group differences in the ability to exhibit implicit contextual learning under low S/N conditions and the implications of this difference are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. An exploration of contextual dimensions impacting goals of care conversations in postgraduate medical education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roze des Ordons, Amanda L; Lockyer, Jocelyn; Hartwick, Michael; Sarti, Aimee; Ajjawi, Rola

    2016-03-21

    Postgraduate medical trainees are not well prepared difficult conversations about goals of care with patients and families in the acute care clinical setting. While contextual nuances within the workplace can impact communication, research to date has largely focused on individual communication skills. Our objective was to explore contextual factors that influence conversations between trainees and patients/families about goals of care in the acute care setting. We conducted an exploratory qualitative study involving five focus groups with Internal Medicine trainees (n = 20) and a series of interviews with clinical faculty (n = 11) within a single Canadian centre. Thematic framework analysis was applied to categorize the data and identify themes and subthemes. Challenges and factors enabling goals of care conversations emerged within individual, interpersonal and system dimensions. Challenges included inadequate preparation for these conversations, disconnection between trainees, faculty and patients, policies around documentation, the structure of postgraduate medical education, and resource limitations; these challenges led to missed opportunities, uncertainty and emotional distress. Enabling factors were awareness of the importance of goals of care conversations, support in these discussions, collaboration with colleagues, and educational initiatives enabling skill development; these factors have resulted in learning, appreciation, and an established foundation for future educational initiatives. Contextual factors impact how postgraduate medical trainees communicate with patients/families about goals of care. Attention to individual, interpersonal and system-related factors will be important in designing educational programs that help trainees develop the capacities needed for challenging conversations.

  18. Beyond form and functioning: Understanding how contextual factors influence village health committees in northern India.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kerry Scott

    Full Text Available Health committees are a common strategy to foster community participation in health. Efforts to strengthen committees often focus on technical inputs to improve committee form (e.g. representative membership and functioning (e.g. meeting procedures. However, porous and interconnected contextual spheres also mediate committee effectiveness. Using a framework for contextual analysis, we explored the contextual features that facilitated or hindered Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Committee (VHSNC functionality in rural north India. We conducted interviews (n = 74, focus groups (n = 18 and observation over 1.5 years. Thematic content analysis enabled the identification and grouping of themes, and detailed exploration of sub-themes. While the intervention succeeded in strengthening committee form and functioning, participant accounts illuminated the different ways in which contextual influences impinged on VHSNC efficacy. Women and marginalized groups navigated social hierarchies that curtailed their ability to assert themselves in the presence of men and powerful local families. These dynamics were not static and unchanging, illustrated by pre-existing cross-caste problem solving, and the committee's creation of opportunities for the careful violation of social norms. Resource and capacity deficits in government services limited opportunities to build relationships between health system actors and committee members and engendered mistrust of government institutions. Fragmented administrative accountability left committee members bearing responsibility for improving local health without access to stakeholders who could support or respond to their efforts. The committee's narrow authority was at odds with widespread community needs, and committee members struggled to involve diverse government services across the health, sanitation, and nutrition sectors. Multiple parallel systems (political decentralization, media and other village groups

  19. Beyond form and functioning: Understanding how contextual factors influence village health committees in northern India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Kerry; George, Asha S; Harvey, Steven A; Mondal, Shinjini; Patel, Gupteswar; Ved, Rajani; Garimella, Surekha; Sheikh, Kabir

    2017-01-01

    Health committees are a common strategy to foster community participation in health. Efforts to strengthen committees often focus on technical inputs to improve committee form (e.g. representative membership) and functioning (e.g. meeting procedures). However, porous and interconnected contextual spheres also mediate committee effectiveness. Using a framework for contextual analysis, we explored the contextual features that facilitated or hindered Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Committee (VHSNC) functionality in rural north India. We conducted interviews (n = 74), focus groups (n = 18) and observation over 1.5 years. Thematic content analysis enabled the identification and grouping of themes, and detailed exploration of sub-themes. While the intervention succeeded in strengthening committee form and functioning, participant accounts illuminated the different ways in which contextual influences impinged on VHSNC efficacy. Women and marginalized groups navigated social hierarchies that curtailed their ability to assert themselves in the presence of men and powerful local families. These dynamics were not static and unchanging, illustrated by pre-existing cross-caste problem solving, and the committee's creation of opportunities for the careful violation of social norms. Resource and capacity deficits in government services limited opportunities to build relationships between health system actors and committee members and engendered mistrust of government institutions. Fragmented administrative accountability left committee members bearing responsibility for improving local health without access to stakeholders who could support or respond to their efforts. The committee's narrow authority was at odds with widespread community needs, and committee members struggled to involve diverse government services across the health, sanitation, and nutrition sectors. Multiple parallel systems (political decentralization, media and other village groups) presented

  20. Relevance in the science classroom: A multidimensional analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartwell, Matthew F.

    While perceived relevance is considered a fundamental component of adaptive learning, the experience of relevance and its conceptual definition have not been well described. The mixed-methods research presented in this dissertation aimed to clarify the conceptual meaning of relevance by focusing on its phenomenological experience from the students' perspective. Following a critical literature review, I propose an identity-based model of perceived relevance that includes three components: a contextual target, an identity target, and a connection type, or lens. An empirical investigation of this model that consisted of two general phases was implemented in four 9th grade-biology classrooms. Participants in Phase 1 (N = 118) completed a series of four open-ended writing activities focused on eliciting perceived personal connections to academic content. Exploratory qualitative content analysis of a 25% random sample of the student responses was used to identify the main meaning-units of the proposed model as well as different dimensions of student relevance perceptions. These meaning-units and dimensions provided the basis for the construction of a conceptual mapping sentence capturing students' perceived relevance, which was then applied in a confirmatory analysis to all other student responses. Participants in Phase 2 (N = 139) completed a closed survey designed based on the mapping sentence to assess their perceived relevance of a biology unit. The survey also included scales assessing other domain-level motivational processes. Exploratory factor analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling indicated a coherent conceptual structure, which included a primary interpretive relevance dimension. Comparison of the conceptual structure across various groups (randomly-split sample, gender, academic level, domain-general motivational profiles) provided support for its ubiquity and insight into variation in the experience of perceived relevance among students of different

  1. The ecology of team science: understanding contextual influences on transdisciplinary collaboration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stokols, Daniel; Misra, Shalini; Moser, Richard P; Hall, Kara L; Taylor, Brandie K

    2008-08-01

    Increased public and private investments in large-scale team science initiatives over the past two decades have underscored the need to better understand how contextual factors influence the effectiveness of transdisciplinary scientific collaboration. Toward that goal, the findings from four distinct areas of research on team performance and collaboration are reviewed: (1) social psychological and management research on the effectiveness of teams in organizational and institutional settings; (2) studies of cyber-infrastructures (i.e., computer-based infrastructures) designed to support transdisciplinary collaboration across remote research sites; (3) investigations of community-based coalitions for health promotion; and (4) studies focusing directly on the antecedents, processes, and outcomes of scientific collaboration within transdisciplinary research centers and training programs. The empirical literature within these four domains reveals several contextual circumstances that either facilitate or hinder team performance and collaboration. A typology of contextual influences on transdisciplinary collaboration is proposed as a basis for deriving practical guidelines for designing, managing, and evaluating successful team science initiatives.

  2. Taking in account of contextual parameters in post accidental radioecology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Renaud, Ph.; Maubert, H.; Bernie, J.C.

    1997-01-01

    The consequences on agricultural or breeding products of a radioactive accidental release are strongly linked to the context in which radioactive deposits occur: for example conditions of deposition in relation with agricultural and feeding schedules. These contextual parameters lead to a variation of results given by models greater than transfer factors uncertainties. For example, cow milk contamination stretches on several decades during the months following deposit as a function of feeding practices. In the same way, if a wheat plant receives the deposit during grain development, harvested grains will have a contamination level 10 3 to 10 4 times higher that if deposition occurs before the growing stage. To create a decision support system like the ASTRAL software, the need to realize a modelling of these contextual parameters has been encountered. Moreover, to help experts for evaluations, default informations relative to agricultural and breeding practices for France are given through databases. However, in case of a real accident, it would be important to re-initialize these contextual parameters which change from year to year, in order to obtain more precise assessments. (authors)

  3. Time-dependent effects of cortisol on the contextualization of emotional memories

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Ast, V.A.; Cornelisse, S.; Meeter, M.; Joëls, M.; Kindt, M.

    2013-01-01

    Background: The inability to store fearful memories into their original encoding context is considered to be an important vulnerability factor for the development of anxiety disorders like posttraumatic stress disorder. Altered memory contextualization most likely involves effects of the stress

  4. UK public perceptions of shale gas hydraulic fracturing:The role of audience, message and contextual factors on risk perceptions and policy support

    OpenAIRE

    Whitmarsh, Lorraine; Nash, Nick; Upham, Paul; Lloyd, Alyson; Verdon, James P; Kendall, J.-Michael

    2015-01-01

    There is growing recognition of the need to understand public attitudes to energy sources, such as shale gas, and to feed these into decision-making. This study represents the first detailed UK experimental survey of public perceptions of shale gas fracking, including analysis of the effects of different messages and the relative influence of different audience, message and contextual factors on support and risk perceptions in respect of shale gas fracking. Using an online survey (N = 1457) o...

  5. The Next Level of Research on Electronic Play: Potential Benefits and Contextual Influences for Children and Adolescents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dorothy E. Salonius-Pasternak

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Most research on electronic play has focused on its possible negative effects for children and adolescents, and contextual factors such as socioeconomic status (SES and culture are rarely considered. This article considers the potential benefits of electronic play from a psychological perspective, as well as individual and contextual factors that may shape the influence of electronic play for children and adolescents. Demographics of players and the games themselves are presented, and recommendations for research and policy are discussed.

  6. Survey of socio-economic and contextual factors of households׳ energy consumption

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Omar Jridi

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available We present a set of data relating to the investigation of the Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas (STEG. The census is done on a sample of 3000 electrified households. The questionnaire is divided into three main sections: household socioeconomic status, contextual characteristics related to their housing and technical characteristics of equipments used. The objective of this survey is to achieve a reliable and detailed knowledge on the behavior of household energy consumption, particularly for energy saving behavior. This objective has recently been the subject of a research article Jridi et al. (2015 [2].

  7. Is there contextuality in behavioural and social systems?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dzhafarov, E N; Zhang, Ru; Kujala, Janne

    2016-01-13

    Most behavioural and social experiments aimed at revealing contextuality are confined to cyclic systems with binary outcomes. In quantum physics, this broad class of systems includes as special cases Klyachko-Can-Binicioglu-Shumovsky-type, Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-Bell-type and Suppes-Zanotti-Leggett-Garg-type systems. The theory of contextuality known as contextuality-by-default allows one to define and measure contextuality in all such systems, even if there are context-dependent errors in measurements, or if something in the contexts directly interacts with the measurements. This makes the theory especially suitable for behavioural and social systems, where direct interactions of 'everything with everything' are ubiquitous. For cyclic systems with binary outcomes, the theory provides necessary and sufficient conditions for non-contextuality, and these conditions are known to be breached in certain quantum systems. We review several behavioural and social datasets (from polls of public opinion to visual illusions to conjoint choices to word combinations to psychophysical matching), and none of these data provides any evidence for contextuality. Our working hypothesis is that this may be a broadly applicable rule: behavioural and social systems are non-contextual, i.e. all 'contextual effects' in them result from the ubiquitous dependence of response distributions on the elements of contexts other than the ones to which the response is presumably or normatively directed. © 2015 The Author(s).

  8. Study of career development in children from a developmental-contextual perspective Estudio del desarrollo de la orientación vocacional en la infancia desde la perspectiva evolutivo-contextual

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandra M. Araújo

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Career development is a longitudinal process, from childhood to adulthood, which is influenced by personal and contextual factors. Vocational literature has described childhood as a formative period for career development, as the bases of career exploration and vocational interests, values, attitudes and skills are established in the first years of life. This study starts with an overview of the major theoretical approaches and research trends in the study of children’s career development. A particular focus on the developmental-contextual approach to career development is adopted, as an integrative framework to capture the complexity of career developmental processes and results that occur in the first years of life. The application of such a perspective to the study of children’s career development leads to a discussion of the nature of change in the first years of life, of the child as a shaper of development and context, and of the impact of contexts on children’s development. Finally, we present implications of the adoption of a developmental-contextual approach to the study of children’s career development for future research.

    Keywords: Career development, vocational guidance, childhood, contextual theories.
    El desarrollo de la orientación vocacional debemos entenderlo como un proceso longitudinal, que se extiende desde la infancia hasta la edad adulta y que está influido por factores personales y contextuales. La literatura existente, ha descrito la infancia como un período clave para este proceso, pues las bases de la exploración profesional, los intereses, los valores, las actitudes y las habilidades vocacionales, se forman en los primeros años de vida. Este estudio, describe los principales enfoques teóricos y las tendencias de la investigación en la actualidad sobre este tema y su relación con la infancia, poniendo especial énfasis en el enfoque contextual, como marco integrador explicativo de la

  9. The impact of personal background and school contextual factors on academic competence and mental health functioning across the primary-secondary school transition.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sharmila Vaz

    Full Text Available Students negotiate the transition to secondary school in different ways. While some thrive on the opportunity, others are challenged. A prospective longitudinal design was used to determine the contribution of personal background and school contextual factors on academic competence (AC and mental health functioning (MHF of 266 students, 6-months before and after the transition to secondary school. Data from 197 typically developing students and 69 students with a disability were analysed using hierarchical linear regression modelling. Both in primary and secondary school, students with a disability and from socially disadvantaged backgrounds gained poorer scores for AC and MHF than their typically developing and more affluent counterparts. Students who attended independent and mid-range sized primary schools had the highest concurrent AC. Those from independent primary schools had the lowest MHF. The primary school organisational model significantly influenced post-transition AC scores; with students from Kindergarten--Year 7 schools reporting the lowest scores, while those from the Kindergarten--Year 12 structure without middle school having the highest scores. Attending a school which used the Kindergarten--Year 12 with middle school structure was associated with a reduction in AC scores across the transition. Personal background factors accounted for the majority of the variability in post-transition AC and MHF. The contribution of school contextual factors was relatively minor. There is a potential opportunity for schools to provide support to disadvantaged students before the transition to secondary school, as they continue to be at a disadvantage after the transition.

  10. The use of contextual cues to improve warning symbol comprehension: making the connection for older adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lesch, Mary F.; Powell, W. Ryan; Horrey, William J.; Wogalter, Michael S.

    2013-01-01

    This study teased apart the effects of comprehensibility and complexity on older adults' comprehension of warning symbols by manipulating the relevance of additional information in further refining the meaning of the symbol. Symbols were systematically altered such that increased visual complexity (in the form of contextual cues) resulted in increased comprehensibility. One hundred older adults, aged 50–71 years, were tested on their comprehension of these symbols before and after training. High comprehensibility–complexity symbols were found to be better understood than low- or medium-comprehensibility–complexity symbols and the effectiveness of the contextual cues varied as a function of training. Therefore, the nature of additional detail determines whether increased complexity is detrimental or beneficial to older adults' comprehension – if the additional details provide ‘cues to knowledge’, older adults' comprehension improves as a result of the increased complexity. However, some cues may require training in order to be effective. Practitioner Summary: Research suggests that older adults have greater difficulty in understanding more complex symbols. However, we found that when the complexity of symbols was increased through the addition of contextual cues, older adults' comprehension actually improved. Contextual cues aid older adults in making the connection between the symbol and its referent. PMID:23767856

  11. Situational Factors in Focus Group Studies: A Systematic Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arne Orvik MPolSc

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to see how contextual factors are expressed, used, and analyzed in data collected in focus group discussions (FGDs. The study includes an assessment of how the methodological reporting of contextual factors might influence and improve the trustworthiness of articles. Articles reporting workplace health, stress, and coping among health professionals were identified in a systematic review and used in the analysis. By using Vicsek's framework of situational factors for analysis of focus group results as a starting point, we found that contextual factors were most frequently described in the method sections and less frequently in the results and discussion sections. Vicsek's framework for the analysis of focus group results covers six contextual and methodological dimensions: interactional factors, personal characteristics of the participants, the moderator, the environment, time factors, and the content of FGDs. We found that the framework does not include a consideration of psychological safety, ethical issues, or organizational information. To deepen the analysis of focus group results, we argue that contextual factors should be analyzed as methodological dimensions and be considered as a sensitizing concept. Credibility, confirmability, dependability, and transferability can be strengthened by using, reporting, and discussing contextual factors in detail. The study contributes to elucidating how reporting of contextual data may enrich the analysis of focus group results and strengthen the trustworthiness. Future research should focus on clear reporting of contextual factors as well as further develop Vicsek's model to enhance reporting accuracy and transferability.

  12. Traffic crash involvement: experiential driving knowledge and stressful contextual antecedents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Legree, Peter J; Heffner, Tonia S; Psotka, Joseph; Martin, Daniel E; Medsker, Gina J

    2003-02-01

    Researchers have rarely examined stressful environments and psychological characteristics as predictors of driving behavior in the same study. The authors hypothesized that (a) safer drivers more accurately assess physical and emotional traffic hazards and (b) stress and emotional states elevate crash risk. The hypotheses were evaluated with procedural and declarative tacit driving knowledge tests requiring assessment of emotional and contextual hazards and with accident reports describing crash antecedents, including stressful events and environmental conditions. Analyses identified separate driving knowledge factors corresponding to emotional and contextual hazards that were significantly related to the crash criteria. Accident report analyses show that stress significantly elevates at-fault crash risk. The results demonstrate the importance of experiential knowledge acquired without instruction (procedural or tacit knowledge) and provide safety recommendations.

  13. Facets of contextual realism in quantum mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pan, Alok Kumar; Home, Dipankar

    2011-01-01

    In recent times, there is an upsurge of interest in demonstrating the quantum contextuality. In this proceedings, we explore the two different forms of arguments that have been used for showing the contextual character of quantum mechanics. First line of study concerns the violations of the noncontextual realist models by quantum mechanics, where second line of study that is qualitatively distinct from the earlier one, demonstrates the contextuality within the formalism of quantum mechanics.

  14. Communication Games Reveal Preparation Contextuality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hameedi, Alley; Tavakoli, Armin; Marques, Breno; Bourennane, Mohamed

    2017-12-01

    A communication game consists of distributed parties attempting to jointly complete a task with restricted communication. Such games are useful tools for studying limitations of physical theories. A theory exhibits preparation contextuality whenever its predictions cannot be explained by a preparation noncontextual model. Here, we show that communication games performed in operational theories reveal the preparation contextuality of that theory. For statistics obtained in a particular family of communication games, we show a direct correspondence with correlations in spacelike separated events obeying the no-signaling principle. Using this, we prove that all mixed quantum states of any finite dimension are preparation contextual. We report on an experimental realization of a communication game involving three-level quantum systems from which we observe a strong violation of the constraints of preparation noncontextuality.

  15. A qualitative evaluation of the crucial attributes of contextual information necessary in EHR design to support patient-centered medical home care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weir, Charlene R; Staggers, Nancy; Gibson, Bryan; Doing-Harris, Kristina; Barrus, Robyn; Dunlea, Robert

    2015-04-16

    Effective implementation of a Primary Care Medical Home model of care (PCMH) requires integration of patients' contextual information (physical, mental, social and financial status) into an easily retrievable information source for the healthcare team and clinical decision-making. This project explored clinicians' perceptions about important attributes of contextual information for clinical decision-making, how contextual information is expressed in CPRS clinical documentation as well as how clinicians in a highly computerized environment manage information flow related to these areas. A qualitative design using Cognitive Task Analyses and a modified Critical Incident Technique were used. The study was conducted in a large VA with a fully implemented EHR located in the western United States. Seventeen providers working in a PCMH model of care in Primary Care, Home Based Care and Geriatrics reported on a recent difficult transition requiring contextual information for decision-making. The transcribed interviews were qualitatively analyzed for thematic development related to contextual information using an iterative process and multiple reviewers with ATLAS@ti software. Six overarching themes emerged as attributes of contextual information: Informativeness, goal language, temporality, source attribution, retrieval effort, and information quality. These results indicate that specific attributes are needed to in order for contextual information to fully support clinical decision-making in a Medical Home care delivery environment. Improved EHR designs are needed for ease of contextual information access, displaying linkages across time and settings, and explicit linkages to both clinician and patient goals. Implications relevant to providers' information needs, team functioning and EHR design are discussed.

  16. The transfer of Cfunc contextual control through equivalence relations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez, William F; Fidalgo, Adriana P; Kovac, Roberta; Nico, Yara C

    2015-05-01

    Derived relational responding is affected by contextual stimuli (Cfunc) that select specific stimulus functions. The present study investigated the transfer of Cfunc contextual control through equivalence relations by evaluating both (a) the maintenance of Cfunc contextual control after the expansion of a relational network, and (b) the establishment of novel contextual stimuli by the transfer of Cfunc contextual control through equivalence relations. Initially, equivalence relations were established and contingencies were arranged so that colors functioned as Cfunc stimuli controlling participants' key-pressing responses in the presence of any stimulus from a three-member equivalence network. To investigate the first research question, the three-member equivalence relations were expanded to five members and the novel members were presented with the Cfunc stimuli in the key-pressing task. To address the second goal of this study, the colors (Cfunc) were established as equivalent to certain line patterns. The transfer of contextual cue function (Cfunc) was tested replacing the colored backgrounds with line patterns in the key-pressing task. Results suggest that the Cfunc contextual control was transferred to novel stimuli that were added to the relational network. In addition, the line patterns indirectly acquired the contextual cue function (Cfunc) initially established for the colored backgrounds. The conceptual and applied implications of Cfunc contextual control are discussed. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  17. Contextual Sensing: Integrating Contextual Information with Human and Technical Geo-Sensor Information for Smart Cities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagl, Günther; Resch, Bernd; Blaschke, Thomas

    2015-07-14

    In this article we critically discuss the challenge of integrating contextual information, in particular spatiotemporal contextual information, with human and technical sensor information, which we approach from a geospatial perspective. We start by highlighting the significance of context in general and spatiotemporal context in particular and introduce a smart city model of interactions between humans, the environment, and technology, with context at the common interface. We then focus on both the intentional and the unintentional sensing capabilities of today's technologies and discuss current technological trends that we consider have the ability to enrich human and technical geo-sensor information with contextual detail. The different types of sensors used to collect contextual information are analyzed and sorted into three groups on the basis of names considering frequently used related terms, and characteristic contextual parameters. These three groups, namely technical in situ sensors, technical remote sensors, and human sensors are analyzed and linked to three dimensions involved in sensing (data generation, geographic phenomena, and type of sensing). In contrast to other scientific publications, we found a large number of technologies and applications using in situ and mobile technical sensors within the context of smart cities, and surprisingly limited use of remote sensing approaches. In this article we further provide a critical discussion of possible impacts and influences of both technical and human sensing approaches on society, pointing out that a larger number of sensors, increased fusion of information, and the use of standardized data formats and interfaces will not necessarily result in any improvement in the quality of life of the citizens of a smart city. This article seeks to improve our understanding of technical and human geo-sensing capabilities, and to demonstrate that the use of such sensors can facilitate the integration of different

  18. Contextual Sensing: Integrating Contextual Information with Human and Technical Geo-Sensor Information for Smart Cities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagl, Günther; Resch, Bernd; Blaschke, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    In this article we critically discuss the challenge of integrating contextual information, in particular spatiotemporal contextual information, with human and technical sensor information, which we approach from a geospatial perspective. We start by highlighting the significance of context in general and spatiotemporal context in particular and introduce a smart city model of interactions between humans, the environment, and technology, with context at the common interface. We then focus on both the intentional and the unintentional sensing capabilities of today’s technologies and discuss current technological trends that we consider have the ability to enrich human and technical geo-sensor information with contextual detail. The different types of sensors used to collect contextual information are analyzed and sorted into three groups on the basis of names considering frequently used related terms, and characteristic contextual parameters. These three groups, namely technical in situ sensors, technical remote sensors, and human sensors are analyzed and linked to three dimensions involved in sensing (data generation, geographic phenomena, and type of sensing). In contrast to other scientific publications, we found a large number of technologies and applications using in situ and mobile technical sensors within the context of smart cities, and surprisingly limited use of remote sensing approaches. In this article we further provide a critical discussion of possible impacts and influences of both technical and human sensing approaches on society, pointing out that a larger number of sensors, increased fusion of information, and the use of standardized data formats and interfaces will not necessarily result in any improvement in the quality of life of the citizens of a smart city. This article seeks to improve our understanding of technical and human geo-sensing capabilities, and to demonstrate that the use of such sensors can facilitate the integration of different

  19. Personalization and Contextualization of Learning Experiences based on Semantics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicola Capuano

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Context-aware e-learning is an educational model that foresees the selection of learning resources to make the e-learning content more relevant and suitable for the learner in his/her situation. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that an ontological approach can be used to define leaning contexts and to allow contextualizing learning experiences finding out relevant topics for each context. To do that, we defined a context model able to formally describe a learning context, an ontology-based model enabling the representation of a teaching domain (including context information and a methodology to generate personalized and context-aware learning experiences starting from them. Based on these theoretical components we improved an existing system for personalized e-learning with contextualisation features and experimented it with real users in two University courses. The results obtained from this experimentation have been compared with those achieved by similar systems.

  20. Facilitating the implementation of evidence- based practice through contextual support and nursing leadership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kueny, Angela; Shever, Leah L; Lehan Mackin, Melissa; Titler, Marita G

    2015-01-01

    Nurse managers (NMs) play an important role promoting evidence-based practice (EBP) on clinical units within hospitals. However, there is a dearth of research focused on NM perspectives about institutional contextual factors to support the goal of EBP on the clinical unit. The purpose of this article is to identify contextual factors described by NMs to drive change and facilitate EBP at the unit level, comparing and contrasting these perspectives across nursing units. This study employed a qualitative descriptive design using interviews with nine NMs who were participating in a large effectiveness study. To stratify the sample, NMs were selected from nursing units designated as high or low performing based on implementation of EBP interventions, scores on the Meyer and Goes research use scale, and fall rates. Descriptive content analysis was used to identify themes that reflect the complex nature of infrastructure described by NMs and contextual influences that supported or hindered their promotion of EBP on the clinical unit. NMs perceived workplace culture, structure, and resources as facilitators or barriers to empowering nurses under their supervision to use EBP and drive change. A workplace culture that provides clear communication of EBP goals or regulatory changes, direct contact with CEOs, and clear expectations supported NMs in their promotion of EBP on their units. High-performing unit NMs described a structure that included nursing-specific committees, allowing nurses to drive change and EBP from within the unit. NMs from high-performing units were more likely to articulate internal resources, such as quality-monitoring departments, as critical to the implementation of EBP on their units. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of institutional contextual factors that can be used to support NMs in their efforts to drive EBP changes at the unit level.

  1. Contextual Cueing Effects across the Lifespan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merrill, Edward C.; Conners, Frances A.; Roskos, Beverly; Klinger, Mark R.; Klinger, Laura Grofer

    2013-01-01

    The authors evaluated age-related variations in contextual cueing, which reflects the extent to which visuospatial regularities can facilitate search for a target. Previous research produced inconsistent results regarding contextual cueing effects in young children and in older adults, and no study has investigated the phenomenon across the life…

  2. The Relevant Factors in Promoting Reading Activities in Elementary Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Han-Chen; Tsai, Yao-Hsu; Huang, Shih-Hsiang

    2015-01-01

    In order to help students absorb knowledge, schools often conduct reading activities. Thorough planning and strategies, however, are needed to insure the effect of reading promotions, and make them a deeply-rooted part of life. This study adopted the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to discuss the relevant factors in promoting reading activities…

  3. Contextual modulation and stimulus selectivity in extrastriate cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krause, Matthew R; Pack, Christopher C

    2014-11-01

    Contextual modulation is observed throughout the visual system, using techniques ranging from single-neuron recordings to behavioral experiments. Its role in generating feature selectivity within the retina and primary visual cortex has been extensively described in the literature. Here, we describe how similar computations can also elaborate feature selectivity in the extrastriate areas of both the dorsal and ventral streams of the primate visual system. We discuss recent work that makes use of normalization models to test specific roles for contextual modulation in visual cortex function. We suggest that contextual modulation renders neuronal populations more selective for naturalistic stimuli. Specifically, we discuss contextual modulation's role in processing optic flow in areas MT and MST and for representing naturally occurring curvature and contours in areas V4 and IT. We also describe how the circuitry that supports contextual modulation is robust to variations in overall input levels. Finally, we describe how this theory relates to other hypothesized roles for contextual modulation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Contextual Autism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Raahauge, Kirsten Marie

    2009-01-01

    This project deals with the notion of ghost anthropologically and artistic. The contextual autism of ghosting reveals itself as a sensation of in-betweeness in art as well as in everyday life. The ghost is not easily defined; as Jacques Derrida states in Spectres of Marx (1993/1994) about...

  5. Endeavoring to Contextualize Curricula Within an EBP Framework: A Grounded Theory Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malik, Gulzar; McKenna, Lisa; Griffiths, Debra

    2018-01-01

    Adopting evidence-based practice (EBP) principles in undergraduate education can facilitate nursing students' appreciation of EBP. Using grounded theory method, this study aimed to explore processes used by nurse academics while integrating EBP concepts in undergraduate nursing curricula across Australian universities. Twenty-three nurse academics were interviewed and nine were observed during teaching of undergraduate students. In addition, 20 unit/subject guides were analyzed using grounded theory approach of data analysis. The theory " On a path to success: Endeavoring to contextualize curricula within an EBP framework" reflects academics' endeavors toward linking EBP concepts to practice, aiming to contextualize curricula in a manner that engages students within an EBP framework. However, academics' journeys were influenced by several contextual factors which require strategies to accomplish their endeavors. In conclusion, initiatives to minimize barriers, faculty development, and provision of resources across educational and clinical settings are fundamental to achieving undergraduate curricula underpinned by EBP concepts.

  6. Contextual and intrapersonal predictors of adolescent risky sexual behavior and outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shneyderman, Yuliya; Schwartz, Seth J

    2013-08-01

    The present study was designed to test a model of contextual and intrapersonal predictors of adolescent risky sexual behaviors and of sexually transmitted infection diagnoses. Using Waves I and II from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the authors estimated a structural model in which intrapersonal factors such as adolescents' attitudes about sex, perceived parental norms, knowledge about sexual health, and birth-control self-efficacy partially mediated the effects of contextual factors such as parent-adolescent relationship quality, school connectedness, and exposure to AIDS and pregnancy education on a number of risky sexual behaviors and outcomes: early sex initiation, sex under the influence of substances, condom use at last intercourse, and having been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection. Different patterns of direct and mediated effects emerged for each sexual outcome. Results are discussed in terms of the complex interplay between environment and individual and in terms of how, when, and with whom to intervene in order to improve adolescent sexual health outcomes.

