Benchmarking in Foodservice Operations

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Johnson, Bonnie

1998-01-01

.... The design of this study included two parts: (1) eleven expert panelists involved in a Delphi technique to identify and rate importance of foodservice performance measures and rate the importance of benchmarking activities, and (2...

Comparison of Cooperative and Noncooperative Purchasing in School Nutrition Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Rice, Beth W.; Strohbehn, Catherine; Shelly, Mark C.; Arendt, Susan; Gregoire, Mary

2010-01-01

Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare food cost and public school foodservice directors' satisfaction between districts participating in school foodservice cooperatives or group purchasing arrangements and districts purchasing independently. It also assessed the prevalence of purchasing cooperatives in school foodservice and…

Diabetes Preparedness in Schools: What Do Foodservice Personnel Need to Know to Respond?

Science.gov (United States)

Grenci, Alexandra

2009-01-01

Diabetes is increasing in youth, presenting a serious public health threat. Although type 1 diabetes has historically been more common in children, type 2 diabetes is on the rise, linked to increases in overweight and obesity among American youth, particularly those of high risk racial and ethnic groups. Foodservice personnel, along with other…

Consumer perceptions on sustainable practices implemented in foodservice organizations in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Ju, Seyoung; Chang, Hyeja

2016-02-01

Sustainable practices in foodservice organizations including commercial and noncommercial ones are critical to ensure the protection of the environment for the future. With the rapid growth of the foodservice industry, wiser usage of input sources such as food, utilities, and single use packaging should be reconsidered for future generations. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the customer's perceptions on sustainable practices and to identify the relationship among sustainable practices, social contribution and purchase intention. The study was conducted using content analyses by reviewing articles on sustainable food service practices published domestically and abroad. Thereafter, data were collected with a face-to-face survey using a questionnaire and analyzed with factor analyses and multiple regressions. Sustainable practices classified with factor analysis consisted of 6 dimensions of green food material procurement, sustainable food preparation, green packaging, preservation of energy, waste management, and public relations on green activity, with a total of 25 green activities in foodservice operations. Consumers were not very familiar with the green activities implemented in the foodservice unit, with the lowest awareness of "green food material procurement (2.46 out of 5 points)", and the highest awareness of "green packaging (3.74)" and "waste management (3.28). The factors influencing the perception of social contribution by foodservice organizations among 6 sustainable practice dimensions were found to be public relations on green activity (β = 0.154), waste management (β = 0.204) and sustainable food preparation (β = 0.183). Green packaging (β = 0.107) and the social contribution of the foodservice organization (β = 0.761) had strong relationships with the image of the organization. The purchase intentions of customers was affected only by the foodservice image (β = 0.775). The results of this study suggest that sustainable practices by

Clinical nutrition and foodservice personnel in teaching hospitals have different perceptions of total quality management performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Chong, Y; Unklesbay, N; Dowdy, R

2000-09-01

To investigate the perceived total quality management (TQM) performance of their department by clinical nutrition managers and dietitians, and foodservice managers and supervisors, in hospital food and nutrition service departments. Using a 2-part questionnaire containing items about 3 constructs of TQM performance and demographic characteristics, participants rated their perceptions of TQM performance. Employees in 7 Council of Teaching Hospitals. Of the 128 possible respondents, 73 (57%) completed the study. Correlation analysis to identify relationships between demographic characteristics and TQM performance. Analysis of variance to investigate statistical differences among hospitals and between subject groups and types of employment positions. Three TQM constructs--organization, information, and quality management--were evaluated. The clinical nutrition manager and dietitian group had mean ratings between 3.1 and 4.7 (5-point Likert scale); the foodservice manager and supervisor group had mean ratings from 2.7 to 4.0. Education level was significantly correlated (r = 0.44) to performance of employee training in the clinical nutrition group. The number of employees directly supervised was negatively correlated (r = -0.21) to the performance of employee training in the foodservice group. As the dynamic roles of dietitians change, many dietitians will occupy management positions in organizations such as restaurants, health food stores, food processing/distribution companies, and schools. This study demonstrates how a TQM survey instrument could be applied to clinical nutrition and foodservice settings. Dietitians will need to assess TQM in their workplace facilities, especially because of the direct links of TQM to productivity and client satisfaction.

Orienting task effects on text recall in adulthood.

Science.gov (United States)

Simon, E W; Dixon, R A; Nowak, C A; Hultsch, D F

1982-09-01

This investigation examined the effects of orienting task-controlled processing on the text recall of younger (18 to 32 years), middle-aged (39 to 51 years), and older (59 to 76 years) adults. The participants were presented with a 500-word narrative text. Three groups performed orienting tasks (syntactic, stylistic, advice) within an incidental memory paradigm. A fourth group was asked for intentional recall. Analysis indicated a significant age by orienting task interaction. Younger adults recalled more propositions when recall was intentional or when it was preceded by a deep-orienting task than when it was preceded by a shallow-orienting task. Middle-aged and older adults recalled more propositions when recall was intentional than when it was incidental, regardless of the depth of the orienting task. There were no significant differences in intentional recall. In addition, a significant age x orienting task x propositional level interaction indicated that younger adults recalled more of the main ideas of the text following deep processing, whereas the middle-aged and older adults recalled more of these ideas following intentional processing.

Consumer perceptions on sustainable practices implemented in foodservice organizations in Korea

OpenAIRE

Ju, Seyoung; Chang, Hyeja

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Sustainable practices in foodservice organizations including commercial and noncommercial ones are critical to ensure the protection of the environment for the future. With the rapid growth of the foodservice industry, wiser usage of input sources such as food, utilities, and single use packaging should be reconsidered for future generations. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the customer's perceptions on sustainable practices and to identify the relationship amo...

Inculcation of Values across the School Curriculum: Development and Validation of Teachers' Orientation Scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamad Sahari

1999-12-01

Full Text Available Teacher orientation to the inculcation of values across school curriculum-a function of the teacher knowledge and attitudes-has been conceptualised as his or her (1 identification with the goals of the curriculum, and (2 conformity with the predetermined instructional behaviours. Based on this framework, the study explored the construct of teacher orientation to the inculcation of values across school subjects. More specifically, the study examined the likelihood of two underlying dimensions explaining the presence of variability in teacher orientation and the reliability of the dimensions. Using a 15-item instrument developed earlier for a descriptive inquiry, the present study measured and analysed responses from 103 secondary school teachers from two randomly selected schools. To arrive at the conclusions, the study applied principal component analysis and Cronbach's alpha procedures. The results suggested that teacher orientation to value inculcation is a multidimensional construct. The more reliable dimensions of Teacher Orientation were found to be goal identification, conformity to planning tasks, and conformity to delivery tasks. The results add new information to, and may serve as a guide for future research.

Foodservice yield and fabrication times for beef as influenced by purchasing options and merchandising styles.

Science.gov (United States)

Weatherly, B H; Griffin, D B; Johnson, H K; Walter, J P; De La Zerda, M J; Tipton, N C; Savell, J W

2001-12-01

Selected beef subprimals were obtained from fabrication lines of three foodservice purveyors to assist in the development of a software support program for the beef foodservice industry. Subprimals were fabricated into bone-in or boneless foodservice ready-to-cook portion-sized cuts and associated components by professional meat cutters. Each subprimal was cut to generate mean foodservice cutting yields and labor requirements, which were calculated from observed weights (kilograms) and processing times (seconds). Once fabrication was completed, data were analyzed to determine means and standard errors of percentage yields and processing times for each subprimal. Subprimals cut to only one end point were evaluated for mean foodservice yields and processing times, but no comparisons were made within subprimal. However, those traditionally cut into various end points were additionally compared by cutting style. Subprimals cut by a single cutting style included rib, roast-ready; ribeye roll, lip-on, bone-in; brisket, deckle-off, boneless; top (inside) round; and bottom sirloin butt, flap, boneless. Subprimals cut into multiple end points or styles included ribeye, lip-on; top sirloin, cap; tenderloin butt, defatted; shortloin, short-cut; strip loin, boneless; top sirloin butt, boneless; and tenderloin, full, side muscle on, defatted. Mean yields of portion cuts, and mean fabrication times required to manufacture these cuts differed (P < 0.05) by cutting specification of the final product. In general, as the target portion size of fabricated steaks decreased, the mean number of steaks derived from any given subprimal cut increased, causing total foodservice yield to decrease and total processing time to increase. Therefore, an inverse relationship tended to exist between processing times and foodservice yields. With a method of accurately evaluating various beef purchase options, such as traditional commodity subprimals, closely trimmed subprimals, and pre-cut portion

The Role of Motivating Tasks and Personal Goal Orientations in Students' Coping Strategies in Science

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Subasi, Münevver; Tas, Yasemin

2016-01-01

This study aims to investigate coping strategies of middle school students in science classes in relation to students' goal orientations and motivating tasks conducted in the classroom environment. The study was conducted in spring semester of 2015-2016 academic year. Sample of the study consists of 316 middle school students receiving education…

Task oriented evaluation system for maintenance robots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asame, Hajime; Endo, Isao; Kotosaka, Shin-ya; Takata, Shozo; Hiraoka, Hiroyuki; Kohda, Takehisa; Matsumoto, Akihiro; Yamagishi, Kiichiro.

1994-01-01

The adaptability evaluation of maintenance robots to autonomous plants has been discussed. In this paper, a new concept of autonomous plant with maintenance robots are introduced, and a framework of autonomous maintenance system is proposed. Then, task-oriented evaluation of robot arms is discussed for evaluating their adaptability to maintenance tasks, and a new criterion called operability is proposed for adaptability evaluation. The task-oriented evaluation system is implemented and applied to structural design of robot arms. Using genetic algorithm, an optimal structure adaptable to a pump disassembly task is obtained. (author)

How do the work environment and work safety differ between the dry and wet kitchen foodservice facilities?

OpenAIRE

Chang, Hye-Ja; Kim, Jeong-Won; Ju, Se-Young; Go, Eun-Sun

2012-01-01

In order to create a worker-friendly environment for institutional foodservice, facilities operating with a dry kitchen system have been recommended. This study was designed to compare the work safety and work environment of foodservice between wet and dry kitchen systems. Data were obtained using questionnaires with a target group of 303 staff at 57 foodservice operations. Dry kitchen facilities were constructed after 2006, which had a higher construction cost and more finishing floors with ...

Market orientation and business performance: Evidence from franchising industry

OpenAIRE

Leea, Yong-Ki; Kim, S. H.; Seo, M. K.; Hight, S. K

2015-01-01

This paper examines the relationships between top management factors, franchisor market orientation, competitive strategy, and business performance within the context of Korean franchisor companies. 156 food-service franchise firms provide the basis for this empirical investigation. Findings show that top management factors such as management emphasis and risk aversion can lead to market orientation. Franchisor market orientation was found to lead differentiation and cost strategies, which, i...

Implementing healthier foodservice guidelines in hospital and federal worksite cafeterias: barriers, facilitators and keys to success.

Science.gov (United States)

Jilcott Pitts, S B; Graham, J; Mojica, A; Stewart, L; Walter, M; Schille, C; McGinty, J; Pearsall, M; Whitt, O; Mihas, P; Bradley, A; Simon, C

2016-12-01

Healthy foodservice guidelines are being implemented in worksites and healthcare facilities to increase access to healthy foods by employees and public populations. However, little is known about the barriers to and facilitators of implementation. The present study aimed to examine barriers to and facilitators of implementation of healthy foodservice guidelines in federal worksite and hospital cafeterias. Using a mixed-methods approach, including a quantitative survey followed by a qualitative, in-depth interview, we examined: (i) barriers to and facilitators of implementation; (ii) behavioural design strategies used to promote healthier foods and beverages; and (iii) how implementation of healthy foodservice guidelines influenced costs and profitability. We used a purposive sample of five hospital and four federal worksite foodservice operators who recently implemented one of two foodservice guidelines: the United States Department of Health and Human Services/General Services Administration Health and Sustainability Guidelines ('Guidelines') in federal worksites or the Partnership for a Healthier America Hospital Healthier Food Initiative ('Initiative') in hospitals. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse quantitative survey data. Qualitative data were analysed using a deductive approach. Implementation facilitators included leadership support, adequate vendor selections and having dietitians assist with implementation. Implementation barriers included inadequate selections from vendors, customer complaints and additional expertise required for menu labelling. Behavioural design strategies used most frequently included icons denoting healthier options, marketing using social media and placement of healthier options in prime locations. Lessons learned can guide subsequent steps for future healthy foodservice guideline implementation in similar settings. © 2016 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

Task-oriented maximally entangled states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agrawal, Pankaj; Pradhan, B

2010-01-01

We introduce the notion of a task-oriented maximally entangled state (TMES). This notion depends on the task for which a quantum state is used as the resource. TMESs are the states that can be used to carry out the task maximally. This concept may be more useful than that of a general maximally entangled state in the case of a multipartite system. We illustrate this idea by giving an operational definition of maximally entangled states on the basis of communication tasks of teleportation and superdense coding. We also give examples and a procedure to obtain such TMESs for n-qubit systems.