  7. A Teaching-Learning Sequence for the Special Relativity Theory at High School Level Historically and Epistemologically Contextualized

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arriassecq, Irene; Greca, Ileana Maria

    2012-01-01

    This paper discusses some topics that stem from recent contributions made by the History, the Philosophy, and the Didactics of Science. We consider these topics relevant to the introduction of the Special Relativity Theory (SRT) in high school within a contextualized approach. We offer an outline of a teaching-learning sequence dealing with the…

  8. Involvement of the prelimbic cortex in contextual fear conditioning with temporal and spatial discontinuity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Thays Brenner; Kramer-Soares, Juliana Carlota; Favaro, Vanessa Manchim; Oliveira, Maria Gabriela Menezes

    2017-10-01

    Time plays an important role in conditioning, it is not only possible to associate stimuli with events that overlap, as in delay fear conditioning, but it is also possible to associate stimuli that are discontinuous in time, as shown in trace conditioning for a discrete stimuli. The environment itself can be a powerful conditioned stimulus (CS) and be associated to unconditioned stimulus (US). Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine the parameters in which contextual fear conditioning occurs by the maintenance of a contextual representation over short and long time intervals. The results showed that a contextual representation can be maintained and associated after 5s, even in the absence of a 15s re-exposure to the training context before US delivery. The same effect was not observed with a 24h interval of discontinuity. Furthermore, optimal conditioned response with a 5s interval is produced only when the contexts (of pre-exposure and shock) match. As the pre-limbic cortex (PL) is necessary for the maintenance of a continuous representation of a stimulus, the involvement of the PL in this temporal and contextual processing was investigated. The reversible inactivation of the PL by muscimol infusion impaired the acquisition of contextual fear conditioning with a 5s interval, but not with a 24h interval, and did not impair delay fear conditioning. The data provided evidence that short and long intervals of discontinuity have different mechanisms, thus contributing to a better understanding of PL involvement in contextual fear conditioning and providing a model that considers both temporal and contextual factors in fear conditioning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Contextual Influences on Financial Behavior: A Proposed Model for Adult Financial Literacy Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Way, Wendy L.

    2014-01-01

    This chapter presents an ecological model that highlights the importance of considering multiple contextual influences on behavior as well as other factors that may impact learning when designing research and practice aimed at enhancing financial capability.

  10. On Contextuality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thayer-Bacon, Barbara J.

    This exploration of what feminism has to contribute to pragmatism, and vice versa, considers the idea of contextuality through an examination of the role of current pragmatists, such as Cornel West and Richard Rorty, and current feminists, including Charlene Haddock Siegfried, Maxine Greene, and Seyla Benhabib. To set the stage historically for…

  11. Same- and Cross-Gender Sexual Harassment Victimization in Middle School: A Developmental-Contextual Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnoll, Jessica S.; Connolly, Jennifer; Josephson, Wendy J.; Pepler, Debra; Simkins-Strong, Emily

    2015-01-01

    Using a developmental-contextual framework, the present study investigated risk factors for same- and cross-gender sexual harassment victimization in 986 middle school students. Participants completed questionnaires in the fall and spring of the same school year so risk factors could be explored longitudinally. Results revealed that gender…

  12. Competing definitions of contextual environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jerrett Michael

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The growing interest in the effects of contextual environments on health outcomes has focused attention on the strengths and weaknesses of alternate contextual unit definitions for use in multilevel analysis. The present research examined three methods to define contextual units for a sample of children already enrolled in a respiratory health study. The Inclusive Equal Weights Method (M1 and Inclusive Sample Weighted Method (M2 defined communities using the boundaries of the census blocks that incorporated the residences of the CHS participants, except that the former estimated socio-demographic variables by averaging the census block data within each community, while the latter used weighted proportion of CHS participants per block. The Minimum Bounding Rectangle Method (M3 generated minimum bounding rectangles that included 95% of the CHS participants and produced estimates of census variables using the weighted proportion of each block within these rectangles. GIS was used to map the locations of study participants, define the boundaries of the communities where study participants reside, and compute estimates of socio-demographic variables. The sensitivity of census variable estimates to the choice of community boundaries and weights was assessed using standard tests of significance. Results The estimates of contextual variables vary significantly depending on the choice of neighborhood boundaries and weights. The choice of boundaries therefore shapes the community profile and the relationships between its components (variables. Conclusion Multilevel analysis concerned with the effects of contextual environments on health requires careful consideration of what constitutes a contextual unit for a given study sample, because the alternate definitions may have differential impact on the results. The three alternative methods used in this research all carry some subjectivity, which is embedded in the decision as to what

  13. Interaction between scene-based and array-based contextual cueing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenbaum, Gail M; Jiang, Yuhong V

    2013-07-01

    Contextual cueing refers to the cueing of spatial attention by repeated spatial context. Previous studies have demonstrated distinctive properties of contextual cueing by background scenes and by an array of search items. Whereas scene-based contextual cueing reflects explicit learning of the scene-target association, array-based contextual cueing is supported primarily by implicit learning. In this study, we investigated the interaction between scene-based and array-based contextual cueing. Participants searched for a target that was predicted by both the background scene and the locations of distractor items. We tested three possible patterns of interaction: (1) The scene and the array could be learned independently, in which case cueing should be expressed even when only one cue was preserved; (2) the scene and array could be learned jointly, in which case cueing should occur only when both cues were preserved; (3) overshadowing might occur, in which case learning of the stronger cue should preclude learning of the weaker cue. In several experiments, we manipulated the nature of the contextual cues present during training and testing. We also tested explicit awareness of scenes, scene-target associations, and arrays. The results supported the overshadowing account: Specifically, scene-based contextual cueing precluded array-based contextual cueing when both were predictive of the location of a search target. We suggest that explicit, endogenous cues dominate over implicit cues in guiding spatial attention.

  14. Neural correlates of contextual cueing are modulated by explicit learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westerberg, Carmen E; Miller, Brennan B; Reber, Paul J; Cohen, Neal J; Paller, Ken A

    2011-10-01

    Contextual cueing refers to the facilitated ability to locate a particular visual element in a scene due to prior exposure to the same scene. This facilitation is thought to reflect implicit learning, as it typically occurs without the observer's knowledge that scenes repeat. Unlike most other implicit learning effects, contextual cueing can be impaired following damage to the medial temporal lobe. Here we investigated neural correlates of contextual cueing and explicit scene memory in two participant groups. Only one group was explicitly instructed about scene repetition. Participants viewed a sequence of complex scenes that depicted a landscape with five abstract geometric objects. Superimposed on each object was a letter T or L rotated left or right by 90°. Participants responded according to the target letter (T) orientation. Responses were highly accurate for all scenes. Response speeds were faster for repeated versus novel scenes. The magnitude of this contextual cueing did not differ between the two groups. Also, in both groups repeated scenes yielded reduced hemodynamic activation compared with novel scenes in several regions involved in visual perception and attention, and reductions in some of these areas were correlated with response-time facilitation. In the group given instructions about scene repetition, recognition memory for scenes was superior and was accompanied by medial temporal and more anterior activation. Thus, strategic factors can promote explicit memorization of visual scene information, which appears to engage additional neural processing beyond what is required for implicit learning of object configurations and target locations in a scene. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Selective inhibition of miR-92 in hippocampal neurons alters contextual fear memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vetere, Gisella; Barbato, Christian; Pezzola, Silvia; Frisone, Paola; Aceti, Massimiliano; Ciotti, MariaTeresa; Cogoni, Carlo; Ammassari-Teule, Martine; Ruberti, Francesca

    2014-12-01

    Post-transcriptional gene regulation mediated by microRNAs (miRNAs) is implicated in memory formation; however, the function of miR-92 in this regulation is uncharacterized. The present study shows that training mice in contextual fear conditioning produces a transient increase in miR-92 levels in the hippocampus and decreases several miR-92 gene targets, including: (i) the neuronal Cl(-) extruding K(+) Cl(-) co-transporter 2 (KCC2) protein; (ii) the cytoplasmic polyadenylation protein (CPEB3), an RNA-binding protein regulator of protein synthesis in neurons; and (iii) the transcription factor myocyte enhancer factor 2D (MEF2D), one of the MEF2 genes which negatively regulates memory-induced structural plasticity. Selective inhibition of endogenous miR-92 in CA1 hippocampal neurons, by a sponge lentiviral vector expressing multiple sequences imperfectly complementary to mature miR-92 under the control of the neuronal specific synapsin promoter, leads to up-regulation of KCC2, CPEB3 and MEF2D, impairs contextual fear conditioning, and prevents a memory-induced increase in the spine density. Taken together, the results indicate that neuronal-expressed miR-92 is an endogenous fine regulator of contextual fear memory in mice. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Factors Related to Healthy Siblings' Psychosocial Adjustment to Children With Cancer: An Integrative Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zegaczewski, Tara; Chang, Karen; Coddington, Jennifer; Berg, Abby

    2016-01-01

    To identify factors related to the psychosocial adjustment of healthy siblings of children with cancer (HSCC). An integrative review was conducted. Controlled vocabularies relevant to siblings, pediatrics, children, neoplasms, and psychosocial adaptation were used to search Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature and PubMed. Articles that met inclusion criteria (eg, quantitative studies related to HSCC's psychosocial adjustment; had sample sizes of at least 30; and HSCC age between 1 and 19 years) were reviewed. Key findings of selected articles were analyzed according to sibling characteristics, social support, and contextual factors. Seven nonexperimental and 5 quasi-experimental studies were reviewed. HSCC's characteristics (eg, age, gender), perceived social support from family and summer camp, and perceived contextual factors (eg, role overload, family adaptability) were significant factors that correlated with HSCC's psychosocial adjustment. When caring for a child diagnosed with cancer, nurses need to include HSCC in the assessment of a family unit's adaptation to cancer distress and provide appropriate interventions to promote HSCC's psychosocial well-being. © 2015 by Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses.

  17. Case-based ethics instruction: the influence of contextual and individual factors in case content on ethical decision-making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bagdasarov, Zhanna; Thiel, Chase E; Johnson, James F; Connelly, Shane; Harkrider, Lauren N; Devenport, Lynn D; Mumford, Michael D

    2013-09-01

    Cases have been employed across multiple disciplines, including ethics education, as effective pedagogical tools. However, the benefit of case-based learning in the ethics domain varies across cases, suggesting that not all cases are equal in terms of pedagogical value. Indeed, case content appears to influence the extent to which cases promote learning and transfer. Consistent with this argument, the current study explored the influences of contextual and personal factors embedded in case content on ethical decision-making. Cases were manipulated to include a clear description of the social context and the goals of the characters involved. Results indicated that social context, specifically the description of an autonomy-supportive environment, facilitated execution of sense making processes and resulted in greater decision ethicality. Implications for designing optimal cases and case-based training programs are discussed.

  18. Chronic fluoxetine dissociates contextual from auditory fear memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanders, Jeff; Mayford, Mark

    2016-10-06

    Fluoxetine is a medication used to treat Major Depressive Disorder and other psychiatric conditions. These experiments studied the effects of chronic fluoxetine treatment on the contextual versus auditory fear memory of mice. We found that chronic fluoxetine treatment of adult mice impaired their contextual fear memory, but spared auditory fear memory. Hippocampal perineuronal nets, which are involved in contextual fear memory plasticity, were unaltered by fluoxetine treatment. These data point to a selective inability to form contextual fear memory as a result of fluoxetine treatment, and they suggest that a blunting of hippocampal-mediated aversive memory may be a therapeutic action for this medication. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Improving Acquisition Outcomes with Contextual Ambidexterity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Meglio, Olimpia; King, David R.; Risberg, Annette

    2015-01-01

    The results of research on mergers and acquisitions often point to a need to improve acquisition outcomes and lessen the organizational turmoil that can often follow integration efforts. We assert that viewing acquisition integration through the lens of contextual ambidexterity may improve...... acquisition outcomes in two ways: by providing an integrated solution to the economic and social tensions in acquisitions, and by enabling managers to effectively confront the competing needs of task and human integration. We also posit that by building on contextual ambidexterity, we can extend...... the possibilities for both research and practice regarding task and human integration in acquisitions. We also emphasize the role of an integration manager and integration mechanisms in enabling contextual ambidexterity for successful acquisition integration. Finally, we identify implications for research...

  20. CONTEXTUAL STRATEGIES FOR CONDUCTING EFFECTIVE NEGOTIATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camelia\tBĂEȘU

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Within this paper we try to argue the development of contextual strategies for conducting effective negotiation. Throughout the paper we present that the first motivation which we manage to identify is that we negotiate to improve whatever situation we are involved in. It is of great relevance to identify a few reasons for what we negotiate. Another motivation is that negotiation is an opportunity for creativity and it does allow you to fashion a solution according to, usually different kinds of facts, different fact situation so you may get to express some creativity. Negotiation is perceived as an opportunity where we can also build relationship with the other person. We can also communicate better with the other side about where they are, what they want and where they want to go. Next, we try to identify what makes for successful negotiation during each stage of the negotiation process. According to this paper there are five things which are the essence of business negotiation.

  1. A Compositional Relevance Model for Adaptive Information Retrieval

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathe, Nathalie; Chen, James; Lu, Henry, Jr. (Technical Monitor)

    1994-01-01

    There is a growing need for rapid and effective access to information in large electronic documentation systems. Access can be facilitated if information relevant in the current problem solving context can be automatically supplied to the user. This includes information relevant to particular user profiles, tasks being performed, and problems being solved. However most of this knowledge on contextual relevance is not found within the contents of documents, and current hypermedia tools do not provide any easy mechanism to let users add this knowledge to their documents. We propose a compositional relevance network to automatically acquire the context in which previous information was found relevant. The model records information on the relevance of references based on user feedback for specific queries and contexts. It also generalizes such information to derive relevant references for similar queries and contexts. This model lets users filter information by context of relevance, build personalized views of documents over time, and share their views with other users. It also applies to any type of multimedia information. Compared to other approaches, it is less costly and doesn't require any a priori statistical computation, nor an extended training period. It is currently being implemented into the Computer Integrated Documentation system which enables integration of various technical documents in a hypertext framework.

  2. Testing quantum contextuality. The problem of compatibility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szangolies, Jochen

    2015-01-01

    Jochen Szangolies contributes a novel way of dealing with the problem of the experimental testability of the Kochen-Specker theorem posed by realistic, that is, noisy, measurements. Such noise spoils perfect compatibility between successive measurements, which however is a necessary requirement to test the notion of contextuality in usual approaches. To overcome this difficulty, a new, extended notion of contextuality that reduces to Kochen-Specker contextuality in the limit of perfect measurement implementations is proposed by the author, together with a scheme to test this notion experimentally. Furthermore, the behaviour of these tests under realistic noise conditions is investigated.

  3. Linear contextual modal type theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schack-Nielsen, Anders; Schürmann, Carsten

    Abstract. When one implements a logical framework based on linear type theory, for example the Celf system [?], one is immediately con- fronted with questions about their equational theory and how to deal with logic variables. In this paper, we propose linear contextual modal type theory that gives...... a mathematical account of the nature of logic variables. Our type theory is conservative over intuitionistic contextual modal type theory proposed by Nanevski, Pfenning, and Pientka. Our main contributions include a mechanically checked proof of soundness and a working implementation....

  4. Hierarchical acquisition of visual specificity in spatial contextual cueing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lie, Kin-Pou

    2015-01-01

    Spatial contextual cueing refers to visual search performance's being improved when invariant associations between target locations and distractor spatial configurations are learned incidentally. Using the instance theory of automatization and the reverse hierarchy theory of visual perceptual learning, this study explores the acquisition of visual specificity in spatial contextual cueing. Two experiments in which detailed visual features were irrelevant for distinguishing between spatial contexts found that spatial contextual cueing was visually generic in difficult trials when the trials were not preceded by easy trials (Experiment 1) but that spatial contextual cueing progressed to visual specificity when difficult trials were preceded by easy trials (Experiment 2). These findings support reverse hierarchy theory, which predicts that even when detailed visual features are irrelevant for distinguishing between spatial contexts, spatial contextual cueing can progress to visual specificity if the stimuli remain constant, the task is difficult, and difficult trials are preceded by easy trials. However, these findings are inconsistent with instance theory, which predicts that when detailed visual features are irrelevant for distinguishing between spatial contexts, spatial contextual cueing will not progress to visual specificity. This study concludes that the acquisition of visual specificity in spatial contextual cueing is more plausibly hierarchical, rather than instance-based.

  5. Object based implicit contextual learning: a study of eye movements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Asselen, Marieke; Sampaio, Joana; Pina, Ana; Castelo-Branco, Miguel

    2011-02-01

    Implicit contextual cueing refers to a top-down mechanism in which visual search is facilitated by learned contextual features. In the current study we aimed to investigate the mechanism underlying implicit contextual learning using object information as a contextual cue. Therefore, we measured eye movements during an object-based contextual cueing task. We demonstrated that visual search is facilitated by repeated object information and that this reduction in response times is associated with shorter fixation durations. This indicates that by memorizing associations between objects in our environment we can recognize objects faster, thereby facilitating visual search.

  6. A contextual model of self-regulation change mechanisms among individuals with addictive disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roos, Corey R; Witkiewitz, Katie

    2017-11-01

    Numerous behavioral treatments for addictive disorders include components explicitly aimed at targeting self-regulation (e.g., coping and emotion regulation). We first provide a summary of key findings to date among studies that have examined self-regulation as a mechanism of behavior change (MOBC) in behavioral treatments for addictive disorders. Based on our review, we conclude that the role of self-regulation as a MOBC across behavioral treatments for addictive disorders is not well-characterized and findings are inconsistent across studies. For example, our review indicates that there is still inconsistent evidence that coping is a unique MOBC in cognitive-behavioral approaches for addictive behaviors. We propose that there has been slow progress in understanding self-regulation as a MOBC in addiction treatment because of a lack of attention to contextual factors. Accordingly, in the second half of this paper, we propose a contextual model of self-regulation change mechanisms, which emphasizes that the role of various facets of self-regulation as MOBC may depend on contextual factors in the immediate situational context (e.g., fluctuating internal and external cues) and in the broader context in which an individual is embedded (e.g., major life stressors, environmental conditions, dispositions). Additionally, we provide specific recommendations to guide future research for understanding both between-person and within-person self-regulation MOBC in addiction treatment. In particular, we provide key recommendations for how to capitalize on intensive longitudinal measurement methods (e.g., ecological momentary assessment) when bringing a contextual perspective to the study of self-regulation as MOBC in various addiction treatments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Social Salience Discriminates Learnability of Contextual Cues in an Artificial Language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rácz, Péter; Hay, Jennifer B; Pierrehumbert, Janet B

    2017-01-01

    We investigate the learning of contextual meaning by adults in an artificial language. Contextual meaning here refers to the non-denotative contextual information that speakers attach to a linguistic construction. Through a series of short games, played online, we test how well adults can learn different contextual meanings for a word-formation pattern in an artificial language. We look at whether learning contextual meanings depends on the social salience of the context, whether our players interpret these contexts generally, and whether the learned meaning is generalized to new words. Our results show that adults are capable of learning contextual meaning if the context is socially salient, coherent, and interpretable. Once a contextual meaning is recognized, it is readily generalized to related forms and contexts.

  8. A systematic exploration of differences in contextual factors related to implementing the MOVE! weight management program in VA: A mixed methods study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fletcher Carol E

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In January 2006, Veterans Affairs (VA disseminated the MOVE!® Weight Management Program to VA medical centers to address the high prevalence of overweight/obesity. In its second year, MOVE! implementation varied widely across facilities. The objective of this study was to understand contextual factors that facilitated or impeded implementation of MOVE! in VA medical centers in the second year after its dissemination. Methods We used an embedded mixed methods cross-sectional study design. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected simultaneously with the primary purpose to explore contextual factors most likely to influence MOVE! implementation effectiveness at five purposively selected facilities. Facilities were selected to maximize variation with respect to participation in MOVE! by candidate Veterans. Semi-structured phone interviews were conducted with 24 staff across the five facilities. Quantitative responses were elicited followed by open-ended questions. The quantitative measures were adapted from a published implementation model. Qualitative analysis was conducted using rigorous content analysis methods. Results Qualitative and quantitative data converged to strengthen findings that point to several recommendations. Management support can help increase visibility of the program, commit needed resources, and communicate the importance of implementation efforts. Establishing a receptive implementation climate can be accomplished by emphasizing the important role that weight management may have in reducing incidence and severity of obesity-related chronic conditions. Coalescing highly functioning multi-disciplinary teams was an essential step for more effective implementation of MOVE!. In some situations, local champions can overcome challenging barriers in facilities that lack sufficient management support. Conclusions Key organizational factors at local VA medical centers were strongly associated with MOVE

  9. Contextuality under weak assumptions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simmons, Andrew W; Rudolph, Terry; Wallman, Joel J; Pashayan, Hakop; Bartlett, Stephen D

    2017-01-01

    The presence of contextuality in quantum theory was first highlighted by Bell, Kochen and Specker, who discovered that for quantum systems of three or more dimensions, measurements could not be viewed as deterministically revealing pre-existing properties of the system. More precisely, no model can assign deterministic outcomes to the projectors of a quantum measurement in a way that depends only on the projector and not the context (the full set of projectors) in which it appeared, despite the fact that the Born rule probabilities associated with projectors are independent of the context. A more general, operational definition of contextuality introduced by Spekkens, which we will term ‘probabilistic contextuality’, drops the assumption of determinism and allows for operations other than measurements to be considered contextual. Even two-dimensional quantum mechanics can be shown to be contextual under this generalised notion. Probabilistic noncontextuality represents the postulate that elements of an operational theory that cannot be distinguished from each other based on the statistics of arbitrarily many repeated experiments (they give rise to the same operational probabilities) are ontologically identical. In this paper, we introduce a framework that enables us to distinguish between different noncontextuality assumptions in terms of the relationships between the ontological representations of objects in the theory given a certain relation between their operational representations. This framework can be used to motivate and define a ‘possibilistic’ analogue, encapsulating the idea that elements of an operational theory that cannot be unambiguously distinguished operationally can also not be unambiguously distinguished ontologically. We then prove that possibilistic noncontextuality is equivalent to an alternative notion of noncontextuality proposed by Hardy. Finally, we demonstrate that these weaker noncontextuality assumptions are sufficient to prove

  10. Understanding the local context and its possible influences on shaping, implementing and running social accountability initiatives for maternal health services in rural Democratic Republic of the Congo : a contextual factor analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mafuta, E.M.; Hogema, L.M.; Mambu, T.N.M.; de Cock Buning, J.T.; Dieleman, M.A.

    2016-01-01

    Background Social accountability has to be configured according to the context in which it operates. This paper aimed to identify local contextual factors in two health zones in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and discuss their possible influences on shaping, implementing and running social

  11. Regional contextual influences on short sleep duration: a 50 universities population-based multilevel study in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Tingzhong; Peng, Sihui; Barnett, Ross; Zhang, Chichen

    2018-01-01

    Ecological models have emphasized that short sleep duration (SSD) is influenced by both individual and environmental variables. However, few studies have considered the latter. The present study explores the influence of urban and regional contextual factors, net of individual characteristics, on the prevalence of SSD among university students in China. Participants were 11,954 students, who were identified through a multistage survey sampling process conducted in 50 universities. Individual data were obtained through a self-administered questionnaire, and contextual variables were retrieved from a national database. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to examine urban and regional variations in high and moderate levels of SSD. Overall the prevalence of high SSD (individual- and city-level covariates. Students attending high-level universities also recorded the highest levels of SSD. Of the individual characteristcs, only mother's occupation and student mental health status were related to SSD. The results of this study add important insights about the role of contextual factors affecting SSD among young adults and indicate the need to take into account both past, as well as present, environmental influences to control SSD.

  12. Contextual Influences on Gendered Racial Identity Development of African American Young Women

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Anita Jones; Hoxha, Denada; Hacker, Jason Daniel

    2013-01-01

    The aim of the study was to identify the contextual factors and socialization experiences most salient to the identity development of African American girls. Seventeen African American young women participated in dyadic focus groups. Themes that emerged included exposure to stereotypes, negative classroom environments, and parental and peer…

  13. 3D Bayesian contextual classifiers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Rasmus

    2000-01-01

    We extend a series of multivariate Bayesian 2-D contextual classifiers to 3-D by specifying a simultaneous Gaussian distribution for the feature vectors as well as a prior distribution of the class variables of a pixel and its 6 nearest 3-D neighbours.......We extend a series of multivariate Bayesian 2-D contextual classifiers to 3-D by specifying a simultaneous Gaussian distribution for the feature vectors as well as a prior distribution of the class variables of a pixel and its 6 nearest 3-D neighbours....

  14. Contextualizing symbol, symbolizing context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maudy, Septiani Yugni; Suryadi, Didi; Mulyana, Endang

    2017-08-01

    When students learn algebra for the first time, inevitably they are experiencing transition from arithmetic to algebraic thinking. Once students could apprehend this essential mathematical knowledge, they are cultivating their ability in solving daily life problems by applying algebra. However, as we dig into this transitional stage, we identified possible students' learning obstacles to be dealt with seriously in order to forestall subsequent hindrance in studying more advance algebra. We come to realize this recurring problem as we undertook the processes of re-personalization and re-contextualization in which we scrutinize the very basic questions: 1) what is variable, linear equation with one variable and their relationship with the arithmetic-algebraic thinking? 2) Why student should learn such concepts? 3) How to teach those concepts to students? By positioning ourselves as a seventh grade student, we address the possibility of children to think arithmetically when confronted with the problems of linear equation with one variable. To help them thinking algebraically, Bruner's modes of representation developed contextually from concrete to abstract were delivered to enhance their interpretation toward the idea of variables. Hence, from the outset we designed the context for student to think symbolically initiated by exploring various symbols that could be contextualized in order to bridge student traversing the arithmetic-algebraic fruitfully.

  15. The Role of ADHD in Academic Adversity: Disentangling ADHD Effects from Other Personal and Contextual Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Andrew J.

    2014-01-01

    Students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience significant academic difficulties that can lead to numerous negative academic consequences. With a focus on adverse academic outcomes, this study seeks to disentangle variance attributable to ADHD from variance attributable to salient personal and contextual covariates.…

  16. Probing contextuality with pre- and post-selection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tollaksen, Jeff

    2007-01-01

    By analyzing the concept of contextuality (Bell-Kochen-Specker) in terms of pre-and-post-selection (PPS), it is possible to assign definite values to observables in a new way. Physical reasons are presented for restrictions on these assignments. When measurements are performed which do not disturb the pre- and post-selection (i.e. weak measurements), then novel experimental aspects of contextuality can be demonstrated including a proof that every PPS-paradox with definite predictions implies contextuality. Certain results of these measurements (eccentric weak values with e.g. negative values outside the spectrum), however, cannot be explained by a 'classical-like' hidden variable theory. Surprising theoretical implications are discussed

  17. Socio-contextual Determinants of Research Evidence Use in Public-Youth Systems of Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Antonio R; Kim, Minseop; Palinkas, Lawrence A; Snowden, Lonnie; Landsverk, John

    2016-07-01

    Recent efforts have been devoted to understanding the conditions by which research evidence use (REU) is facilitated from the perspective of system leaders in the context of implementing evidence-based child mental health interventions. However, we have limited understanding of the extent to which outer contextual factors influence REU. Outer contextual factors for 37 counties in California were gathered from public records in 2008; and child welfare, juvenile justice, and mental health system leaders' perceptions of their REU were measured via a web-based survey from 2010 to 2012. Results showed that leaders with higher educational attainment and in counties with lower expenditures on inpatient mental health services were significantly associated with higher REU. Positive relationships between gathering research evidence and racial minority concentration and poverty at the county level were also detected. Results underscore the need to identify the organizational and socio-political factors by which mental health services and resources meet client demands that influence REU, and to recruit and retain providers with a graduate degree to negotiate work demands and interpret research evidence.

  18. Moral contextualism and the problem of triviality

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Evers, Daan

    Moral contextualism is the view that claims like ‘A ought to X’ are implicitly relative to some (contextually variable) standard. This leads to a problem: what are fundamental moral claims like ‘You ought to maximize happiness’ relative to? If this claim is relative to a utilitarian standard, then

  19. Moral contextualism and the problem of triviality

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Evers, H.W.A.

    2013-01-01

    Moral contextualism is the view that claims like ‘A ought to X’ are implicitly relative to some (contextually variable) standard. This leads to a problem: what are fundamental moral claims like ‘You ought to maximize happiness’ relative to? If the claim is relative to a utilitarian standard, then

  20. Pre- and post-selection, weak values and contextuality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tollaksen, Jeff

    2007-01-01

    By analysing the concept of contextuality (Bell-Kochen-Specker) in terms of pre- and post-selection, it is possible to assign definite values to observables in a new and surprising way. Physical reasons are presented for restrictions on these assignments. When measurements are performed which do not disturb the pre- and post-selection (i.e. weak measurements), then novel experimental aspects of contextuality can be demonstrated. We also prove that every PPS-paradox with definite predictions directly implies 'quantum contextuality' which is introduced as the analogue of contextuality at the level of quantum mechanics rather than at the level of hidden variable theories. Finally, we argue that certain results of these measurements (e.g. eccentric weak values outside the eigenvalue spectrum) cannot be explained by a 'classical-like' hidden variable theory

  1. Contextual determinants of health behaviours in an aboriginal community in Canada: pilot project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph Pamela

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Rapid change in food intake, physical activity, and tobacco use in recent decades have contributed to the soaring rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD in Aboriginal populations living in Canada. The nature and influence of contextual factors on Aboriginal health behaviours are not well characterized. Methods To describe the contextual determinants of health behaviours associated with cardiovascular risk factors on the Six Nations reserve, including the built environment, access and affordability of healthy foods, and the use of tobacco. In this cross-sectional study, 63 adults from the Six Nations Reserve completed the modified Neighbourhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS, questionnaire assessing food access and availability, tobacco pricing and availability, and the Environmental Profile of Community Health (EPOCH tool. Results The structured environment of Six Nations Reserve scored low for walkability, street connectivity, aesthetics, safety, and access to walking and cycling facilities. All participants purchased groceries off-reserve, although fresh fruits and vegetables were reported to be available and affordable both on and off-reserve. On average $151/week is spent on groceries per family. Ninety percent of individuals report tobacco use is a problem in the community. Tobacco is easily accessible for children and youth, and only three percent of community members would accept increased tobacco taxation as a strategy to reduce tobacco access. Conclusions The built environment, access and affordability of healthy food and tobacco on the Six Nations Reserve are not perceived favourably. Modification of these contextual factors described here may reduce adverse health behaviours in the community.

  2. Acoustic Structure and Contextual Use of Calls by Captive Male and Female Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smirnova, Darya S; Volodin, Ilya A; Demina, Tatyana S; Volodina, Elena V

    2016-01-01

    The vocal repertoire of captive cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) and the specific role of meow vocalizations in communication of this species attract research interest about two dozen years. Here, we expand this research focus for the contextual use of call types, sex differences and individual differences at short and long terms. During 457 trials of acoustic recordings, we collected calls (n = 8120) and data on their contextual use for 13 adult cheetahs (6 males and 7 females) in four Russian zoos. The cheetah vocal repertoire comprised 7 call types produced in 8 behavioural contexts. Context-specific call types (chirr, growl, howl and hiss) were related to courting behaviour (chirr) or to aggressive behaviour (growl, howl and hiss). Other call types (chirp, purr and meow) were not context-specific. The values of acoustic variables differed between call types. The meow was the most often call type. Discriminant function analysis revealed a high potential of meows to encode individual identity and sex at short terms, however, the vocal individuality was unstable over years. We discuss the contextual use and acoustic variables of call types, the ratios of individual and sex differences in calls and the pathways of vocal ontogeny in the cheetah with relevant data on vocalization of other animals.

  3. Acoustic Structure and Contextual Use of Calls by Captive Male and Female Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Darya S Smirnova

    Full Text Available The vocal repertoire of captive cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus and the specific role of meow vocalizations in communication of this species attract research interest about two dozen years. Here, we expand this research focus for the contextual use of call types, sex differences and individual differences at short and long terms. During 457 trials of acoustic recordings, we collected calls (n = 8120 and data on their contextual use for 13 adult cheetahs (6 males and 7 females in four Russian zoos. The cheetah vocal repertoire comprised 7 call types produced in 8 behavioural contexts. Context-specific call types (chirr, growl, howl and hiss were related to courting behaviour (chirr or to aggressive behaviour (growl, howl and hiss. Other call types (chirp, purr and meow were not context-specific. The values of acoustic variables differed between call types. The meow was the most often call type. Discriminant function analysis revealed a high potential of meows to encode individual identity and sex at short terms, however, the vocal individuality was unstable over years. We discuss the contextual use and acoustic variables of call types, the ratios of individual and sex differences in calls and the pathways of vocal ontogeny in the cheetah with relevant data on vocalization of other animals.