Improving U.S. Navy Foodservice Management Training. Part 1. Evaluation of the Current System

Science.gov (United States)

1985-11-01

Experience in civilian foodservice before joining Navy? FAST FOOD FRANCHISE BAKERY RESTAURANT COFFEE SHOP CAFETERIA DELICATESSEN NONE WORKED AS...civilian foodservice since joining Navy? FAST FOOD FRANCHISE 12 8 BAKERY 15 5 RESTAURANT 12 18 COFFEE SHOP 8 — CAFETERIA 8 — DELICATESSEN — NONE...food service before joining the Navy? (PLEASE CHECK l^ THAT APPLY TO WHERE YOU WORKED) Fast Food Franchise Cafeteria Bakery Delieateesan

Readiness to implement Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems in Iowa schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Henroid, Daniel; Sneed, Jeannie

2004-02-01

To evaluate current food-handling practices, food safety prerequisite programs, and employee knowledge and food safety attitudes and provide baseline data for implementing Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems in school foodservice. One member of the research team visited each school to observe food-handling practices and assess prerequisite programs using a structured observation form. A questionnaire was used to determine employees' attitudes, knowledge, and demographic information. A convenience sample of 40 Iowa schools was recruited with input from the Iowa Department of Education. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize data. One-way analysis of variance was used to assess differences in attitudes and food safety knowledge among managers, cooks, and other foodservice employees. Multiple linear regression assessed the relationship between manager and school district demographics and the food safety practice score. Proper food-handling practices were not being followed in many schools and prerequisite food safety programs for HACCP were found to be inadequate for many school foodservice operations. School foodservice employees were found to have a significant amount of food safety knowledge (15.9+/-2.4 out of 20 possible points). School districts with managers (P=.019) and employees (P=.030) who had a food handler certificate were found to have higher food safety practice scores. Emphasis on implementing prerequisite programs in preparation for HACCP is needed in school foodservice. Training programs, both basic food safety such as ServSafe and HACCP, will support improvement of food-handling practices and implementation of prerequisite programs and HACCP.

How do we actually put smarter snacks in schools? NOURISH (Nutrition Opportunities to Understand Reforms Involving Student Health) conversations with food-service directors.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenfeld, Lindsay E; Cohen, Juliana Fw; Gorski, Mary T; Lessing, Andrés J; Smith, Lauren; Rimm, Eric B; Hoffman, Jessica A

2017-02-01

In autumn 2012, Massachusetts schools implemented comprehensive competitive food and beverage standards similar to the US Department of Agriculture's Smart Snacks in School standards. We explored major themes raised by food-service directors (FSD) regarding their school-district-wide implementation of the standards. For this qualitative study, part of a larger mixed-methods study, compliance was measured via direct observation of foods and beverages during school site visits in spring 2013 and 2014, calculated to ascertain the percentage of compliant products available to students. Semi-structured interviews with school FSD conducted in each year were analysed for major implementation themes; those raised by more than two-thirds of participating school districts were explored in relationship to compliance. Massachusetts school districts (2013: n 26; 2014: n 21). Data collected from FSD. Seven major themes were raised by more than two-thirds of participating school districts (range 69-100 %): taking measures for successful transition; communicating with vendors/manufacturers; using tools to identify compliant foods and beverages; receiving support from leadership; grappling with issues not covered by the law; anticipating changes in sales of competitive foods and beverages; and anticipating changes in sales of school meals. Each theme was mentioned by the majority of more-compliant school districts (65-81 %), with themes being raised more frequently after the second year of implementation (range increase 4-14 %). FSD in more-compliant districts were more likely to talk about themes than those in less-compliant districts. Identified themes suggest best-practice recommendations likely useful for school districts implementing the final Smart Snacks in School standards, effective July 2016.

Task-oriented training in rehabilitation after stroke : systematic review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rensink, Marijke; Schuurmans, Marieke; Lindeman, Eline; Hafsteinsdottir, Thora

Task-oriented training in rehabilitation after stroke: systematic review. This paper is a report of a review conducted to provide an overview of the evidence in the literature on task-oriented training of stroke survivors and its relevance in daily nursing practice. Stroke is the second leading

MSFC personnel management tasks: Recruitment and orientation of new employees

Science.gov (United States)

Brindley, T. A.

1980-01-01

In order to encourage highly motivated young students to learn about NASA and consider it for a career, a formal program is to be initiated whereby selected students can work on a voluntary basis at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The first task was to develop the working plan and procedures for this program, called Student Volunteer Service Program, in the writing of MSFC official guidelines, the Marshall Management Instruction (the MMI) which is a binding document that defines policy and establishes procedures and guidelines. Particular considerations written into the MMI after numerous consultations, interviews, and discussions about a satisfactory policy, include: arrangements to be made between the student, the school authorities, and concerned MSFC employees; management of the work assignments; and procedures for the student's welfare and safety. The second task was the development of a recruitment brochure for the attraction of new employees, especially scientists and engineers. The third task assigned was to develop a plan called Orientation of New Employees.

Task-oriented control of Single-Master Multi-Slave Manipulator System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kosuge, Kazuhiro; Ishikawa, Jun; Furuta, Katsuhisa; Hariki, Kazuo; Sakai, Masaru.

1994-01-01

A master-slave manipulator system, in general, consists of a master arm manipulated by a human and a slave arm used for real tasks. Some tasks, such as manipulation of a heavy object, etc., require two or more slave arms operated simultaneously. A Single-Master Multi-Slave Manipulator System consists of a master arm with six degrees of freedom and two or more slave arms, each of which has six or more degrees of freedom. In this system, a master arm controls the task-oriented variables using Virtual Internal Model (VIM) based on the concept of 'Task-Oriented Control'. VIM is a reference model driven by sensory information and used to describe the desired relation between the motion of a master arm and task-oriented variables. The motion of slave arms are controlled based on the task oriented variables generated by VIM and tailors the system to meet specific tasks. A single-master multi-slave manipulator system, having two slave arms, is experimentally developed and illustrates the concept. (author)

Task-Oriented and Relationship-Building Communications between Air Traffic Controllers and Pilots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Inwon Kang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available By questioning the lopsided attention on task-oriented factors in air traffic controller-pilot communication, the current study places an equal weighting on both task-oriented and relationship-building communications, and investigates how each type of communication influences sustainable performance in airline operation team. Results show that both task-oriented and relationship-building communications in terms of sustainability of team process predicted greater communication satisfaction at work. Also, both task interdependence and shared leadership influenced both types of air traffic controller-pilot communication. However, only relationship-building communication had a direct influence on perceived work performance whereas task-oriented communication had not. Along with task-oriented factors, this study raises the relationship-oriented factors as important resources for the sustainable team performance in airline industry.

a Task-Oriented Disaster Information Correlation Method

Science.gov (United States)

Linyao, Q.; Zhiqiang, D.; Qing, Z.

2015-07-01

With the rapid development of sensor networks and Earth observation technology, a large quantity of disaster-related data is available, such as remotely sensed data, historic data, case data, simulated data, and disaster products. However, the efficiency of current data management and service systems has become increasingly difficult due to the task variety and heterogeneous data. For emergency task-oriented applications, the data searches primarily rely on artificial experience based on simple metadata indices, the high time consumption and low accuracy of which cannot satisfy the speed and veracity requirements for disaster products. In this paper, a task-oriented correlation method is proposed for efficient disaster data management and intelligent service with the objectives of 1) putting forward disaster task ontology and data ontology to unify the different semantics of multi-source information, 2) identifying the semantic mapping from emergency tasks to multiple data sources on the basis of uniform description in 1), and 3) linking task-related data automatically and calculating the correlation between each data set and a certain task. The method goes beyond traditional static management of disaster data and establishes a basis for intelligent retrieval and active dissemination of disaster information. The case study presented in this paper illustrates the use of the method on an example flood emergency relief task.

Chronology of a Successful Conversion--Contractor Revives School Lunch Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, James B.

1994-01-01

A New York State school district employed a management company to privatize the food-service program with the goal of enticing all students to eat lunch. Expertise in marketing, menu planning, and food-service operation turned the program around. Suggests questions to ask when selecting a management company. (MLF)

Getting a taste for food waste: a mixed methods ethnographic study into hospital food waste before patient consumption conducted at three New Zealand foodservice facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Goonan, Sarah; Mirosa, Miranda; Spence, Heather

2014-01-01

Foodservice organizations, particularly those in hospitals, are large producers of food waste. To date, research on waste in hospitals has focused primarily on plate waste and the affect of food waste on patient nutrition outcomes. Less focus has been placed on waste generation at the kitchen end of the hospital food system. We used a novel approach to understand reasons for hospital food waste before consumption and offer recommendations on waste minimization within foodservices. A mixed methods ethnographic research approach was adopted. Three New Zealand hospital foodservices were selected as research sites, all of which were contracted to an external foodservice provider. Data collection techniques included document analyses, observations, focus groups with kitchen staff, and one-on-one interviews with managers. Thematic analysis was conducted to generate common themes. Most food waste occurred during service and as a result of overproduction. Attitudes and habits of foodservice personnel were considered influential factors of waste generation. Implications of food waste were perceived differently by different levels of staff. Whereas managers raised discussion from a financial perspective, kitchen staff drew upon social implications. Organizational plans, controls, and use of pre-prepared ingredients assisted in waste minimization. An array of factors influenced waste generation in hospital foodservices. Exploring attitudes and practices of foodservice personnel allowed an understanding of reasons behind hospital food waste and ways in which it could be minimized. This study provides a foundation for further research on sustainable behavior within the wider foodservice sector and dietetics practice. Copyright © 2014 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Importance of relationship quality and communication on foodservice for the elderly.

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, Sunhee; Back, Ki Joon; Shanklin, Carol W

2011-02-01

In order to promote foodservice for the elderly, foodservice managers in Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) must identify the main factors to enhance the satisfaction and behavioral intentions with food service. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between relationship quality (consisting of trust, commitment, and satisfaction) and communication in the formation of elderly's behavioral intentions with food services at CCRCs. A survey was administered to residents in two CCRCs and a total of 327 residents participated. A tested structural equation model exhibited good model fit and explanatory power of the study construct. Satisfaction directly influenced word-of-mouth and service quality has an influence on commitment. Commitment was a significant determinant of behavioral intentions to eat more often in the dining room. Also, communication showed positive association with trust. The results provided strong evidence for the importance of satisfaction and communication as a consequence of relationship marketing efforts. Suggestions for future research to better understand the elderly' behavioral intention judgments were given.

The Relationships among Students' Future-Oriented Goals and Subgoals, Perceived Task Instrumentality, and Task-Oriented Self-Regulation Strategies in an Academic Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Tabachnick, Sharon E.; Miller, Raymond B.; Relyea, George E.

2008-01-01

The authors performed path analysis, followed by a bootstrap procedure, to test the predictions of a model explaining the relationships among students' distal future goals (both extrinsic and intrinsic), their adoption of a middle-range subgoal, their perceptions of task instrumentality, and their proximal task-oriented self-regulation strategies.…

The Dimensions of Customer Preference in the Foodservice Industry

OpenAIRE

Abdullah, Firdaus; Abang Abdurahman, Abang Zainoren; Hamali, Jamil

2013-01-01

Today's foodservice industry management must place a high priority on understanding the growing markets resulting from rapid urbanization and rising numbers of tourists. This industry has a huge impact on the global economy but it is affected by customers' ever-changing preferences. Managers need to gain and sustain strategic advantage in this highly competitive industry, thus a local customer preference assessment is crucial. This paper presents the dimensions of customer preference in the f...

Understanding the Association Between School Climate and Future Orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindstrom Johnson, Sarah; Pas, Elise; Bradshaw, Catherine P

2016-08-01

Promoting students' future orientation is inherently a goal of the educational system. Recently, it has received more explicit attention given the increased focus on career readiness. This study aimed to examine the association between school climate and adolescents' report of future orientation using data from youth (N = 27,698; 49.4 % female) across 58 high schools. Three-level hierarchical linear models indicated that perceptions of available emotional and service supports, rules and consequences, and parent engagement were positively related to adolescents' future orientation. Additionally, the school-level average future orientation was significantly related to individuals' future orientation, indicating a potential influence of contextual effects on this construct. Taken together, these findings suggest that interventions targeting school climate may hold promise for promoting future orientation.

Importance of relationship quality and communication on foodservice for the elderly

Science.gov (United States)

Back, Ki Joon; Shanklin, Carol W.

2011-01-01

In order to promote foodservice for the elderly, foodservice managers in Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) must identify the main factors to enhance the satisfaction and behavioral intentions with food service. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between relationship quality (consisting of trust, commitment, and satisfaction) and communication in the formation of elderly's behavioral intentions with food services at CCRCs. A survey was administered to residents in two CCRCs and a total of 327 residents participated. A tested structural equation model exhibited good model fit and explanatory power of the study construct. Satisfaction directly influenced word-of-mouth and service quality has an influence on commitment. Commitment was a significant determinant of behavioral intentions to eat more often in the dining room. Also, communication showed positive association with trust. The results provided strong evidence for the importance of satisfaction and communication as a consequence of relationship marketing efforts. Suggestions for future research to better understand the elderly' behavioral intention judgments were given. PMID:21487500

Effects of reading-oriented tasks on students' reading comprehension of geometry proof

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Kai-Lin; Lin, Fou-Lai

2012-06-01

This study compared the effects of reading-oriented tasks and writing-oriented tasks on students' reading comprehension of geometry proof (RCGP). The reading-oriented tasks were designed with reading strategies and the idea of problem posing. The writing-oriented tasks were consistent with usual proof instruction for writing a proof and applying it. Twenty-two classes of ninth-grade students ( N = 683), aged 14 to 15 years, and 12 mathematics teachers participated in this quasi-experimental classroom study. While the experimental group was instructed to read and discuss the reading tasks in two 45-minute lessons, the control group was instructed to prove and apply the same propositions. Generalised estimating equation (GEE) method was used to compare the scores of the post-test and the delayed post-test with the pre-test scores as covariates. Results showed that the total scores of the delayed post-test of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group. Furthermore, the scores of the experimental group on all facets of reading comprehension except the application facet were significantly higher than those of the control group for both the post-test and delayed post-test.

Task-Oriented Spoken Dialog System for Second-Language Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Oh-Woog; Kim, Young-Kil; Lee, Yunkeun

2016-01-01

This paper introduces a Dialog-Based Computer Assisted second-Language Learning (DB-CALL) system using task-oriented dialogue processing technology. The system promotes dialogue with a second-language learner for a specific task, such as purchasing tour tickets, ordering food, passing through immigration, etc. The dialog system plays a role of a…

Coordinated school health program and dietetics professionals: partners in promoting healthful eating.

Science.gov (United States)

Gross, Sandra M; Cinelli, Bethann

2004-05-01

Although research indicates that school meal programs contribute to improved academic performance and healthier eating behaviors for students who participate, fewer than 60% of students choose the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program. School meal programs have a difficult time competing with foods that are marketed to young people through sophisticated advertising campaigns. Youth's preferences for fast foods, soft drinks, and salty snacks; mixed messages sent by school personnel; school food preparation and serving space limitations; inadequate meal periods; and lack of education standards for school foodservice directors challenge school meal programs as well. A coordinated school health program offers a framework for meeting these challenges and provides children and adolescents with the knowledge and skills necessary for healthful eating. This article identifies challenges facing school foodservice directors in delivering healthful meals and acquaints dietetics professionals with the coordinated school health program to be used as a tool for addressing unhealthful weight gain and promoting healthful eating.

Educating Immigrant Hispanic Foodservice Workers about Food Safety Using Visual-Based Training

Science.gov (United States)

Rajagopal, Lakshman

2013-01-01

Providing food safety training to a diverse workforce brings with it opportunities and challenges that must be addressed. The study reported here provides evidence for benefits of using visual-based tools for food safety training when educating immigrant, Hispanic foodservice workers with no or minimal English language skills. Using visual tools…

Dual-task results and the lateralization of spatial orientation: artifact of test selection?

Science.gov (United States)

Bowers, C A; Milham, L M; Price, C

1998-01-01

An investigation was conducted to identify the degree to which results regarding the lateralization of spatial orientation among men and women are artifacts of test selection. A dual-task design was used to study possible lateralization differences, providing baseline and dual-task measures of spatial-orientation performance, right- and left-hand tapping, and vocalization of "cat, dog, horse." The Guilford-Zimmerman Test (Guilford & Zimmerman, 1953), the Eliot-Price Test (Eliot & Price, 1976), and the Stumpf-Fay Cube Perspectives Test (Stumpf & Fay, 1983) were the three spatial-orientation tests used to investigate possible artifacts of test selection. Twenty-eight right-handed male and 39 right-handed female undergraduates completed random baseline and dual-task sessions. Analyses indicated no significant sex-related differences in spatial-orientation ability for all three tests. Furthermore, there was no evidence of differential lateralization of spatial orientation between the sexes.

Contemporary and Traditional : the identity of the Swedish folk high school as expressed in its vocational orientation

OpenAIRE

Landström, Inger

2004-01-01

In this thesis the vocational orientation of the courses offered - as an expression of the folk high school's self-identity- is analysed. The point of departure was that what the folk high school do, is a way to show what it wants to be and, therefore, reflects what it is. Focus is on how the folk high school meets with contemporary tasks and demands in different areas of society. The research objects are, the folk high school as type of school (a total of 147 schools) and a sample of ten ind...

Career-Oriented Performance Tasks in Chemistry: Effects on Students Integrated Science Process Skills

OpenAIRE

Allen A. Espinosa; Sheryl Lyn C. Monterola; Amelia E. Punzalan

2013-01-01

The study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of Career-Oriented Performance Task (COPT) approach against the traditional teaching approach (TTA) in enhancing students’ integrated science process skills. Specifically, it sought to find out if students exposed to COPT have higher integrated science process skills than those students exposed to the traditional teaching approach (TTA). Career-Oriented Performance Task (COPT) approach aims to integrate career-oriented examples and inquiry-b...

Innovation Processes in Large-Scale Public Foodservice-Case Findings from the Implementation of Organic Foods in a Danish County

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mikkelsen, Bent Egberg; Nielsen, Thorkild; Kristensen, Niels Heine

2005-01-01

is the idea that the large-scale foodservice such as hospital food service should adopt a buy organic policy due to their large buying volume. But whereas implementation of organic foods has developed quite unproblematically in smaller institutions such as kindergartens and nurseries, introduction of organic...... foods into large-scale foodservice such as that taking place in hospitals and larger homes for the elderly, has proven to be quite difficult. The very complex planning, procurement and processing procedures used in such facilities are among reasons for this. Against this background an evaluation...

Investigation of Ego and Task Orientation among International Wrestling Referees

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I. Barbas

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Aim: study was to investigate any possible effect(s of experiences from active membership and participation in task or ego orientations among referees in the sport of wrestling. Material: The sample consisted of 213 international referees from 30 countries (Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Russia, Poland, Hungary, U.S.A, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Canada, Georgia, Croatia, Uzbekistan, Norway, Cuba, Belarus, & Tunisia. Their age ranged from 26 to 60 yrs. old ( M =43, SD =8.6. During the procedure, the participants were asked to fill a specific questionnaire, the «Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire» (Duda & Nicholls, 1992. Results: Results showed that the referees from elite wrestling level’ countries (Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, U.S.A., Korea, Japan, Kazakhstan, & Cuba are more task oriented than those from the non-elite wrestling level’ countries. Researchers believe that this occurred because referees from non-elite wrestling level’ countries might have less game-sport experience and more specifically in high level games. At the same time, the Olympic experience referees were more task oriented than the non-Olympic experienced. Conclusion: Referee’s decisions are an important issue in the sport milieu. The investigations in decision-making by referees and factors that affect it are rather scarce and research should focus on such topics. Improvement of decision-making by referees, would lead to safer and better performance. Thus, better understanding of referees’ behavior, through identification and operationalization of the factors affecting it, might lead to more effective selection, training and performance.

MECHANISM FOR DESIGNING COMPETENCE-ORIENTED TASKS IN VARIOUS ACADEMIC SUBJECTS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION IN HIGHER EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS

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Natalya M. Zhukova

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The research objective is to develop a mechanism for designing competence-oriented tasks in various academic subjects and requirements for its implementation in higher educational establishments. Methods. The authors conducted a theoretical analysis of philosophical, psychological and pedagogical literature sources on the research issues to implement the objectives of the study; Russian and foreign educational experience on the use of study tasks in the study process is studied and summarized; educational and syllabus documentation and training materials are analyzed (syllabi, textbooks, manuals, task and exercise books, etc.; normative documents are studied (State Educational Standards, Federal State Educational Standards, Main Syllabi, curricula, instructional acts, etc.. Empirical research methods involve observation, testing, questioning, modeling, peer review, pedagogical experiment and statistical interpretation of the study results. The study was carried out from 2007 to 2012 in the Engineering-Pedagogical Faculty of Moscow State Agroengineering Goryachkin University. 240 students were engaged in the pedagogical experiment. The following Moscow colleges provided facilities for the peer review of the list and solution frequency of vocational education tasks by secondary vocational school teachers: Colleges of Civil Engineering No 1 and No 12, Small Business College No 48, Polytechnic College No 13, Printing and Publishing College No 56, and Electromechanical College No 55. Results. The research findings demonstrate that the competence-oriented tasks are shown as an integrative didactic unit of professional competence development. Its functions, classification, and structural components are given. The mechanism of designing competence-oriented tasks in various academic subjects is developed and tested. The proposed mechanism is an invariant for academic and teaching staff of educational establishments at all levels of professional

The Role of School Counselors in Addressing Sexual Orientation in Schools

Science.gov (United States)

DePaul, Jillian; Walsh, Mary E.; Dam, Uma C.

2009-01-01

Issues of sexual orientation are relevant to multiple levels of the school community, including students, school professionals, and schools as institutions. School counselors, with their developmental training, systems perspective, and commitment to diversity, are uniquely positioned to be leaders in efforts not only to provide support for…

School Nutrition Employees' Perceptions of Farm to School (FTS) Activities Differ Based on Management Type and FTS Participation Length

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Sangwook; Arendt, Susan W.; Stokes, Nathan M.

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore school nutrition employees' perceptions of FTS activities and whether the numbers of activities differ based on management type of school foodservice operation and length of FTS participation. Methods: The state with the most FTS programs from each of the eight national FTS regions was selected. A…

Task-Oriented Gaming for Transfer to Prosthesis Use

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Dijk, Ludger; Sluis, van der Corry K.; van Dijk, Hylke W.; Bongers, Raoul M.

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to establish the effect of task-oriented video gaming on using a myoelectric prosthesis in a basic activity of daily life (ADL). Forty-one able-bodied right-handed participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups. In three of these groups the participants trained to

Effects of virtual reality-based training and task-oriented training on balance performance in stroke patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hyung Young; Kim, You Lim; Lee, Suk Min

2015-06-01

[Purpose] This study aimed to investigate the clinical effects of virtual reality-based training and task-oriented training on balance performance in stroke patients. [Subjects and Methods] The subjects were randomly allocated to 2 groups: virtual reality-based training group (n = 12) and task-oriented training group (n = 12). The patients in the virtual reality-based training group used the Nintendo Wii Fit Plus, which provided visual and auditory feedback as well as the movements that enabled shifting of weight to the right and left sides, for 30 min/day, 3 times/week for 6 weeks. The patients in the task-oriented training group practiced additional task-oriented programs for 30 min/day, 3 times/week for 6 weeks. Patients in both groups also underwent conventional physical therapy for 60 min/day, 5 times/week for 6 weeks. [Results] Balance and functional reach test outcomes were examined in both groups. The results showed that the static balance and functional reach test outcomes were significantly higher in the virtual reality-based training group than in the task-oriented training group. [Conclusion] This study suggested that virtual reality-based training might be a more feasible and suitable therapeutic intervention for dynamic balance in stroke patients compared to task-oriented training.

Analysis of School Food Safety Programs Based on HACCP Principles

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Kevin R.; Sauer, Kevin; Sneed, Jeannie; Kwon, Junehee; Olds, David; Cole, Kerri; Shanklin, Carol

2014-01-01

Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine how school districts have implemented food safety programs based on HACCP principles. Specific objectives included: (1) Evaluate how schools are implementing components of food safety programs; and (2) Determine foodservice employees food-handling practices related to food safety.…

Role of food safety in procedures adopted for the purchase of minimally processed and fresh vegetables by foodservices

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Kátia Regina Martini Rodrigues

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This research was designed to analyze whether the procedures adopted by foodservice establishments for the purchase of minimally processed and fresh vegetables favor the acquisition of safe products. This research investigated the purchasing policies of such establishments, whether self-managed or administered by foodservice contractors, in the municipality of Campinas and its outlying districts. A random sample of thirty-nine establishments participated in the research. The instruments for data collection were pre-tested, and the actual interviews were conducted by trained personnel. Comparative analyses were made using various statistical tests. All of the participating establishments purchase fresh vegetables, although only six of them use minimally processed ones. For most of the establishments, price is at least one of the most important criteria for the selection of a supplier, and they do not normally monitor the safety of the fresh products purchased (51.3%, nor do they make regular technical visits to guarantee quality (46.2%; moreover, most do not carry out a supplier development program. It is suggested that routine technical visits to suppliers should be adopted, as well as the creation of courses, such as those dealing with the safety of vegetables and supplier development, to be offered to foodservices.

Task oriented training improves the balance outcome & reducing fall risk in diabetic population

OpenAIRE

Ghazal, Javeria; Malik, Arshad Nawaz; Amjad, Imran

2016-01-01

Objectives: The objective was to determine the balance impairments and to compare task oriented versus traditional balance training in fall reduction among diabetic patients. Methods: The randomized control trial with descriptive survey and 196 diabetic patients were recruited to assess balance impairments through purposive sampling technique. Eighteen patients were randomly allocated into two groups; task oriented balance training group TOB (n=8) and traditional balance training group TBT (n...

Use of a task-oriented self-instruction method to support children in primary school with poor handwriting quality and speed

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jongmans, M.J.; Linthorst-Bakker, E.; Westenberg, Y.; Smits-Engelsman, B.C.M.

2003-01-01

Two studies were conducted to investigate the effect of a task-specific self-instruction intervention to improve handwriting ability of children with poor handwriting quality in schools for regular education (Study 1) and children with poor handwriting quality in schools for special education (Study

Agent-oriented Architecture for Task-based Information Search System

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aroyo, Lora; de Bra, Paul M.E.; De Bra, P.; Hardman, L.

1999-01-01

The topic of the reported research discusses an agent-oriented architecture of an educational information search system AIMS - a task-based learner support system. It is implemented within the context of 'Courseware Engineering' on-line course at the Faculty of Educational Science and Technology,

Task oriented training improves the balance outcome & reducing fall risk in diabetic population.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghazal, Javeria; Malik, Arshad Nawaz; Amjad, Imran

2016-01-01

The objective was to determine the balance impairments and to compare task oriented versus traditional balance training in fall reduction among diabetic patients. The randomized control trial with descriptive survey and 196 diabetic patients were recruited to assess balance impairments through purposive sampling technique. Eighteen patients were randomly allocated into two groups; task oriented balance training group TOB (n=8) and traditional balance training group TBT (n=10). The inclusion criteria were 30-50 years age bracket and diagnosed cases of Diabetes Mellitus with neuropathy. The demographics were taken through standardized & valid assessment tools include Berg Balance Scale and Functional Reach Test. The measurements were obtained at baseline, after 04 and 08 weeks of training. The mean age of the participants was 49 ±6.79. The result shows that 165(84%) were at moderate risk of fall and 31(15%) were at mild risk of fall among total 196 diabetic patients. There was significant improvement (p balance training group for dynamic balance, anticipatory balance and reactive balance after 8 weeks of training as compare to traditional balance training. Task oriented balance training is effective in improving the dynamic, anticipator and reactive balance. The task oriented training reduces the risk of falling through enhancing balance outcome.

Advert saliency distracts children's visual attention during task-oriented internet use

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Nils eHolmberg

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The general research question of the present study was to assess the impact of visually salient online adverts on children's task-oriented internet use. In order to answer this question, an experimental study was constructed in which 9-year-old and 12-year-old Swedish children were asked to solve a number of tasks while interacting with a mockup website. In each trial, web adverts in several saliency conditions were presented. By both measuring children's task accuracy, as well as the visual processing involved in solving these tasks, this study allows us to infer how two types of visual saliency affect children's attentional behavior, and whether such behavioral effects also impacts their task performance. Analyses show that low-level visual features and task relevance in online adverts have different effects on performance measures and process measures respectively. Whereas task performance is stable with regard to several advert saliency conditions, a marked effect is seen on children's gaze behavior. On the other hand, task performance is shown to be more sensitive to individual differences such as age, gender and level of gaze control. The results provide evidence about cognitive and behavioral distraction effects in children's task-oriented internet use caused by visual saliency in online adverts. The experiment suggests that children to some extent are able to compensate for behavioral effects caused by distracting visual stimuli when solving prospective memory tasks. Suggestions are given for further research into the interdiciplinary area between media research and cognitive science.