  4. Viewpoint-independent contextual cueing effect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    taiga etsuchiai

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available We usually perceive things in our surroundings as unchanged despite viewpoint changes caused by self-motion. The visual system therefore must have a function to process objects independently of viewpoint. In this study, we examined whether viewpoint-independent spatial layout can be obtained implicitly. For this purpose, we used a contextual cueing effect, a learning effect of spatial layout in visual search displays known to be an implicit effect. We compared the transfer of the contextual cueing effect between cases with and without self-motion by using visual search displays for 3D objects, which changed according to the participant’s assumed location for viewing the stimuli. The contextual cueing effect was obtained with self-motion but disappeared when the display changed without self-motion. This indicates that there is an implicit learning effect in spatial coordinates and suggests that the spatial representation of object layouts or scenes can be obtained and updated implicitly. We also showed that binocular disparity play an important role in the layout representations.

  5. Scene-Based Contextual Cueing in Pigeons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wasserman, Edward A.; Teng, Yuejia; Brooks, Daniel I.

    2014-01-01

    Repeated pairings of a particular visual context with a specific location of a target stimulus facilitate target search in humans. We explored an animal model of such contextual cueing. Pigeons had to peck a target which could appear in one of four locations on color photographs of real-world scenes. On half of the trials, each of four scenes was consistently paired with one of four possible target locations; on the other half of the trials, each of four different scenes was randomly paired with the same four possible target locations. In Experiments 1 and 2, pigeons exhibited robust contextual cueing when the context preceded the target by 1 s to 8 s, with reaction times to the target being shorter on predictive-scene trials than on random-scene trials. Pigeons also responded more frequently during the delay on predictive-scene trials than on random-scene trials; indeed, during the delay on predictive-scene trials, pigeons predominately pecked toward the location of the upcoming target, suggesting that attentional guidance contributes to contextual cueing. In Experiment 3, involving left-right and top-bottom scene reversals, pigeons exhibited stronger control by global than by local scene cues. These results attest to the robustness and associative basis of contextual cueing in pigeons. PMID:25546098

  6. Experimental demonstration of quantum contextuality on an NMR qutrit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dogra, Shruti; Dorai, Kavita, E-mail: kavita@iisermohali.ac.in; Arvind

    2016-05-20

    We experimentally test quantum contextuality of a single qutrit using NMR. The contextuality inequalities based on nine observables developed by Kurzynski et al. are first reformulated in terms of traceless observables which can be measured in an NMR experiment. These inequalities reveal the contextuality of almost all single-qutrit states. We demonstrate the violation of the inequality on four different initial states of a spin-1 deuterium nucleus oriented in a liquid crystal matrix, and follow the violation as the states evolve in time. We also describe and experimentally perform a single-shot test of contextuality for a subclass of qutrit states whose density matrix is diagonal in the energy basis. - Highlights: • A contextuality inequality for a single qutrit was designed using traceless observables. • The violation of the inequality was experimentally demonstrated using NMR. • A single-shot test was experimentally performed for a subclass of diagonal qutrit states.

  7. Experimental demonstration of quantum contextuality on an NMR qutrit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dogra, Shruti; Dorai, Kavita; Arvind

    2016-01-01

    We experimentally test quantum contextuality of a single qutrit using NMR. The contextuality inequalities based on nine observables developed by Kurzynski et al. are first reformulated in terms of traceless observables which can be measured in an NMR experiment. These inequalities reveal the contextuality of almost all single-qutrit states. We demonstrate the violation of the inequality on four different initial states of a spin-1 deuterium nucleus oriented in a liquid crystal matrix, and follow the violation as the states evolve in time. We also describe and experimentally perform a single-shot test of contextuality for a subclass of qutrit states whose density matrix is diagonal in the energy basis. - Highlights: • A contextuality inequality for a single qutrit was designed using traceless observables. • The violation of the inequality was experimentally demonstrated using NMR. • A single-shot test was experimentally performed for a subclass of diagonal qutrit states.

  8. Multilevel analysis of the individual and contextual factors of tobacco use among Mexican adolescents using the National Addiction Survey (NAS, 2011

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Zavala Arciniega

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Background The tobacco industry has targeted low and middle-income countries and vulnerable groups such as women and young people. In Mexico we observe a slow decrease in tobacco consumption among adults, while in adolescents the trend in tobacco use shows an increase. Previous research in Mexico do not measure determinants at neighborhood level. The aim of the study is evaluate whether the contextual and individual factors are associated with tobacco use among Mexican adolescents. Methods Data from this study came from NAS 2011 and National Census 2010. Descriptive statistics were estimated after adjusting for sampling weights. The study had two levels: individual (adolescents between 12-17 years and contextual (neighborhoods. Multilevel logistic regression stratified by sex was conducted. Results The final sample includes 2785 adolescents from 364 neighborhoods. Prevalence of 30 days smoking in women adolescents was 3.8% and in male adolescents was 10.3%. Female adolescents exposed to second hand smoke at home were more likely to be a current smoker (OR 2.87 CI: 1.37,6.04 and in those who have an employment (OR 4.35 CI: 1.03,18.3. School attendance was inversely associated with tobacco use (OR 0.38 CI: 0.16,0.89. In Male adolescents the likelihood of being a current smoker increase according to age (OR 4.35 CI: 1.51,12.4 for 15-17 vs 12-14 and in those exposed to second hand smoke at home (OR 5.03 CI 2.38,10.6, while school attendance decrease the likelihood of being a current smoker (OR 0.14 CI: 0.05,0.39. Conclusions This study suggest that school attendance is a protective factor for smoking. Second hand smoke at home is an important factor of tobacco use. Have an employment increase the likelihood of being a current smoker only in female adolescents. Implement a successful tobacco control policy in Mexico needs to take into account educational, economics, social and gender determinants.

  9. Clinical relevance of and risk factors associated with medication administration time errors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Teunissen, R.; Bos, J.; Pot, H.; Pluim, M.; Kramers, C.

    2013-01-01

    PURPOSE: The clinical relevance of and risk factors associated with errors related to medication administration time were studied. METHODS: In this explorative study, 66 medication administration rounds were studied on two wards (surgery and neurology) of a hospital. Data on medication errors were

  10. Contextuality in canonical systems of random variables

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dzhafarov, Ehtibar N.; Cervantes, Víctor H.; Kujala, Janne V.

    2017-10-01

    Random variables representing measurements, broadly understood to include any responses to any inputs, form a system in which each of them is uniquely identified by its content (that which it measures) and its context (the conditions under which it is recorded). Two random variables are jointly distributed if and only if they share a context. In a canonical representation of a system, all random variables are binary, and every content-sharing pair of random variables has a unique maximal coupling (the joint distribution imposed on them so that they coincide with maximal possible probability). The system is contextual if these maximal couplings are incompatible with the joint distributions of the context-sharing random variables. We propose to represent any system of measurements in a canonical form and to consider the system contextual if and only if its canonical representation is contextual. As an illustration, we establish a criterion for contextuality of the canonical system consisting of all dichotomizations of a single pair of content-sharing categorical random variables. This article is part of the themed issue `Second quantum revolution: foundational questions'.

  11. Mobile Contextualized learning games for decision support training

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klemke, Roland; Börner, Dirk; Suarez, Angel; Schneider, Jan; Antonaci, Alessandra

    2015-01-01

    This interactive workshop session introduces mobile serious games as situated, contextualized learning games. Example cases for mobile serious games for decision support training are introduced and discussed. Participants will get to know contextualization techniques used in modern mobile

  12. Contextual remapping in visual search after predictable target-location changes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conci, Markus; Sun, Luning; Müller, Hermann J

    2011-07-01

    Invariant spatial context can facilitate visual search. For instance, detection of a target is faster if it is presented within a repeatedly encountered, as compared to a novel, layout of nontargets, demonstrating a role of contextual learning for attentional guidance ('contextual cueing'). Here, we investigated how context-based learning adapts to target location (and identity) changes. Three experiments were performed in which, in an initial learning phase, observers learned to associate a given context with a given target location. A subsequent test phase then introduced identity and/or location changes to the target. The results showed that contextual cueing could not compensate for target changes that were not 'predictable' (i.e. learnable). However, for predictable changes, contextual cueing remained effective even immediately after the change. These findings demonstrate that contextual cueing is adaptive to predictable target location changes. Under these conditions, learned contextual associations can be effectively 'remapped' to accommodate new task requirements.

  13. Contextual influences affecting patterns of overweight and obesity among university students: a 50 universities population-based study in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Tingzhong; Yu, Lingwei; Barnett, Ross; Jiang, Shuhan; Peng, Sihui; Fan, Yafeng; Li, Lu

    2017-05-08

    Many studies have examined childhood and adolescent obesity, but few have examined young adults and the effect of their home and current living environments on prevalence rates. The present study explores contextual factors affecting overweight and obesity among university students in China and, in particular, focuses on how the SES-obesity relationship varies across different geographical contexts. Participants were 11,673 students, who were identified through a multistage survey sampling process conducted in 50 universities. Individual data was obtained through a self-administered questionnaire, and contextual variables were retrieved from a national database. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to examine urban and regional variations in overweight and obesity. Overall the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the study sample was 9.5% (95% CI 7.7, 11.3%). After controlling for individual factors, both attributes of the home location (regional GDP per capita and rurality) and the current university location (city population) were found to be important, thus suggesting that the different origins of students affect current levels of obesity. At the individual level, while students with more financial resources were more likely to be obese, the extent of this relationship was highly dependent upon area income and city size. The results of this study add important insights about the role of contextual factors affecting overweight and obesity among young adults and indicate a need to take into account both past as well as present environmental influences when considering the role of contextual factors in models of the nutrition transition.

  14. Mobile Contextualized learning games for decision support training

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klemke, Roland

    2014-01-01

    This interactive workshop session introduces mobile serious games as situated, contextualized learning games. Example cases for mobile serious games for decision support training are introduced and discussed. Participants will get to know contextualization techniques used in modern mobile devices

  15. Personal characteristics and contextual factors that determine "helping," "joining in," and "doing nothing" when witnessing cyberbullying.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Cleemput, Katrien; Vandebosch, Heidi; Pabian, Sara

    2014-01-01

    In this article, we investigated several determinants of bystanders' reactive behaviors when confronted with cyberbullying using self-reported data from 2,333 Flemish 9-16 year olds. Structural equation modeling showed that adolescents that had joined in on the cyberbullying were older, had lower levels of empathy and were more likely to have been involved in cyberbullying or traditional bullying as perpetrators. Adolescents who had helped the victim were younger, had higher levels of empathy and were more likely to have been a victim of cyberbullying or traditional bullying in the past months. Adolescents that did nothing when they witnessed cyberbullying, were also older, showed lower levels of empathy and were less likely to have been a victim of traditional bullying. Social anxiety was not related to joining in, helping and remaining passive. In the second part of the analysis, we found that bystanders' passive behavior could be explained in more detail by moral disengagement theory and other contextual factors. In the discussion, the implications of the findings for research on cyberbullying are addressed. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Combining individual and ecological data to determine compositional and contextual socio-economic risk factors for suicide

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agerbo, Esben; Sterne, J.A.; Gunnell, D.J.

    2007-01-01

    The social and economic characteristics of geographic areas are associated with their suicide rates. The extent to which these ecological associations are due to the characteristics of the people living in the areas (compositional effects) or the influence of the areas themselves on risk (context......The social and economic characteristics of geographic areas are associated with their suicide rates. The extent to which these ecological associations are due to the characteristics of the people living in the areas (compositional effects) or the influence of the areas themselves on risk...... (contextual effects) is uncertain. Denmark's Medical Register on Vital Statistics and its Integrated Database for Longitudinal Labour Market Research were used to identify suicides and 20 matched controls per case in 25-60-year-old men and women between 1982 and 1997. Individual and area (municipality...... area levels of employment and income and increasing proportions of people living alone were much attenuated after controlling for compositional effects. We found no consistent evidence that associations with individual-level risk factors differed depending on the areas' characteristics (cross...

  17. Applying a Comprehensive Contextual Climate Change Vulnerability Framework to New Zealand's Tourism Industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopkins, Debbie

    2015-03-01

    Conceptualisations of 'vulnerability' vary amongst scholarly communities, contributing to a wide variety of applications. Research investigating vulnerability to climate change has often excluded non-climatic changes which may contribute to degrees of vulnerability perceived or experienced. This paper introduces a comprehensive contextual vulnerability framework which incorporates physical, social, economic and political factors which could amplify or reduce vulnerability. The framework is applied to New Zealand's tourism industry to explore its value in interpreting a complex, human-natural environment system with multiple competing vulnerabilities. The comprehensive contextual framework can inform government policy and industry decision making, integrating understandings of climate change within the broader context of internal and external social, physical, economic, and institutional stressors.

  18. The problem of contextuality and the impossibility of experimental metaphysics thereof

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hermens, Ronnie

    Recently a new impulse has been given to the experimental investigation of contextuality. In this paper we show that for a widely used definition of contextuality there can be no decisive experiment on the existence of contextuality. To this end, we give a clear presentation of the hidden variable models due to Meyer, Kent and Clifton (MKC), which would supposedly nullify the Kochen-Specker theorem. Although we disagree with this last statement, the models do play a significant role in the discussion on the meaning of contextuality. In fact, we introduce a specific MKC-model of which we show that it is non-contextual and completely in agreement with quantum mechanical predictions. We also investigate the possibility of other definitions of non-contextuality-with an emphasis on operational definitions-and argue that any useful definition relies on the specification of a theoretical framework. It is therefore concluded that no experimental test can yield any conclusions about contextuality on a metaphysical level.

  19. Contextual and Cultural Influences on Parental Feeding Practices and Involvement in Child Care Centers among Hispanic Parents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mena, Noereem Z; Gorman, Kathleen; Dickin, Kate; Greene, Geoffrey; Tovar, Alison

    2015-08-01

    Parental feeding practices shape children's dietary preferences and behaviors, which can influence a child's weight status. Limited research exists on the precursors and contextual influences of feeding, particularly among Hispanic parents. Therefore, this study explored two areas potentially important for obesity prevention in young children: (1) precursors and contextual influences on parental feeding and (2) parental perceptions and knowledge of the child care food environment. Four focus groups (n=36) were held with Hispanic parents, predominantly mothers, of preschool children at two child care centers. Parents were asked about influences on what and how they feed their children, awareness of the child care center feeding environment, and current involvement in the child care center. Themes were coded using NVivo10 software (QSR International, Melbourne, Australia). Participants' childhood experiences influenced how they feed their children. Parents stated that both husbands and grandparents often indulged their children with unhealthy foods and thought this interfered with their efforts to maintain a healthy home environment. Participants reported that what their children ate while in child care sometimes influenced the home feeding environment. Cultural and environmental factors influence parental feeding and involvement in the child care setting. Consistent with socioecological system theory, exploring interactions between the environment and culture using a family focus framework, such as the Family Ecological Model, could provide a better understanding of these influences among Hispanic parents. Future obesity prevention interventions with Hispanic families should be culturally relevant and target the different environments where children spend their time.

  20. Cross-cultural adjustment to the United States: The role of contextualized extraversion change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mengqiao eLiu

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Personality traits can predict how well sojourners and expatriates adjust to new cultures, but the adjustment process remains largely unexamined. Based on recent findings that reveal personality traits predict as well as respond to life events and experiences, this research focuses on within-person change in contextualized extraversion and its predictive validity for cross-cultural adjustment in international students who newly arrived in U.S. colleges. We proposed that the initial level as well as the rate of change in school extraversion (i.e., contextualized extraversion that reflects behavioral tendency in school settings will predict cross-cultural adjustment, withdrawal cognitions, and school satisfaction. Latent growth modeling of three-wave longitudinal surveys of 215 new international students (54% female, Mage = 24 years revealed that the initial level of school extraversion significantly predicted cross-cultural adjustment, (lower withdrawal cognitions, and satisfaction, while the rate of change (increase in school extraversion predicted cross-cultural adjustment and (lower withdrawal cognitions. We further modeled global extraversion and cross-cultural motivation as antecedents and explored within-person change in school extraversion as a proximal factor that affects adjustment outcomes. The findings highlight the malleability of contextualized personality, and more importantly, the importance of understanding within-person change in contextualized personality in a cross-cultural adjustment context. The study points to more research that explicate the process of personality change in other contexts.

  1. Cross-cultural adjustment to the United States: the role of contextualized extraversion change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Mengqiao; Huang, Jason L

    2015-01-01

    Personality traits can predict how well-sojourners and expatriates adjust to new cultures, but the adjustment process remains largely unexamined. Based on recent findings that reveal personality traits predict as well as respond to life events and experiences, this research focuses on within-person change in contextualized extraversion and its predictive validity for cross-cultural adjustment in international students who newly arrived in US colleges. We proposed that the initial level as well as the rate of change in school extraversion (i.e., contextualized extraversion that reflects behavioral tendency in school settings) will predict cross-cultural adjustment, withdrawal cognitions, and school satisfaction. Latent growth modeling of three-wave longitudinal surveys of 215 new international students (54% female, M age = 24 years) revealed that the initial level of school extraversion significantly predicted cross-cultural adjustment, (lower) withdrawal cognitions, and satisfaction, while the rate of change (increase) in school extraversion predicted cross-cultural adjustment and (lower) withdrawal cognitions. We further modeled global extraversion and cross-cultural motivation as antecedents and explored within-person change in school extraversion as a proximal factor that affects adjustment outcomes. The findings highlight the malleability of contextualized personality, and more importantly, the importance of understanding within-person change in contextualized personality in a cross-cultural adjustment context. The study points to more research that explicate the process of personality change in other contexts.

  2. Cross-cultural adjustment to the United States: the role of contextualized extraversion change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Mengqiao; Huang, Jason L.

    2015-01-01

    Personality traits can predict how well-sojourners and expatriates adjust to new cultures, but the adjustment process remains largely unexamined. Based on recent findings that reveal personality traits predict as well as respond to life events and experiences, this research focuses on within-person change in contextualized extraversion and its predictive validity for cross-cultural adjustment in international students who newly arrived in US colleges. We proposed that the initial level as well as the rate of change in school extraversion (i.e., contextualized extraversion that reflects behavioral tendency in school settings) will predict cross-cultural adjustment, withdrawal cognitions, and school satisfaction. Latent growth modeling of three-wave longitudinal surveys of 215 new international students (54% female, Mage = 24 years) revealed that the initial level of school extraversion significantly predicted cross-cultural adjustment, (lower) withdrawal cognitions, and satisfaction, while the rate of change (increase) in school extraversion predicted cross-cultural adjustment and (lower) withdrawal cognitions. We further modeled global extraversion and cross-cultural motivation as antecedents and explored within-person change in school extraversion as a proximal factor that affects adjustment outcomes. The findings highlight the malleability of contextualized personality, and more importantly, the importance of understanding within-person change in contextualized personality in a cross-cultural adjustment context. The study points to more research that explicate the process of personality change in other contexts. PMID:26579033

  3. Contextually in a Peres—Mermin square using arbitrary operators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laversanne-Finot, A; Ketterer, A; Coudreau, T; Milman, P; Barros, M R; Walborn, S P; Keller, A

    2016-01-01

    The contextuality of quantum mechanics can be shown by the violation of inequalities based on measurements of well chosen observables. These inequalities have been designed separately for both discrete and continuous variables. Here we unify both strategies by introducing general conditions to demonstrate the contextuality of quantum mechanics from measurements of observables of arbitrary dimensions. Among the consequences of our results is the impossibility of having a maximal violation of contextuality in the Peres-Mermin scenario with discrete observables of odd dimensions. In addition, we show how to construct a large class of observables with a continuous spectrum enabling the realization of contextuality tests both in the Gaussian and non-Gaussian regimes. (paper)

  4. Object-based implicit learning in visual search: perceptual segmentation constrains contextual cueing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conci, Markus; Müller, Hermann J; von Mühlenen, Adrian

    2013-07-09

    In visual search, detection of a target is faster when it is presented within a spatial layout of repeatedly encountered nontarget items, indicating that contextual invariances can guide selective attention (contextual cueing; Chun & Jiang, 1998). However, perceptual regularities may interfere with contextual learning; for instance, no contextual facilitation occurs when four nontargets form a square-shaped grouping, even though the square location predicts the target location (Conci & von Mühlenen, 2009). Here, we further investigated potential causes for this interference-effect: We show that contextual cueing can reliably occur for targets located within the region of a segmented object, but not for targets presented outside of the object's boundaries. Four experiments demonstrate an object-based facilitation in contextual cueing, with a modulation of context-based learning by relatively subtle grouping cues including closure, symmetry, and spatial regularity. Moreover, the lack of contextual cueing for targets located outside the segmented region was due to an absence of (latent) learning of contextual layouts, rather than due to an attentional bias towards the grouped region. Taken together, these results indicate that perceptual segmentation provides a basic structure within which contextual scene regularities are acquired. This in turn argues that contextual learning is constrained by object-based selection.

  5. Exhibition of Monogamy Relations between Entropic Non-contextuality Inequalities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Feng; Zhang Wei; Huang Yi-Dong

    2017-01-01

    We exhibit the monogamy relation between two entropic non-contextuality inequalities in the scenario where compatible projectors are orthogonal. We show the monogamy relation can be exhibited by decomposing the orthogonality graph into perfect induced subgraphs. Then we find two entropic non-contextuality inequalities are monogamous while the KCBS-type non-contextuality inequalities are not if the orthogonality graphs of the observable sets are two odd cycles with two shared vertices. (paper)

  6. The role of policy actors and contextual factors in policy agenda setting and formulation: maternal fee exemption policies in Ghana over four and a half decades.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koduah, Augustina; van Dijk, Han; Agyepong, Irene Akua

    2015-05-30

    Development of health policy is a complex process that does not necessarily follow a particular format and a predictable trajectory. Therefore, agenda setting and selecting of alternatives are critical processes of policy development and can give insights into how and why policies are made. Understanding why some policy issues remain and are maintained whiles others drop off the agenda is an important enquiry. This paper aims to advance understanding of health policy agenda setting and formulation in Ghana, a lower middle-income country, by exploring how and why the maternal (antenatal, delivery and postnatal) fee exemption policy agenda in the health sector has been maintained over the four and half decades since a 'free antenatal care in government facilities' policy was first introduced in October 1963. A mix of historical and contemporary qualitative case studies of nine policy agenda setting and formulation processes was used. Data collection methods involved reviews of archival materials, contemporary records, media content, in-depth interviews, and participant observation. Data was analysed drawing on a combination of policy analysis theories and frameworks. Contextual factors, acting in an interrelating manner, shaped how policy actors acted in a timely manner and closely linked policy content to the intended agenda. Contextual factors that served as bases for the policymaking process were: political ideology, economic crisis, data about health outcomes, historical events, social unrest, change in government, election year, austerity measures, and international agendas. Nkrumah's socialist ideology first set the agenda for free antenatal service in 1963. This policy trajectory taken in 1963 was not reversed by subsequent policy actors because contextual factors and policy actors created a network of influence to maintain this issue on the agenda. Politicians over the years participated in the process to direct and approve the agenda. Donors increasingly

  7. Contextual Influences on the Relations between Physical and Relational Aggression and Peer Victimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santo, Jonathan Bruce; Bass, Ellyn Charlotte; Stella-Lopez, Luz; Bukowski, William M.

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies have demonstrated that several contextual factors influence the relationship between aggression and peer victimization in early adolescence, including gender of the same-sex peer group and gender composition of the school. The current study replicated and expanded on this research by examining the moderating influences of gender…

  8. A Strategy to Support Educational Leaders in Developing Countries to Manage Contextual Challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolhuter, Charl; van der Walt, Hannes; Steyn, Hennie

    2016-01-01

    The central theoretical argument of this paper is that educational leadership and organisational development and change in educational institutions in developing countries will not be effective unless school leaders are aware of the challenges posed by contextual factors that might have an impact on their professional activities. The article…

  9. Personal and contextual determinants of attitudes towards immigrants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petrović Boban

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The issues of immigrants and attitudes towards immigrants are an important social issue in our country, and in recent years these issues have become more topical due to the large number of immigrants from the Middle East and Africa who pass through Serbia. This research was aimed at identifying the determinants of social attitudes towards immigrants. Contextual determinants, first of all, economic security and life in a multiethnic environment, as well as individual determinants, operationalized through the HEXACO model of personality, were examined. The research was conducted on the convenience sample of 540 participants. The results have shown that economic security has no direct effect on the attitudes towards immigrants, while the multiethnic environment is an important determinant of these attitudes. Personality traits, especially Openness, as well as Honesty- Humility, have better predictive power than the contextual variables. The factors of economic security are significant moderators of the relationship between personality and attitudes towards immigrants. The importance of the obtained results for understanding the formation of attitudes towards immigrants is discussed, as well as the methodological framework for future studies of attitudes towards immigrants and other social groups.

  10. Community historians and the dilemma of rigor vs relevance : A comment on Danziger and van Rappard

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dehue, Trudy

    1998-01-01

    Since the transition from finalism to contextualism, the history of science seems to be caught up in a basic dilemma. Many historians fear that with the new contextualist standards of rigorous historiography, historical research can no longer be relevant to working scientists themselves. The present

  11. Incomplete childhood immunization in Nigeria: a multilevel analysis of individual and contextual factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sulaimon T. Adedokun

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Under-five mortality remains high in sub-Saharan Africa despite global decline. One quarter of these deaths are preventable through interventions such as immunization. The aim of this study was to examine the independent effects of individual-, community- and state-level factors on incomplete childhood immunization in Nigeria, which is one of the 10 countries where most of the incompletely immunised children in the world live. Methods The study was based on secondary analyses of cross-sectional data from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (DHS. Multilevel multivariable logistic regression models were applied to the data on 5,754 children aged 12–23 months who were fully immunized or not (level 1, nested within 896 communities (level 2 from 37 states (level 3. Results More than three-quarter of the children (76.3% were not completely immunized. About 83% of children of young mothers (15–24 years and 94% of those whose mothers are illiterate did not receive full immunization. In the fully adjusted model, the chances of not being fully immunized reduced for children whose mothers attended antenatal clinic (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.49; 95% credible interval [CrI] = 0.39–0.60, delivered in health facility (aOR = 0.62; 95% CrI = 0.51–0.74 and lived in urban area (aOR = 0.66; 95% CrI = 0.50–0.82. Children whose mothers had difficulty getting to health facility (aOR = 1.28; 95% CrI = 1.02–1.57 and lived in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities (aOR = 2.93; 95% CrI = 1.60–4.71 and states (aOR = 2.69; 955 CrI =1.37–4.73 were more likely to be incompletely immunized. Conclusions This study has revealed that the risk of children being incompletely immunized in Nigeria was influenced by not only individual factors but also community- and state-level factors. Interventions to improve child immunization uptake should take into consideration these contextual

  12. An Exploratory Study of the Impact of Contextual Cues of Violence in an Active Videogame.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Wei; Pfeiffer, Karin; Winn, Brian

    2014-04-01

    With the expanded genres of active videogames, one inevitably raises the question of whether it is worthwhile to use active videogames to promote physical activity if games involve violent themes. The purpose of the current study was to explore the effects of contextual cues of violence in an active videogame on (1) state hostility, (2) perceived arousal, (3) game enjoyment, (4) perceived effort in the game, and (5) activity intensity in the game. A one-factor between-subjects experiment with three conditions (minimal, moderate, and extreme contextual cues of violence) of playing an in-house-developed active videogame was conducted. Activity intensity was objectively measured using the ActiGraph (Pensacola, FL) model GT3X accelerometer. Psychological outcomes were measured using established scales. We did not find that the level of contextual cues of violence had any effect on the outcome variables, although the moderate level of contextual cues of violence resulted in a greater amount of feeling mean (P=0.011) and unsociable (P=0.038) among the players immediately after gameplay than players in the minimal contextual cues of violence condition. We did not find any statistically significant difference among the three conditions in terms of enjoyment, perceived arousal, or activity intensity. This study empirically examined the effects of contextual cues of violence in active videogames on player hostility, arousal, and enjoyment after gameplay as well as their physical activity intensity during gameplay. These findings provide some initial evidence to guide active videogame designers and researchers on how to design the games to be more engaging and thus elicit more activities among the players.

  13. Contextual control over task-set retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crump, Matthew J C; Logan, Gordon D

    2010-11-01

    Contextual cues signaling task likelihood or the likelihood of task repetition are known to modulate the size of switch costs. We follow up on the finding by Leboe, Wong, Crump, and Stobbe (2008) that location cues predictive of the proportion of switch or repeat trials modulate switch costs. Their design employed one cue per task, whereas our experiment employed two cues per task, which allowed separate assessment of modulations to the cue-repetition benefit, a measure of lower level cue-encoding processes, and to the task-alternation cost, a measure of higher level processes representing task-set information. We demonstrate that location information predictive of switch proportion modulates performance at the level of task-set representations. Furthermore, we demonstrate that contextual control occurs even when subjects are unaware of the associations between context and switch likelihood. We discuss the notion that contextual information provides rapid, unconscious control over the extent to which prior task-set representations are retrieved in the service of guiding online performance.

  14. Remote health monitoring: predicting outcome success based on contextual features for cardiovascular disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alshurafa, Nabil; Eastwood, Jo-Ann; Pourhomayoun, Mohammad; Liu, Jason J; Sarrafzadeh, Majid

    2014-01-01

    Current studies have produced a plethora of remote health monitoring (RHM) systems designed to enhance the care of patients with chronic diseases. Many RHM systems are designed to improve patient risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including physiological parameters such as body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, and lipid profiles such as low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL). There are several patient characteristics that could be determining factors for a patient's RHM outcome success, but these characteristics have been largely unidentified. In this paper, we analyze results from an RHM system deployed in a six month Women's Heart Health study of 90 patients, and apply advanced feature selection and machine learning algorithms to identify patients' key baseline contextual features and build effective prediction models that help determine RHM outcome success. We introduce Wanda-CVD, a smartphone-based RHM system designed to help participants with cardiovascular disease risk factors by motivating participants through wireless coaching using feedback and prompts as social support. We analyze key contextual features that secure positive patient outcomes in both physiological parameters and lipid profiles. Results from the Women's Heart Health study show that health threat of heart disease, quality of life, family history, stress factors, social support, and anxiety at baseline all help predict patient RHM outcome success.

  15. Current smoking among young adolescents: assessing school based contextual norms

    OpenAIRE

    Pokorny, S; Jason, L; Schoeny, M

    2004-01-01

    Objective: To extend research on the relation of school based contextual norms to current smoking among adolescents by using three analytic techniques to test for contextual effects. It was hypothesised that significant contextual effects would be found in all three models, but that the strength of these effects would vary by the statistical rigor of the model.

  16. School variation in asthma: compositional or contextual?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tracy K Richmond

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Childhood asthma prevalence and morbidity have been shown to vary by neighborhood. Less is known about between-school variation in asthma prevalence and whether it exists beyond what one might expect due to students at higher risk of asthma clustering within different schools. Our objective was to determine whether between-school variation in asthma prevalence exists and if so, if it is related to the differential distribution of individual risk factors for and correlates of asthma or to contextual influences of schools.Cross-sectional analysis of 16,640 teens in grades 7-12 in Wave 1 (data collected in 1994-5 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Outcome was current diagnosis of asthma as reported by respondents' parents. Two-level random effects models were used to assess the contribution of schools to the variance in asthma prevalence before and after controlling for individual attributes.The highest quartile schools had mean asthma prevalence of 21.9% compared to the lowest quartile schools with mean asthma prevalence of 7.1%. In our null model, the school contributed significantly to the variance in asthma (sigma(u0(2 = 0.27, CI: 0.20, 0.35. Controlling for individual, school and neighborhood attributes reduced the between-school variance modestly (sigma(u0(2 = 0.19 CI: 0.13-0.29.Significant between-school variation in current asthma prevalence exists even after controlling for the individual, school and neighborhood factors. This provides evidence for school level contextual influences on asthma. Further research is needed to determine potential mechanisms through which schools may influence asthma outcomes.