Interaction between Task Oriented and Affective Information Processing in Cognitive Robotics

Science.gov (United States)

Haazebroek, Pascal; van Dantzig, Saskia; Hommel, Bernhard

There is an increasing interest in endowing robots with emotions. Robot control however is still often very task oriented. We present a cognitive architecture that allows the combination of and interaction between task representations and affective information processing. Our model is validated by comparing simulation results with empirical data from experimental psychology.

Demographic and financial characteristics of school districts with low and high à la Carte sales in rural Kansas Public Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Nollen, Nicole L; Kimminau, Kim S; Nazir, Niaman

2011-06-01

Reducing à la carte items in schools-foods and beverages sold outside the reimbursable meals program-can have important implications for childhood obesity. However, schools are reluctant to reduce à la carte offerings because of the impact these changes could have on revenue. Some foodservice programs operate with limited à la carte sales, but little is known about these programs. This secondary data analysis compared rural and urban/suburban school districts with low and high à la carte sales. Foodservice financial records (2007-2008) were obtained from the Kansas State Department of Education for all public K-12 school districts (n=302). χ² and t tests were used to examine the independent association of variables to à la carte sales. A multivariate model was then constructed of the factors most strongly associated with low à la carte sales. In rural districts with low à la carte sales, lunch prices and participation were higher, lunch costs and à la carte quality were lower, and fewer free/reduced price lunches were served compared to rural districts with high à la carte sales. Lunch price (odds ratio=1.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.1 to 1.4) and free/reduced price lunch participation (odds ratio=3.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.0 to 9.8) remained in the multivariate model predicting low à la carte sales. No differences were found between urban/suburban districts with low and high à la carte sales. Findings highlight important factors to maintaining low à la carte sales. Schools should consider raising lunch prices and increasing meal participation rates as two potential strategies for reducing the sale of à la carte items without compromising foodservice revenue. Copyright © 2011 American Dietetic Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Future Orientation among Students Exposed to School Bullying and Cyberbullying Victimization.

Science.gov (United States)

Låftman, Sara B; Alm, Susanne; Sandahl, Julia; Modin, Bitte

2018-03-27

Future orientation can be defined as an individual's thoughts, beliefs, plans, and hopes for the future. Earlier research has shown adolescents' future orientation to predict outcomes later in life, which makes it relevant to analyze differences in future orientation among youth. The aim of the present study was to analyze if bullying victimization was associated with an increased likelihood of reporting a pessimistic future orientation among school youth. To be able to distinguish between victims and bully-victims (i.e., students who are both bullies and victims), we also took perpetration into account. The data were derived from the Stockholm School Survey performed in 2016 among ninth grade students (ages 15-16 years) ( n = 5144). Future orientation and involvement in school bullying and in cyberbullying were based on self-reports. The statistical method used was binary logistic regression. The results demonstrated that victims and bully-victims of school bullying and of cyberbullying were more likely to report a pessimistic future orientation compared with students not involved in bullying. These associations were shown also when involvement in school bullying and cyberbullying were mutually adjusted. The findings underline the importance of anti-bullying measures that target both school bullying and cyberbullying.

Task Oriented Evaluation of Module Extraction Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Palmisano, Ignazio; Tamma, Valentina; Payne, Terry; Doran, Paul

Ontology Modularization techniques identify coherent and often reusable regions within an ontology. The ability to identify such modules, thus potentially reducing the size or complexity of an ontology for a given task or set of concepts is increasingly important in the Semantic Web as domain ontologies increase in terms of size, complexity and expressivity. To date, many techniques have been developed, but evaluation of the results of these techniques is sketchy and somewhat ad hoc. Theoretical properties of modularization algorithms have only been studied in a small number of cases. This paper presents an empirical analysis of a number of modularization techniques, and the modules they identify over a number of diverse ontologies, by utilizing objective, task-oriented measures to evaluate the fitness of the modules for a number of statistical classification problems.

Future Orientation and School Bullying Among Adolescents in Rural China

OpenAIRE

Shu Ling Gao; Ko Ling Chan

2015-01-01

This study examined the relations among future orientation, school bonding, and school bullying perpetration behaviors. Data were collected from 677 seventh- to ninth-grade adolescents in an area in Southwest China. Specifically, students completed the Future-Orientation Questionnaire, the Psychological Sense of School Membership scale, and the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire to assess their future orientatio...

Comparing market orientation culture of businesses and schools of business: an extension and refinement.

Science.gov (United States)

Webster, Robert L; Hammond, Kevin L; Harmon, Harry A

2005-04-01

This study extends previous work concerning the market orientation culture within specialty businesses and schools of business. Specifically, member schools of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International are separated into public and private universities. Data were collected via a mailed survey to business schools holding membership. 106 public school deans and 35 private school deans responded, for a 23% response rate. Input from the deans was sought on their perceptions of the market orientation culture within the schools. Respondents' perceptions, rated on a 7-point scale, measured four dimensions of market orientation: customer orientation, competitor orientation, organizational coordination, and overall market orientation. Data for specialty businesses were drawn from a previous study. Comparison testing between the public and private business schools' deans and business managers was conducted. Analysis indicated perceived market orientation was significantly higher for deans of private business schools than public business schools. Compared with business managers, private school deans were statistically different on only one of the four dimensions, whereas public business school deans' scores were significantly different from those of business managers on all four. Compared with each other, business school deans were statistically different on three dimensions, with private school deans reporting greater market orientation.

Future Orientation among Students Exposed to School Bullying and Cyberbullying Victimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara B. Låftman

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Future orientation can be defined as an individual’s thoughts, beliefs, plans, and hopes for the future. Earlier research has shown adolescents’ future orientation to predict outcomes later in life, which makes it relevant to analyze differences in future orientation among youth. The aim of the present study was to analyze if bullying victimization was associated with an increased likelihood of reporting a pessimistic future orientation among school youth. To be able to distinguish between victims and bully-victims (i.e., students who are both bullies and victims, we also took perpetration into account. The data were derived from the Stockholm School Survey performed in 2016 among ninth grade students (ages 15–16 years (n = 5144. Future orientation and involvement in school bullying and in cyberbullying were based on self-reports. The statistical method used was binary logistic regression. The results demonstrated that victims and bully-victims of school bullying and of cyberbullying were more likely to report a pessimistic future orientation compared with students not involved in bullying. These associations were shown also when involvement in school bullying and cyberbullying were mutually adjusted. The findings underline the importance of anti-bullying measures that target both school bullying and cyberbullying.

The Possibilities of Reducing Food Choice to Improve the Performance of College Foodservices.

Science.gov (United States)

Mirosa, Miranda; Loh, Joanne; Spence, Heather

2016-07-01

College administrative and management leaders, foodservice personnel, and student residents value social, nutritional, financial, and environmental sustainability in their dining expectations. Menu choice reduction looks promising as a strategy to achieve these goals. However, foodservice research about dominant attitudes across these stakeholders is limited. To identify qualitative views from all stakeholders about choice reduction to ensure that any changes to the meal service are not to the detriment of consumer satisfaction. A comprehensive list of 74 statements representing the spectrum of attitudes surrounding choice was generated by searching a variety of resources, including academic literature and Internet sites, and by conducting semistructured interviews with stakeholders. A final set of 42 statements resulted from researcher scrutiny for optimum balance, clarity, appropriateness, simplicity, and applicability. A new sample of participants was then asked to sort these 42 statements into a normal distribution grid from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree." A purposive convenience sample of stakeholders (staff n=5 and residents n=4) was used to identify statements about choice reduction. A second sample of stakeholders (staff n=6 and residents n=29) were recruited to sort the final 42 statements. Q methodology analysis techniques were used. This involved conducting a by-person factor analysis, using the centroid factor extraction method because of the permissiveness it allows for data exploration. A varimax factor rotation to enhance interpretability of the results identified shared viewpoints. Three dominant viewpoints toward the possibility of choice reduction in the meal service were identified. Factor 1 was "health driven" (in which healthiness was paramount). Factor 2 was "variety seekers" (in which choice had instrumental value). Factor 3 was "choice lovers" (in which choice had intrinsic value). Although participants could see a number of

Career orientation of senior secondary school students

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Suryadi Bambang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of this study is to portray career orientation of Senior High School (SMA and Vocational High School (SMK students and the role that school counselors should play in providing vocational guidance. This study used a survey method involving 278 students from both SMA and SMK di Jakarta. Career Orientation Inventory (COI and Counselor Role in Career Guidance Inventory were used as an instrument of data collection. Descriptive statistics and t-test were conducted to analyze the data. The findings of the study reveal that majority of SMA and SMK students wanted to further their study to university and only small number of them wanted to find out jobs or run their own business. The findings also show that school counselors play a very important role in providing vocational guidance services for senior secondary students. Therefore, in order for students to have a bright career in future, school counselors should improve the quality of vocational guidance services and plan comprehensive vocational guidance programs.

Single-Sex Schooling: Friendships, Dating, and Sexual Orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Gu; Wong, Wang Ivy

2018-05-01

Single-sex schooling has been controversial for decades. The current study investigated the differences in friendships, dating, and past, present, and ideal sexual orientation, between 207 college students who attended single-sex secondary schools and 249 college students who attended coeducational secondary schools in Hong Kong, controlling for personal characteristics such as socioeconomic status. We found that, compared to graduates of coeducational schools, graduates of single-sex schools reported a different gender composition in intimate friendships favoring the same sex, less romantic involvement with other-sex close friends, older age at first date, fewer boyfriends or girlfriends, and more past same-sex sexuality. In contrast, we found no significant differences in the interactions with same-sex versus other-sex friends, most aspects of past or present dating engagement, or self-reported present or ideal sexual orientation. These findings give insight into the interpersonal outcomes of single-sex schooling and fill a gap in previous research which has focused on academic achievement and gender role stereotypes.

Service-oriented architectural framework for support and automation of collaboration tasks

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Ana Sasa

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Due to more and more demanding requirements for business flexibility and agility, automation of end-to-end industrial processes has become an important topic. Systems supporting business process execution need to enable automated tasks execution as well as integrate human performed tasks (human tasks into a business process. In this paper, we focus on collaboration tasks, which are an important type of composite human tasks. We propose a service-oriented architectural framework describing a service responsible for human task execution (Human task service, which not only implements collaboration tasks but also improves their execution by automated and semi-automated decision making and collaboration based on ontologies and agent technology. The approach is very generic and can be used for any type of business processes. A case study was performed for a human task intensive business process from an electric power transmission domain.

OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING IN SCHOOL COURSE OF INFORMATICS

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Хамид Абдулович Гербеков

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In article approaches to training of student in object-oriented programming in the environment of the Windows operating system are considered. The analysis of the literature on the programming and the modern school textbook on informatics, and also theoretical material on object-oriented programming within the informative line “Algorithmization and programming” of school course of informatics is for this purpose carried out. The object-oriented approached essentially differs from structured programming in fact that the object-oriented programming paradigm is more open and scalable. It doesn’t mean that transition to the object-oriented approach to programming demands a failure from all algorithm applied in case of structural pro-applications of all earlier found and tested method and receptions. On the contrary new elements are always based on prior experience. Object approach creates a set of essential convenience which under other conditions can’t provide. Object-oriented programming in the environment of the Windows operating system to interest student from the first lesson and to do training fascinating and interesting because student can control object which the modern students face since the childhood on the personal computers, pads and phones.

An Efficient Framework for Development of Task-Oriented Dialog Systems in a Smart Home Environment

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Youngmin Park

2018-05-01

Full Text Available In recent times, with the increasing interest in conversational agents for smart homes, task-oriented dialog systems are being actively researched. However, most of these studies are focused on the individual modules of such a system, and there is an evident lack of research on a dialog framework that can integrate and manage the entire dialog system. Therefore, in this study, we propose a framework that enables the user to effectively develop an intelligent dialog system. The proposed framework ontologically expresses the knowledge required for the task-oriented dialog system’s process and can build a dialog system by editing the dialog knowledge. In addition, the framework provides a module router that can indirectly run externally developed modules. Further, it enables a more intelligent conversation by providing a hierarchical argument structure (HAS to manage the various argument representations included in natural language sentences. To verify the practicality of the framework, an experiment was conducted in which developers without any previous experience in developing a dialog system developed task-oriented dialog systems using the proposed framework. The experimental results show that even beginner dialog system developers can develop a high-level task-oriented dialog system.

An Efficient Framework for Development of Task-Oriented Dialog Systems in a Smart Home Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Youngmin; Kang, Sangwoo; Seo, Jungyun

2018-05-16

In recent times, with the increasing interest in conversational agents for smart homes, task-oriented dialog systems are being actively researched. However, most of these studies are focused on the individual modules of such a system, and there is an evident lack of research on a dialog framework that can integrate and manage the entire dialog system. Therefore, in this study, we propose a framework that enables the user to effectively develop an intelligent dialog system. The proposed framework ontologically expresses the knowledge required for the task-oriented dialog system's process and can build a dialog system by editing the dialog knowledge. In addition, the framework provides a module router that can indirectly run externally developed modules. Further, it enables a more intelligent conversation by providing a hierarchical argument structure (HAS) to manage the various argument representations included in natural language sentences. To verify the practicality of the framework, an experiment was conducted in which developers without any previous experience in developing a dialog system developed task-oriented dialog systems using the proposed framework. The experimental results show that even beginner dialog system developers can develop a high-level task-oriented dialog system.

How do the work environment and work safety differ between the dry and wet kitchen foodservice facilities?

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Hye-Ja; Kim, Jeong-Won; Ju, Se-Young; Go, Eun-Sun

2012-08-01

In order to create a worker-friendly environment for institutional foodservice, facilities operating with a dry kitchen system have been recommended. This study was designed to compare the work safety and work environment of foodservice between wet and dry kitchen systems. Data were obtained using questionnaires with a target group of 303 staff at 57 foodservice operations. Dry kitchen facilities were constructed after 2006, which had a higher construction cost and more finishing floors with anti-slip tiles, and in which employees more wore non-slip footwear than wet kitchen (76.7%). The kitchen temperature and muscular pain were the most frequently reported employees' discomfort factors in the two systems, and, in the wet kitchen, "noise of kitchen" was also frequently reported as a discomfort. Dietitian and employees rated the less slippery and slip related incidents in dry kitchens than those of wet kitchen. Fryer area, ware-washing area, and plate waste table were the slippery areas and the causes were different between the functional areas. The risk for current leakage was rated significantly higher in wet kitchens by dietitians. In addition, the ware-washing area was found to be where employees felt the highest risk of electrical shock. Muscular pain (72.2%), arthritis (39.1%), hard-of-hearing (46.6%) and psychological stress (47.0%) were experienced by employees more than once a month, particularly in the wet kitchen. In conclusion, the dry kitchen system was found to be more efficient for food and work safety because of its superior design and well managed practices.

How do the work environment and work safety differ between the dry and wet kitchen foodservice facilities?

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jeong-Won; Ju, Se-Young; Go, Eun-Sun

2012-01-01

In order to create a worker-friendly environment for institutional foodservice, facilities operating with a dry kitchen system have been recommended. This study was designed to compare the work safety and work environment of foodservice between wet and dry kitchen systems. Data were obtained using questionnaires with a target group of 303 staff at 57 foodservice operations. Dry kitchen facilities were constructed after 2006, which had a higher construction cost and more finishing floors with anti-slip tiles, and in which employees more wore non-slip footwear than wet kitchen (76.7%). The kitchen temperature and muscular pain were the most frequently reported employees' discomfort factors in the two systems, and, in the wet kitchen, "noise of kitchen" was also frequently reported as a discomfort. Dietitian and employees rated the less slippery and slip related incidents in dry kitchens than those of wet kitchen. Fryer area, ware-washing area, and plate waste table were the slippery areas and the causes were different between the functional areas. The risk for current leakage was rated significantly higher in wet kitchens by dietitians. In addition, the ware-washing area was found to be where employees felt the highest risk of electrical shock. Muscular pain (72.2%), arthritis (39.1%), hard-of-hearing (46.6%) and psychological stress (47.0%) were experienced by employees more than once a month, particularly in the wet kitchen. In conclusion, the dry kitchen system was found to be more efficient for food and work safety because of its superior design and well managed practices. PMID:22977692

Task-oriented quality assessment and adaptation in real-time mission critical video streaming applications

Science.gov (United States)

Nightingale, James; Wang, Qi; Grecos, Christos

2015-02-01

In recent years video traffic has become the dominant application on the Internet with global year-on-year increases in video-oriented consumer services. Driven by improved bandwidth in both mobile and fixed networks, steadily reducing hardware costs and the development of new technologies, many existing and new classes of commercial and industrial video applications are now being upgraded or emerging. Some of the use cases for these applications include areas such as public and private security monitoring for loss prevention or intruder detection, industrial process monitoring and critical infrastructure monitoring. The use of video is becoming commonplace in defence, security, commercial, industrial, educational and health contexts. Towards optimal performances, the design or optimisation in each of these applications should be context aware and task oriented with the characteristics of the video stream (frame rate, spatial resolution, bandwidth etc.) chosen to match the use case requirements. For example, in the security domain, a task-oriented consideration may be that higher resolution video would be required to identify an intruder than to simply detect his presence. Whilst in the same case, contextual factors such as the requirement to transmit over a resource-limited wireless link, may impose constraints on the selection of optimum task-oriented parameters. This paper presents a novel, conceptually simple and easily implemented method of assessing video quality relative to its suitability for a particular task and dynamically adapting videos streams during transmission to ensure that the task can be successfully completed. Firstly we defined two principle classes of tasks: recognition tasks and event detection tasks. These task classes are further subdivided into a set of task-related profiles, each of which is associated with a set of taskoriented attributes (minimum spatial resolution, minimum frame rate etc.). For example, in the detection class

"On solid ground": family and school connectedness promotes adolescents' future orientation.

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Crespo, Carla; Jose, Paul E; Kielpikowski, Magdalena; Pryor, Jan

2013-10-01

The present study investigated the role of connectedness to the family and school contexts on future orientation of New Zealand adolescents. Participants were 1774 young people (51.9% female) aged between 9 and 16 years at time 1 of the study, who reported their connectedness to family and school and their perceptions of future orientation at three times of measurement one year apart. Structural equation modelling was used to test the combined role of family and school connectedness on future orientation over time. Findings supported a multiple mediation model in that adolescents' connectedness to family and school predicted more positive perceptions of future orientation both directly and indirectly via the effect of the context variables on each other. Copyright © 2013 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bidding: Getting the Best Price for School Foodservice.

Science.gov (United States)

DiBella, Cecilia M.

1998-01-01

Sharon (Massachusetts) Public Schools developed an alternative procurement process for school food services that complies with state public bidding laws while evading "low-bid" constraints. The new process features evaluative criteria covering nutrition education, community outreach, management expertise, site visits, and price…

Object-Oriented Programming in High Schools the Turing Way.

Science.gov (United States)

Holt, Richard C.

This paper proposes an approach to introducing object-oriented concepts to high school computer science students using the Object-Oriented Turing (OOT) language. Students can learn about basic object-oriented (OO) principles such as classes and inheritance by using and expanding a collection of classes that draw pictures like circles and happy…

The Origins of Task- and People-Oriented Leadership Styles

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Bertil Engelbert

2016-05-01

Full Text Available An increasing number of findings indicate that there are connections between leadership and infant, child, and adolescent development. These connections are largely overlooked in the traditional leadership literature. This study discussed this development with a focus on how it influences the task-oriented part of leadership. For the empirical part of the study, which had an exploratory emphasis, data on 79 leaders were collected, including information on their childhood, collected with a self-report survey (Experiences in Close Relationships [ECR], their adolescent family experiences, and their leadership styles (Employee-centered, Production-centered, and Change-centered measured with a survey answered by a subordinate. The results indicated connections between task-oriented leadership style and early experiences: Insecurely attached leaders are at risk of not being considered good leaders by their subordinates. Experiences during adolescence may be influential. This study indicated reasons why it often is difficult to predict who will become a good leader. To accurately characterize a leader, early established features need to be considered. This knowledge can be used to build better models for leadership research and to improve the recruitment and development of leaders.

Bilateral robotic priming before task-oriented approach in subacute stroke rehabilitation: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Yu-Wei; Wu, Ching-Yi; Wang, Wei-En; Lin, Keh-Chung; Chang, Ku-Chou; Chen, Chih-Chi; Liu, Chien-Ting

2017-02-01

To investigate the treatment effects of bilateral robotic priming combined with the task-oriented approach on motor impairment, disability, daily function, and quality of life in patients with subacute stroke. A randomized controlled trial. Occupational therapy clinics in medical centers. Thirty-one subacute stroke patients were recruited. Participants were randomly assigned to receive bilateral priming combined with the task-oriented approach (i.e., primed group) or to the task-oriented approach alone (i.e., unprimed group) for 90 minutes/day, 5 days/week for 4 weeks. The primed group began with the bilateral priming technique by using a bimanual robot-aided device. Motor impairments were assessed by the Fugal-Meyer Assessment, grip strength, and the Box and Block Test. Disability and daily function were measured by the modified Rankin Scale, the Functional Independence Measure, and actigraphy. Quality of life was examined by the Stroke Impact Scale. The primed and unprimed groups improved significantly on most outcomes over time. The primed group demonstrated significantly better improvement on the Stroke Impact Scale strength subscale ( p = 0.012) and a trend for greater improvement on the modified Rankin Scale ( p = 0.065) than the unprimed group. Bilateral priming combined with the task-oriented approach elicited more improvements in self-reported strength and disability degrees than the task-oriented approach by itself. Further large-scale research with at least 31 participants in each intervention group is suggested to confirm the study findings.

Task-oriented training in rehabilitation after stroke : a systematic review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Drs. Marijke Rensink; Eline Eline Lindeman; Marieke Schuurmans; Thóra Hafsteinsdóttir

2008-01-01

This paper is a report of a review conducted to provide an overview of the evidence in the literature on task-oriented training of stroke survivors and its relevance in daily nursing practice. Background: Stroke is the second leading cause of death and one of the leading causes of adult disability

Sexual orientation differences in cerebral asymmetry and in the performance of sexually dimorphic cognitive and motor tasks.

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Sanders, G; Wright, M

1997-10-01

With each of the tasks in the present studies we expected to find the reported sex difference between heterosexual women and heterosexual men and we predicted a sexual orientation effect with the performance of homosexual men being similar to that of heterosexual women and different from that of heterosexual men. Study 1 aimed to replicate earlier findings by recording the performance of a group of homosexual men on a visuospatial task, the Vincent Mechanical Diagrams Test (VMDT), a dot detection divided visual field measure of functional cerebral asymmetry, and on five subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). For each task the profile of scores obtained for the homosexual men was similar to that of heterosexual women in that they scored lower than heterosexual men on the VMDT, they showed less asymmetry, and they recorded a higher Verbal than Performance IQ on the WAIS. In Study 2, a male-biased targeted throwing task favored heterosexual men while, in contrast, on the female-biased Purdue Pegboard single peg condition heterosexual men were outperformed by heterosexual women and homosexual men. On neither of these two tasks did the performances of homosexual men and heterosexual women differ. One task, manual speed, yielded neither sex nor sexual orientation differences. Another, the Purdue Pegboard assemblies condition, revealed a sex difference but no sexual orientation difference. Failure to obtain a sexual orientation difference in the presence of a sex difference suggests that the sexual orientation effect may be restricted to a subset of sexually dimorphic tasks.

The Application of Task- oriented Teaching Approach to Enhancing Communicative Competence of EFL

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LI Mingxin

2014-02-01

Full Text Available To communicate is the primary goal of most foreign language learning (EFL. As an important component of the four macro skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing, reading should also serve this purpose. However, traditional methodology still dominates extensive reading teaching in most of the universities. To promote a communicative extensive reading class, we may start by designing various tasks and activities. This paper introduces a task-oriented approach in English extensive reading class. According to Nunan, task-oriented teaching involves learners in the classroom to comprehend, manipulate, produce or interact in the target language, but the focus is on the meaning rather than the form. In light of psycholinguistic model and schema theory model, the methodology covers information-gap activity, opinion-gap activity and reasoning-gap activity which can be run in the class. The task-approaches make the interaction between teacher and students, students and students more active and meaningful. Skills of reading to solve communicative problems are always treated consciously. This approach may hopefully result in some improvement on the teaching of English reading.

Use of Visuals for Food Safety Education of Spanish-Speaking Foodservice Workers: A Case Study in Iowa

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Rajagopal, Lakshman

2012-01-01

Providing food safety training to an audience whose native language is not English is always a challenge. In the study reported here, minimal-text visuals in Spanish were used to train Hispanic foodservice workers about proper handwashing technique and glove use based on the 2005 Food Code requirements. Overall, results indicated that visuals…

Heuristic Scheduling Algorithm Oriented Dynamic Tasks for Imaging Satellites

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Maocai Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Imaging satellite scheduling is an NP-hard problem with many complex constraints. This paper researches the scheduling problem for dynamic tasks oriented to some emergency cases. After the dynamic properties of satellite scheduling were analyzed, the optimization model is proposed in this paper. Based on the model, two heuristic algorithms are proposed to solve the problem. The first heuristic algorithm arranges new tasks by inserting or deleting them, then inserting them repeatedly according to the priority from low to high, which is named IDI algorithm. The second one called ISDR adopts four steps: insert directly, insert by shifting, insert by deleting, and reinsert the tasks deleted. Moreover, two heuristic factors, congestion degree of a time window and the overlapping degree of a task, are employed to improve the algorithm’s performance. Finally, a case is given to test the algorithms. The results show that the IDI algorithm is better than ISDR from the running time point of view while ISDR algorithm with heuristic factors is more effective with regard to algorithm performance. Moreover, the results also show that our method has good performance for the larger size of the dynamic tasks in comparison with the other two methods.

Conversational interfaces for task-oriented spoken dialogues: design aspects influencing interaction quality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Niculescu, A.I.

2011-01-01

This dissertation focuses on the design and evaluation of speech-based conversational interfaces for task-oriented dialogues. Conversational interfaces are software programs enabling interaction with computer devices through natural language dialogue. Even though processing conversational speech is

Small, Task-Oriented Groups: Conflict, Conflict Management, Satisfaction, and Decision Quality.

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Wall, Victor D., Jr.; And Others

1987-01-01

Examined relationship among amount of conflict experienced, the style of its management, individual satisfaction, and decision quality of small, task-oriented groups using 129 college student subjects in 24 groups. Data suggest a curvilinear relationship between the number of conflict episodes experienced by group members and the subsequent…

Teachers' Use of Potentially Reinforcing Behaviors and Students' Task-Oriented Behavior.

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Anderson, Lorin; And Others

The present study focuses on two major questions. First, how often are potentially reinforcing behaviors emitted by teachers in naturally occurring classrooms? Second, what is the relationship between the display of potentially reinforcing behaviors by the teacher and the task-orientation of randomly selected students in the classrooms. Students…

Orientation of medieval churches of Morava school

OpenAIRE

Tadić Milutin; Gavrić Gordana

2012-01-01

In this paper we present the mathematical and topographic analysis of orientation of the most significant churches (11) of Morava school, the last style in architecture of medieval Serbia whose executors were chief architects. The deviation from equinox East of the main axis of each church and the dates when the Sun rises on the physical horizon, in the extension of the main axis, have been calculated. These were the dates when the church could have been oriented towards the rising Sun....