  17. Contextual Aspects of Smart City Energy Systems Analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thellufsen, Jakob Zinck

    The thesis defines the concept of smart city energy systems. The thesis emphasises the need to investigate the smart city energy system and two contextual aspects. The system integration context and the geographical context. The system integration context emphasises that increased interrelation...... of the different contextual aspects....

  18. Anterior prefrontal involvement in implicit contextual change detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Pollmann

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Anterior prefrontal cortex is usually associated with high level executive functions. Here, we show that the frontal pole, specifically left lateral frontopolar cortex, is involved in signaling change in implicitly learned spatial contexts, in the absence of conscious change detection. In a variant of the contextual cueing paradigm, participants first learned implicitly contingencies between distractor contexts and target locations. After learning, repeated distractor contexts were paired with new target locations. Left lateral frontopolar (BA10 and superior frontal (BA9 cortices showed selective signal increase for this target location change in repeated displays in an event-related fMRI experiment, which was most pronounced in participants with high contextual facilitation before the change. The data support the view that left lateral frontopolar cortex is involved in signaling contextual change to posterior brain areas as a precondition for adaptive changes of attentional resource allocation. This signaling occurs in the absence of awareness of learned contingencies or contextual change.

  19. Experimental Detection of Information Deficit in a Photonic Contextuality Scenario

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhan, Xiang; Kurzyński, Paweł; Kaszlikowski, Dagomir; Wang, Kunkun; Bian, Zhihao; Zhang, Yongsheng; Xue, Peng

    2017-12-01

    Contextuality is an essential characteristic of quantum theory, and supplies the power for many quantum information processes. Previous tests of contextuality focus mainly on the probability distribution of measurement results. However, a test of contextuality can be formulated in terms of entropic inequalities whose violations imply information deficit in the studied system. This information deficit has not been observed on a single local system. Here we report the first experimental detection of information deficit in an entropic test of quantum contextuality based on photonic setup. The corresponding inequality is violated with more than 13 standard deviations.

  20. Contextual Text Mining

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mei, Qiaozhu

    2009-01-01

    With the dramatic growth of text information, there is an increasing need for powerful text mining systems that can automatically discover useful knowledge from text. Text is generally associated with all kinds of contextual information. Those contexts can be explicit, such as the time and the location where a blog article is written, and the…

  1. Facilitating the implementation of evidence-based practice through contextual support and nursing leadership

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kueny A

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Angela Kueny,1 Leah L Shever,2 Melissa Lehan Mackin,3 Marita G Titler4 1Luther College, Decorah, IA, 2The University of Michigan Hospital and Health Center, Ann Arbor, MI, 3University of Iowa College of Nursing, Iowa City, IA, 4University of Michigan School of Nursing, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Background/purpose: Nurse managers (NMs play an important role promoting evidence-based practice (EBP on clinical units within hospitals. However, there is a dearth of research focused on NM perspectives about institutional contextual factors to support the goal of EBP on the clinical unit. The purpose of this article is to identify contextual factors described by NMs to drive change and facilitate EBP at the unit level, comparing and contrasting these perspectives across nursing units. Methods: This study employed a qualitative descriptive design using interviews with nine NMs who were participating in a large effectiveness study. To stratify the sample, NMs were selected from nursing units designated as high or low performing based on implementation of EBP interventions, scores on the Meyer and Goes research use scale, and fall rates. Descriptive content analysis was used to identify themes that reflect the complex nature of infrastructure described by NMs and contextual influences that supported or hindered their promotion of EBP on the clinical unit. Results: NMs perceived workplace culture, structure, and resources as facilitators or barriers to empowering nurses under their supervision to use EBP and drive change. A workplace culture that provides clear communication of EBP goals or regulatory changes, direct contact with CEOs, and clear expectations supported NMs in their promotion of EBP on their units. High-performing unit NMs described a structure that included nursing-specific committees, allowing nurses to drive change and EBP from within the unit. NMs from high-performing units were more likely to articulate internal resources, such as quality

  2. Selecting for memory? The influence of selective attention on the mnemonic binding of contextual information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uncapher, Melina R; Rugg, Michael D

    2009-06-24

    Not all of what is experienced is remembered later. Behavioral evidence suggests that the manner in which an event is processed influences which aspects of the event will later be remembered. The present experiment investigated the neural correlates of "selective encoding," or the mechanisms that support the encoding of some elements of an event in preference to others. Event-related MRI data were acquired while volunteers selectively attended to one of two different contextual features of study items (color or location). A surprise memory test for the items and both contextual features was subsequently administered to determine the influence of selective attention on the neural correlates of contextual encoding. Activity in several cortical regions indexed later memory success selectively for color or location information, and this encoding-related activity was enhanced by selective attention to the relevant feature. Critically, a region in the hippocampus responded selectively to attended source information (whether color or location), demonstrating encoding-related activity for attended but not for nonattended source features. Together, the findings suggest that selective attention modulates the magnitude of activity in cortical regions engaged by different aspects of an event, and hippocampal encoding mechanisms seem to be sensitive to this modulation. Thus, the information that is encoded into a memory representation is biased by selective attention, and this bias is mediated by cortical-hippocampal interactions.

  3. Selecting for memory? The influence of selective attention on the mnemonic binding of contextual information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uncapher, Melina R.; Rugg, Michael D.

    2009-01-01

    Not all of what is experienced is remembered later. Behavioral evidence suggests that the manner in which an event is processed influences which aspects of the event will later be remembered. The present experiment investigated the neural correlates of ‘selective encoding’, or the mechanisms that support the encoding of some elements of an event in preference to others. Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were acquired while volunteers selectively attended to one of two different contextual features of study items (color or location). A surprise memory test for the items and both contextual features was subsequently administered to determine the influence of selective attention on the neural correlates of contextual encoding. Activity in several cortical regions indexed later memory success selectively for color or location information, and this encoding-related activity was enhanced by selective attention to the relevant feature. Critically, a region in the hippocampus responded selectively to attended source information (whether color or location), demonstrating encoding-related activity for attended but not for nonattended source features. Together, the findings suggest that selective attention modulates the magnitude of activity in cortical regions engaged by different aspects of an event, and hippocampal encoding mechanisms seem to be sensitive to this modulation. Thus, the information that is encoded into a memory representation is biased by selective attention, and this bias is mediated by cortico-hippocampal interactions. PMID:19553466

  4. Contextual cueing based on the semantic-category membership of the environment

    OpenAIRE

    GOUJON, A

    2005-01-01

    During the analysis of a visual scene, top-down processing is constantly directing the subject's attention to the zones of interest in the scene. The contextual cueing paradigm developed by Chun and Jiang (1998) shows how contextual regularities can facilitate the search for a particular element via implicit learning mechanisms. In the proposed study, contextual cueing task with lexical displays was used. The semantic-category membership of the contextual words predicted the location of the t...

  5. Brain based learning with contextual approach to mathematics achievement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V Kartikaningtyas

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to know the effect of Brain Based Learning (BBL with a contextual approach to mathematics achievement. BBL-contextual is the learning model that designed to develop and optimize the brain ability for getting a new concept and solving the real life problem. This study method was a quasi-experiment. The population was the junior high school students. The sample chosen by using stratified cluster random sampling. The sample was 109 students. The data collected through a mathematics achievement test that was given after the treatment. The data analyzed by using one way ANOVA. The results of the study showed that BBL-contextual is better than direct learning on mathematics achievement. It means BBL-contextual could be an effective and innovative model.

  6. Employment and contextual impact of safe and unsafe sexual practices for STI and HIV: the situation in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, S M; Gao, M Y

    2000-08-01

    China's dual employment system plays a crucial role in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV-related safe and unsafe sexual practices among young Chinese people. Social and psychological determinants of safe and unsafe sexual practices for HIV infection among young people in Sichuan, China were examined. Our findings indicate that changes in China's social structure and employment system impact upon the social contextual involvement and socio-sexual practice of young Chinese people. The findings in the study suggest that the employment-related contextual involvement was a major predictor in the relationships between demography, information, and psychological risk-taking factors on one hand and the people's safe and unsafe sexual practices on the other. Self-employed people (officially called 'getihu') were more likely than the state-employed people to engage in unprotected sex with casual sexual partners. As China undergoes social restructuring and many state-employed people are laid off, the risk may also extend into the broader non-self-employed population as more state-employed people become involved not only in the self-employed getihu's socioeconomic activities but also in their unconventional socio-sexual practices. Collective vulnerability to STI and HIV, due to the current socio-sexual practices of the getihu young people, has created a new frontier for STI and HIV prevention in today's China, as well as demonstrating the importance of collective action with STI and AIDS prevention strategies within relevant social and sub-cultural contexts.

  7. Human cortical activity evoked by contextual processing in attentional orienting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Shuo; Li, Chunlin; Uono, Shota; Yoshimura, Sayaka; Toichi, Motomi

    2017-06-07

    The ability to assess another person's direction of attention is paramount in social communication, many studies have reported a similar pattern between gaze and arrow cues in attention orienting. Neuroimaging research has also demonstrated no qualitative differences in attention to gaze and arrow cues. However, these studies were implemented under simple experiment conditions. Researchers have highlighted the importance of contextual processing (i.e., the semantic congruence between cue and target) in attentional orienting, showing that attentional orienting by social gaze or arrow cues could be modulated through contextual processing. Here, we examine the neural activity of attentional orienting by gaze and arrow cues in response to contextual processing using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The results demonstrated that the influence of neural activity through contextual processing to attentional orienting occurred under invalid conditions (when the cue and target were incongruent versus congruent) in the ventral frontoparietal network, although we did not identify any differences in the neural substrates of attentional orienting in contextual processing between gaze and arrow cues. These results support behavioural data of attentional orienting modulated by contextual processing based on the neurocognitive architecture.

  8. Contextual cueing impairment in patients with age-related macular degeneration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geringswald, Franziska; Herbik, Anne; Hoffmann, Michael B; Pollmann, Stefan

    2013-09-12

    Visual attention can be guided by past experience of regularities in our visual environment. In the contextual cueing paradigm, incidental learning of repeated distractor configurations speeds up search times compared to random search arrays. Concomitantly, fewer fixations and more direct scan paths indicate more efficient visual exploration in repeated search arrays. In previous work, we found that simulating a central scotoma in healthy observers eliminated this search facilitation. Here, we investigated contextual cueing in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) who suffer from impaired foveal vision. AMD patients performed visual search using only their more severely impaired eye (n = 13) as well as under binocular viewing (n = 16). Normal-sighted controls developed a significant contextual cueing effect. In comparison, patients showed only a small nonsignificant advantage for repeated displays when searching with their worse eye. When searching binocularly, they profited from contextual cues, but still less than controls. Number of fixations and scan pattern ratios showed a comparable pattern as search times. Moreover, contextual cueing was significantly correlated with acuity in monocular search. Thus, foveal vision loss may lead to impaired guidance of attention by contextual memory cues.

  9. Demarcation of local neighborhoods to study relations between contextual factors and health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chor Dora

    2010-06-01

    , particularly in relation to squatter settlements. Conclusion Although the literature on neighborhood and health is increasing, little attention has been paid to criteria for demarcating neighborhoods. The proposed method is well-structured, available in open-access software, and easily reproducible, so we expect that new experiments will be conducted to evaluate its potential use in other settings. The method is thus a potentially important contribution to research on intra-urban differentials, particularly concerning contextual factors and their implications for different health outcomes.

  10. Demarcation of local neighborhoods to study relations between contextual factors and health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Simone M; Chor, Dora; Werneck, Guilherme Loureiro

    2010-06-29

    neighborhood and health is increasing, little attention has been paid to criteria for demarcating neighborhoods. The proposed method is well-structured, available in open-access software, and easily reproducible, so we expect that new experiments will be conducted to evaluate its potential use in other settings. The method is thus a potentially important contribution to research on intra-urban differentials, particularly concerning contextual factors and their implications for different health outcomes.

  11. Involving Customer Relations in Contextual Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Simonsen, Jesper

    1996-01-01

    This paper presents a case study in the form of a contextual design project, the aim of which was to design a system for a particular organization. The starting point in the case was a need in the organization for a specific system. The case involved an analysis of the organizations customer...... point of the design project, how the project was conducted, and which results it ended up with. This is followed by a discussion of the effects of, and lessons learned by, involving customer relations in contextual design....

  12. Brazilian readers and contextual reference Brazilian readers and contextual reference

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lilia M. O. Carioni

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available This article describes an experiment carried out using Brazilian university students at UFSC, the purpose being to check comprehension relationships between two types of contextual reference and two languages, Portuguese and English. A major stimulus for the research was the question: are Brazilian students' difficulties in reading English related more to English language difficulties or to difficulties in processing text in general?

  13. Contextual risks linking parents' adolescent marijuana use to offspring onset.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerr, David C R; Tiberio, Stacey S; Capaldi, Deborah M

    2015-09-01

    We studied the extent to which parent marijuana use in adolescence is associated with marijuana use onset in offspring through contextual family and peer risks. Fathers assessed (n=93) since childhood, their 146 offspring (n=83 girls), and offspring's mothers (n=85) participated in a longitudinal study. Using discrete-time survival analysis, fathers' (prospectively measured) and mothers' (retrospective) adolescent marijuana use was used to predict offspring marijuana use onset through age 19 years. Parental monitoring, child exposure to marijuana use, peer deviance, peer marijuana use, and perceptions of parent disapproval of child use were measured before or concurrent with onset. Parents' adolescent marijuana use was significantly associated with less monitoring, offspring alcohol use, the peer behaviors, exposure to adult marijuana use, and perceptions of less parent disapproval. Male gender and the two peer behaviors were positively associated with children's marijuana use onset, controlling for their alcohol use. Parents' adolescent marijuana use had a significant indirect effect on child onset through children's deviant peer affiliations and a composite contextual risk score. Parents' histories of marijuana use may contribute indirectly to children's marijuana use onset through their influence on the social environments children encounter; specifically, those characterized by more liberal use norms, exposure to marijuana use and deviant and marijuana-using peers, and less adult supervision. Given that alcohol use onset was controlled, findings suggest that the contextual factors identified here confer unique risk for child marijuana use onset. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Contextualizing the self: the emergence of a biographical understanding in adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Habermas, Tilmann; Hatiboğlu, Neşe

    2014-01-01

    In adolescence, remembering the personal past and understanding what kind of person one is intertwine to form a story of one's life as the most extant, informative, and flexible form of self-representation. In adolescence, the striving for self-coherence translates into a quest for global coherence of the life story. We suggest that contextualizing is a fifth means for creating global coherence in life narratives besides the cultural concept of biography, temporal, causal-motivational, and thematic coherence. We present three kinds of contextualizing in life narratives, the temporal macrostructure, sociohistorical contextualizing of one's life, and hierarchical and linear segmenting of the text and life. These three forms of contextualizing in life narratives by their authors are complemented by three forms of contextual influences on life narratives analyzed by researchers, namely the historical, personal, and communicative situation in which they are recounted. Contextualizing is exemplified by the life narrative of a young migrant. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. On the form factors of relevant operators and their cluster property

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Acerbi, C.; Valleriani, A.; Mussardo, G.

    1996-09-01

    We compute the Form Factors of the relevant scaling operators in a class of integrable models without internal symmetries by exploiting their cluster properties. Their identification is established by computing the corresponding anomalous dimensions by means of Delfino-Simonetti-Cardy sum-rule and further confirmed by comparing some universal ratios of the nearby non-integrable quantum field theories with their independent numerical determination. (author). 21 refs, 5 figs, 16 tabs

  16. Assessing roles of vocabulary knowledge predominating in contextual clues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patcharawadee Promduang

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and the use of contextual clues and whether EFL learners who are well-equipped with reading skills are able to comprehend the text despite a low level of vocabulary knowledge. Therefore, the study focused on which vocabulary dimensions help students guess unfamiliar words. The study was carried out at Hatyai University in Thailand. The population of this study consisted of 34 undergraduates who were studying International Business English and had taken a course in reading techniques. The present study was conducted to conceptually validate the roles of breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge to improve skills by contextual clue. Vocabulary Depth was specially employed to evaluate two dimensions namely Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic. The Schmitt and Clapham Vocabulary Level Test was used to test vocabulary breadth, while the vocabulary depth was implemented by Read’s Vocabulary Depth Test. Reading parts of the TOEFL were adopted for contextual clue items. There were two statistical analysis tools also implemented in this study: paired-sample t-test and bivariate correlation. First, in an attempt to find which vocabulary dimension predominates in guessing word meaning from the text, a paired-sample t-test was utilized to compare the difference of two vocabulary dimensions in reading part: vocabulary depth and contextual clues, and vocabulary breadth and contextual clues. Second, a bivariate correlation was used to find the degree of relationship between vocabulary knowledge and contextual clues. The consequences of this study identified empirical results that 1 there was a positive relationship between contextual clues and vocabulary depth, the reverse is true in vocabulary breadth. Moreover, vocabulary depth is more significantly crucial than breadth to enhance student’s ability to guess words’ meaning from the context.

  17. Contextual Cueing Effect in Spatial Layout Defined by Binocular Disparity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Guang; Zhuang, Qian; Ma, Jie; Tu, Shen; Liu, Qiang; Sun, Hong-jin

    2017-01-01

    Repeated visual context induces higher search efficiency, revealing a contextual cueing effect, which depends on the association between the target and its visual context. In this study, participants performed a visual search task where search items were presented with depth information defined by binocular disparity. When the 3-dimensional (3D) configurations were repeated over blocks, the contextual cueing effect was obtained (Experiment 1). When depth information was in chaos over repeated configurations, visual search was not facilitated and the contextual cueing effect largely crippled (Experiment 2). However, when we made the search items within a tiny random displacement in the 2-dimentional (2D) plane but maintained the depth information constant, the contextual cueing was preserved (Experiment 3). We concluded that the contextual cueing effect was robust in the context provided by 3D space with stereoscopic information, and more importantly, the visual system prioritized stereoscopic information in learning of spatial information when depth information was available. PMID:28912739

  18. Testing a pedagogy for promoting historical contextualization in classrooms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huijgen, Tim; Holthuis, Paul; van Boxtel, Carla; van de Grift, Wim

    2016-01-01

    This study describes the development and testing of a pedagogy aimed at promoting students’ ability to perform historical contextualization. Promoting historical contextualization was conceptualized as three different pedagogical principles: 1) the awareness of the consequences of a present-oriented

  19. Enrichment Rescues Contextual Discrimination Deficit Associated With Immediate Shock

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clemenson, Gregory D.; Lee, Star W.; Deng, Wei; Barrera, Vanessa R.; Iwamoto, Kei S.; Fanselow, Michael S.; Gage, Fred H.

    2015-01-01

    Adult animals continue to modify their behavior throughout life, a process that is highly influenced by past experiences. To shape behavior, specific mechanisms of neural plasticity to learn, remember, and recall information are required. One of the most robust examples of adult plasticity in the brain occurs in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus, through the process of adult neurogenesis. Adult neurogenesis is strongly upregulated by external factors such as voluntary wheel running (RUN) and environmental enrichment (EE); however, the functional differences between these two factors remain unclear. Although both manipulations result in increased neurogenesis, RUN dramatically increases the proliferation of newborn cells and EE promotes their survival. We hypothesize that the method by which these newborn neurons are induced influences their functional role. Furthermore, we examine how EE-induced neurons may be primed to encode and recognize features of novel environments due to their previous enrichment experience. Here, we gave mice a challenging contextual fear-conditioning (FC) procedure to tease out the behavioral differences between RUN-induced neurogenesis and EE-induced neurogenesis. Despite the robust increases in neurogenesis seen in the RUN mice, we found that only EE mice were able to discriminate between similar contexts in this task, indicating that EE mice might use a different cognitive strategy when processing contextual information. Furthermore, we showed that this improvement was dependent on EE-induced neurogenesis, suggesting a fundamental functional difference between RUN-induced neurogenesis and EE-induced neurogenesis. PMID:25330953

  20. Unfinished Student Answer in PISA Mathematics Contextual Problem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lutfianto, Moch.; Zulkardi; Hartono, Yusuf

    2013-01-01

    Solving mathematics contextual problems is one way that can be used to enable students to have the skills needed to live in the 21st century. Completion contextual problem requires a series of steps in order to properly answer the questions that are asked. The purpose of this study was to determine the steps performed students in solving…

  1. Experimental demonstration of quantum contextuality with nonentangled photons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, B. H.; Huang, Y. F.; Gong, Y. X.; Sun, F. W.; Zhang, Y. S.; Li, C. F.; Guo, G. C.

    2009-01-01

    We present an experimental test of quantum contextuality by using two-photon product states. The experimental results show that the noncontextual hidden-variable theories are violated by nonentangled states in spite of the local hidden-variable theories can be violated or not. We find that the Hong-Ou-Mandel-type quantum interference effect causes the quantum contextuality.

  2. Individual and contextual determinants of malocclusion in 12-year-old schoolchildren in a Brazilian city

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lidia Moraes Ribeiro JORDÃO

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to describe malocclusion prevalence and its association with individual and contextual factors among Brazilian 12-year-old schoolchildren. This cross-sectional study included data from an oral health survey carried out in Goiânia, Brazil (n = 2,075, and data from the files of the local health authority. The data were collected through oral clinical examinations. The Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI was used to assess occlusion. The presence of malocclusion (DAI > 25 was used as the dependent variable. The individual independent variables consisted of adolescents’ sex and race and their mothers’ level of schooling. The clinical variables were caries experience and presence of adverse periodontal condition (calculus and/or gingival bleeding. The contextual variables included type of school and the location of schools in the city’s health districts. The Rao-Scott test and multilevel logistic regression were performed. The prevalence of malocclusion was 40.1%. In the final model, significantly higher rates of malocclusion were found among those who attended schools located in less affluent health districts and whose mothers had fewer years of education. Rates were also higher among those presenting calculus and/or gingival bleeding. Malocclusion demonstrated a high prevalence rate and the inequalities in its distribution were determined by individual and contextual factors.

  3. Documentation Status as a Contextual Determinant of HIV Risk Among Young Transgender Latinas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palazzolo, Sarah L; Yamanis, Thespina J; De Jesus, Maria; Maguire-Marshall, Molly; Barker, Suyanna L

    2016-04-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore the contextual factors that determine or mitigate vulnerability to HIV among Latina transgender women. Documentation status (legal authorization to live in the United States) has been cited by other studies as a barrier to recruitment or engagement in HIV-related care among immigrant Latinos, but not explored as a determinant of HIV risk for transgender immigrant Latinas. We collaborated with a community-based organization to explore these contextual, including social and structural, factors. In-depth interviews in Spanish captured life histories of eight 18- to 29-year-old transgender Latinas, who collectively self-identify as chicas trans. Codes were assigned deductively from the interview guide, and emerging themes were identified throughout data collection. Most participants migrated to the United States from Central America after experiencing discrimination and violence in their countries of origin. Participants emphasized documentation status as a critical factor in three areas related to social and structural determinants of HIV risk: gender identity expression, access to services, and relationship power dynamics. Chicas trans who gained legal asylum reported greater control over sexual relationships, improved access to services, and less risky employment. Documentation status emerged as a key HIV risk factor for this population. For undocumented transgender Latinas, legal asylum appears to be a promising HIV-related protective factor. Further research could assess whether legal assistance combined with wraparound support services affects HIV prevention for this population.

  4. A review of potential factors relevant to coping in patients with advanced cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, Thora G.; Rydahl-Hansen, Susan; Wagner, Lis

    2010-01-01

    The aim was to identify characteristics that are considered to describe coping in patients with advanced cancer, as seen from a patient perspective. Based on the identified characteristics, the second aim was to identify potential factors that are relevant to coping in patients with advanced cancer....

  5. Applying GRADE-CERQual to qualitative evidence synthesis findings-paper 6: how to assess relevance of the data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noyes, Jane; Booth, Andrew; Lewin, Simon; Carlsen, Benedicte; Glenton, Claire; Colvin, Christopher J; Garside, Ruth; Bohren, Meghan A; Rashidian, Arash; Wainwright, Megan; Tunςalp, Özge; Chandler, Jacqueline; Flottorp, Signe; Pantoja, Tomas; Tucker, Joseph D; Munthe-Kaas, Heather

    2018-01-25

    The GRADE-CERQual (Confidence in Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research) approach has been developed by the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) Working Group. The approach has been developed to support the use of findings from qualitative evidence syntheses in decision-making, including guideline development and policy formulation. CERQual includes four components for assessing how much confidence to place in findings from reviews of qualitative research (also referred to as qualitative evidence syntheses): (1) methodological limitations, (2) coherence, (3) adequacy of data and (4) relevance. This paper is part of a series providing guidance on how to apply CERQual and focuses on CERQual's relevance component. We developed the relevance component by searching the literature for definitions, gathering feedback from relevant research communities and developing consensus through project group meetings. We tested the CERQual relevance component within several qualitative evidence syntheses before agreeing on the current definition and principles for application. When applying CERQual, we define relevance as the extent to which the body of data from the primary studies supporting a review finding is applicable to the context (perspective or population, phenomenon of interest, setting) specified in the review question. In this paper, we describe the relevance component and its rationale and offer guidance on how to assess relevance in the context of a review finding. This guidance outlines the information required to assess relevance, the steps that need to be taken to assess relevance and examples of relevance assessments. This paper provides guidance for review authors and others on undertaking an assessment of relevance in the context of the CERQual approach. Assessing the relevance component requires consideration of potentially important contextual factors at an early stage in the review process. We expect the CERQual

  6. The influence of contextual diversity on eye movements in reading

    OpenAIRE

    Plummer, Patrick; Perea, Manuel; Rayner, Keith

    2013-01-01

    Recent research has shown contextual diversity (i.e., the number of passages in which a given word appears) to be a reliable predictor of word processing difficulty. It has also been demonstrated that word-frequency has little or no effect on word recognition speed when accounting for contextual diversity in isolated word processing tasks. An eye-movement experiment was conducted wherein the effects of word-frequency and contextual diversity were directly contrasted in a normal sentence readi...

  7. Contextual factors associated with health care service utilization for children with acute childhood illnesses in Nigeria.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sulaimon T Adedokun

    Full Text Available To examine the independent contribution of individual, community and state-level factors to health care service utilization for children with acute childhood illnesses in Nigeria.The study was based on secondary analyses of cross-sectional population-based data from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (DHS. Multilevel logistic regression models were applied to the data on 6,427 under-five children who used or did not use health care service when they were sick (level 1, nested within 896 communities (level 2 from 37 states (level 3.About one-quarter of the mothers were between 15 and 24 years old and almost half of them did not have formal education (47%. While only 30% of the children utilized health service when they were sick, close to 67% lived in the rural area. In the fully adjusted model, mothers with higher education attainment (Adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.63; 95% credible interval [CrI] = 1.31-2.03, from rich households (aOR = 1.76; 95% CrI = 1.35-2.25, with access to media (radio, television or magazine (aOR = 1.18; 95% CrI = 1.08-1.29, and engaging in employment (aOR = 1.18; 95% CrI = 1.02-1.37 were significantly more likely to have used healthcare services for acute childhood illnesses. On the other hand, women who experienced difficulty getting to health facilities (aOR = 0.87; 95% CrI = 0.75-0.99 were less likely to have used health service for their children.Our findings highlight that utilization of healthcare service for acute childhood illnesses was influenced by not only maternal factors but also community-level factors, suggesting that public health strategies should recognise this complex web of individual composition and contextual composition factors to guide provision of healthcare services. Such interventions could include: increase in female school enrolment, provision of interest-free loans for small and medium scale enterprises, introduction of mobile clinics and establishment of more primary health care

  8. On the limits of statistical learning: Intertrial contextual cueing is confined to temporally close contingencies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Cyril; Didierjean, André; Maquestiaux, François; Goujon, Annabelle

    2018-04-12

    Since the seminal study by Chun and Jiang (Cognitive Psychology, 36, 28-71, 1998), a large body of research based on the contextual-cueing paradigm has shown that the cognitive system is capable of extracting statistical contingencies from visual environments. Most of these studies have focused on how individuals learn regularities found within an intratrial temporal window: A context predicts the target position within a given trial. However, Ono, Jiang, and Kawahara (Journal of Experimental Psychology, 31, 703-712, 2005) provided evidence of an intertrial implicit-learning effect when a distractor configuration in preceding trials N - 1 predicted the target location in trials N. The aim of the present study was to gain further insight into this effect by examining whether it occurs when predictive relationships are impeded by interfering task-relevant noise (Experiments 2 and 3) or by a long delay (Experiments 1, 4, and 5). Our results replicated the intertrial contextual-cueing effect, which occurred in the condition of temporally close contingencies. However, there was no evidence of integration across long-range spatiotemporal contingencies, suggesting a temporal limitation of statistical learning.

  9. Contextual cueing improves attentional guidance, even when guidance is supposedly optimal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Anthony M; Remington, Roger W

    2017-05-01

    Visual search through previously encountered contexts typically produces reduced reaction times compared with search through novel contexts. This contextual cueing benefit is well established, but there is debate regarding its underlying mechanisms. Eye-tracking studies have consistently shown reduced number of fixations with repetition, supporting improvements in attentional guidance as the source of contextual cueing. However, contextual cueing benefits have been shown in conditions in which attentional guidance should already be optimal-namely, when attention is captured to the target location by an abrupt onset, or under pop-out conditions. These results have been used to argue for a response-related account of contextual cueing. Here, we combine eye tracking with response time to examine the mechanisms behind contextual cueing in spatially cued and pop-out conditions. Three experiments find consistent response time benefits with repetition, which appear to be driven almost entirely by a reduction in number of fixations, supporting improved attentional guidance as the mechanism behind contextual cueing. No differences were observed in the time between fixating the target and responding-our proxy for response related processes. Furthermore, the correlation between contextual cueing magnitude and the reduction in number of fixations on repeated contexts approaches 1. These results argue strongly that attentional guidance is facilitated by familiar search contexts, even when guidance is near-optimal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. Temperamental, Parental, and Contextual Contributors to Early-Emerging Internalizing Problems: A New Integrative Analysis Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, Rosemary S. L.; Hastings, Paul D.; Helm, Jonathan; Serbin, Lisa A.; Etezadi, Jamshid; Stack, Dale M.; Schwartzman, Alex E.; Li, Hai Hong

    2012-01-01

    This study evaluated a comprehensive model of factors associated with internalizing problems (IP) in early childhood, hypothesizing direct, mediated, and moderated pathways linking child temperamental inhibition, maternal overcontrol and rejection, and contextual stressors to IP. In a novel approach, three samples were integrated to form a large…

  11. Relevant factors for tacit knowledge transfer within organizations: an exploratory study

    OpenAIRE

    Lemos,Bernardo; Joia,Luiz Antonio

    2012-01-01

    Knowledge and management of such knowledge have been studied for some time now in the field of Management. However, in the 1990s, with the growth in the economy based on intangible assets, companies needed more than an unstructured approach to corporate knowledge management to succeed in this new competitive environment. Therefore, this article aims to identify, in an exploratory way, the relevant factors for tacit knowledge transfer within a major Brazilian oil company trough a case study. T...

  12. The role of peripheral vision in implicit contextual cuing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Asselen, Marieke; Castelo-Branco, Miguel

    2009-01-01

    Implicit contextual cuing refers to the ability to learn the association between contextual information of our environment and a specific target, which can be used to guide attention during visual search. It was recently suggested that the storage of a snapshot image of the local context of a target underlies implicit contextual cuing. To make such a snapshot, it is necessary to use peripheral vision. In order to test whether peripheral vision can underlie implicit contextual cuing, we used a covert visual search task, in which participants were required to indicate the orientation of a target stimulus while foveating a fixation cross. The response times were shorter when the configuration of the stimuli was repeated than when the configuration was new. Importantly, this effect was still found after 10 days, indicating that peripherally perceived spatial context information can be stored in memory for long periods of time. These results indicate that peripheral vision can be used to make a snapshot of the local context of a target.