An Agent-Based Simulation for Investigating the Impact of Stereotypes on Task-Oriented Group Formation

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Maghami, Mahsa; Sukthankar, Gita

In this paper, we introduce an agent-based simulation for investigating the impact of social factors on the formation and evolution of task-oriented groups. Task-oriented groups are created explicitly to perform a task, and all members derive benefits from task completion. However, even in cases when all group members act in a way that is locally optimal for task completion, social forces that have mild effects on choice of associates can have a measurable impact on task completion performance. In this paper, we show how our simulation can be used to model the impact of stereotypes on group formation. In our simulation, stereotypes are based on observable features, learned from prior experience, and only affect an agent's link formation preferences. Even without assuming stereotypes affect the agents' willingness or ability to complete tasks, the long-term modifications that stereotypes have on the agents' social network impair the agents' ability to form groups with sufficient diversity of skills, as compared to agents who form links randomly. An interesting finding is that this effect holds even in cases where stereotype preference and skill existence are completely uncorrelated.

Middle School Teachers' Views and Approaches to Implement Mathematical Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Yesildere-Imre, Sibel; Basturk-Sahin, Burcu Nur

2016-01-01

This research examines middle school mathematics teachers' views regarding implementation of mathematical tasks and their enactments. We compare their views on tasks and their implementation, and determine the causes of difference between the two using qualitative research methods. We interview sixteen middle school mathematics teachers based on…

Using tasks to enhance beginners’ orientations for learning Chinese as a foreign language

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ruan, Youjin; Duan, Xiaoju; Du, Xiangyun

2015-01-01

, and by what these changes are caused, in a university-wide CFL course using task-based teaching and learning (TBTL). The study identifies four orientations. Results indicate that the knowledge orientation plays a vital role in the learning process, while instrumental orientation appears to be the least...... important to students. Furthermore, the study indicates that all orientations have been enhanced by the end of the course, meaning the learners have developed clearer goals for further study in a TBTL environment. We also show that several external and internal factors, such as the motivating course design...... and enhance learner motivation. The study also discusses challenges encountered in helping beginners learn a foreign language via TBTL....

Effectiveness of prevention-oriented school oral health program in a private school in Pimpri, Pune

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Nitin Gupta

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Programs oriented toward prevention have proven to be highly rewarding in reducing the dental disease burden in western populations. Some developing countries have also reported studies of school health programs with varying effectiveness. However, reports regarding improved effectiveness due to mobile dental unit are scarce. Thus, the present study aims at assessment of effectiveness of prevention-oriented school health program in a private school in Pimpri, Pune. Materials and Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted from May 2015 to June 2016 in Dr. D.Y. Patil school among 449 students aged 5 and 10 years using census sampling. Ethical clearance was obtained from Institutional Ethics Committee of Dr. D. Y. Patil Dental College and Hospital and permission was obtained from the school principal. The study was conducted in 3 phases. SPSS version 18 was used for analyzing the data. Results: There was significant reduction in decayed component and a significant increase in filled component in primary and permanent dentition. There was a significant reduction in treatment needs, i.e., one surface, two surface fillings, and pulp care and restoration. Conclusion: It can be concluded that this prevention-oriented 1-year program was helpful in improving the oral health of the children.

School Engagement, Risky Peers, and Student-Teacher Relationships as Mediators of School Violence in Taiwanese Vocational versus Academically Oriented High Schools

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Chen, Ji-Kang; Astor, Ron Avi

2011-01-01

Educational tracking based on academic ability accounts for different school dynamics between vocational versus academically-oriented high schools in Taiwan. Many educational practitioners predict that the settings of vocational schools and academic schools mediate school violence in different ways. Alternatively, some researchers argue the actual…

Innovation Processes in Large-Scale Public Foodservice-Case Findings from the Implementation of Organic Foods in a Danish County

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mikkelsen, Bent Egberg; Nielsen, Thorkild; Kristensen, Niels Heine

2005-01-01

was carried out of the change process related implementation of organic foods in large-scale foodservice facilities in Greater Copenhagen county in order to study the effects of such a change. Based on the findings, a set of guidelines has been developed for the successful implementation of organic foods...

Predictive power of task orientation, general self-efficacy and self-determined motivation on fun and boredom

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Lorena Ruiz-González

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract The aim of this study was to test the predictive power of dispositional orientations, general self-efficacy and self-determined motivation on fun and boredom in physical education classes, with a sample of 459 adolescents between 13 and 18 with a mean age of 15 years (SD = 0.88. The adolescents responded to four Likert scales: Perceptions of Success Questionnaire, General Self-Efficacy Scale, Sport Motivation Scale and Intrinsic Satisfaction Questionnaire in Sport. The results showed the structural regression model showed that task orientation and general self-efficacy positively predicted self-determined motivation and this in turn positively predicted more fun and less boredom in physical education classes. Consequently, the promotion of an educational task-oriented environment where learners perceive their progress and make them feel more competent, will allow them to overcome the intrinsically motivated tasks, and therefore they will have more fun. Pedagogical implications for less boredom and more fun in physical education classes are discussed.

School food environment: Quality and advertisement frequency of child-oriented packaged products within walking distance of public schools.

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Missbach, Benjamin; Pachschwöll, Caterina; Kuchling, Daniel; König, Jürgen

2017-06-01

Food marketing for children is a major concern for public health nutrition and many schools make efforts to increase healthy eating. Food environments surrounding schools in urban areas may undermine these efforts for healthy nutrition within school programs. Our study aim is to describe the nutrition environment within walking distance of schools in terms of food quality and food marketing and to explore the degree to which elements of the nutrition environment varies by proximity to schools. In a cross-sectional study, we analyzed the surrounding food environments of a convenience sample of 46 target schools within 950m walking distance in 7 different urban districts across Vienna, Austria. In total, we analyzed data from 67 fast food outlets and 54 supermarkets analyzing a total of 43.129 packaged snack food and beverage products, from which 85% were for adults and 15% of the products were child-oriented. Proximity to the schools did not affect the availability of child-oriented products and dedicated food advertisements for children. After applying nutrient profiling using the Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) on child-oriented products, results showed that 15.8% of the packaged snack food were categorized as "healthy" foods and 84.2% as "less healthy"; for beverages 65.7% were categorized as "healthy" and 34.3% as "less healthy". In conclusion, our results show that child-oriented snacks are not more frequently advertised around schools but substantially lack in nutritional quality with the potential to undermine efforts for promoting healthy eating practices within schools.

School food environment: Quality and advertisement frequency of child-oriented packaged products within walking distance of public schools

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Benjamin Missbach

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Food marketing for children is a major concern for public health nutrition and many schools make efforts to increase healthy eating. Food environments surrounding schools in urban areas may undermine these efforts for healthy nutrition within school programs. Our study aim is to describe the nutrition environment within walking distance of schools in terms of food quality and food marketing and to explore the degree to which elements of the nutrition environment varies by proximity to schools. In a cross-sectional study, we analyzed the surrounding food environments of a convenience sample of 46 target schools within 950m walking distance in 7 different urban districts across Vienna, Austria. In total, we analyzed data from 67 fast food outlets and 54 supermarkets analyzing a total of 43.129 packaged snack food and beverage products, from which 85% were for adults and 15% of the products were child-oriented. Proximity to the schools did not affect the availability of child-oriented products and dedicated food advertisements for children. After applying nutrient profiling using the Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM on child-oriented products, results showed that 15.8% of the packaged snack food were categorized as “healthy” foods and 84.2% as “less healthy”; for beverages 65.7% were categorized as “healthy” and 34.3% as “less healthy”. In conclusion, our results show that child-oriented snacks are not more frequently advertised around schools but substantially lack in nutritional quality with the potential to undermine efforts for promoting healthy eating practices within schools.

An Investigation of Task and Ego Oriented Goals of the Students Majoring at the Faculty of Sport Sciences

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Belli, Emre

2015-01-01

The aim of this study is to explore the task and ego oriented goals of the students majoring at the Faculty of Sports Sciences at Ataturk University. For data collection, "The Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire", which was developed by Duda (1) and adapted into Turkish by Toros and Yetim (2), was used in the current study to…

Pilot study comparing market orientation culture of businesses and schools of business.

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Harmon, Harry A; Webster, Robert L; Hammond, Kevin L

2003-08-01

A market orientation culture has been described as one that blends an organization's commitment to customer value with a process of continuously creating superior value for customers. Developing such a culture is further described as (1) obtaining information about customers, competitors, and markets, (2) examining the gathered information from a total organizational perspective, (3) deciding how to deliver superior customer value, and (4) implementing actions to provide value to customers. A market orientation culture focuses on the customer, identifies issues in the competitive environment, and coordinates all functional areas to achieve organizational objectives. Research has found businesses with higher market orientation are more successful in achieving organizational objectives. The measurement of market orientation within businesses has been empirically tested and validated. However, empirical research on market orientation in nonprofit organizations such as universities has not been examined. This study investigated market orientation within the university setting, specifically Schools of Business Administration, and compared these data with previously published data within the business sector. Data for comparative purposes were collected via a national survey. Hypothesis testing was conducted. Results indicated significantly lower market orientation culture within the schools of business as reported by AACSB Business School Deans vis-à-vis managers of business enterprises.

Motivation and performance within a collaborative computer-based modeling task: Relations between students' achievement goal orientation, self-efficacy, cognitive processing and achievement

OpenAIRE

Sins, P.H.M.; van Joolingen, W.R.; Savelsbergh, E.R.; van Hout-Wolters, B.H.A.M.

2008-01-01

Purpose of the present study was to test a conceptual model of relations among achievement goal orientation, self-efficacy, cognitive processing, and achievement of students working within a particular collaborative task context. The task involved a collaborative computer-based modeling task. In order to test the model, group measures of mastery-approach goal orientation, performance-avoidance goal orientation, self-efficacy, and achievement were employed. Students’ cognitive processing was a...

The analysis of probability task completion; Taxonomy of probabilistic thinking-based across gender in elementary school students

Science.gov (United States)

Sari, Dwi Ivayana; Budayasa, I. Ketut; Juniati, Dwi

2017-08-01

Formulation of mathematical learning goals now is not only oriented on cognitive product, but also leads to cognitive process, which is probabilistic thinking. Probabilistic thinking is needed by students to make a decision. Elementary school students are required to develop probabilistic thinking as foundation to learn probability at higher level. A framework of probabilistic thinking of students had been developed by using SOLO taxonomy, which consists of prestructural probabilistic thinking, unistructural probabilistic thinking, multistructural probabilistic thinking and relational probabilistic thinking. This study aimed to analyze of probability task completion based on taxonomy of probabilistic thinking. The subjects were two students of fifth grade; boy and girl. Subjects were selected by giving test of mathematical ability and then based on high math ability. Subjects were given probability tasks consisting of sample space, probability of an event and probability comparison. The data analysis consisted of categorization, reduction, interpretation and conclusion. Credibility of data used time triangulation. The results was level of boy's probabilistic thinking in completing probability tasks indicated multistructural probabilistic thinking, while level of girl's probabilistic thinking in completing probability tasks indicated unistructural probabilistic thinking. The results indicated that level of boy's probabilistic thinking was higher than level of girl's probabilistic thinking. The results could contribute to curriculum developer in developing probability learning goals for elementary school students. Indeed, teachers could teach probability with regarding gender difference.

Curriculum Orientations and Educational Philosophies of High School Arabic Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Alsalem, Abeer Saleh

2018-01-01

This study aims to investigate the curriculum orientations of High school Arabic teacher in Riyadh city and to examine the relationship between curriculum orientation and their educational philosophies. The quantitative method (descriptive study) was adopted in this questionnaire survey-based study. Mean and standard deviation for the overall of…

Relationship among achievement goal orientations and multidimensional situational motivation in physical education.

Science.gov (United States)

Standage, Martyn; Treasure, Darren C

2002-03-01

Contemporary research suggests that task and ego achievement goal orientations affect students' intrinsic motivation in physical education. This research has assessed intrinsic motivation as a unidimensional contruct, however, which is inconsistent with the more contemporary postulates of self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 1991) which states that intrinsic motivation is only one type of motivation. To date, research has not addressed whether different types of motivation at the situational level are influenced by the proneness to adopt task or ego involvement. To examine the relationship between achievement goal orientations and multidimensional situational motivation in PE. Middle school children (182 male, 136 female; M age = 13.2 years). Responded to questionnaires assessing their dispositional goal orientation (POSQ; Roberts, Treasure, & Balague, 1998) and situational motivation (SIMS; Guay, Vallerand, & Blanchard, 2000) in PE. Task orientation was found to be positively associated with more self-determined types of situational motivation. Ego orientation was weakly related to less self-determined motivation. An extreme group split was conducted to create four goal groups and goal profile analyses conducted. A significant MANOVA was followed by univariate analyses, post hoc comparisons, and calculated effect sizes, which revealed that groups high in task orientation reported more motivationally adaptive responses than groups low in task orientation. The results suggest that a high level of task orientation singularly or in combination with ego orientation fosters self-determined situational motivation in the context of PE.

The attention in primary school to children graduated from schools of conduct. Psychopedagogical Orientations for the Teacher

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Dulayna Pineda-Ramos

2017-07-01

Full Text Available In the work they are presented orientations psychopedagogic directed the teachers of the primary schools receives school they leave of the schools of behaviors, that which they will be included in this process and they will receive a differentiated attention so that they achieve their social and educational inclusion. Those orientations that you toasts will favor considerably to the preparation of the teachers of the Primary Education, when giving answer to the necessities and demands of these educational ones in function of carrying out an appropriate attention psychopedagogic to leave of the behavior schools that are integrated to the regular schools. What contributes to the permanent formation of the teacher of the primary school and it is reverted in the daily pedagogic practice when facilitating an inclusive education and attention to the diversity.

The Independent School Experience: Aspects of the Normative Environments of Single-Sex and Coed Secondary Schools.

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Trickett, Edison J.; And Others

1982-01-01

The normative environments of single-sex independent schools were found to be more academic, with greater task and competition orientation, than coeducational independent schools. Representative independent schools were compared to each other and to public schools with a discussion of learning involvement, function, purpose, and student and…

Sexual orientation and gender identity in schools: A call for more research in school psychology-No more excuses.