  13. Contextualized teaching on the problem solving performance of students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rolando V. Obiedo

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the effect of contextualized teaching on students’ problem solving skills in physics through a quasi-experimental approach. Problem solving performance of students was described quantitatively through their mean problem solving scores and problem solving skills level. A unit plan patterned from the cognitive apprenticeship approach and contextualized using maritime context of ship stability was implemented on the experimental group while the control group had the conventional lecture method. Pre and post assessment, which is a researcher-developed word problem assessment, was administered to both groups. Results indicated increased problem solving mean scores (p < 0.001, problem solving skill level (p < 0.001 of the experimental group while the control group increased only their problem solving skill level (p = 0.008. Thus, contextualized teaching can improve the problem solving performance of students. This study recommends using contextualization using other physics topics where other contexts can be applied.

  14. Contextual Influences and Campaign Awareness Among Young Adults: Evidence from the National truth® Campaign.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vallone, Donna M; Ilakkuvan, Vinu; Xiao, Haijun; Cantrell, Jennifer; Rath, Jessica; Hair, Elizabeth

    2015-01-01

    Mass media campaigns have been found to shape the public's knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior around tobacco. This study examines the influence of contextual factors with respect to awareness of the national truth® campaign, a mass media, branded tobacco use prevention campaign, among a sample of young adults (n = 2,804) aged 24-34 years old; these respondents were within the age range for both the primary and secondary targets of the campaign during the period (2000-2007) when the campaign was airing television advertising at consistently high levels. Mulitvariable models reveal lower educational attainment and Hispanic ethnicity as significant contextual factors predictive of lower campaign awareness, controlling for media use. In contrast, gender, state tobacco control policy, sensation-seeking, current smoking status, and community-level SES variables were not significantly associated with campaign awareness. Further research is needed to identify the mechanisms through which public education campaigns operate, particularly among disadvantaged communities.

  15. Personal contextual characteristics and cognitions: predicting child abuse potential and disciplinary style.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, Christina M

    2010-02-01

    According to Social Information Processing theory, parents' cognitive processes influence their decisions to engage in physical maltreatment, although cognitions occur in the context of other aspects of the parents' life. The present study investigated whether cognitive processes (external locus of control, inappropriate developmental expectations) predicted child abuse potential and overreactive disciplinary style beyond personal contextual factors characteristic of the parent (hostility, stress, and coping). 363 parents were recruited online. Results highlight the relative importance of the contextual characteristics (particularly stress, avoidant coping, and irritability) relative to cognitive processes in predicting abuse potential and overreactive discipline strategies, although an external locus of control also significantly contributed. Findings do not support that parents' developmental expectations uniquely predict elevated abuse risk. Results indicate stressed parents who utilize avoidance coping strategies are more likely to use overreactive discipline and report increased abuse potential. Findings are discussed with regard to implications for prevention/intervention efforts.

  16. Evaluating health inequity interventions: applying a contextual (external) validity framework to programs funded by the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, Kaye; Müller-Clemm, Werner; Ysselstein, Margaretha; Sachs, Jonathan

    2013-02-01

    Including context in the measurement and evaluation of health in equity interventions is critical to understanding how events that occur in an intervention's environment might contribute to or impede its success. This study adapted and piloted a contextual validity assessment framework on a selection of health inequity-related programs funded by the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF) between 1998 and 2006. The two overarching objectives of this study were (1) to determine the relative amount and quality of attention given to conceptualizing, measuring and validating context within CHSRF funded research final reports related to health-inequity; and (2) to contribute evaluative evidence towards the incorporation of context into the assessment and measurement of health inequity interventions. The study found that of the 42/146 CHSRF programs and projects, judged to be related to health inequity 20 adequately reported on the conceptualization, measurement and validation of context. Amongst these health-inequity related project reports, greatest emphasis was placed on describing the socio-political and economical context over actually measuring and validating contextual evidence. Applying a contextual validity assessment framework was useful for distinguishing between the descriptive (conceptual) versus empirical (measurement and validation) inclusion of documented contextual evidence. Although contextual validity measurement frameworks needs further development, this study contributes insight into identifying funded research related to health inequities and preliminary criteria for assessing interventions targeted at specific populations and jurisdictions. This study also feeds a larger critical dialogue (albeit beyond the scope of this study) regarding the relevance and utility of using evaluative techniques for understanding how specific external conditions support or impede the successful implementation of health inequity interventions. Copyright

  17. Contextuality for preparations, transformations, and unsharp measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spekkens, R.W.

    2005-01-01

    The Bell-Kochen-Specker theorem establishes the impossibility of a noncontextual hidden variable model of quantum theory, or equivalently, that quantum theory is contextual. In this paper, an operational definition of contextuality is introduced which generalizes the standard notion in three ways: (i) it applies to arbitrary operational theories rather than just quantum theory (ii) it applies to arbitrary experimental procedures rather than just sharp measurements, and (iii) it applies to a broad class of ontological models of quantum theory rather than just deterministic hidden variable models. We derive three no-go theorems for ontological models, each based on an assumption of noncontextuality for a different sort of experimental procedure; one for preparation procedures, another for unsharp measurement procedures (that is, measurement procedures associated with positive-operator valued measures), and a third for transformation procedures. All three proofs apply to two-dimensional Hilbert spaces, and are therefore stronger than traditional proofs of contextuality

  18. Using mobile phone contextual information to facilitate managing image collections

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Jakob Eg; Luniewski, Maciej

    2009-01-01

    In this paper, we describe a prototype application that utilizes the embedded sensors in advanced mobile phones to infer meaningful contextual information, with the potential to support the users in managing their personal information. Contextual information such as time, location, movement...... in personal information management. We hypothesize that information inferred from embedded mobile phone sensors can offer useful contextual information for managing personal information, including the domain of interest here, namely image collections. This has potential for individuals as well as groups...

  19. The roles of Eph receptors in contextual fear conditioning memory formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dines, Monica; Grinberg, Svetlana; Vassiliev, Maria; Ram, Alon; Tamir, Tal; Lamprecht, Raphael

    2015-10-01

    Eph receptors regulate glutamate receptors functions, neuronal morphology and synaptic plasticity, cellular events believed to be involved in memory formation. In this study we aim to explore the roles of Eph receptors in learning and memory. Toward that end, we examined the roles of EphB2 and EphA4 receptors, key regulators of synaptic functions, in fear conditioning memory formation. We show that mice lacking EphB2 (EphB2(-/-)) are impaired in short- and long-term contextual fear conditioning memory. Mice that express a carboxy-terminally truncated form of EphB2 that lacks forward signaling, instead of the full EphB2, are impaired in long-term, but not short-term, contextual fear conditioning memory. Long-term contextual fear conditioning memory is attenuated in CaMKII-cre;EphA4(lx/-) mice where EphA4 is removed from all pyramidal neurons of the forebrain. Mutant mice with targeted kinase-dead EphA4 (EphA4(KD)) exhibit intact long-term contextual fear conditioning memory showing that EphA4 kinase-mediated forward signaling is not needed for contextual fear memory formation. The ability to form long-term conditioned taste aversion (CTA) memory is not impaired in the EphB2(-/-) and CaMKII-cre;EphA4(lx/-) mice. We conclude that EphB2 forward signaling is required for long-term contextual fear conditioning memory formation. In contrast, EphB2 mediates short-term contextual fear conditioning memory formation in a forward signaling-independent manner. EphA4 mediates long-term contextual fear conditioning memory formation in a kinase-independent manner. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Attention bias towards personally relevant stimuli: the individual emotional Stroop task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wingenfeld, Katja; Bullig, Renate; Mensebach, Christoph; Hartje, Wolfgang; Driessen, Martin; Beblo, Thomas

    2006-12-01

    The emotional Stroop task is a widely used method for investigating attentional bias towards stimuli due to mood or affect. In general, standardized stimuli are used, which might not be appropriate when investigating individual contextual frameworks. It was investigated whether words chosen to be related to individuals' personal life events would produce more pronounced Stroop interference (as an indicator of attentional bias) than stimuli without any personal relevance. Twenty-six nonclinical subjects, 20 female and 6 male, participated in the study. Mean age was 36.1 yr. (SD = 18.1). All were recruited by means of local advertising. Stimulus material consisted of four word types: personal words related to negative life events with and without current personal relevance, and negative and neutral words without any personal relevance. Words were presented in three blocks. Analysis of variance showed main effects for word type and blocks, with slower reactions in the personally relevant conditions than in the negative, or neutral conditions, and in response to the first blocks as opposed to the last. These findings indicate that regardless of the word valence, personally relevant stimuli evoke more pronounced Stroop interference than do stimuli without personal relevance.

  1. Contextual Cueing Improves Attentional Guidance, Even When Guidance Is Supposedly Optimal

    OpenAIRE

    Harris, A. M.; Remington, R. W.

    2017-01-01

    Visual search through previously encountered contexts typically produces reduced reaction times compared with search through novel contexts. This contextual cueing benefit is well established, but there is debate regarding its underlying mechanisms. Eye-tracking studies have consistently shown reduced number of fixations with repetition, supporting improvements in attentional guidance as the source of contextual cueing. However, contextual cueing benefits have been shown in conditions in whic...

  2. [Relevant factors of early puberty timing in urban primary schools in Chongqing].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Yan; Liu, Qin; Wen, Yi; Liu, Shudan; Lei, Xun; Wang, Hong

    2016-05-01

    To investigate the status of puberty timing and relevant factors of early puberty timing in children from grade one to four in urban primary schools of Chongqing. According to the purposive sample method, four urban primary schools in Chongqing were selected and of which 1471 children from grade one to four who have obtained informed consent were recruited. Questionnaire survey on social-demographic characteristics and family environment (e.g., age, parents' relationship, diet and lifestyle, etc), and Pubertal Development Scale (PDS) survey and physical examination (measurements of height, weight, pubertal development status, etc) were conducted. P25, P50, P75 ages of each important pubertal event were calculated by probit regression. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to analyze relevant factors. The detection rate of early puberty timing was 17.7%, and the median ages of the onset of breast and testicular development were 10.77 and 11.48 years old, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression showed that early puberty timing occurred more likely in girls than in boys (OR = 0.561, 95% CI 0.406-0.774), and bad relationship between parents (OR = 1.320, 95% CI 1.007-1.729) and hair-products-use (OR = 1.685, 95%, CI 1.028-2.762) were risk factors of early puberty timing. Early onset of puberty in urban Chongqing is still exist. Gender, parents' relationship, and hair-products-use have an essential impact on early puberty timing.

  3. Community Response to Multiple Sound Sources: Integrating Acoustic and Contextual Approaches in the Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Lercher

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Sufficient data refer to the relevant prevalence of sound exposure by mixed traffic sources in many nations. Furthermore, consideration of the potential effects of combined sound exposure is required in legal procedures such as environmental health impact assessments. Nevertheless, current practice still uses single exposure response functions. It is silently assumed that those standard exposure-response curves accommodate also for mixed exposures—although some evidence from experimental and field studies casts doubt on this practice. The ALPNAP-study population (N = 1641 shows sufficient subgroups with combinations of rail-highway, highway-main road and rail-highway-main road sound exposure. In this paper we apply a few suggested approaches of the literature to investigate exposure-response curves and its major determinants in the case of exposure to multiple traffic sources. Highly/moderate annoyance and full scale mean annoyance served as outcome. The results show several limitations of the current approaches. Even facing the inherent methodological limitations (energy equivalent summation of sound, rating of overall annoyance the consideration of main contextual factors jointly occurring with the sources (such as vibration, air pollution or coping activities and judgments of the wider area soundscape increases the variance explanation from up to 8% (bivariate, up to 15% (base adjustments up to 55% (full contextual model. The added predictors vary significantly, depending on the source combination. (e.g., significant vibration effects with main road/railway, not highway. Although no significant interactions were found, the observed additive effects are of public health importance. Especially in the case of a three source exposure situation the overall annoyance is already high at lower levels and the contribution of the acoustic indicators is small compared with the non-acoustic and contextual predictors. Noise mapping needs to go down to

  4. A Psychological Perspective on Preterm Children: The Influence of Contextual Factors on Quality of Family Interactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michela Gatta

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Preterm birth has a critical influence on interactive, communicative, and expressive child behaviour, particularly during the first years of life. Few studies have stressed the assessment of mother-father-child interaction in families with preterm children, generating contradictory results. The present study wished to develop these fields: (i comparing the quality of family interactions between families with preterm children and families with children born at full term; (ii observing the development of family interactions after six months in the families with children born preterm; (iii assessing family and contextual factors, as parental stress and social support, in parents of preterm children in order to observe their influence on the quality of family interactions. 78 families are recruited: 39 families with preterm children (M = 19,8 months, SD = 11,05 and 39 families with full-term children (M = 19,66 months; SD = 13,10. Results show that families with preterm children display a low quality of mother-father-child interactions. After six months, family interactions result is generally stable, except for some LTP-scales reflecting a hard adjustment of parenting style to the evolution of the child. In families with preterm children, the parenting stress seemed to be correlated with the quality of mother-father-child interactions.

  5. A Psychological Perspective on Preterm Children: The Influence of Contextual Factors on Quality of Family Interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gatta, Michela; Miscioscia, Marina; Svanellini, Lorenza; Peraro, Chiara; Simonelli, Alessandra

    2017-01-01

    Preterm birth has a critical influence on interactive, communicative, and expressive child behaviour, particularly during the first years of life. Few studies have stressed the assessment of mother-father-child interaction in families with preterm children, generating contradictory results. The present study wished to develop these fields: (i) comparing the quality of family interactions between families with preterm children and families with children born at full term; (ii) observing the development of family interactions after six months in the families with children born preterm; (iii) assessing family and contextual factors, as parental stress and social support, in parents of preterm children in order to observe their influence on the quality of family interactions. 78 families are recruited: 39 families with preterm children ( M = 19,8 months, SD = 11,05) and 39 families with full-term children ( M = 19,66 months; SD = 13,10). Results show that families with preterm children display a low quality of mother-father-child interactions. After six months, family interactions result is generally stable, except for some LTP-scales reflecting a hard adjustment of parenting style to the evolution of the child. In families with preterm children, the parenting stress seemed to be correlated with the quality of mother-father-child interactions.

  6. Variables as Contextual Constraints in Translating Irony

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Babîi Oana

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The translator’s role and responsibility are high in any act of interlingual communication, and even higher when irony, an indirect and deliberately elusive form of communication, is involved in the translation process. By allowing more than one possible interpretation, irony is inevitably exposed to the risk of being misunderstood. This paper attempts to capture the complexity of translating irony, making use of theoretical frameworks provided by literary studies and translation studies. It analyses if and how the types of irony, the literary genres and the cultural, normative factors, perceived as potential contextual constraints, have an impact on the translator’ choices in rendering irony in translation, taking illustrative examples from Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, Aldous Huxley and David Lodge’s works.

  7. Predicting Performance with Contextualized Inventories, No Frame-of-reference Effect?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Holtrop, D.J.; Born, M.P.; de Vries, R.E.

    2014-01-01

    A recent meta-analysis showed that contextualized personality inventories have incremental predictive validity over generic personality inventories when predicting job performance. This study aimed to investigate the differences between two types of contextualization of items: Adding an 'at work'

  8. Contextualization processes and the initial education of physics teachers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina Cândida de Macedo

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Contextualization of school contents has been seen as a possibility of facilitating students’ learning, since it makes the educative process more significant to them. However, there is no agreement as to the meaning and the forms of applying such processes. Particularly in the area of Science teaching, the creation of thematic projects has been seen as a way of contextualizing school contents. It is noteworthy that the experience with the education of Physics teachers shows that the creation and execution of such projects brings many difficulties to teachers, the main obstacle being the understanding of what contextualized educative processes are. Having this in mind, a project has been elaborated with the objective of analyzing the comprehension Physics teachers that are going through teacher education courses have of the processes of contextualization. The data for this investigation has been obtained from students who attended a course of the Physics Teacher Education module at the Federal University of Itajubá. It is significant to mention that in this course students are asked to create three versions of a thematic project. In order to analyze the data, the procedure of Thematic Content and Category Analysis was adopted. This research shows that Physics teachers to be incorporate the discourses of the educative ideas throughout the course. However, there is a series of obstacles they face as they attempt to understand and carry out contextualized educative processes. Those difficulties are connected to their experience with this kind of educative process throughout the years they spend at school and in the teacher education course. We conclude thus that it is essential that contextualized educative activities be part of the reality of teacher education programs.

  9. Effectiveness and relevant factors of 2% rebamipide ophthalmic suspension treatment in dry eye.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ueda, Kaori; Matsumiya, Wataru; Otsuka, Keiko; Maeda, Yoshifumi; Nagai, Takayuki; Nakamura, Makoto

    2015-06-06

    Rebamipide with mucin secretagogue activity was recently approved for the treatment of dry eye. The efficacy and safety in the treatment of rebamipide were shown in two pivotal clinical trials. It was the aim of this study to evaluate the effect of 2% rebamipide ophthalmic suspension in patients with dry eye and analyze relevant factors for favorable effects of rebamipide in clinical practice. This was a retrospective cohort study of 48 eyes from 24 patients with dry eye treated with 2% rebamipide ophthalmic suspension. Dry eye-related symptom score, tear film break-up time (TBUT), fluorescein ocular surface staining score (FOS) and the Schirmer test were used to collect the data from patients at baseline, and at 2, 4, 8, and 12 week visits. To determine the relevant factors, multiple regression analyses were then performed. Mean dry eye-related symptom score showed a significant improvement from the baseline (14.5 points) at 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks (9.80, 7.04, 7.04 and 7.83 points, corrected P value treatment. For ocular symptoms, three parameters (foreign body sensation, dry eye sensation and ocular discomfort) showed significant improvements at all visits. The multiple regression analyses showed that the fluorescein conjunctiva staining score was significantly correlated with the changes of dry eye-related symptom score at 12 weeks (P value = 0.017) and dry eye-related symptom score was significantly correlated with independent variables for the changes of FOS at 12 weeks (P value = 0.0097). Two percent rebamipide ophthalmic suspension was an effective therapy for dry eye patients. Moreover the fluorescein conjunctiva staining score and dry eye-related symptom score might be good relevant factors for favorable effects of rebamipide.

  10. Contextual Compression of Large-Scale Wind Turbine Array Simulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gruchalla, Kenny M [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Brunhart-Lupo, Nicholas J [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Potter, Kristin C [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Clyne, John [National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)

    2017-12-04

    Data sizes are becoming a critical issue particularly for HPC applications. We have developed a user-driven lossy wavelet-based storage model to facilitate the analysis and visualization of large-scale wind turbine array simulations. The model stores data as heterogeneous blocks of wavelet coefficients, providing high-fidelity access to user-defined data regions believed the most salient, while providing lower-fidelity access to less salient regions on a block-by-block basis. In practice, by retaining the wavelet coefficients as a function of feature saliency, we have seen data reductions in excess of 94 percent, while retaining lossless information in the turbine-wake regions most critical to analysis and providing enough (low-fidelity) contextual information in the upper atmosphere to track incoming coherent turbulent structures. Our contextual wavelet compression approach has allowed us to deliver interative visual analysis while providing the user control over where data loss, and thus reduction in accuracy, in the analysis occurs. We argue this reduced but contextualized representation is a valid approach and encourages contextual data management.

  11. Analysis of Some Recent Tests of Quantum Contextuality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    La Cour, Brian R.

    2010-01-01

    Contextuality plays a central role in many key proofs for the impossibility of hidden variables in quantum mechanics. The most famous among these is the Kochen-Specker theorem, which originally applied to a Hilbert space of three dimensions, but much simpler proofs in higher dimensions have since been found. In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in contextuality, and a number of experiments have been performed to test it in the four-dimensional context. Recently, it has been shown that contextuality may be interpreted as the result of simple measurement disturbance if the set of measurements chosen are time-like separated [B. La Cour, Phys. Rev. A, 79, 012102 (2009)]. In this work, several such experiments will be reviewed, and it will be shown that none are capable of ruling out a realistic, local hidden variable interpretation.

  12. Relevant Factors in The Post-Merger Systems Integration and Information Technology in Brazilian Banks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcel Ginotti Pires

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This article discusses the factors present in post-merger integration of Systems and Information Technology (SIT that lead to positive and negative results in mergers and acquisitions (M & A. The research comprised three of the largest acquiring banks in Brazil. We adopted two methods of research, qualitative, to operationalize the theoretical concepts and quantitative, to test the hypotheses. We interviewed six executives of banks that held relevant experience in M & A processes. Subsequently, we applied questionnaires to IT professionals who were involved in the SIT integration processes. The results showed that the quality and expertise of the integration teams and managing the integration were the most relevant factors in the processes, with positive results for increased efficiency and the increased capacity of SIT. Negative results were due to failures in exploiting learning opportunities, the loss of employees and the inexpressive record of integration procedures.

  13. Contextual Approach with Guided Discovery Learning and Brain Based Learning in Geometry Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kartikaningtyas, V.; Kusmayadi, T. A.; Riyadi

    2017-09-01

    The aim of this study was to combine the contextual approach with Guided Discovery Learning (GDL) and Brain Based Learning (BBL) in geometry learning of junior high school. Furthermore, this study analysed the effect of contextual approach with GDL and BBL in geometry learning. GDL-contextual and BBL-contextual was built from the steps of GDL and BBL that combined with the principles of contextual approach. To validate the models, it uses quasi experiment which used two experiment groups. The sample had been chosen by stratified cluster random sampling. The sample was 150 students of grade 8th in junior high school. The data were collected through the student’s mathematics achievement test that given after the treatment of each group. The data analysed by using one way ANOVA with different cell. The result shows that GDL-contextual has not different effect than BBL-contextual on mathematics achievement in geometry learning. It means both the two models could be used in mathematics learning as the innovative way in geometry learning.

  14. Quantum contextuality in neutron interferometer experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasegawa, Yuji; Loidl, Rudolf; Baron, Matthias; Badurek, Gerald; Rauch, Helmut

    2006-01-01

    Non-local correlations between sufficiently separated subsystems have been extensively discussed. Such a non-locality can be interpreted as a consequence of the correlation between commuting observables. A more general concept, i.e., contextuality, compared to non-locality can be introduced to describe striking phenomena predicted by quantum theory. As the first example, we report a neutron interferometer experiment, where the spin and the path degrees of freedom are used to exhibit the clear violation of a Bell-like inequality. Other aspects of the quantum contextuality is presented, e.g., a flavor of Kochen-Specker-like contradiction in neutron optical experiments, in addition to the quantum state tomography of the Bell-states which are used in the experiments

  15. Islamic Economics and the Relevance of Al-Qawā‘id Al-Fiqhiyyah

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daud A. Mustafa

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Islamic economics, as part of the Islamic body of knowledge, has emerged as a new social science discipline that has gained currency and recognition in various institutions of higher learning in the contemporary Muslim world. Different sources of Islamic knowledge have significantly contributed to shape its evolution and development. The Islamic legal maxims, however, do not seem to have received much attention in terms of their contextualization in the present economic thinking. Using the content analysis approach, this article examines the relevance of qawā‘id al-fiqhiyyah, placing emphasis on the five normative maxims and some of their variants, to the understanding of Islamic economics. The aim is to assess their relevance to Islamic economic life and their contextualization within time and space. It was found that qawā‘id al-fiqhiyyah significantly contributes to the understanding of Islamic economics as a discipline in the Islamic tertiary educational pursuits. They help to understand certain economic theories from the Islamic ethical perspective. Therefore, it is concluded that if Muslim social scientists, especially, Muslim economists, embrace and pursue this branch of fiqh with an utmost concern and commitment, it would facilitate a better appreciation of economic theories from the Islamic perspective.

  16. Is contextual-potentiated eating dependent on caloric density of food?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando Fernández-Aranda

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available One experiment tested whether a specific context could elicit eating in rats as a result of Pavlovian conditioning and whether this effect depended on the caloric density of food. Thirty two deprived rats experienced two contexts. They had access to food in context A, but no food was available in context B. During conditioning, half of the animals received high density caloric food (HD groups whereas the other half, low density caloric food (LD groups. Then, half of the rats in each type of food group was tested in context A and the other half in context B. The results demonstrated an effect of context conditioning only in HD groups. These findings suggest the relevance of both contextual conditioning and caloric density of food in eating behaviour. Implications for the aetiology of binge eating will be discussed.

  17. Community perceptions of risk factors for interpersonal violence in townships in Cape Town, South Africa: A focus group study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makanga, Prestige Tatenda; Schuurman, Nadine; Randall, Ellen

    2017-10-01

    Interpersonal violence is a major contributor to the burden of disease globally, and in South Africa, it is the leading cause of injury. There is an emerging consensus that the development of actionable policy and effective prevention strategies for interpersonal violence requires an understanding of the contextual matters that elevate risk for interpersonal violence. The objective of this study was to explore community perceptions of risks for interpersonal violence in five townships in Cape Town, South Africa, with high rates of violence. Focus group discussions were conducted with community members to identify key factors in that contributed to being either a perpetrator or victim of interpersonal violence. The ecological framework was used to classify the risk factors as occurring at individual, relationship, community or society levels. Some of the risk factors identified included alcohol abuse, poverty, informality of settlements and cultural norms. Differences in how each of these risk factors are expressed and experienced in the five communities are also elucidated. This approach enabled the collection of contextual community-based data that can complement conventional surveillance data in the development of relevant community-level strategies for interpersonal violence prevention.

  18. Against Contextualism: Belief, Evidence, & the Bank Cases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Logan Paul Gage

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1808-1711.2013v17n1p57 Contextualism (the view that ‘knowledge’ and its variants are context-sensitive has been supported in large part through appeal to intuitions about Keith DeRose’s Bank Cases. Recently, however, the contextualist construal of these cases has come under fire from Kent Bach and Jennifer Nagel who question whether the Bank Case subject’s confidence can remain constant in both low- and high-stakes cases. Having explained the Bank Cases and this challenge to them, I argue that DeRose has given a reasonable reply to this initial challenge. However, I proceed to argue that the current stalemate can be broken. Seeking to extend the Bach–Nagel critique, I offer a novel interpretation of the Bank Cases according to which the subject’s evidence changes between low- and high-stakes cases. If I am correct, then, given the amount of support the Bank Cases have been thought to lend contextualism, the case for contextualism is seriously weakened.

  19. Contextuality supplies the 'magic' for quantum computation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, Mark; Wallman, Joel; Veitch, Victor; Emerson, Joseph

    2014-06-19

    Quantum computers promise dramatic advantages over their classical counterparts, but the source of the power in quantum computing has remained elusive. Here we prove a remarkable equivalence between the onset of contextuality and the possibility of universal quantum computation via 'magic state' distillation, which is the leading model for experimentally realizing a fault-tolerant quantum computer. This is a conceptually satisfying link, because contextuality, which precludes a simple 'hidden variable' model of quantum mechanics, provides one of the fundamental characterizations of uniquely quantum phenomena. Furthermore, this connection suggests a unifying paradigm for the resources of quantum information: the non-locality of quantum theory is a particular kind of contextuality, and non-locality is already known to be a critical resource for achieving advantages with quantum communication. In addition to clarifying these fundamental issues, this work advances the resource framework for quantum computation, which has a number of practical applications, such as characterizing the efficiency and trade-offs between distinct theoretical and experimental schemes for achieving robust quantum computation, and putting bounds on the overhead cost for the classical simulation of quantum algorithms.

  20. Perpendicularity misjudgments caused by contextual stimulus elements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulatov, Aleksandr; Bulatova, Natalija; Surkys, Tadas

    2012-10-15

    It has been demonstrated in previous studies that the illusions of extent of the Brentano type can be explained by the perceptual positional shifts of the stimulus terminators in direction of the centers-of-masses (centroids) of adjacent contextual flanks [Bulatov, A. et al. (2011). Contextual flanks' tilting and magnitude of illusion of extent. Vision Research, 51(1), 58-64]. In the present study, the applicability of the centroid approach to explain the right-angle misjudgments was tested psychophysically using stimuli composed of three small disks (dots) forming an imaginary rectangular triangle. Stimuli comprised the Müller-Lyer wings or line segments (bars) as the contextual distracters rotated around the vertices of the triangle, and changes in the magnitude of the illusion of perpendicularity were measured in a set of experiments. A good resemblance between the experimental data and theoretical predictions obtained strongly supports the suggestion regarding the common "centroid" origin of the illusions of extent of the Brentano type and misperception of the perpendicularity investigated. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

  1. Contextual memory, psychosis-proneness, and the experience of intrusive imagery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glazer, Daniel A; Mason, Oliver; King, John A; Brewin, Chris R

    2013-01-01

    This study tested the hypothesis that the presence and characteristics of naturally occurring involuntary imagery would be related to poorer context-dependent spatial memory and higher levels of proneness to psychotic experiences. Poorer contextual memory was also predicted to be associated with a greater sense of "nowness". Participants completed a virtual environment task that assessed contextual memory through responses that required allocentric and egocentric processing of virtual stimuli. Two questionnaires assessing predisposition to psychotic experiences were employed. Finally, participants completed an interview that required details of recent, naturally occurring involuntary images. Reports of involuntary imagery were associated with greater proneness to psychotic experiences but not with memory. In those participants who reported imagery, however, poorer memory performance was associated with more vivid and detailed intrusive imagery. Poorer contextual memory was specifically associated with a greater sense of "nowness". Possible links between contextual memory and proneness to psychosis are discussed.

  2. What factors are most relevant to the assessment of work ability of employees on long-term sick leave? The physicians' perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dekkers-Sánchez, Patricia M; Wind, Haije; Sluiter, Judith K; Frings-Dresen, Monique H W

    2013-07-01

    To reach insurance physician (IPs) consensus on factors that must be taken into account in the assessment of the work ability of employees who are sick-listed for 2 years. A Delphi study using online questionnaires was conducted from October 2010 to March 2011. One hundred and two insurance physicians reached a consensus on important factors for return to work (RTW) of employees on long-term sick leave; from those factors, the most relevant for the assessment of work ability was determined. From a total of 22 relevant factors considered for the return to work of long-term sick-listed employees, consensus was reached on nine relevant factors that need to be taken into account in the assessment of the work ability of employees on long-term sick leave. Relevant factors that support return to work are motivation, attitude towards RTW, assessment of cognitions and behaviour, vocational rehabilitation in an early stage and instruction for the sick-listed employee to cope with his disabilities. Relevant factors that hinder RTW are secondary gain from illness, negative perceptions of illness, inefficient coping style and incorrect advice of treating physicians regarding RTW. Non-medical personal and environmental factors may either hinder or promote RTW and must be considered in the assessment of the work ability of long-term sick-listed employees. Assessment of work ability should start early during the sick leave period. These factors may be used by IPs to improve the quality of the assessment of the work ability of employees on long-term sick leave.

  3. Contextual and individual predictors of physical activity: Interactions between environmental factors and health cognitions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schüz, Benjamin; Wurm, Susanne; Ziegelmann, Jochen P; Wolff, Julia K; Warner, Lisa M; Schwarzer, Ralf; Tesch-Römer, Clemens

    2012-11-01

    Although health behavior theories assume a role of the context in health behavior self-regulation, this role is often weakly specified and rarely examined. The two studies in this article test whether properties of the environment (districts) affect if and how health-related cognitions are translated into physical activity. Multilevel modeling was used to examine the assumed cross-level interactions. Study 1 is a large-scale survey representative of the German adult population (N = 6,201). Gross domestic product (GDP) on the level of administrative districts was used to indicate environmental opportunities and barriers. Study 2 examined cross-level interactions of proximal predictors of physical activity (intentions, action planning, and coping planning) in older adults with multiple illnesses (N = 309), a high-risk group for health deteriorations. Study 1 showed that on the individual level, health attitudes (B = .11) and education (B = .71) were significantly associated with physical activity. GDP moderated the attitudes-behavior relation (B = .01), with higher attitude-behavior relations in districts with higher GDP. Study 2 finds that intention (B = .16), action planning (B = .17), and coping planning (B = .13) significantly predict activity. In addition, district-level GDP significantly moderated the relations between action planning and coping planning, but not intention, on physical activity. Results suggest that the effects of health attitudes and planning on physical activity are moderated by environmental factors. Districts with higher GDP provide better contextual opportunities for the enactment of concrete if-then plans for physical activity. This has implications for both theory and health promotion.