Science.gov (United States)

Espelage, Dorothy L

2016-02-01

Research focused on sexual orientation and gender identity among youth is scarce in school psychology journals. Graybill and Proctor (2016; this issue) found that across a sample of eight school support personnel journals only .3 to 3.0% of the articles since 2000 included lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT)-related research. It appears that special issues are a mechanism for publishing LGBT-related scholarship. This commentary includes a call for more research in school psychology and other related disciplines that intentionally addresses experiences of LGBT youth and their families. Two articles in this special section are summarized and critiqued with clear directions for future scholarship. Researchers and practitioners are ethically responsible for engaging in social justice oriented research and that includes assessing gender identity and sexual orientation in their studies and prevention program evaluations. Copyright © 2015 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of Examinations Oriented Approaches on Quality Education in Primary Schools in Kenya

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Mackatiani, Caleb Imbova

2017-01-01

This paper provides a critical appraisal of the influence of examinations oriented approaches on quality education in primary schools in Kenya. The purpose of the study was to determine effects of examination oriented teaching approaches on learning achievement among primary school pupils in Kakamega County, Kenya. It explored the assumptions…

[Sexual orientation in school: opinion of the teachers from Jandira, SP].

Science.gov (United States)

Jardim, Dulcilene Pereira; Brêtas, José Roberto da Silva

2006-01-01

School has an important role in sexual orientation during adolescence. This study aimed at identifying the knowledge and performance of fundamental and high school's teachers regarding sexuality. Data of this exploratory and descriptive study were obtained though a questionnaire, which was applied to a hundred teachers from the public network school system of the county of Jandira, SP. Results demonstrated that, despite subject relevance for the teachers, they do not have the use of enough knowledge to promote sexual orientation to adolescents, addressing biological issues of sexuality instead of the involving feelings and values. It was concluded that training and education programs about sexuality in adolescence are necessary to this population.

The effects of proportional representation and gender orientation of the task on emergent leadership behavior in mixed-gender work groups.

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Karakowsky, L; Siegel, J P

1999-08-01

Much of the research that has examined the behavioral consequences of membership in mixed-gender work groups suggests that men are more participative and influential in task-related behavior. Drawing from elements of sociological, structural, and psychological perspectives, this study examined the effects of group gender composition and gender orientation of the group's task on patterns of emergent leadership behavior. Participants were assigned to male-dominated, female-dominated, or balanced-gender groups for the purpose of discussing and generating solutions for two business-related cases--each case emphasized either male-oriented or female-oriented expertise. The findings suggest that the proportional representation of men and women in a work group, along with the gender orientation of the group's task, can significantly influence the level of leadership behavior exhibited in group activity.

Developing a study orientation questionnaire in Mathematics for primary school students

OpenAIRE

Van Der Walt, Martha

2009-01-01

The Study Orientation Questionnaire in Mathematics (Primary) is being developed as a diagnostic measure for South African teachers and counsellors to help primary school students improve their orientation towards the study of mathematics. In this study, participants were primary school students in the North-West Province of South Africa. During the standardisation in 2007, 1,013 students (538 boys: M age = 12.61; SD = 1.53; 555 girls: M age = 11.98; SD = 1.35; 10 missing values) were assessed...

Developing Relationships with School Customers: The Role of Market Orientation

Science.gov (United States)

Poole, Sonja Martin

2017-01-01

Purpose: While the role of relationship marketing to consumers' overall satisfaction with schools has been discussed in the education management literature, empirical studies on the marketing mechanisms that underpin school-customer relationships are limited. The purpose of this paper is to establish the association between market orientation (MO)…

The impact of goal-oriented task design on neurofeedback learning for brain-computer interface control.

Science.gov (United States)

McWhinney, S R; Tremblay, A; Boe, S G; Bardouille, T

2018-02-01

Neurofeedback training teaches individuals to modulate brain activity by providing real-time feedback and can be used for brain-computer interface control. The present study aimed to optimize training by maximizing engagement through goal-oriented task design. Participants were shown either a visual display or a robot, where each was manipulated using motor imagery (MI)-related electroencephalography signals. Those with the robot were instructed to quickly navigate grid spaces, as the potential for goal-oriented design to strengthen learning was central to our investigation. Both groups were hypothesized to show increased magnitude of these signals across 10 sessions, with the greatest gains being seen in those navigating the robot due to increased engagement. Participants demonstrated the predicted increase in magnitude, with no differentiation between hemispheres. Participants navigating the robot showed stronger left-hand MI increases than those with the computer display. This is likely due to success being reliant on maintaining strong MI-related signals. While older participants showed stronger signals in early sessions, this trend later reversed, suggesting greater natural proficiency but reduced flexibility. These results demonstrate capacity for modulating neurofeedback using MI over a series of training sessions, using tasks of varied design. Importantly, the more goal-oriented robot control task resulted in greater improvements.

Civic Orientation in Cultures of Privilege: What Role Do Schools Play?

Science.gov (United States)

Ballard, Parissa J.; Caccavale, Laura; Buchanan, Christy M.

2015-01-01

The context of privilege provides unique opportunities and challenges for youth civic development. A mixed-method approach was used to examine links between school-based community service, school climate, and civic orientation among students in cultures of privilege. Surveys completed by students (N = 376) at two private high schools--one with an…

Achievement Goal Orientations and Adolescents' Subjective Well-Being in School: The Mediating Roles of Academic Social Comparison Directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Lili; Yu, Tingting; Huebner, E Scott

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the multiple mediational roles of academic social comparison directions (upward academic social comparison and downward academic social comparison) on the relationships between achievement goal orientations (i.e., mastery goals, performance-approach goals, and performance-avoidance goals) and subjective well-being (SWB) in school (school satisfaction, school affect) in adolescent students in China. A total of 883 Chinese adolescent students (430 males; Mean age = 12.99) completed a multi-measure questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the hypotheses. Results indicated that (1) mastery goal orientations and performance-approach goal orientations both showed a statistically significant, positive correlation with SWB in school whereas performance-avoidance goal orientations showed a statistically significant, negative correlation with SWB in school among adolescents; (2) upward academic social comparisons mediated the relation between the three types of achievement goal orientations (i.e., mastery goals, performance-approach goals, and performance-avoidance goals) and SWB in school; (3) downward academic social comparisons mediated the relation between mastery goal orientations and SWB in school as well as the relation between performance-avoidance goal orientations and SWB in school. The findings suggest possible important cultural differences in the antecedents of SWB in school in adolescent students in China compared to adolescent students in Western nations.

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity/Expression (Sexual Minority Students): School Nurse Practice. Position Statement. Revised

Science.gov (United States)

Bradley, Beverly

2012-01-01

It is the position of the National Association of School Nurses that all students, regardless of their sexual orientation or the sexual orientation of their parents and family members, are entitled to a safe school environment and equal opportunities for a high level of academic achievement and school participation/involvement. Establishment of…

[Eating Disorders in Female High School Students: Educational and Migration Background, School-Related Stress and Performance-Orientated Classes].

Science.gov (United States)

Grüttner, M

2018-02-01

Many adolescents and young adults, especially young females, suffer from eating disorders or problematic nutrition behavior. Children and adolescents with migration background as well as from a lower social class are more likely to have eating disorders 1. Although schools are an important context in these age groups, there is a lack of scientific inquiry concerning the relationship between schooling and eating disorders. The present study investigates the relationship between performance-related stress at school and eating disorders while controlling for personnel and familial resources. Interview data on the 7 th grade high school students from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS)* starting cohort 3 are used. The dependent variable is based on the SCOFF questionnaire. Logistic regressions are calculated using information from students and parents. Performance-related stress at school is operationalized by the negative deviation of realistic from idealistic educational aspirations (EA) and unfulfilled social expectations (SE), performance-oriented class climate is operationalized by students' perception of the performance-orientation of the teacher (PT) and the expectations of classmates (EC). The results point towards an increased risk of suffering from an eating disorder due to performance-related school stress (EA: AME: 0.18; p<0.001; SE: AME: 0.12; p<0.05) and performance-oriented class climate (PT: AME: 0.05; p<0.1; EC: AME: 0.15, p<0.01). They partly explain the relation between both migration background and educational background and eating disorders. In order to prevent eating disorders in female high school students, attention should be paid to performance-orientation experienced at school and in the social background, and improved individual support for disadvantaged students should be made available. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

77 FR 24164 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-23

... Breakfast Program pay indirect costs. The objective of the School Foodservice Indirect Cost Study is to... performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b... Nutrition Service Title: School Foodservice Indirect Cost Study. OMB Control Number: 0584-NEW. Summary of...

Evaluation of a task-based community oriented teaching model in family medicine for undergraduate medical students in Iraq

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Al-Taee Waleed G

2005-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The inclusion of family medicine in medical school curricula is essential for producing competent general practitioners. The aim of this study is to evaluate a task-based, community oriented teaching model of family medicine for undergraduate students in Iraqi medical schools. Methods An innovative training model in family medicine was developed based upon tasks regularly performed by family physicians providing health care services at the Primary Health Care Centre (PHCC in Mosul, Iraq. Participants were medical students enrolled in their final clinical year. Students were assigned to one of two groups. The implementation group (28 students was exposed to the experimental model and the control group (56 students received the standard teaching curriculum. The study took place at the Mosul College of Medicine and at the Al-Hadba PHCC in Mosul, Iraq, during the academic year 1999–2000. Pre- and post-exposure evaluations comparing the intervention group with the control group were conducted using a variety of assessment tools. Results The primary endpoints were improvement in knowledge of family medicine and development of essential performance skills. Results showed that the implementation group experienced a significant increase in knowledge and performance skills after exposure to the model and in comparison with the control group. Assessment of the model by participating students revealed a high degree of satisfaction with the planning, organization, and implementation of the intervention activities. Students also highly rated the relevancy of the intervention for future work. Conclusion A model on PHCC training in family medicine is essential for all Iraqi medical schools. The model is to be implemented by various relevant departments until Departments of Family medicine are established.

Hospital food service: a comparative analysis of two foodservice systems at a Danish Hospital

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Justesen, Lise; René, Michael; Kristensen, Marianne Boll

2016-01-01

meals from BTS and the dietary intake was measured. After implementation of CCP on the wards, dietary intake was measured on 56 patients. Intake at mealtimes was assessed through a visual portion size assessment method and intake in-between meals was measured using a self-reported dietary record......% of the protein requirements on CCP compared to 33 % on BTS (p=0,216). Conclusions A new foodservice system (CCP) which increases availability and choice of food 24/7 does not show a significant improvement of energy and protein intake in hospitalized patients and patients at nutritional risk. However, further...

Responding to Issues of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in School

Science.gov (United States)

Rudy, Stewart

2017-01-01

It's hard not to notice how attitudes around sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) have changed over the past two decades. In this article, Stewart Rudy compares his time as a public school student to his time as a public school educator. Rudy questions whether improvement in the school system has translated into improved experiences for…

Achievement Goal Orientations and Adolescents’ Subjective Well-Being in School: The Mediating Roles of Academic Social Comparison Directions

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Lili; Yu, Tingting; Huebner, E. Scott

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the multiple mediational roles of academic social comparison directions (upward academic social comparison and downward academic social comparison) on the relationships between achievement goal orientations (i.e., mastery goals, performance-approach goals, and performance-avoidance goals) and subjective well-being (SWB) in school (school satisfaction, school affect) in adolescent students in China. A total of 883 Chinese adolescent students (430 males; Mean age = 12.99) completed a multi-measure questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the hypotheses. Results indicated that (1) mastery goal orientations and performance-approach goal orientations both showed a statistically significant, positive correlation with SWB in school whereas performance-avoidance goal orientations showed a statistically significant, negative correlation with SWB in school among adolescents; (2) upward academic social comparisons mediated the relation between the three types of achievement goal orientations (i.e., mastery goals, performance-approach goals, and performance-avoidance goals) and SWB in school; (3) downward academic social comparisons mediated the relation between mastery goal orientations and SWB in school as well as the relation between performance-avoidance goal orientations and SWB in school. The findings suggest possible important cultural differences in the antecedents of SWB in school in adolescent students in China compared to adolescent students in Western nations. PMID:28197109

Future Orientation, School Contexts, and Problem Behaviors: A Multilevel Study

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Pan; Vazsonyi, Alexander T.

2013-01-01

The association between future orientation and problem behaviors has received extensive empirical attention; however, previous work has not considered school contextual influences on this link. Using a sample of N = 9,163 9th to 12th graders (51.0% females) from N = 85 high schools of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the…

Administrative Task Performance by Heads of Senior High Schools ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study aimed at examining the administrative task performance of heads of senior high schools (SHS) in Ghana from the organising perspective. The study hypothesized that there is no statistically significant difference in the compliance level of organising as an administrative task performance by heads in the rural and ...

Value orientations of students, future nursery-school teachers: Stability or change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lazarević Dušanka A.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Results are presented of investigations on value orientations of students future nursery-school teachers, as manifested by preferences of certain lifestyles. The aim was to examine if there is stability or change in the desirability of some lifestyles in three generations of students of Higher School for Nursery-School Teacher Training. Examinations were carried out on preferences of the following lifestyles: hedonistic, utilitarian altruistic, aesthetic, orientation to power and social standing, cognitive self-realization and Promethean activism. The obtained results indicate a certain stability in student value profile throughout the study period but also certain changes. In the value profile of future nursery-school teachers self-realization emerges consistently in the examined generations as the most desirable and accepted lifestyle. Then, the tendency to gradually decline was found in aesthetic, utilitarian, cognitive, altruistic Promethean, hedonistic and orientation to power and social standing lifestyles of which the last one consistently occurred in three generations as the least desirable lifestyle. Changes were manifested in the increasing desirability of utilitarian lifestyle from the first to the third generation as well as in gradual decline of desirability degree in self realization and aesthetic lifestyles. Also, the trend of increasing agreement between lifestyle students prefer and their current lifestyle was noticeable.