  4. Focal Event, Contextualization, and Effective Communication in the Mathematics Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nilsson, Per; Ryve, Andreas

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this article is to develop analytical tools for studying mathematical communication in collaborative activities. The theoretical construct of contextualization is elaborated methodologically in order to study diversity in individual thinking in relation to effective communication. The construct of contextualization highlights issues of…

  5. Npas4 Is a Critical Regulator of Learning-Induced Plasticity at Mossy Fiber-CA3 Synapses during Contextual Memory Formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weng, Feng-Ju; Garcia, Rodrigo I; Lutzu, Stefano; Alviña, Karina; Zhang, Yuxiang; Dushko, Margaret; Ku, Taeyun; Zemoura, Khaled; Rich, David; Garcia-Dominguez, Dario; Hung, Matthew; Yelhekar, Tushar D; Sørensen, Andreas Toft; Xu, Weifeng; Chung, Kwanghun; Castillo, Pablo E; Lin, Yingxi

    2018-03-07

    Synaptic connections between hippocampal mossy fibers (MFs) and CA3 pyramidal neurons are essential for contextual memory encoding, but the molecular mechanisms regulating MF-CA3 synapses during memory formation and the exact nature of this regulation are poorly understood. Here we report that the activity-dependent transcription factor Npas4 selectively regulates the structure and strength of MF-CA3 synapses by restricting the number of their functional synaptic contacts without affecting the other synaptic inputs onto CA3 pyramidal neurons. Using an activity-dependent reporter, we identified CA3 pyramidal cells that were activated by contextual learning and found that MF inputs on these cells were selectively strengthened. Deletion of Npas4 prevented both contextual memory formation and this learning-induced synaptic modification. We further show that Npas4 regulates MF-CA3 synapses by controlling the expression of the polo-like kinase Plk2. Thus, Npas4 is a critical regulator of experience-dependent, structural, and functional plasticity at MF-CA3 synapses during contextual memory formation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Pigeons Exhibit Contextual Cueing to Both Simple and Complex Backgrounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wasserman, Edward A.; Teng, Yuejia; Castro, Leyre

    2014-01-01

    Repeated pairings of a particular visual context with a specific location of a target stimulus facilitate target search in humans. We explored an animal model of this contextual cueing effect using a novel Cueing-Miscueing design. Pigeons had to peck a target which could appear in one of four possible locations on four possible color backgrounds or four possible color photographs of real-world scenes. On 80% of the trials, each of the contexts was uniquely paired with one of the target locations; on the other 20% of the trials, each of the contexts was randomly paired with the remaining target locations. Pigeons came to exhibit robust contextual cueing when the context preceded the target by 2 s, with reaction times to the target being shorter on correctly-cued trials than on incorrectly-cued trials. Contextual cueing proved to be more robust with photographic backgrounds than with uniformly colored backgrounds. In addition, during the context-target delay, pigeons predominately pecked toward the location of the upcoming target, suggesting that attentional guidance contributes to contextual cueing. These findings confirm the effectiveness of animal models of contextual cueing and underscore the important part played by associative learning in producing the effect. PMID:24491468

  7. Independence of long-term contextual memory and short-term perceptual hypotheses: Evidence from contextual cueing of interrupted search.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlagbauer, Bernhard; Mink, Maurice; Müller, Hermann J; Geyer, Thomas

    2017-02-01

    Observers are able to resume an interrupted search trial faster relative to responding to a new, unseen display. This finding of rapid resumption is attributed to short-term perceptual hypotheses generated on the current look and confirmed upon subsequent looks at the same display. It has been suggested that the contents of perceptual hypotheses are similar to those of other forms of memory acquired long-term through repeated exposure to the same search displays over the course of several trials, that is, the memory supporting "contextual cueing." In three experiments, we investigated the relationship between short-term perceptual hypotheses and long-term contextual memory. The results indicated that long-term, contextual memory of repeated displays neither affected the generation nor the confirmation of short-term perceptual hypotheses for these displays. Furthermore, the analysis of eye movements suggests that long-term memory provides an initial benefit in guiding attention to the target, whereas in subsequent looks guidance is entirely based on short-term perceptual hypotheses. Overall, the results reveal a picture of both long- and short-term memory contributing to reliable performance gains in interrupted search, while exerting their effects in an independent manner.

  8. Contextual approach to quantum formalism

    CERN Document Server

    Khrennikov, Andrei

    2009-01-01

    The aim of this book is to show that the probabilistic formalisms of classical statistical mechanics and quantum mechanics can be unified on the basis of a general contextual probabilistic model. By taking into account the dependence of (classical) probabilities on contexts (i.e. complexes of physical conditions), one can reproduce all distinct features of quantum probabilities such as the interference of probabilities and the violation of Bell’s inequality. Moreover, by starting with a formula for the interference of probabilities (which generalizes the well known classical formula of total probability), one can construct the representation of contextual probabilities by complex probability amplitudes or, in the abstract formalism, by normalized vectors of the complex Hilbert space or its hyperbolic generalization. Thus the Hilbert space representation of probabilities can be naturally derived from classical probabilistic assumptions. An important chapter of the book critically reviews known no-go theorems...

  9. Proportion of contextual effects in the treatment of fibromyalgia-a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whiteside, Nicola; Sarmanova, Aliya; Chen, Xi; Zou, Kun; Abdullah, Natasya; Doherty, Michael; Zhang, Weiya

    2018-05-01

    The objective of this study is to examine the proportion of the total treatment effect that is attributable to contextual effects in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of treatments for fibromyalgia. A systematic literature search was undertaken in Medline, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and Allied and Complementary Medicine in September 2015. The proportion of contextual effect (PCE) was calculated by dividing the improvement in the placebo arm by the improvement in the treatment arm. The measure was log-transformed for each trial and the random effects model was used to pool data. The primary outcome was pain. Secondary outcomes were fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQ) total and fatigue. Heterogeneity was quantified using I 2 . Publication bias was assessed using a funnel plot and Egger's test. Subgroup analysis was undertaken to explore heterogeneity and potential determinants of the PCE. Fifty-one eligible trials (9599 participants) were identified. The PCE was 0.60 (95% CI 0·56 to 0·64) for pain, 0·57 (95% CI 0·53 to 0·61) for FIQ total, and 0·63 (95% CI 0·59 to 0·68) for fatigue. The I 2 was 99.4% for pain, 99.2% for FIQ total, and 97.6% for fatigue. More than half of the treatment effect in fibromyalgia RCTs results from non-specific contextual factors. This suggests that optimising contextual care may enhance treatment effects and improve outcomes. Reporting the total treatment effect and the proportion of contextual effect in trials may help to better translate research evidence into practice.

  10. Contextual investigation of factors affecting sludge accumulation ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Pit latrines in slums areas of Uganda fill up faster than might be expected from some estimates owing to inappropriate use and failure to consider critical factors affecting sludge accumulation rates at the planning, design and construction stages. This study sought to investigate factors affecting filling rates of lined pit latrines ...

  11. Cultural and Contextual Influences on Parenting in Mexican American Families

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Rebecca M. B.; Roosa, Mark W.; Weaver, Scott R.; Nair, Rajni L.

    2009-01-01

    Family stress theory can explain associations between contextual stressors and parenting. The theory, however, has not been tested among Mexican Americans or expanded to include cultural-contextual risks. This study examined associations between neighborhood, economic, and acculturative stressors and parenting behaviors in a sample of 570…

  12. Exploring the interaction of personal and contextual factors during the induction period of science teachers and how this interaction shapes their enactment of science reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saka, Yavuz

    The first years of teaching are demanding as the novice works to gain a degree of familiarity in her/his professional work. It is during this period that many teachers decide to leave the teaching profession or move away from the reform-minded beliefs and practices acquired during their teacher preparation programs. To understand what happens during induction requires a focus on both the cognitive and contextual issues related to science teaching. The goal of this qualitative, multi-case study was to describe the induction experiences of two reform-minded first year science teachers and the strategies they used to negotiate contradictions embedded the context of schooling. Using the frame of Cultural Historical Activity Theory, in this research I focused on changes in science teachers' personal and professional identities, self-efficacy and pedagogical discontentment, the manner in which these factors shaped science teaching practices, and beliefs and practices shaped and were shaped by the context of the novices' work. Data included a year of participant observations, surveys, open-ended questionnaires, interviews, classroom observations, and mediating artifacts such as lesson plans and assignments. Identities and dispositions of these teachers played significant role their attempts to become competent members of their school communities, attempts that influenced and were influenced by their teaching self-efficacy and pedagogical discontentment. Mild contradictions in the system allowed for the refinement of reform-minded science teaching practices, while extreme contradictions in the system served to change one teacher's goals and prevented his successful enactment of science education reform. Findings indicated that the successful enactment of reform-minded practice depends not just on contextual factors related to schools, or just on individual factors associated with science teaching. Instead, personal and contextual factors interact to shape a novice's first

  13. Robust Actor-Critic Contextual Bandit for Mobile Health (mHealth) Interventions

    OpenAIRE

    Zhu, Feiyun; Guo, Jun; Li, Ruoyu; Huang, Junzhou

    2018-01-01

    We consider the actor-critic contextual bandit for the mobile health (mHealth) intervention. State-of-the-art decision-making algorithms generally ignore the outliers in the dataset. In this paper, we propose a novel robust contextual bandit method for the mHealth. It can achieve the conflicting goal of reducing the influence of outliers while seeking for a similar solution compared with the state-of-the-art contextual bandit methods on the datasets without outliers. Such performance relies o...

  14. Exploration of contextual factors in a successful quality improvement collaborative in English ambulance services: cross‐sectional survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phung, Viet‐Hai; Essam, Nadya; Asghar, Zahid; Spaight, Anne

    2015-01-01

    Abstract Rationale, aims and objectives Clinical leadership and organizational culture are important contextual factors for quality improvement (QI) but the relationship between these and with organizational change is complex and poorly understood. We aimed to explore the relationship between clinical leadership, culture of innovation and clinical engagement in QI within a national ambulance QI Collaborative (QIC). Methods We used a self‐administered online questionnaire survey sent to front‐line clinicians in all 12 English ambulance services. We conducted a cross‐sectional analysis of quantitative data and qualitative analysis of free‐text responses. Results There were 2743 (12% of 22 117) responses from 11 of the 12 participating ambulance services. In the 3% of responders that were directly involved with the QIC, leadership behaviour was significantly higher than for those not directly involved. QIC involvement made no significant difference to responders' perceptions of the culture of innovation in their organization, which was generally considered poor. Although uptake of QI methods was low overall, QIC members were significantly more likely to use QI methods, which were also significantly associated with leadership behaviour. Conclusions Despite a limited organizational culture of innovation, clinical leadership and use of QI methods in ambulance services generally, the QIC achieved its aims to significantly improve pre‐hospital care for acute myocardial infarction and stroke. We postulate that this was mediated through an improvement subculture, linked to the QIC, which facilitated large‐scale improvement by stimulating leadership and QI methods. Further research is needed to understand success factors for QI in complex health care environments. PMID:26303398

  15. 3-D contextual Bayesian classifiers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Rasmus

    In this paper we will consider extensions of a series of Bayesian 2-D contextual classification pocedures proposed by Owen (1984) Hjort & Mohn (1984) and Welch & Salter (1971) and Haslett (1985) to 3 spatial dimensions. It is evident that compared to classical pixelwise classification further...

  16. Contextual issues influencing implementation and outcomes associated with an integrated approach to managing pain, agitation, and delirium in adult ICUs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrothers, Kathleen M; Barr, Juliana; Spurlock, Bruce; Ridgely, M Susan; Damberg, Cheryl L; Ely, E Wesley

    2013-09-01

    This pilot study was designed to identify which contextual factors facilitate/hinder the implementation of the awakening, breathing, coordination, delirium, and early mobility (ABCDE) bundle for guidance in future studies. The sources of data for this study included document review, planned site visits (including interviews and observations), a brief online contextual factors survey, and self-reported process and outcome data. All patients in the four participating SF Bay Area ICUs were eligible to be included in this pilot study. This study took place in the four San Francisco Bay Area ICUs participating in the ICU Clinical Impact Interest Group, funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation from January 2012 through June 2013. This was a pilot evaluation study to identify factors that facilitated/hindered the implementation of the ABCDE bundle, interventions designed to decrease the prevalence of ICU-acquired delirium and muscle weakness. The ABCDE bundle consists of spontaneous awakening trials, spontaneous breathing trials, coordination of awakening and breathing trials, choice of sedation, delirium screening and treatment, and early progressive mobility. Process data related to bundle element compliance were collected at baseline and monthly during the intervention period. Outcome data (average ICU length of stay and average days on mechanical ventilation) were collected at baseline and quarterly during the intervention period. Hospital-specific results of the online contextual factors survey and information gathered through interviews and observations during site visits also contributed to the analysis. Factors related to structural characteristics of the ICU, an organizational-wide patient safety culture, an ICU culture of quality improvement, implementation planning, training/support, and prompts/documentation are believed to have facilitated the rate and success of ABCDE bundle implementation. Excessive turnover (both in project and ICU leadership

  17. Unilateral hippocampal inactivation or lesion selectively impairs remote contextual fear memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Heng; Zhou, Qixin; Xu, Lin

    2016-10-01

    Contextual fear memory depends on the hippocampus, but the role of unilateral hippocampus in this type of memory remains unclear. Herein, pharmacological inactivation or excitotoxic lesions were used to study the role of unilateral hippocampus in the stages of contextual fear memory. The pharmacological experiments revealed that compared with the control groups, unilateral hippocampal blockade did not impair 1-day recent memory following learning, whereas bilateral hippocampal blockade significantly impaired this memory. The lesion experiments showed that compared with the control groups, the formed contextual fear memory was retained for 7 days and that 30-day remote memory was markedly reduced in unilateral hippocampal lesion groups. These results indicate that an intact bilateral hippocampus is required for the formation of remote memory and that unilateral hippocampus is sufficient for recent contextual fear memory.

  18. Importance of Contextual Factors When Measuring Work Outcome in Ankylosing Spondylitis: A Systematic Review by the OMERACT Worker Productivity Group.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stolwijk, Carmen; Castillo-Ortiz, José-Dionisio; Gignac, Monique; Luime, Jolanda; Boonen, A

    2015-09-01

    To review the literature on contextual factors (CoFas) and their relationship to work outcomes in individuals with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Articles that quantified the relationship between CoFas and employment status, sick leave, or presenteeism in individuals with AS were systematically identified. CoFas were classified into 5 domains for personal factors and 8 domains for environmental factors. We defined criteria for best-evidence synthesis for each CoFa domain based on the number of studies exploring that domain, and the quality of evidence of individual studies based on the risk of bias, adjustment of multivariable analyses for disease activity and physical function, and sample size. Twenty-five studies met our inclusion criteria: 20 addressed employment status, 6 examined sick leave, and 3 presenteeism. For employment, there was strong evidence for the role of age, moderate evidence for related skills/abilities, the absence of work accommodations, the nature of work and absence of workplace support, and poor evidence for the role of marital status. Evidence was insufficient for sex, education, and physical environment. For sick leave and presenteeism there were too few studies to perform a best-evidence synthesis for the role of CoFas. Using a newly proposed set of criteria for determining the best-evidence of the association between CoFa domains and work outcome, the following factors emerged: age, related skills/abilities, work accommodations, nature of work, and workplace support. In addition to disease-related variables, these CoFa domains seem important to include when designing and interpreting studies on work outcomes. © 2015, American College of Rheumatology.

  19. Sociodemographic and social contextual predictors of multiple health behavior change: data from the Healthy Directions-Small Business study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harley, Amy E; Sapp, Amy L; Li, Yi; Marino, Miguel; Quintiliani, Lisa M; Sorensen, Glorian

    2013-03-01

    Multiple modifiable health behaviors contribute to the chronic diseases that are the leading causes of death in the USA. Disparities for meeting recommended health behavior guidelines exist across occupational classes and socioeconomic levels. The purpose of this paper was to investigate sociodemographic and social contextual predictors of multiple health behavior change in a worksite intervention. We analyzed data on four diet and exercise variables from an intervention trial with worksite-level randomization. Eight hundred forty-one employees had complete data from baseline (response rate = 84 %) and follow-up surveys (response rate = 77 %). Multilevel logistic regression estimated associations between least absolute shrinkage and selection operator-selected sociodemographic and social contextual predictor variables and the multiple health behavior change outcome (changing 2+ versus 0 behaviors). Gender, being married/partnered, and perceived discrimination were significantly associated with multiple health behavior change. Sociodemographic and social contextual factors predict multiple health behavior change and could inform the design and delivery of worksite interventions targeting multiple health behaviors.

  20. Does Contextual Cueing Guide the Deployment of Attention?

    OpenAIRE

    Kunar, Melina A.; Flusberg, Stephen; Horowitz, Todd S.; Wolfe, Jeremy M.

    2007-01-01

    Contextual cueing experiments show that when displays are repeated, reaction times (RTs) to find a target decrease over time even when observers are not aware of the repetition. It has been thought that the context of the display guides attention to the target. We tested this hypothesis by comparing the effects of guidance in a standard search task to the effects of contextual cueing. Firstly, in standard search, an improvement in guidance causes search slopes (derived from RT × Set Size func...

  1. Situational Factors in Focus Group Studies: A Systematic Review

    OpenAIRE

    Arne Orvik MPolSc; Lillebeth Larun PhD; Astrid Berland MSc; Karin C. Ringsberg PhD

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to see how contextual factors are expressed, used, and analyzed in data collected in focus group discussions (FGDs). The study includes an assessment of how the methodological reporting of contextual factors might influence and improve the trustworthiness of articles. Articles reporting workplace health, stress, and coping among health professionals were identified in a systematic review and used in the analysis. By using Vicsek's framework of situational factors for...

  2. Arrogant or self-confident? The use of contextual knowledge to differentiate hubristic and authentic pride from a single nonverbal expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tracy, Jessica L; Prehn, Christine

    2012-01-01

    Two studies tested whether observers could differentiate between two facets of pride-authentic and hubristic-on the basis of a single prototypical pride nonverbal expression combined with relevant contextual information. In Study 1, participants viewed targets displaying posed pride expressions in response to success, while causal attributions for the success (target's effort vs. ability) and the source of this information (target vs. omniscient narrator conveying objective fact) were varied. Study 2 used a similar method, but attribution information came from both the target and an omniscient narrator; the congruence of these attributions was varied. Across studies, participants tended to label expressions as authentic pride, but were relatively more likely to label them as hubristic pride when (a) contextual information indicated that targets were arrogant and (b) no mitigating information about the target's potential value as a hard-working group member (i.e., that success was actually due to effort) was presented.

  3. Examining Contextual Influences on Fall-Related Injuries Among Older Adults for Population Health Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffman, Geoffrey J; Rodriguez, Hector P

    2015-12-01

    The objectives were to assess the associations between fall-related injuries (FRIs) treated in the emergency department (ED) among older adults in California and contextual county-level physical, social, and economic characteristics, and to assess how county-level economic conditions are associated with FRIs when controlling for other county-level factors. Data from 2008 California ED discharge, Medicare Impact File, and County Health Rankings were used. Random effects logistic regression models estimated contextual associations between county-level factors representing economic conditions, the built environment, community safety, access to care, and obesity with patient-level FRI treatment among 1,712,409 older adults, controlling for patient-level and hospital-level characteristics. Patient-level predictors of FRI treatment were consistent with previous studies not accounting for contextual associations. Larger and rural hospitals had higher odds of FRI treatment, while teaching and safety net hospitals had lower odds. Better county economic conditions were associated with greater odds (ß=0.73, P=0.001) and higher county-level obesity were associated with lower odds (ß=-0.37, P=0.004), but safer built environments (ß=-0.31, P=0.38) were not associated with FRI treatment. The magnitude of association between county-level economic conditions and FRI treatment attenuated with the inclusion of county-level obesity rates. FRI treatment was most strongly and consistently related to more favorable county economic conditions, suggesting differences in treatment or preferences for treatment for FRIs among older individuals in communities of varying resource levels. Using population health data on FRIs, policy makers may be able to remove barriers unique to local contexts when implementing falls prevention educational programs and built environment modifications.

  4. Contextualizing Data Warehouses with Documents

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Perez, Juan Manuel; Berlanga, Rafael; Aramburu, Maria Jose

    2008-01-01

    warehouse with a document warehouse, resulting in a contextualized warehouse. Thus, the user first selects an analysis context by supplying some keywords. Then, the analysis is performed on a novel type of OLAP cube, called an R-cube, which is materialized by retrieving and ranking the documents...

  5. A 3-D Contextual Classifier

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Rasmus

    1997-01-01

    In this paper we will consider an extension of the Bayesian 2-D contextual class ification routine developed by Owen, Hjort \\$\\backslash\\$& Mohn to 3 spatial dimensions. It is evident that compared to classical pixelwise classification further information can be obtained by tak ing into account...

  6. Action Centered Contextual Bandits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenewald, Kristjan; Tewari, Ambuj; Klasnja, Predrag; Murphy, Susan

    2017-12-01

    Contextual bandits have become popular as they offer a middle ground between very simple approaches based on multi-armed bandits and very complex approaches using the full power of reinforcement learning. They have demonstrated success in web applications and have a rich body of associated theoretical guarantees. Linear models are well understood theoretically and preferred by practitioners because they are not only easily interpretable but also simple to implement and debug. Furthermore, if the linear model is true, we get very strong performance guarantees. Unfortunately, in emerging applications in mobile health, the time-invariant linear model assumption is untenable. We provide an extension of the linear model for contextual bandits that has two parts: baseline reward and treatment effect. We allow the former to be complex but keep the latter simple. We argue that this model is plausible for mobile health applications. At the same time, it leads to algorithms with strong performance guarantees as in the linear model setting, while still allowing for complex nonlinear baseline modeling. Our theory is supported by experiments on data gathered in a recently concluded mobile health study.

  7. Using geometrical, textural, and contextual information of land parcels for classification of detailed urban land use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, S.-S.; Qiu, X.; Usery, E.L.; Wang, L.

    2009-01-01

    Detailed urban land use data are important to government officials, researchers, and businesspeople for a variety of purposes. This article presents an approach to classifying detailed urban land use based on geometrical, textural, and contextual information of land parcels. An area of 6 by 14 km in Austin, Texas, with land parcel boundaries delineated by the Travis Central Appraisal District of Travis County, Texas, is tested for the approach. We derive fifty parcel attributes from relevant geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing data and use them to discriminate among nine urban land uses: single family, multifamily, commercial, office, industrial, civic, open space, transportation, and undeveloped. Half of the 33,025 parcels in the study area are used as training data for land use classification and the other half are used as testing data for accuracy assessment. The best result with a decision tree classification algorithm has an overall accuracy of 96 percent and a kappa coefficient of 0.78, and two naive, baseline models based on the majority rule and the spatial autocorrelation rule have overall accuracy of 89 percent and 79 percent, respectively. The algorithm is relatively good at classifying single-family, multifamily, commercial, open space, and undeveloped land uses and relatively poor at classifying office, industrial, civic, and transportation land uses. The most important attributes for land use classification are the geometrical attributes, particularly those related to building areas. Next are the contextual attributes, particularly those relevant to the spatial relationship between buildings, then the textural attributes, particularly the semivariance texture statistic from 0.61-m resolution images.

  8. Contextuality is about identity of random variables

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dzhafarov, Ehtibar N; Kujala, Janne V

    2014-01-01

    Contextual situations are those in which seemingly ‘the same’ random variable changes its identity depending on the conditions under which it is recorded. Such a change of identity is observed whenever the assumption that the variable is one and the same under different conditions leads to contradictions when one considers its joint distribution with other random variables (this is the essence of all Bell-type theorems). In our Contextuality-by-Default approach, instead of asking why or how the conditions force ‘one and the same’ random variable to change ‘its’ identity, any two random variables recorded under different conditions are considered different ‘automatically.’ They are never the same, nor are they jointly distributed, but one can always impose on them a joint distribution (probabilistic coupling). The special situations when there is a coupling in which these random variables are equal with probability 1 are considered noncontextual. Contextuality means that such couplings do not exist. We argue that the determination of the identity of random variables by conditions under which they are recorded is not a causal relationship and cannot violate laws of physics. (paper)

  9. Individual and contextual factors for the child abuse potential of Croatian mothers: The role of social support in times of economic hardship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ajduković, Marina; Rajter, Miroslav; Rezo, Ines

    2018-04-01

    The study assessed mothers' risk for abusing their children in middle adolescence in relation to individual and contextual factors during the economic crisis in Croatia. Socioeconomic status of mothers, family economic pressure, and mothers' exposure to stress were measured. Special attention was given to the perceived availability of social support as one of protective factors potentially buffering the negative impact of risks of child abuse. The community sample included 746 mothers (Mage = 42.85; SDage = 5.319). The results showed that the risk of child abuse is higher for mothers with lower education, those who perceive themselves as suffering greater family economic hardship, those who have experienced a higher number of stressful events, and those with lower social support. When the mothers perceive a lower availability of social support, the effects of exposure to cumulative risk, namely the combination of socioeconomic status, economic pressure, and exposure to stress, are stronger. Since social support proved to be one of the key protective factors in the relationship between adverse life circumstances and parenting, the development of effective and non-stigmatized interventions aiming to increase social support, positive social relationships, and adequate parenting practices for parents facing economic hardship is an important direction for future family policy measures. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. The interplay of contextual elements in implementation: an ethnographic case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCullough, Megan B; Chou, Ann F; Solomon, Jeffrey L; Petrakis, Beth Ann; Kim, Bo; Park, Angela M; Benedict, Ashley J; Hamilton, Alison B; Rose, Adam J

    2015-02-14

    Contextual elements have significant impact on uptake of health care innovations. While existing conceptual frameworks in implementation science suggest contextual elements interact with each other, little research has described how this might look in practice. To bridge this gap, this study identifies the interconnected patterns among contextual elements that influence uptake of an anticoagulation clinic improvement initiative. We completed 51 semi-structured interviews and ethnographic observations across five case study sites involved in an evidence-based practice (EBP) quality improvement initiative. We analyzed data in NVivo 10 using an a priori approach based on the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) model and an emergent thematic analysis. Key contextual elements, such as leadership, teamwork, and communication, interacted with each other in contributing to site-level uptake of the EBP, often yielding results that could not be predicted by looking at just one of these elements alone. Sites with context conducive to change in these areas predictably had high uptake, while sites with uniformly weak contextual elements had low uptake. Most sites presented a mixed picture, with contextual elements being strongly supportive of change in some areas and weak or moderate in others. In some cases, we found that sites with strong context in at least one area only needed to have adequate context in other areas to yield high uptake. At other sites, weak context in just one area had the potential to contribute to low uptake, despite countervailing strengths. Even a site with positive views of EBPs could not succeed when context was weak. Interrelationships among different contextual elements can act as barriers to uptake at some sites and as facilitators at others. Accounting for interconnections among elements enables PARIHS to more fully describe the determinants of successful implementation as they operate in real-world settings.

  11. Upper GI endoscopy in elderly patients: predictive factors of relevant endoscopic findings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buri, Luigi; Zullo, Angelo; Hassan, Cesare; Bersani, Gianluca; Anti, Marcello; Bianco, Maria A; Cipolletta, Livio; Giulio, Emilio Di; Matteo, Giovanni Di; Familiari, Luigi; Ficano, Leonardo; Loriga, Piero; Morini, Sergio; Pietropaolo, Vincenzo; Zambelli, Alessandro; Grossi, Enzo; Tessari, Francesco; Intraligi, Marco; Buscema, Massimo

    2013-03-01

    Elderly patients are at increased risk for peptic ulcer and cancer. Predictive factors of relevant endoscopic findings at upper endoscopy in the elderly are unknown. This was a post hoc analysis of a nationwide, endoscopic study. A total of 3,147 elderly patients were selected. Demographic, clinical, and endoscopic data were systematically collected. Relevant findings and new diagnoses of peptic ulcer and malignancy were computed. Both univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. A total of 1,559 (49.5%), 213 (6.8%), 93 (3%) relevant findings, peptic ulcers, and malignancies were detected. Peptic ulcers and malignancies were more frequent in >85-year-old patients (OR 3.1, 95% CI = 2.0-4.7, p = 0.001). The presence of dysphagia (OR = 5.15), weight loss (OR = 4.77), persistent vomiting (OR = 3.68), anaemia (OR = 1.83), and male gender (OR = 1.9) were significantly associated with a malignancy, whilst overt bleeding (OR = 6.66), NSAIDs use (OR = 2.23), and epigastric pain (OR = 1.90) were associated with the presence of peptic ulcer. Peptic ulcer or malignancies were detected in 10% of elderly patients, supporting the use of endoscopy in this age group. Very elderly patients appear to be at higher risk of such lesions.

  12. THE USE OF RELEVANT FACTORS FOR CONSUMERS IN DESIGNING A COMMUNICATIONAL MESSAGE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olimpia OANCEA

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Today, organizations must adapt to the new realities of the environment in which they operate, and their efforts must be increasingly more oriented towards identifying the factors that influence consumer behavior, in particular economic, social and psychological aspects. When consumers are acting on incomplete information base, they assume automatically a risk for each purchasing decision. The size of the risk decreases depending on the quantity and relevance of information transmitted through communicational messages. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to highlight the factors that should be taken into account when designing a communicational message, so that this has to have the ability to change consumer attitudes and to keep constant interest to the products and / or services of a company.

  13. Effects of Normal Aging on Memory for Multiple Contextual Features

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gagnon, Sylvain; Soulard, Kathleen; Brasgold, Melissa; Kreller, Joshua

    2007-01-01

    Twenty-four younger (18-35 years) and 24 older adult participants (65 or older) were exposed to three experimental conditions involving the memorization words and their associated contextual features, with contextual feature complexity increasing from Conditions 1 to 3. In Condition 1, words presented varied only on one binary feature (color,…

  14. Inhibition of Rac1 activity in the hippocampus impaired extinction of contextual fear.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Lizhu; Mao, Rongrong; Tong, Jianbin; Li, Jinnan; Chai, Anping; Zhou, Qixin; Yang, Yuexiong; Wang, Liping; Li, Lingjiang; Xu, Lin

    2016-10-01

    Promoting extinction of fear memory is the main treatment of fear disorders, especially post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, fear extinction is often incomplete in these patients. Our previous study had shown that Rac1 activity in hippocampus plays a crucial role in the learning of contextual fear memory in rats. Here, we further investigated whether Rac1 activity also modulated the extinction of contextual fear memory. We found that massed extinction obviously upregulated hippocampal Rac1 activity and induced long-term extinction of contextual fear in rats. Intrahippocampal injection of the Rac1 inhibitor NSC23766 prevents extinction of contextual fear in massed extinction training rats. In contrast, long-spaced extinction downregulated Rac1 activity and caused less extinction. And Rac1 activator CN04-A promotes extinction of contextual fear in long-spaced extinction rats. Our study demonstrates that inhibition of Rac1 activity in the hippocampus impaired extinction of contextual fear, suggesting that modulating Rac1 activity of the hippocampus may be promising therapy of fear disorders. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Contextual Bandits for Information Retrieval

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hofmann, K.; Whiteson, S.; de Rijke, M.

    2011-01-01

    In this paper we give an overview of and outlook on research at the intersection of information retrieval (IR) and contextual bandit problems. A critical problem in information retrieval is online learning to rank, where a search engine strives to improve the quality of the ranked result lists it

  16. Contextual action recognition and target localization with an active allocation of attention on a humanoid robot

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ognibene, Dimitri; Chinellato, Eris; Sarabia, Miguel; Demiris, Yiannis

    2013-01-01

    Exploratory gaze movements are fundamental for gathering the most relevant information regarding the partner during social interactions. Inspired by the cognitive mechanisms underlying human social behaviour, we have designed and implemented a system for a dynamic attention allocation which is able to actively control gaze movements during a visual action recognition task exploiting its own action execution predictions. Our humanoid robot is able, during the observation of a partner's reaching movement, to contextually estimate the goal position of the partner's hand and the location in space of the candidate targets. This is done while actively gazing around the environment, with the purpose of optimizing the gathering of information relevant for the task. Experimental results on a simulated environment show that active gaze control, based on the internal simulation of actions, provides a relevant advantage with respect to other action perception approaches, both in terms of estimation precision and of time required to recognize an action. Moreover, our model reproduces and extends some experimental results on human attention during an action perception. (paper)

  17. Study on Uncertainty and Contextual Modelling

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Klimešová, Dana; Ocelíková, E.

    2007-01-01

    Roč. 1, č. 1 (2007), s. 12-15 ISSN 1998-0140 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : Knowledge * contextual modelling * temporal modelling * uncertainty * knowledge management Subject RIV: BD - Theory of Information

  18. The Influence of Contextual Diversity on Eye Movements in Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plummer, Patrick; Perea, Manuel; Rayner, Keith

    2014-01-01

    Recent research has shown contextual diversity (i.e., the number of passages in which a given word appears) to be a reliable predictor of word processing difficulty. It has also been demonstrated that word-frequency has little or no effect on word recognition speed when accounting for contextual diversity in isolated word processing tasks. An…

  19. Post-Training Unilateral Amygdala Lesions Selectively Impair Contextual Fear Memories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flavell, Charlotte R.; Lee, Jonathan L. C.

    2012-01-01

    The basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the dorsal hippocampus (dHPC) are both structures with key roles in contextual fear conditioning. During fear conditioning, it is postulated that contextual representations of the environment are formed in the hippocampus, which are then associated with foot shock in the amygdala. However, it is not known to what…

  20. The effects of acute nicotine on contextual safety discrimination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kutlu, Munir G; Oliver, Chicora; Gould, Thomas J

    2014-11-01

    Anxiety disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), may be related to an inability to distinguish safe versus threatening environments and to extinguish fear memories. Given the high rate of cigarette smoking in patients with PTSD, as well as the recent finding that an acute dose of nicotine impairs extinction of contextual fear memory, we conducted a series of experiments to investigate the effect of acute nicotine in an animal model of contextual safety discrimination. Following saline or nicotine (at 0.0275, 0.045, 0.09 and 0.18 mg/kg) administration, C57BL/6J mice were trained in a contextual discrimination paradigm, in which the subjects received presentations of conditioned stimuli (CS) that co-terminated with a foot-shock in one context (context A (CXA)) and only CS presentations without foot-shock in a different context (context B (CXB)). Therefore, CXA was designated as the 'dangerous context', whereas CXB was designated as the 'safe context'. Our results suggested that saline-treated animals showed a strong discrimination between dangerous and safe contexts, while acute nicotine dose-dependently impaired contextual safety discrimination (Experiment 1). Furthermore, our results demonstrate that nicotine-induced impairment of contextual safety discrimination learning was not a result of increased generalized freezing (Experiment 2) or contingent on the common CS presentations in both contexts (Experiment 3). Finally, our results show that increasing the temporal gap between CXA and CXB during training abolished the impairing effects of nicotine (Experiment 4). The findings of this study may help link nicotine exposure to the safety learning deficits seen in anxiety disorder and PTSD patients. © The Author(s) 2014.

  1. Exploratory Factor Analysis of SCL90-R Symptoms Relevant to Psychosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Javad Amini

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available "nObjective: Inconsistent results have been reported regarding the symptom dimensions relevant to psychosis in symptoms check list revised (SCL90-R, i.e., "psychoticism" and "paranoid ideation". Therefore, some studies have suggested different factor structures for questions of these two dimensions, and proposed two newly defined dimensions of "schizotypal signs" and "schizophrenia nuclear symptoms". We conducted an exploratory factor analysis on the items of these two dimensions in a general population sample in Iran. "nMethod: A total of 2158 subjects residing in Southern Tehran (capital of Iran were interviewed using the psychoticism and paranoid ideation questions in SCL90-R to assess severity of these symptom dimensions. Factor analysis was done through SAS 9.1.3 PROC FACTOR using Promax rotation (power=3 on the matrix of "polychoric correlations among variables" as the input data. "nResults: Two factors were retained by the proportion criterion. Considering loadings >= 0.5 as minimum criteria for factor loadings, 7 out of 10 questions  from psychoticism ,and 3 out of 6 questions from paranoid ideation were retained, and others were eliminated. The factor labels proposed by the questionnaire suited the extracted factors and were retained. Internal consistency for each of the dimensions was acceptable (Cronbach's alpha 0.7 and 0.74 for paranoid ideation and psychoticism respectively. Composite scores showed a half-normal distribution for both dimensions which is predictable for instruments that detect psychotic symptoms. "nConclusion: Results were in contrast with similar studies, and questioned them by suggesting a different factor structure obtained from a statistically large population. The population in a developing nation (Iran in this study and the socio-cultural differences in developed settings are the potential sources for discrepancies between this analysis and previous reports.

  2. Assessing the impact of dietary habits on health-related quality of life requires contextual measurement tools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina eRuano

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The increase of non-communicable diseases at all ages has fostered the general concern for sustaining population health worldwide. Unhealthy lifestyles and dietary habits impacting physical and psycho-social health are well known risk factors for developing life threatening diseases. Identifying the determinants of quality of life is an important task from a Public Health perspective. Consumer-Reported Outcome measures of health-related quality of life are becoming increasingly necessary and relevant in the field of nutrition. However, quality of life questionnaires are seldom used in the nutrition field. We conducted a scientific literature search to find out the questionnaires used to determine the association between dietary habits and quality of life. A total of 13 studies were eligible for inclusion. Across these studies the Short Form–36, a generic (nondisease-specific health-related quality of life measurement instrument was the most widely used. However, generic measures may have limited content validity in the context of dietary habits interventions. We recommend additional contextual diet-specific health-related quality of life measures are also needed for evaluating the impact of diet habits on daily life functioning and well-being.

  3. Hypobaric hypoxia impairs cued and contextual fear memory in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumari, Punita; Kauser, Hina; Wadhwa, Meetu; Roy, Koustav; Alam, Shahnawaz; Sahu, Surajit; Kishore, Krishna; Ray, Koushik; Panjwani, Usha

    2018-04-26

    Fear memory is essential for survival, and its dysregulation leads to disorders. High altitude hypobaric hypoxia (HH) is known to induce cognitive decline. However, its effect on fear memory is still an enigma. We aimed to investigate the temporal effect of HH on fear conditioning and the underlying mechanism. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained for fear conditioning and exposed to simulated HH equivalent to 25,000 ft for different durations (1, 3, 7, 14 and 21 days). Subsequently, rats were tested for cued and contextual fear conditioning. Neuronal morphology, apoptosis and DNA fragmentation were studied in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), hippocampus and basolateral amygdala (BLA). We observed significant deficit in cued and contextual fear acquisition (at 1, 3 and 7 days) and consolidation (cued at 1 and 3 days and contextual fear at 1, 3 and 7 days) under HH. HH exposure with retraining showed the earlier restoration of contextual fear memory. Further, we found a gradual increase in the number of pyknotic and apoptotic neurons together with the increase in DNA fragmentation in mPFC, hippocampus, and BLA up to 7 days of HH exposure. The present study concludes that HH exposure equivalent to 25000 ft induced cued and contextual fear memory deficit (acquisition and consolidation) which is found to be correlated with the neurodegenerative changes in the limbic brain regions. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  4. Dental Treatment in a State-Funded Primary Dental Care Facility: Contextual and Individual Predictors of Treatment Need?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wanyonyi, Kristina L; Radford, David R; Gallagher, Jennifer E

    2017-01-01

    This study examined individual and contextual factors which predict the dental care received by patients in a state-funded primary dental care training facility in England. Routine clinical and demographic data were extracted from a live dental patient management system in a state-funded facility using novel methods. The data, spanning a four-year period [2008-2012] were cleaned, validated, linked by means of postcode to deprivation status, and analysed to identify factors which predict dental treatment need. The predictive relationship between patients' individual characteristics (demography, smoking, payment status) and contextual experience (deprivation based on area of residence), with common dental treatments received was examined using unadjusted analysis and adjusted logistic regression. Additionally, multilevel modelling was used to establish the isolated influence of area of residence on treatments. Data on 6,351 dental patients extracted comprised of 147,417 treatment procedures delivered across 10,371 courses of care. Individual level factors associated with the treatments were age, sex, payment exemption and smoking status and deprivation associated with area of residence was a contextual predictor of treatment. More than 50% of children (care in the form of 'instruction and advice', compared with 46% of working age adults (18-64 years); p = 0.001. The odds of receiving treatment increased with each increasing year of age amongst adults (p = 0.001): 'partial dentures' (7%); 'scale and polish' (3.7%); 'tooth extraction' (3%; p = 0.001), and 'instruction and advice' (3%; p = 0.001). Smokers had a higher likelihood of receiving all treatments; and were notably over four times more likely to receive 'instruction and advice' than non-smokers (OR 4.124; 95% CI: 3.088-5.508; p = 0.01). A further new finding from the multilevel models was a significant difference in treatment related to area of residence; adults from the most deprived quintile were more likely

  5. Differential patterns of contextual organization of memory in first-episode psychosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murty, Vishnu P; McKinney, Rachel A; DuBrow, Sarah; Jalbrzikowski, Maria; Haas, Gretchen L; Luna, Beatriz

    2018-02-15

    Contextual information is used to support and organize episodic memory. Prior research has reliably shown memory deficits in psychosis; however, little research has characterized how this population uses contextual information during memory recall. We employed an approach founded in a computational framework of free recall to quantify how individuals with first episode of psychosis (FEP, N = 97) and controls (CON, N = 55) use temporal and semantic context to organize memory recall. Free recall was characterized using the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R). We compared FEP and CON on three measures of free recall: proportion recalled, temporal clustering, and semantic clustering. Measures of temporal/semantic clustering quantified how individuals use contextual information to organize memory recall. We also assessed to what extent these measures relate to antipsychotic use and differentiated between different types of psychosis. We also explored the relationship between these measures and intelligence. In comparison to CON, FEP had reduced recall and less temporal clustering during free recall (p contextual organization of memory. IQ was related to free recall accuracy, but not the use of contextual information during recall in either group (p < 0.05, Bonferroni-corrected). These results show that in addition to deficits in memory recall, FEP differed in how they organize memories compared to CON.

  6. Relevance of genetically determined host factors to the prognosis of meningococcal disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domingo, P; Muñiz-Diaz, E; Baraldès, M A; Arilla, M; Barquet, N; Pericas, R; Juárez, C; Madoz, P; Vázquez, G

    2004-08-01

    To assess the relevance of genetically determined host factors for the prognosis of meningococcal disease, Fc gamma receptor IIA (FcgammaRIIA), the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) gene promoter region, and plasminogen-activator-inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) gene polymorphisms were studied in 145 patients with meningococcal disease and in 290 healthy controls matched by sex. Distribution of FcgammaRIIA, TNF-alpha, and PAI-1 alleles was not significantly different between patients and controls. Patients with the FcgammaRIIA-R/R 131 allotype scored > or =1 point in the Barcelona prognostic system more frequently than patients with other allotypes (odds ratio, 18.6; 95% confidence interval, 7.1-49.0, PFc gamma receptor IIA polymorphism was associated with markers of disease severity, but TNF-alpha and PAI-1 polymorphisms were not.

  7. Contextualizing Smoking Behaviour over Time: A Smoking Journey from Pleasuring to Suffering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khaldoun Aldiabat

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports a qualitative study describing the basic psychosocial process of contextualizing smoking behaviour in the life fabric of Jordanian psychiatric nurses (JPNs. A classical grounded theory method was used to collect and analyze the data derived from a theoretical (purposeful sample of eight Jordanian psychiatric nurses in 2009-2010. The constant comparative method of data analysis was used; thus, data collection, coding and analysis occurred simultaneously. Strategies were used throughout the study to ensure trustworthiness; that is, fulfill the requirements for credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability. “Contextualizing smoking behaviour over time” was the core concept that explained how JPNs integrate smoking behaviour into their life fabric. For these nurses, smoking is contextualized in four phases: becoming a novice smoker, becoming a formal smoker as a nursing student, becoming a heavy smoking psychiatric nurse, and becoming an exhausted smoker. Contextualizing smoking among JPNs demonstrates that those nurses frequently normalize smoking as part of the fabric of everyday life. Participants described their smoking as a journey in a manner that reflected how it started with pleasuring and ended with suffering. Although this study presents a deep understanding of smoking behaviour, further studies are required to develop the theory of contextualized smoking. A developed contextualized theory of smoking is required to guide culturally sensitive smoking cessation and prevention programmes capable of influencing smoking behaviours.

  8. Contextualizing Smoking Behaviour over Time: A Smoking Journey from Pleasuring to Suffering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khaldoun Aldiabat

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports a qualitative study describing the basic psychosocial process of contextualizing smoking behaviour in the life fabric of Jordanian psychiatric nurses (JPNs. A classical grounded theory method was used to collect and analyze the data derived from a theoretical (purposeful sample of eight Jordanian psychiatric nurses in 2009-2010. The constant comparative method of data analysis was used; thus, data collection, coding and analysis occurred simultaneously. Strategies were used throughout the study to ensure trustworthiness; that is, fulfill the requirements for credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability. “Contextualizing smoking behaviour over time” was the core concept that explained how JPNs integrate smoking behaviour into their life fabric. For these nurses, smoking is contextualized in four phases: becoming a novice smoker, becoming a formal smoker as a nursing student, becoming a heavy smoking psychiatric nurse, and becoming an exhausted smoker. Contextualizing smoking among JPNs demonstrates that those nurses frequently normalize smoking as part of the fabric of everyday life. Participants described their smoking as a journey in a manner that reflected how it started with pleasuring and ended with suffering. Although this study presents a deep understanding of smoking behaviour, further studies are required to develop the theory of contextualized smoking. A developed contextualized theory of smoking is required to guide culturally sensitive smoking cessation and prevention programmes capable of influencing smoking behaviours

  9. The role of motivation in understanding social contextual influences on physical activity in underserved adolescents in the ACT Trial: a cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawman, Hannah G; Wilson, Dawn K; Van Horn, M Lee; Zarrett, Nicole

    2012-12-01

    Previous research has shown that social contextual factors are important in understanding physical activity (PA) behavior, although little is known about how these factors may relate to PA, especially in underserved adolescents (low income, minorities). This study examined how motivation may differentially mediate the relationship of two social contextual variables (i.e., peer and parent social support) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). Baseline data (n = 1421 sixth graders, 54% female, 72% African American) from the Active by Choice Today (ACT) trial in underserved adolescents were analyzed. Motivation was examined as a mediator of the relationships between peer social support, parent social support, and MVPA (measured by 7-day accelerometer estimates). Motivation and peer but not parent support were significantly related to MVPA overall. Significant mediation effects were found indicating motivation partially mediated the relation between peer social support and MVPA and to a lesser degree parent support and MVPA. These findings provide support for the importance of social contextual influences, especially peer social support, on underserved adolescents' PA and motivation for PA.

  10. Generation and memory for contextual detail.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulligan, Neil W

    2004-07-01

    Generation enhances item memory but may not enhance other aspects of memory. In 12 experiments, the author investigated the effect of generation on context memory, motivated in part by the hypothesis that generation produces a trade-off in encoding item and contextual information. Participants generated some study words (e.g., hot-c__) and read others (e.g., hot-cold). Generation consistently enhanced item memory but did not enhance context memory. More specifically, generation disrupted context memory for the color of the target word but did not affect context memory for location, background color, and cue-word color. The specificity of the negative generation effect in context memory argues against a general item-context trade-off. A processing account of generation meets greater success. In addition, the results provide no evidence that generation enhances recollection of contextual details. Copyright 2004 APA, all rights reserved

  11. The effects of contingency factors on management control systems: an empirical study at CERN

    CERN Document Server

    Paaso, Ilkka

    Contingency theory and management control systems research offer avenues for investigating how contextual factors in organizations affect performance. This quantitative case study investigates how the context of CERN internal services influences the performance consciousness of functional service managers. A literature review recognized four contingency factors relevant for performance consciousness: interdependence, scope, standardization and variation. Data from these factors was measured empirically using a cross-sectional electronic survey and supplemented by data gathered from CERN internal documentation. A quantitative analysis of the data was performed using structural equation modelling. The main findings were congruent with existing literature indicating that a.) high interdependence between work units is associated with decreased variation, increased standardization and increased performance consciousness. b.) high scope is related to increased variation and decreased standardization. Overall, a bet...

  12. A social–contextual investigation of smoking among rural women: multi-level factors associated with smoking status and considerations for cessation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nemeth, Julianna M; Thomson, Tiffany L; Lu, Bo; Peng, Juan; Krebs, Valdis; Doogan, Nathan J; Ferketich, Amy K; Post, Douglas M; Browning, Christopher R; Paskett, Electra D; Wewers, Mary E

    2018-03-01

    The social-contextual model of tobacco control and the potential mechanisms of the maintenance or cessation of smoking behavior among disadvantaged women, including rural residents, have yet to be comprehensively studied. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between selected individual, interpersonal, workplace, and neighborhood characteristics and smoking status among women in Appalachia, a US region whose residents experience a disproportionate prevalence of tobacco-related health disparities. These findings may assist in efforts to design and test scientifically valid tobacco control interventions for this and other disadvantaged populations. Women, 18 years of age and older, residing in three rural Ohio Appalachian counties, were recruited using a two-phase address-based sampling methodology for a cross-sectional interview-administered survey between August 2012 and October 2013 (N=408). Multinomial logistic regression was employed to determine associations between select multilevel factors (independent variables) and smoking status (dependent variable). The sample included 82 (20.1%) current smokers, 92 (22.5%) former smokers, and 234 (57.4%) women reporting never smoking (mean age 51.7 years). In the final multivariable multinomial logistic regression model, controlling for all other significant associations, constructs at multiple social-contextual levels were associated with current versus either former or never smoking. At the individual level, for every additional year in age, the odds of being a former or never smoker increased by 7% and 6% (odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval(CI)): 1.07 (1.0-1.11) and 1.06 (1.02-1.09)), respectively, as compared to the odds of being a current smoker. With regard to depression, for each one unit increase in the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale score, the odds of being a former or never smoker were 5% and 7% lower (OR(95%CI): 0.95(0.91-0.999) and 0.93(0.88-0.98)), respectively

  13. The Impact of Contextual Clue Selection on Inference

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leila Barati

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Linguistic information can be conveyed in the form of speech and written text, but it is the content of the message that is ultimately essential for higher-level processes in language comprehension, such as making inferences and associations between text information and knowledge about the world. Linguistically, inference is the shovel that allows receivers to dig meaning out from the text with selecting different embedded contextual clues. Naturally, people with different world experiences infer similar contextual situations differently. Lack of contextual knowledge of the target language can present an obstacle to comprehension (Anderson & Lynch, 2003. This paper tries to investigate how true contextual clue selection from the text can influence listener’s inference. In the present study 60 male and female teenagers (13-19 and 60 male and female young adults (20-26 were selected randomly based on Oxford Placement Test (OPT. During the study two fiction and two non-fiction passages were read to the participants in the experimental and control groups respectively and they were given scores according to Lexile’s Score (LS[1] based on their correct inference and logical thinking ability. In general the results show that participants’ clue selection based on their personal schematic references and background knowledge differ between teenagers and young adults and influence inference and listening comprehension. [1]- This is a framework for reading and listening which matches the appropriate score to each text based on degree of difficulty of text and each text was given a Lexile score from zero to four.

  14. The Coming Challenge: Are Community Colleges Ready for the New Wave of Contextual Learners?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hull, Dan; Souders, John C., Jr.

    1996-01-01

    Defines contextual learning, or presenting new information to students in familiar contexts. Argues that community colleges must be ready for an anticipated increase in contextual learners due to its use in tech prep programs. Describes elements of contextual learning, its application in the classroom, and ways that colleges can prepare for…

  15. Rapid contextual conditioning in autoshaping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balsam, P D; Schwartz, A L

    1981-10-01

    Two experiments are reported which investigate the speed of contextual conditioning in autoshaping. In both experiments, a procedure was employed in which ring doves were magazine trained in one context prior to the manipulation of background values in a second context. In Experiment 1, subjects were exposed to 4, 8, 64, 128, or 256 US-only presentations prior to autoshaping. Acquisition speed and maintained response measures were monotonically related to the number of pretraining trials. Subjects in Group 4 acquired the key-peck response fastest, and retardation was maximal within 64 pretraining trials. In Experiment 2, subjects given 20 pretraining trials were significantly more retarded than subjects given 2 pretraining trials, but only when pretraining and testing were conducted in the same context. Overall, the results of these experiments show that in autoshaping, contextual conditioning is very rapid; this demonstrates the plausibility of theoretical accounts of Pavlovian conditioning which assert that the development of the conditioned response depends on the associative values of both the CS and background stimuli.

  16. Causal and Epistemic Relevance in Appeals to Authority

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastiano Lommi

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Appeals to authority have a long tradition in the history of argumentation theory. During the Middle Age they were considered legitimate and sound arguments, but after Locke’s treatment in the Essay Concerning Human Understanding their legitimacy has come under question. Traditionally, arguments from authority were considered informal arguments, but since the important work of Charles Hamblin (Hamblin, 1970 many attempts to provide a form for them have been done. The most convincing of them is the presumptive form developed by Douglas Walton and John Woods (Woods, Walton, 1974 that aims at taking into account the relevant contextual aspects in assessing the provisional validity of an appeal to authority. The soundness of an appeal depends on its meeting the adequacy conditions set to scrutinize all the relevant questions. I want to claim that this approach is compatible with the analysis of arguments in terms of relevance advanced by David Hitchcock (Hitchcock, 1992. He claims that relevance is a triadic relation between two items and a context. The first item is relevant to the second one in a given context. Different types of relevance relation exist, namely causal relevance and epistemic relevance. “Something is [causally] relevant to an outcome in a given situation if it helps to cause that outcome in the situation” (Hitchcock, 1992, p. 253, whereas it is epistemically relevant when it helps to achieve an epistemic goal in a given situation. I claim that we can adapt this conception to Walton and Krabbe’s theory of dialogue type (Walton, Krabbe, 1995, seeing the items of a relevance relation as the argument and its consequence and the context as the type of dialogue in which these arguments are advanced. According to this perspective, an argument from authority that meets the adequacy conditions has to be considered legitimate because it is an epistemically relevant relation. Therefore, my conclusion is that an analysis of appeals to

  17. Context-specific attentional sampling: Intentional control as a pre-requisite for contextual control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brosowsky, Nicholaus P; Crump, Matthew J C

    2016-08-01

    Recent work suggests that environmental cues associated with previous attentional control settings can rapidly and involuntarily adjust attentional priorities. The current study tests predictions from adaptive-learning and memory-based theories of contextual control about the role of intentions for setting attentional priorities. To extend the empirical boundaries of contextual control phenomena, and to determine whether theoretical principles of contextual control are generalizable we used a novel bi-dimensional stimulus sampling task. Subjects viewed briefly presented arrays of letters and colors presented above or below fixation, and identified specific stimuli according to a dimensional (letter or color) and positional cue. Location was predictive of the cued dimension, but not the position or identity. In contrast to previous findings, contextual control failed to develop through automatic, adaptive-learning processes. Instead, previous experience with intentionally changing attentional sampling priorities between different contexts was required for contextual control to develop. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. A Pilot Study of a Functional Contextual Treatment for Bulimia Nervosa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Drew A.; Simmons, Angela M.

    2008-01-01

    This paper describes the initial development of a treatment for bulimia nervosa using a functional contextual treatment approach. Seven women (6 with a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa and 1 with a diagnosis of eating disorder not otherwise specified) completed 12 sessions of functional contextual treatment. Participants were assessed with the Eating…

  19. Robust Contextual Bandit via the Capped-$\\ell_{2}$ norm

    OpenAIRE

    Zhu, Feiyun; Zhu, Xinliang; Wang, Sheng; Yao, Jiawen; Huang, Junzhou

    2017-01-01

    This paper considers the actor-critic contextual bandit for the mobile health (mHealth) intervention. The state-of-the-art decision-making methods in mHealth generally assume that the noise in the dynamic system follows the Gaussian distribution. Those methods use the least-square-based algorithm to estimate the expected reward, which is prone to the existence of outliers. To deal with the issue of outliers, we propose a novel robust actor-critic contextual bandit method for the mHealth inter...

  20. Social enterprises in Denmark: Historical, contextual and conceptual aspects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Linda Lundgaard; Hulgård, Lars; Jacobsen, Gurli

    Social enterprises in Denmark: Historical, contextual and conceptual aspectsLinda Lundgaard Andersen & Lars Hulgård, Center for Social Enterprise, Roskilde UniversityGurli Jakobsen, Copenhagen Business SchoolCOST Action (EMPOWER‐SE)Working Group 1, Lisbon 28. february & 1. march 2018......Social enterprises in Denmark: Historical, contextual and conceptual aspectsLinda Lundgaard Andersen & Lars Hulgård, Center for Social Enterprise, Roskilde UniversityGurli Jakobsen, Copenhagen Business SchoolCOST Action (EMPOWER‐SE)Working Group 1, Lisbon 28. february & 1. march 2018...

  1. Assessment of the magnitude of geographical variations in the duration of non-work-related sickness absence by individual and contextual factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabel Torá-Rocamora

    2015-05-01

    Conclusions: County-level variation in the duration of NWRSA was small and was explained more by individual than by contextual variables. Knowledge of geographic differences in NWRSA duration is needed to plan specific programs and interventions to minimize these differences.

  2. Sleep modulates the neural substrates of both spatial and contextual memory consolidation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Géraldine Rauchs

    Full Text Available It is known that sleep reshapes the neural representations that subtend the memories acquired while navigating in a virtual environment. However, navigation is not process-pure, as manifold learning components contribute to performance, notably the spatial and contextual memory constituents. In this context, it remains unclear whether post-training sleep globally promotes consolidation of all of the memory components embedded in virtual navigation, or rather favors the development of specific representations. Here, we investigated the effect of post-training sleep on the neural substrates of the consolidation of spatial and contextual memories acquired while navigating in a complex 3D, naturalistic virtual town. Using fMRI, we mapped regional cerebral activity during various tasks designed to tap either the spatial or the contextual memory component, or both, 72 h after encoding with or without sleep deprivation during the first post-training night. Behavioral performance was not dependent upon post-training sleep deprivation, neither in a natural setting that engages both spatial and contextual memory processes nor when looking more specifically at each of these memory representations. At the neuronal level however, analyses that focused on contextual memory revealed distinct correlations between performance and neuronal activity in frontal areas associated with recollection processes after post-training sleep, and in the parahippocampal gyrus associated with familiarity processes in sleep-deprived participants. Likewise, efficient spatial memory was associated with posterior cortical activity after sleep whereas it correlated with parahippocampal/medial temporal activity after sleep deprivation. Finally, variations in place-finding efficiency in a natural setting encompassing spatial and contextual elements were associated with caudate activity after post-training sleep, suggesting the automation of navigation. These data indicate that post

  3. Dense Iterative Contextual Pixel Classification using Kriging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ganz, Melanie; Loog, Marco; Brandt, Sami

    2009-01-01

    have been proposed to this end, e.g., iterative contextual pixel classification, iterated conditional modes, and other approaches related to Markov random fields. A problem of these methods, however, is their computational complexity, especially when dealing with high-resolution images in which......In medical applications, segmentation has become an ever more important task. One of the competitive schemes to perform such segmentation is by means of pixel classification. Simple pixel-based classification schemes can be improved by incorporating contextual label information. Various methods...... relatively long range interactions may play a role. We propose a new method based on Kriging that makes it possible to include such long range interactions, while keeping the computations manageable when dealing with large medical images....

  4. The complete Heyting algebra of subsystems and contextuality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vourdas, A.

    2013-01-01

    The finite set of subsystems of a finite quantum system with variables in Z(n), is studied as a Heyting algebra. The physical meaning of the logical connectives is discussed. It is shown that disjunction of subsystems is more general concept than superposition. Consequently, the quantum probabilities related to commuting projectors in the subsystems, are incompatible with associativity of the join in the Heyting algebra, unless if the variables belong to the same chain. This leads to contextuality, which in the present formalism has as contexts, the chains in the Heyting algebra. Logical Bell inequalities, which contain “Heyting factors,” are discussed. The formalism is also applied to the infinite set of all finite quantum systems, which is appropriately enlarged in order to become a complete Heyting algebra

  5. Quantum contextual phenomena observed in single-neutron interferometer experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasegawa, Yuji; Rauch, Helmut

    2006-01-01

    Neutron optical experiments are presented, which exhibit quantum contextual phenomena. Entanglement is achieved not between particles, but between degrees of freedom, in this case, for a single-particle. Appropriate combinations of the direction of spin analysis and the position of the phase shifter allow an experimental verification of the violation of a Bell-like inequality. Our experiments manifest the fact that manipulation of the wavefunction in one Hilbert space influences the result of the measurement in the other Hilbert space: manipulation without touch! Next, we report another experiment which exhibits other peculiarity of quantum contextuality, e.g., originally intended to show a Kochen-Specker-like phenomenon. We have introduced inequalities for quantitative analysis of the experiments. The value obtained in the experiments clearly showed violations of prediction by non-contextual theory. Finally, we have accomplished a tomographic determination of entangled quantum state in single-neutrons. There, characteristics of the Bell-sate are confirmed: four poles for the real part of the density matrix are clearly seen

  6. Contextual advertisement placement in printed media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Sam; Joshi, Parag

    2010-02-01

    Advertisements today provide the necessary revenue model supporting the WWW ecosystem. Targeted or contextual ad insertion plays an important role in optimizing the financial return of this model. Nearly all the current ads that appear on web sites are geared for display purposes such as banner and "pay-per-click". Little attention, however, is focused on deriving additional ad revenues when the content is repurposed for alternative mean of presentation, e.g. being printed. Although more and more content is moving to the Web, there are still many occasions where printed output of web content is desirable, such as maps and articles; thus printed ad insertion can potentially be lucrative. In this paper, we describe a contextual ad insertion network aimed to realize new revenue for print service providers for web printing. We introduce a cloud print service that enables contextual ads insertion, with respect to the main web page content, when a printout of the page is requested. To encourage service utilization, it would provide higher quality printouts than what is possible from current browser print drivers, which generally produce poor outputs, e.g. ill formatted pages. At this juncture we will limit the scope to only article-related web pages although the concept can be extended to arbitrary web pages. The key components of this system include (1) the extraction of article from web pages, (2) the extraction of semantics from article, (3) querying the ad database for matching advertisement or coupon, and (4) joint content and ad layout for print outputs.

  7. Towards a Classification of Architecture Initiatives: Outlining the External Factors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Christian Lindschou; Mortensen, Niels Henrik; Hvam, Lars

    2012-01-01

    or bad, without including the contextual differences. The purpose of the external factors is to improve scoping and goal setting of architecture initiatives, and improve comparability between- and transferability of knowledge from architecture initiatives. The external factors are a first step towards......This paper introduced a set of external factors capturing the contextual differences that set the stage for architecture initiatives. These are derived from a systems theoretical approach recognizing the fact that architecture initiatives should respond the challenges posed by the external...

  8. Assessing the impact of the tableware and other contextual variables on multisensory flavour perception

    OpenAIRE

    Spence Charles; Harrar Vanessa; Piqueras-Fiszman Betina

    2012-01-01

    Abstract Currently little is known about how the non-edible items associated with eating and drinking (tableware items such as the plates, bowls, cutlery, glasses, bottles, condiment containers, etc.), or even environmental factors (such as the lighting and/or background music), affect people’s perception of foodstuffs. Here, we review the latest evidence demonstrating the importance of these contextual variables on the consumer’s behavioural and hedonic response to, and sensory perception of...

  9. Analysis of the Relevant Factors of Retaining Women in Judo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joško Sindik

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to determine the latent dimensions of all relevant factors about engagement of women in judo, to determine the intercorrelations among these latent dimensions, as well as the correlations with three relevant variables. Final goal was to determine the differences in revealed latent dimensions, in relation to several independent variables: educational level, marital status, impulses to engage in judo, then depending are the women athletes (competitors or not, members of the Board or not, trainers or not. A total of 50 female judokas from a larger number of Croatian clubs were examined, by specially composed the survey. The results showed that all seven questionnaires showed medium to high satisfactory reliability, together with good con¬struct validity, in 15 latent dimensions that are revealed. It can be noticed that relatively older women have more obligations and more barriers that oppose to their engagement in judo. Only small number of differences are found among women engaged in judo, mainly among participants who are members of the Board in the club or Croatian Judo Federation, as compared with those who are not. Small number of statistically significant differences (as well as the correlations can be also observed as the fact that all women partially share similar problems, while the media strategies are perceived as the most powerful to increase women’s persistence in judo, in any type of engagement.

  10. Reach and Relevance of Prison Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hilde Tubex

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available In this contribution I reflect on the changes in the penal landscape and how they impact on prison research. I do this from my experiences as a prison researcher in a variety of roles, in both Europe and Australia. The growing dominance of managerialism has impacted on both corrective services and universities, in ways that have changed the relationship between current prison practices and academically oriented research. Therefore, academics have to question how their contemporary prison research can bridge the emerging gap: how they can not only produce research that adheres to the roots of criminology and provides a base for a rational penal policy, but also how they can develop strategies to get recognition of and funding for this broader contextual work which, although it might not produce results that are immediately identifiable, can be of relevance in indirect ways and in the longer term.

  11. What does an experimental test of quantum contextuality prove or disprove?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Winter, Andreas

    2014-01-01

    The possibility of experimentally testing the Bell–Kochen–Specker theorem is investigated critically, following the demonstrations by Meyer, Kent, and Clifton–Kent that the predictions of quantum mechanics are indistinguishable (up to arbitrary precision) from those of a non-contextual model, and the subsequent debate about the extent to which these models are actually classical or non-contextual. The present analysis starts from a careful consideration of these ‘finite-precision’ approximations. A stronger condition for non-contextual models, dubbed ontological faithfulness, is exhibited. It is shown that this allows us to approximately formulate the constraints in Bell–Kochen–Specker theorems, such as to render the usual proofs robust. Consequently, one can experimentally test to finite precision ontologically faithful non-contextuality, and thus experimentally refute explanations from this smaller class. We include a discussion of the relation of ontological faithfulness to other proposals to overcome the finite precision objection. This article is part of a special issue of Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical devoted to ‘50 years of Bell’s theorem’. (paper)

  12. Contextualizing Asian American College Student Psychological Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Christopher T. H.; Liu, Jessica; Nguyen, David; Song, Ge

    2017-01-01

    With attention to race, culture, and gender, this chapter contextualizes the help-seeking behaviors and psychological aspects of health facing Asian American college students. Recommendations are provided to student affairs professionals and counselors.

  13. Implicit Motives, Explicit Traits, and Task and Contextual Performance at Work

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lang, J.W.B.; Zettler, Ingo; Ewen, C.

    2012-01-01

    for implicit achievement). As a test of these theoretical ideas, we report a study in which employees (N = 241) filled out a questionnaire booklet and worked on an improved modern implicit motive measure, the operant motive test. Their supervisors rated their task and contextual performance. Results support 4...... apply these ideas in the context of industrial and organizational psychology and propose that 2 explicit traits work as channels for the expression of 3 core implicit motives in task and contextual job performance (extraversion for implicit affiliation and implicit power; explicit achievement...... of the 6 theoretical predictions and show that interactions between implicit motives and explicit traits increase the explained criterion variance in both task and contextual performance....

  14. Inhibition of Rac1 Activity in the Hippocampus Impairs the Forgetting of Contextual Fear Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Lizhu; Mao, Rongrong; Zhou, Qixin; Yang, Yuexiong; Cao, Jun; Ding, Yuqiang; Yang, Yuan; Zhang, Xia; Li, Lingjiang; Xu, Lin

    2016-03-01

    Fear is crucial for survival, whereas hypermnesia of fear can be detrimental. Inhibition of the Rac GTPase is recently reported to impair the forgetting of initially acquired memory in Drosophila. Here, we investigated whether inhibition of Rac1 activity in rat hippocampus could contribute to the hypermnesia of contextual fear. We found that spaced but not massed training of contextual fear conditioning caused inhibition of Rac1 activity in the hippocampus and heightened contextual fear. Furthermore, intrahippocampal injection of the Rac1 inhibitor NSC23766 heightened contextual fear in massed training, while Rac1 activator CN04-A weakened contextual fear in spaced training rats. Our study firstly demonstrates that contextual fear memory in rats is actively regulated by Rac1 activity in the hippocampus, which suggests that the forgetting impairment of traumatic events in posttraumatic stress disorder may be contributed to the pathological inhibition of Rac1 activity in the hippocampus.

  15. Is atmospheric pollution exposure during pregnancy associated with individual and contextual characteristics? A nationwide study in France.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouidir, Marion; Lepeule, Johanna; Siroux, Valérie; Malherbe, Laure; Meleux, Frederik; Rivière, Emmanuel; Launay, Ludivine; Zaros, Cécile; Cheminat, Marie; Charles, Marie-Aline; Slama, Rémy

    2017-10-01

    Exposure to atmospheric pollutants is a danger for the health of pregnant mother and children. Our objective was to identify individual (socioeconomic and behavioural) and contextual factors associated with atmospheric pollution pregnancy exposure at the nationwide level. Among 14 921 women from the French nationwide ELFE (French Longitudinal Study of Children) mother-child cohort recruited in 2011, outdoor exposure levels of PM 2.5 , PM 10 (particulate matter atmospheric pollutants with individual (maternal age, body mass index, parity, education level, relationship status, smoking status) and contextual (European Deprivation Index, urbanisation level) factors. Patterns of associations were globally similar across pollutants. For the CART approach, the highest tertile of exposure included mainly women not in a relationship living in urban and socially deprived areas, with lower education level. Linear regression models identified different determinants of atmospheric pollutants exposure according to the residential urbanisation level. In urban areas, atmospheric pollutants exposure increased with social deprivation, while in rural areas a U-shaped relationship was observed. We highlighted social inequalities in atmospheric pollutants exposure according to contextual characteristics such as urbanisation level and social deprivation and also according to individual characteristics such as education, being in a relationship and smoking status. In French urban areas, pregnant women from the most deprived neighbourhoods were those most exposed to health-threatening atmospheric pollutants. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  16. Individual and contextual factors associated to the self-perception of oral health in Brazilian adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Janmille Valdivino da; Oliveira, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli da Costa

    2018-04-09

    To analyze how individual characteristics and the social context, together, are associated with self-perception of the oral health. A multilevel cross-sectional study with data from the Brazilian National Health Survey 2013, the United Nations Development Program, and the National Registry of Health Establishments. The explanatory variables for the "oral health perception" outcome were grouped, according to the study framework, into biological characteristics (sex, color, age), proximal social determinants (literacy, household crowding, and socioeconomic stratification), and distal (years of schooling expectancy at age 18, GINI, Human Development Index, and per capita income). The described analysis was performed, along with bivariate Poisson analysis and multilevel Poisson analysis for the construction of the explanatory model of oral health perception. All analyzes considered the sample weights. Both the biological characteristics and the proximal and distal social determinants were associated with the perception of oral health in the bivariate analysis. A higher prevalence of bad oral health was associated to lower years of schooling expectancy (PR = 1.31), lower per capita income (PR = 1.45), higher income concentration (PR = 1.41), and worse human development (PR = 1.45). Inversely, oral health services in both primary and secondary care were negatively associated with oral health perception. All the biological and individual social characteristics, except reading and writing, made up the final explanatory model along with the distal social determinants of the Human Development Index and coverage of basic care in the multilevel analysis. Biological factors, individual and contextual social determinants were associate synergistically with the population's perception of oral health. It is necessary to improve individual living conditions and the implementation of public social policies to improve the oral health of the population.

  17. A 2 × 2 taxonomy of multilevel latent contextual models: accuracy-bias trade-offs in full and partial error correction models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lüdtke, Oliver; Marsh, Herbert W; Robitzsch, Alexander; Trautwein, Ulrich

    2011-12-01

    In multilevel modeling, group-level variables (L2) for assessing contextual effects are frequently generated by aggregating variables from a lower level (L1). A major problem of contextual analyses in the social sciences is that there is no error-free measurement of constructs. In the present article, 2 types of error occurring in multilevel data when estimating contextual effects are distinguished: unreliability that is due to measurement error and unreliability that is due to sampling error. The fact that studies may or may not correct for these 2 types of error can be translated into a 2 × 2 taxonomy of multilevel latent contextual models comprising 4 approaches: an uncorrected approach, partial correction approaches correcting for either measurement or sampling error (but not both), and a full correction approach that adjusts for both sources of error. It is shown mathematically and with simulated data that the uncorrected and partial correction approaches can result in substantially biased estimates of contextual effects, depending on the number of L1 individuals per group, the number of groups, the intraclass correlation, the number of indicators, and the size of the factor loadings. However, the simulation study also shows that partial correction approaches can outperform full correction approaches when the data provide only limited information in terms of the L2 construct (i.e., small number of groups, low intraclass correlation). A real-data application from educational psychology is used to illustrate the different approaches.

  18. Self-verification and contextualized self-views.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Serena; English, Tammy; Peng, Kaiping

    2006-07-01

    Whereas most self-verification research has focused on people's desire to verify their global self-conceptions, the present studies examined self-verification with regard to contextualized selfviews-views of the self in particular situations and relationships. It was hypothesized that individuals whose core self-conceptions include contextualized self-views should seek to verify these self-views. In Study 1, the more individuals defined the self in dialectical terms, the more their judgments were biased in favor of verifying over nonverifying feedback about a negative, situation-specific self-view. In Study 2, consistent with research on gender differences in the importance of relationships to the self-concept, women but not men showed a similar bias toward feedback about a negative, relationship-specific self-view, a pattern not seen for global self-views. Together, the results support the notion that self-verification occurs for core self-conceptions, whatever form(s) they may take. Individual differences in self-verification and the nature of selfhood and authenticity are discussed.

  19. Profile of male-field dependent (FD) prospective teacher's reflective thinking in solving contextual mathematical problem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agustan, S.; Juniati, Dwi; Siswono, Tatag Yuli Eko

    2017-08-01

    Reflective thinking is an important component in the world of education, especially in professional education of teachers. In learning mathematics, reflective thinking is one way to solve mathematical problem because it can improve student's curiosity when student faces a mathematical problem. Reflective thinking is also a future competence that should be taught to students to face the challenges and to respond of demands of the 21st century. There are many factors which give impact toward the student's reflective thinking when student solves mathematical problem. One of them is cognitive style. For this reason, reflective thinking and cognitive style are important things in solving contextual mathematical problem. This research paper describes aspect of reflective thinking in solving contextual mathematical problem involved solution by using some mathematical concept, namely linear program, algebra arithmetic operation, and linear equations of two variables. The participant, in this research paper, is a male-prospective teacher who has Field Dependent. The purpose of this paper is to describe aspect of prospective teachers' reflective thinking in solving contextual mathematical problem. This research paper is a descriptive by using qualitative approach. To analyze the data, the researchers focus in four main categories which describe prospective teacher's activities using reflective thinking, namely; (a) formulation and synthesis of experience, (b) orderliness of experience, (c) evaluating the experience and (d) testing the selected solution based on the experience.

  20. Influence of individual and social contextual factors on changes in leisure-time physical activity in working-class populations: results of the Healthy Directions–Small Businesses Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoddard, Anne; Bennett, Gary G.; Wolin, Kathleen Y.; Sorensen, Glorian G.

    2012-01-01

    Background As part of the Harvard Cancer Prevention Program Project, we sought to address disparities reflected in social class and race/ethnicity by developing and testing a behavioral intervention model that targeted fruit and vegetable consumption, red meat consumption, multivitamin intake, and physical activity in working-class, multiethnic populations. Methods This paper examined the associations between change in leisure-time physical activity and individual and social contextual factors in participants employed in small businesses (n = 850) at both baseline and at 18-month final. Results In bivariate analyses, age, language acculturation, social ties, and workplace social capital were significantly associated with physical activity at final. In multivariable analyses, being younger and having high language acculturation were significantly associated with greater leisuretime physical activity at final; high workplace social capital was significantly associated with a decline in physical activity at final. Conclusion These findings have implications for understanding factors that are integral to promoting change in physical activity among working-class, multiethnic populations. PMID:22806257

  1. A unifying Bayesian account of contextual effects in value-based choice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesco Rigoli

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Empirical evidence suggests the incentive value of an option is affected by other options available during choice and by options presented in the past. These contextual effects are hard to reconcile with classical theories and have inspired accounts where contextual influences play a crucial role. However, each account only addresses one or the other of the empirical findings and a unifying perspective has been elusive. Here, we offer a unifying theory of context effects on incentive value attribution and choice based on normative Bayesian principles. This formulation assumes that incentive value corresponds to a precision-weighted prediction error, where predictions are based upon expectations about reward. We show that this scheme explains a wide range of contextual effects, such as those elicited by other options available during choice (or within-choice context effects. These include both conditions in which choice requires an integration of multiple attributes and conditions where a multi-attribute integration is not necessary. Moreover, the same scheme explains context effects elicited by options presented in the past or between-choice context effects. Our formulation encompasses a wide range of contextual influences (comprising both within- and between-choice effects by calling on Bayesian principles, without invoking ad-hoc assumptions. This helps clarify the contextual nature of incentive value and choice behaviour and may offer insights into psychopathologies characterized by dysfunctional decision-making, such as addiction and pathological gambling.

  2. Multi-level Contextual Type Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mathieu Boespflug

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Contextual type theory distinguishes between bound variables and meta-variables to write potentially incomplete terms in the presence of binders. It has found good use as a framework for concise explanations of higher-order unification, characterize holes in proofs, and in developing a foundation for programming with higher-order abstract syntax, as embodied by the programming and reasoning environment Beluga. However, to reason about these applications, we need to introduce meta^2-variables to characterize the dependency on meta-variables and bound variables. In other words, we must go beyond a two-level system granting only bound variables and meta-variables. In this paper we generalize contextual type theory to n levels for arbitrary n, so as to obtain a formal system offering bound variables, meta-variables and so on all the way to meta^n-variables. We obtain a uniform account by collapsing all these different kinds of variables into a single notion of variabe indexed by some level k. We give a decidable bi-directional type system which characterizes beta-eta-normal forms together with a generalized substitution operation.

  3. Conflicts Within the Family and Within the Couple as Contextual Factors in the Determinism of Male Sexual Dysfunction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boddi, Valentina; Fanni, Egidia; Castellini, Giovanni; Fisher, Alessandra Daphne; Corona, Giovanni; Maggi, Mario

    2015-12-01

    The deterioration of a couple's relationship has been previously associated with impairment in male sexual function. Besides a couple's dystonic relationship, other stressors can unfavorably influence dyadic intimacy. A largely neglected etiopathogenetic factor affecting couple sexuality is the frustration caused by conflicts within the family. To evaluate the possible associations between male sexual dysfunction (SD) and conflictual relationships within the couple or the family. A consecutive series of 3,975 men, attending the Outpatient Clinic for SD for the first time, was retrospectively studied. Conflicts within the family and within the couple were assessed using two standard questions: "Are there any conflicts at home," and "Do you have a difficult relationship with your partner?" respectively, rating 0 = normal relationships, 1 = occasional quarrels, and 2 = frequent quarrels or always. Several clinical, biochemical, and psychological (Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire) parameters were studied. Among the 3,975 patients studied, we observed a high prevalence of conflicts within the family and within the couple (32% vs. 21.2%). When compared with the rest of the sample, subjects reporting both type of conflicts showed a higher prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities. Hence, all data were adjusted for this parameter and for age. Family and couple conflicts were significantly associated with free floating anxiety, depression symptoms, and with a higher risk of subjective (self-reported) and objective (peak systolic velocity at the penile color Doppler ultrasound conflicts. This study indicates that the presence of often unexplored issues, like conflicts within the family or within the couple, can represent an important contextual factor in the determinism of male SD. © 2015 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

  4. Locality and realism in contextual theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoekzema, D.

    1987-01-01

    Two types of contextual theories are distinguished and shown to be related. For theories of each type a criterion of locality is formulated which is weaker than the classical requirement of separability at spacelike intervals. The relations between the concepts of locality, realism, and ontic chance are discussed

  5. Contextual Admissions and Affirmative Action: Developments in Higher Education Policy in England

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lane, Laura; Birds, Rachel

    2013-01-01

    This paper explores the value of explaining contextual admissions policy directives through the conceptual lenses of meritocracy and social reproduction. It is suggested that examining these concepts can assist in highlighting some of the ideological and practical complexities associated with contextual admissions whilst providing opportunities to…

  6. Dental Treatment in a State-Funded Primary Dental Care Facility: Contextual and Individual Predictors of Treatment Need?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristina L Wanyonyi

    Full Text Available This study examined individual and contextual factors which predict the dental care received by patients in a state-funded primary dental care training facility in England.Routine clinical and demographic data were extracted from a live dental patient management system in a state-funded facility using novel methods. The data, spanning a four-year period [2008-2012] were cleaned, validated, linked by means of postcode to deprivation status, and analysed to identify factors which predict dental treatment need. The predictive relationship between patients' individual characteristics (demography, smoking, payment status and contextual experience (deprivation based on area of residence, with common dental treatments received was examined using unadjusted analysis and adjusted logistic regression. Additionally, multilevel modelling was used to establish the isolated influence of area of residence on treatments.Data on 6,351 dental patients extracted comprised of 147,417 treatment procedures delivered across 10,371 courses of care. Individual level factors associated with the treatments were age, sex, payment exemption and smoking status and deprivation associated with area of residence was a contextual predictor of treatment. More than 50% of children (<18 years and older adults (≥65 years received preventive care in the form of 'instruction and advice', compared with 46% of working age adults (18-64 years; p = 0.001. The odds of receiving treatment increased with each increasing year of age amongst adults (p = 0.001: 'partial dentures' (7%; 'scale and polish' (3.7%; 'tooth extraction' (3%; p = 0.001, and 'instruction and advice' (3%; p = 0.001. Smokers had a higher likelihood of receiving all treatments; and were notably over four times more likely to receive 'instruction and advice' than non-smokers (OR 4.124; 95% CI: 3.088-5.508; p = 0.01. A further new finding from the multilevel models was a significant difference in treatment related to area

  7. The Role of the Basal Ganglia in Implicit Contextual Learning: A Study of Parkinson's Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Asselen, Marieke; Almeida, Ines; Andre, Rui; Januario, Cristina; Goncalves, Antonio Freire; Castelo-Branco, Miguel

    2009-01-01

    Implicit contextual learning refers to the ability to memorize contextual information from our environment. This contextual information can then be used to guide our attention to a specific location. Although the medial temporal lobe is important for this type of learning, the basal ganglia might also be involved considering its role in many…

  8. Emotional valence and contextual affordances flexibly shape approach-avoidance movements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Carolina eSaraiva

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Behaviour is influenced by the emotional content – or valence – of stimuli in our environment. Positive stimuli facilitate approach, whereas negative stimuli facilitate defensive actions such as avoidance (flight and attack (fight. Facilitation of approach or avoidance movements may also be influenced by whether it is the self that moves relative to a stimulus (self-reference or the stimulus that moves relative to the self (object-reference, adding flexibility and context-dependence to behaviour. Alternatively, facilitation of approach avoidance movements may happen in a predefined and muscle-specific way, whereby arm flexion is faster to approach positive (e.g. flexing the arm brings a stimulus closer and arm extension faster to avoid negative stimuli (e.g. extending the arm moves the stimulus away. While this allows for relatively fast responses, it may compromise the flexibility offered by contextual influences. Here we asked under which conditions approach-avoidance actions are influenced by contextual factors (i.e. reference-frame. We manipulated the reference-frame in which actions occurred by asking participants to move a symbolic manikin (representing the self towards or away from a positive or negative stimulus, and move a stimulus towards or away from the manikin. We also controlled for the type of movements used to approach or avoid in each reference. We show that the reference-frame influences approach-avoidance actions to emotional stimuli, but additionally we find muscle-specificity for negative stimuli in self-reference contexts. We speculate this muscle-specificity may be a fast and adaptive response to threatening stimuli. Our results confirm that approach-avoidance behaviour is flexible and reference-frame dependent, but can be muscle-specific depending on the context and valence of the stimulus. Reference-frame and stimulus-evaluation are key factors in guiding approach-avoidance behaviour towards emotional stimuli in our

  9. Are C-reps contextual representations? A reply to Brewin and Burgess.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearson, David G

    2014-03-01

    Brewin and Burgess (2013) argue that our recent papers investigating the role of contextual representations in intrusive memories do not pose a challenge to dual-representation theory as originally claimed (Pearson, 2012; Pearson, Ross, & Webster, 2012). Here I point out that their alternative explanation for our results can be rejected using data already published in both papers. I also argue that their definition of what constitutes a contextual representation renders their revised dual-representation theory incompatible with experimental results that have previously been argued in the literature to support it. Valuable though their contribution is, it does not impact on our main conclusion that abstract contextual representations serve to increase intrusive memories for traumatic material. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. The relevance of cultural factors in predicting condom-use intentions among immigrants from the Netherlands Antilles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kocken, P.L.; Dorst, A.G. van; Schaalma, H.

    2006-01-01

    A study into the relevance of cultural factors in predicting condom-use intentions among Antillean migrants in the Netherlands is described in this article. The association between the intention to use condoms with a new sexual partner and a perceived taboo on discussing sex, beliefs about sex

  11. CONTEXTUAL APPROACH TO LITERARY CRITICISM: DOSTOEVSKY AND PSYCHOANALYSIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. G. Kalashnikov

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this article is to demonstrate the possibilities of application of the contextual approach, developed in pedagogy and psychology, in the process of literary analysis. Initially contextual approach was developed by A. A. Verbitsky as a methodology of education. A key category of this approach was the context, interpreted A. A. Verbitsky as a psychological phenomenon. Accordingly, in this paper on the basis of later research context is understood as a psychological mechanism of semantic, objectified in external forms of test patches, social and communicative situations, etc. Now contextual approach became general psychological methodology, which led to the possibility of its application in various fields of the humanities in particular – in psycholinguistic literary studies, where the notion of «context » is used in-depth psychological interpretation. Methods. The contextual approach developed by A. A. Verbitsky as the main component of methodology of education became the main instrument of the research stated in the publication. Besides a field of the general education, this approach is applicable to various private spheres – to educational aspect of education, and also to methodology of teaching various subject matters – mathematicians, biology, foreign languages, etc. The contextual approach at the level of allpsychological methodology has allowed to apply it in various fields of humanitarian knowledge, in particular in literary researches with a strongly pronounced psychological perspective. The contextual analysis corresponding to approach has been chosen as a method of work.Results. Based on A. A. Verbitsky’s interpretation and results of the latest researches the author shows that the context is a semantic mechanism, objectified in external forms of test fragments, social and communicative situations, etc. The following types of contexts are allocated: microcontext of a personality and works of an author, a mesocontext

  12. MULTI-DIMENSIONAL PATTERN DISCOVERY OF TRAJECTORIES USING CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Sharif

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Movement of point objects are highly sensitive to the underlying situations and conditions during the movement, which are known as contexts. Analyzing movement patterns, while accounting the contextual information, helps to better understand how point objects behave in various contexts and how contexts affect their trajectories. One potential solution for discovering moving objects patterns is analyzing the similarities of their trajectories. This article, therefore, contextualizes the similarity measure of trajectories by not only their spatial footprints but also a notion of internal and external contexts. The dynamic time warping (DTW method is employed to assess the multi-dimensional similarities of trajectories. Then, the results of similarity searches are utilized in discovering the relative movement patterns of the moving point objects. Several experiments are conducted on real datasets that were obtained from commercial airplanes and the weather information during the flights. The results yielded the robustness of DTW method in quantifying the commonalities of trajectories and discovering movement patterns with 80 % accuracy. Moreover, the results revealed the importance of exploiting contextual information because it can enhance and restrict movements.

  13. Multi-Dimensional Pattern Discovery of Trajectories Using Contextual Information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharif, M.; Alesheikh, A. A.

    2017-10-01

    Movement of point objects are highly sensitive to the underlying situations and conditions during the movement, which are known as contexts. Analyzing movement patterns, while accounting the contextual information, helps to better understand how point objects behave in various contexts and how contexts affect their trajectories. One potential solution for discovering moving objects patterns is analyzing the similarities of their trajectories. This article, therefore, contextualizes the similarity measure of trajectories by not only their spatial footprints but also a notion of internal and external contexts. The dynamic time warping (DTW) method is employed to assess the multi-dimensional similarities of trajectories. Then, the results of similarity searches are utilized in discovering the relative movement patterns of the moving point objects. Several experiments are conducted on real datasets that were obtained from commercial airplanes and the weather information during the flights. The results yielded the robustness of DTW method in quantifying the commonalities of trajectories and discovering movement patterns with 80 % accuracy. Moreover, the results revealed the importance of exploiting contextual information because it can enhance and restrict movements.

  14. Existential contextuality and the models of Meyer, Kent, and Clifton

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Appleby, D.M.

    2002-01-01

    It is shown that the models recently proposed by Meyer, Kent, and Clifton (MKC) exhibit a novel kind of contextuality, which we term existential contextuality. In this phenomenon it is not simply the pre-existing value but the actual existence of an observable which is context dependent. This result confirms the point made elsewhere, that the MKC models do not, as the authors claim, 'nullify' the Kochen-Specker theorem. It may also be of some independent interest

  15. Who Hires Social Workers? Structural and Contextual Determinants of Social Service Staffing in Nursing Homes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Amy Restorick; Bowblis, John R

    2017-02-01

    Although nurse staffing has been extensively studied within nursing homes (NHs), social services has received less attention. The study describes how social service departments are organized in NHs and examines the structural characteristics of NHs and other macro-focused contextual factors that explain differences in social service staffing patterns using longitudinal national data (Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports, 2009-2012). NHs have three patterns of staffing for social services, using qualified social workers (QSWs); paraprofessional social service staff; and interprofessional teams, consisting of both QSWs and paraprofessionals. Although most NHs employ a QSW (89 percent), nearly half provide social services through interprofessional teams, and 11 percent rely exclusively on paraprofessionals. Along with state and federal regulations that depend on facility size, other contextual and structural factors within NHs also influence staffing. NHs most likely to hire QSWs are large facilities in urban areas within a health care complex, owned by nonprofit organizations, with more payer mixes associated with more profitable reimbursement. QSWs are least likely to be hired in small facilities in rural areas. The influence of policy in supporting the professionalization of social service staff and the need for QSWs with expertise in gerontology, especially in rural NHs, are discussed. © 2016 National Association of Social Workers.

  16. Predicting Contextual Informativeness for Vocabulary Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapelner, Adam; Soterwood, Jeanine; Nessaiver, Shalev; Adlof, Suzanne

    2018-01-01

    Vocabulary knowledge is essential to educational progress. High quality vocabulary instruction requires supportive contextual examples to teach word meaning and proper usage. Identifying such contexts by hand for a large number of words can be difficult. In this work, we take a statistical learning approach to engineer a system that predicts…

  17. Accident prevention in a contextual approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dyhrberg, Mette Bang

    2003-01-01

    of such a contextual approach is shortly described and demonstrated in relation to a Danish case on accident prevention. It is concluded that the approach presently offers a post-ante, descriptive analytical understanding, and it is argued that it can be developed to a frame of reference for planning actions...

  18. Neutron polarimetric test of Leggett's contextual model of quantum mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmitzer, C.; Bartosik, H.; Klepp, J.; Sponar, S.; Badurek, G.; Hasegawa, J.

    2009-01-01

    Full text: The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) argument attempted to dispute quantum theory. With the Bell inequality it was possible to set up an experimental test of the EPR argument. Here, we describe the rebuilding of the measurement station at the tangential beam exit of the TRIGA reactor of the Atominstitut in Vienna. A new polarimeter setup was constructed and adjusted to generate Bell states by entangling a neutron's energy and spin. After accomplishing visibilities of up to 98.7 %, it was possible to test a Leggett-type inequality, which challenges a 'contextual' hidden variable theory. Such a contextual model would have been capable of reproducing former Bell inequality violations. Measurement results of this Leggett inequality and a generalized Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) inequality show violations of this hidden variable model. Hence noncontextual and contextual hidden variable theories can be excluded simultaneously and quantum mechanical predictions are confirmed. (author)

  19. Relevant Factors for Establishing Inter-firm Cooperation Networks in Rio Grande do Sul

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Renato Verschoore

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available The cooperation among firms in a network form has been stressed as an alternative organizational configuration in response to recent economic transformation. The increased number of initiatives and the empirical research scarcity on the network formation in Brazil motivated the present study. The main objective of this paper is to comprehend the factors which effect the establishment of network cooperation in the Southern Brazilian context. In order to achieve this objective a quantitative research was carried out with 443 enterprise representatives, associated to 120 cooperation networks. The empirical data were collected by the researchers in 2005 and statistically processed through a conjoint analysis. The results confirmed the theoretical propositions built by the researchers,appointing the relevance of factors, such as learning and innovation, increased scale and market power, and access to solutions.

  20. Synchronous contextual irregularities affect early scene processing: replication and extension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mudrik, Liad; Shalgi, Shani; Lamy, Dominique; Deouell, Leon Y

    2014-04-01

    Whether contextual regularities facilitate perceptual stages of scene processing is widely debated, and empirical evidence is still inconclusive. Specifically, it was recently suggested that contextual violations affect early processing of a scene only when the incongruent object and the scene are presented a-synchronously, creating expectations. We compared event-related potentials (ERPs) evoked by scenes that depicted a person performing an action using either a congruent or an incongruent object (e.g., a man shaving with a razor or with a fork) when scene and object were presented simultaneously. We also explored the role of attention in contextual processing by using a pre-cue to direct subjects׳ attention towards or away from the congruent/incongruent object. Subjects׳ task was to determine how many hands the person in the picture used in order to perform the action. We replicated our previous findings of frontocentral negativity for incongruent scenes that started ~ 210 ms post stimulus presentation, even earlier than previously found. Surprisingly, this incongruency ERP effect was negatively correlated with the reaction times cost on incongruent scenes. The results did not allow us to draw conclusions about the role of attention in detecting the regularity, due to a weak attention manipulation. By replicating the 200-300 ms incongruity effect with a new group of subjects at even earlier latencies than previously reported, the results strengthen the evidence for contextual processing during this time window even when simultaneous presentation of the scene and object prevent the formation of prior expectations. We discuss possible methodological limitations that may account for previous failures to find this an effect, and conclude that contextual information affects object model selection processes prior to full object identification, with semantic knowledge activation stages unfolding only later on. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.