Orientation of medieval churches of Morava school

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tadić Milutin

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we present the mathematical and topographic analysis of orientation of the most significant churches (11 of Morava school, the last style in architecture of medieval Serbia whose executors were chief architects. The deviation from equinox East of the main axis of each church and the dates when the Sun rises on the physical horizon, in the extension of the main axis, have been calculated. These were the dates when the church could have been oriented towards the rising Sun. This possibility has been ruled out for four churches. As for the other churches, the matching of the mentioned dates with the patron’s days wasn’t established. The churches in monasteries Ljubostinja and Kalenic are oriented with astronomical precision towards equinox East, an admirable fact considering the tools available to the builders. Rade Borovic, the only chief architect who put his signature on his work, was the chief architect of Ljubostinja.

Assessment of Public Schools' Out-of-School Time Academic Support Programs with Participant-Oriented Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Berk, Saban

2018-01-01

Using the participants-oriented approach, this study evaluated public schools' out-of-school time academic support programs, corresponding to the corrective/enrichment stage of Bloom's Mastery Learning Model and offered outside formal education's weekday hours and on weekends. Study participants included 50 principals, 110 teachers, 170 students…

Psychometric Properties of Maze Tasks in Middle School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Tolar, Tammy D.; Barth, Amy E.; Francis, David J.; Fletcher, Jack M.; Stuebing, Karla K.; Vaughn, Sharon

2012-01-01

Maze tasks have appealing properties as progress-monitoring tools, but there is a need for a thorough examination of the psychometric properties of Maze tasks among middle school students. We evaluated form effects, reliability, validity, and practice effects of Maze among students in Grades 6 through 8. We administered the same (familiar) and…

Schooling in western culture promotes context-free processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Ventura, Paulo; Pattamadilok, Chotiga; Fernandes, Tânia; Klein, Olivier; Morais, José; Kolinsky, Régine

2008-06-01

Culture has been shown to influence the way people apprehend their physical environment. Cognitive orientation is more holistic in East Asian cultures, which emphasize relationships and connectedness among objects in the field, than in Western cultures, which are more prone to focus exclusively on the object and its attributes. We investigated whether, beyond, or in conjunction with culture, literacy and/or schooling may also have an influence on this cognitive orientation. Using the Framed-Line Test both in Portugal and in Thailand, we compared literate schooled adults with two groups of unschooled adults: one of illiterates and one of ex-illiterates. As in former studies on Western people, Portuguese-schooled literates were more accurate in the absolute task than in the relative task. In contrast, Portuguese illiterates and ex-illiterates were more accurate in the relative task than in the absolute task. Such an effect of schooling was not observed in the Thai groups, all of whom performed better on the relative task. Thus, the capacity to abstract from contextual information does not stem only from passive exposure to the culture or the physical environment of Western countries. Western schooling, as part of or in addition to culture, is a crucial factor.

Effect of task-oriented activities on hand functions, cognitive functions and self-expression of elderly patients with dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Bo-Young; Bang, Yo-Soon; Hwang, Min-Ji; Oh, Eun-Ju

2017-08-01

[Purpose] This study investigates the effects of task-oriented activities on hand function, cognitive function, and self-expression of the elderly with dementia, and then identify the influencing factors on self-expression in sub-factors of dependent variables. [Subjects and Methods] Forty elderly persons were divided into two groups: intervention group (n=20) and control group (n=20). The interventions were applied to the subjects 3 times a week, 50 minutes per each time, for a total of five weeks. We measured the jamar hand dynamometer test for grip strength, the jamar hydraulic pinch gauge test for prehension test, nine-hole pegboard test for coordination test, and Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment-Geriatric Population for cognitive function, and self-expression rating scale for self-expression test. [Results] The task-oriented activities promoted hand function, cognitive function (visual perception, spatial perception, visuomotor organization, attention & concentration) and self-expression of the elderly with early dementia, and the factors influencing the self-expression were cognitive function (visual perception) and hand function (coordination). The study showed that the task-oriented program enabled self-expression by improving hand function and cognitive function. [Conclusion] This study suggested that there should be provided the task-oriented program for prevention and treatment of the elderly with early dementia in the clinical settings and it was considered that results have a value as basic data that can be verified relationship of hand function, cognitive function, and self-expression.

Moderating effects of leader-member exchange (LMX) on job burnout in dietitians and chefs of institutional foodservice

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

The objectives of the study were to investigate job burnout and leader-member exchange (LMX) levels as well as to evaluate buffering effects of LMX on burnout among dietitians and chefs at institutional foodservices. Hypotheses were proposed based on the Job Demands-Resources model and LMX theory. The study population consisted of dietitians and chefs who were in charge of managing unit operations in a nationwide contract management company. Positive/negative affectivity, workload, job burnout, and LMX scales that had been validated in previous research were adopted. A total of 552 questionnaires were distributed and 154 responses were returned. Results indicated that respondents' burnout levels were moderate and emotional exhaustion was greater than cynicism. In terms of LMX, the surveyed dietitians and chefs showed higher respect toward their supervisors than loyalty. When positive affectivity and negative affectivity were controlled, workload influenced emotional exhaustion and professional efficacy significantly. With affectivity and workload controlled, however, LMX did not influence any dimensions of burnout. The moderating effect of LMX on the relationship between workload and cynicism was significant. That is, the effect of workload on cynicism was weak if the dietitians and chefs perceived the relationship with their supervisor positively. Based on the findings and literature reviewed, how to mitigate job burnout among foodservice managers is discussed. PMID:21487501

Changing societies and four tasks of schooling: Challenges for strongly differentiated educational systems

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van de Werfhorst, Herman G.

2014-05-01

Changing labour markets, increased calls for selection and excellence, and increased diversity and individualisation have repercussions on how educational systems can prepare youth for work, optimise knowledge production, achieve equality of opportunity, and socialise students into active civic engagement. This paper discusses four central tasks of schooling and examines to what extent societal developments challenge education policy to deliver on the tasks at hand. Particular attention is given to the challenges Europe's strongly diversified educational systems are currently facing. Both the Netherlands and Germany, for example, have been offering vocationally-oriented pathways alongside traditional academic higher education for some time. But today's ongoing changes in job descriptions, mainly due to ever-accelerating technological developments, are causing a risk of skills obsolescence which can only be avoided by continuous upskilling and/or reskilling of a sufficiently flexible workforce. Overcoming differences of intelligence as well as differences of diverse socioeconomic, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds by way of education is another challenge, as is fostering "soft" skills and political awareness. This paper investigates the effectiveness of current education systems in preparing citizens for a functioning modern society.

[Sexual orientation in the school environment: fact or eagerness?].

Science.gov (United States)

de Almeida, Sandra Aparecida; Nogueira, Jordana de Almeida; Silva, Antonia Oliveira; Torres, Gilson Vasconcelos

2011-03-01

This qualitative research aims to analyze how sexual orientation has been incorporated into pedagogic practices through the point of view of educators from public schools of fundamental teaching. Twenty three educators from Cajazeiras, Paralba, Brazil participated in the study. The focus group was elected as technique of investigation, and the empirical data obtained were organized according to the technique of analysis of content. It was realized that there is an effort of the actors to privilege contents related to sexual orientation in the school environment though they demand that a level of informative and subjective character about the "sexuality" be encouraged providing the educators with a space for re-significations of its internality of values. The information directed to self-care must transcend the limits of prevention and hygienisation, incorporating extensive, inclusive and reflective methodologies, which recognize human and social rights and promote the ethical construction of citizenship.

Development of "Task Value" Instrument for Biology as a School Subject

Science.gov (United States)

Köksal, Mustafa Serdar; Yaman, Süleyman

2013-01-01

The expectancy-value model of motivation states that individuals' choice, persistence and performances are related to their beliefs about how much they value task. Despite the importance of "task value" in learning biology, lack of the instruments on task value for high school biology courses for practical use indicated requirement to…

A Randomized Trial to Measure the Efficacy of Applying Task Oriented Role Assignment to Improve Neonatal Resuscitation

Science.gov (United States)

2017-05-06

In an effort to address performance gaps we devised a teaching paradigm, called Task-Oriented Role Ass ignment’, in which we have delegated a...task delegation , thereby improving NRP performance. Health care professionals taking the NRP course were randomized to either the control group, which...such as leadership (mean = 4· control, s study; p = 0.05). However, both groups scored similarly in overall NRP task performance with mean scores of

Social Stress and Substance Use Disparities by Sexual Orientation Among High School Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Lowry, Richard; Johns, Michelle M; Robin, Leah E; Kann, Laura K

2017-10-01

Sexual minority youth often experience increased social stress due to prejudice, discrimination, harassment, and victimization. Increased stress may help explain the disproportionate use of substances like tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drug use by sexual minority youth. This study examined the effect of social stress on substance use disparities by sexual orientation among U.S. high school students. In 2016, data from the national 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, conducted among a nationally representative sample of 15,624 U.S. high school students, were analyzed to examine the effect of school-related (threatened/injured at school, bullied at school, bullied electronically, felt unsafe at school) and non-school-related (forced sexual intercourse, early sexual debut) social stress on substance use disparities by sexual orientation, by comparing unadjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) and adjusted (for social stressors, age, sex, and race/ethnicity) prevalence ratios (APRs). Unadjusted PRs reflected significantly (pprevention programs might appropriately include strategies to reduce social stress, including policies and practices designed to provide a safe school environment and improved access to social and mental health services. Published by Elsevier Inc.

An Investigation of Turkish Middle School Science Teachers' Pedagogical Orientations Towards Direct and Inquiry Instructional Approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Sahingoz, Selcuk

One of the most important goals of science education is preparing effective science teachers which includes the development of a science pedagogical orientation. Helping in-service science teachers improve their orientations toward science teaching begins with identifying their current orientations. While there are many aspects of an effective science teaching orientation, this study specifically focuses on effective pedagogy. The interest of this study is to clarify pedagogical orientations of middle school science teachers in Turkey toward the teaching of science conceptual knowledge. It focuses on what instructional preferences Turkish middle school science teachers have in theory and practice. The purpose of this study is twofold: 1) to elucidate teacher pedagogical profiles toward direct and inquiry instructional approaches. For this purpose, quantitative profile data, using a Turkish version of the Pedagogy of Science Teaching Test (POSTT-TR) assessment instrument, was collected from 533 Turkish middle school science teachers; 2) to identify teaching orientations of middle school science teachers and to identify their reasons for preferring specific instructional practices. For this purpose, descriptive qualitative, interview data was collected from 23 teachers attending a middle school science teacher workshop in addition to quantitative data using the POSTT-TR. These teachers sat for interviews structured by items from the POSTT-TR. Thus, the research design is mixed-method. The design provides a background profile on teacher orientations along with insights on reasons for pedagogical choices. The findings indicate that instructional preference distributions for the large group and smaller group are similar; however, the smaller workshop group is more in favor of inquiry instructional approaches. The findings also indicate that Turkish middle school science teachers appear to have variety of teaching orientations and they have varied reasons. Moreover, the

Career Progression Systems in the Internal Labor Market of the Foodservice Industry and the Role of the National Restaurant Association. Final Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Leonard; Pezzullo, Caroline

The lack of visible career paths was universally recognized as a major factor leading to the extraordinarily high rate of turnover and absenteeism in the foodservice industry. The report evaluates the potential of a National Trade Association as a vehicle for improvements in this area and focuses on National Restaurant Association (NRA) efforts in…

Pressing Tasks in the Care of Children of Preschool and School Age

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Tseytlin, I

1960-01-01

...). It concerns pressing tasks of public health with regard to the care of children of pre-school and school age in order to strengthen the bond between school and life which also promotes the further...

Conflict Management at School: An Unavoidable Task.

Science.gov (United States)

Bondesio, Mike J.

Conflict management has become an integral part of a headmaster's tasks. Headmasters are not required to suppress or resolve conflict, but to manage it. Since 1976, conflict in black schools has increased, and headmasters have had to manage serious and dangerous situations. Unfortunately, there has been little research in conflict management in…

A Comparison of Student Performance in a National Restaurant Association Foodservice Sanitation Exam by Students Taking versus Those Not Taking a Review Seminar.

Science.gov (United States)

Fleury, Ernest

A practicum was conducted to examine and improve the performance of students enrolled in a college of culinary arts on the National Restaurant Association Foodservice (NRAF) sanitation certification examination. Because the pass rate among students retaking the examination was lower than that among students taking the examination for the first…

Theoretical foundations of forming value orientation of pupils by means of school sports abroad

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I.Kh. Turchyk

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose: to determine the theoretical basis for the formation of value orientations of pupils by means of school sports facilities abroad. Material: detailed analysis of 14 published sources. Results: found that in a foreign academic and journalistic literature dominates positive appreciation of cultural values of humanistic school sports in the formation of value orientations of pupils. Found that school sport abroad plays an important role not only as a means of forming the basic values - health, but also an important area of communication, the manifestations of social activity. As well as physical and mental form of organization and leisure facilities, excellent vehicle impacts on other values of human life: the authority and position in society, work, the structure of moral and volitional characteristics, aesthetic ideals and other value orientations. Conclusions: confirmed that the global experience of formation values pupil means school sports deserves attention and requires selective introduction into the domestic education system.

Mental Health Issues Related to Sexual Orientation in a High School Setting

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Susan G.

2017-01-01

High school students are maturing physically, psychosocially, and sexually. Some may be unsure of their sexual orientation. The purpose of the study was to determine whether students who self-identified as homosexual-lesbian/gay, bisexual (LGB), and unsure of sexual orientation had more stressful life events (SLEs), perceived stress, bullying…

Modern approaches to forming value orientations of junior pupils nowadays

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Liudmyla Matsuk

2017-04-01

Full Text Available A number of approaches to the formation of value orientations of primary school children today is outlined in the article. One of the most important tasks of the school in terms of national revival of Ukraine appears education of harmonious, spiritually rich and nationally conscious personality. Educating of the current generation needs serious updating of educational content, development of a wide spectrum of problems associated with the formation of ideological orientations of a personality, development and activity, independence, consciousness, self-consciousness. The solution of the abovementioned problem is possible subject to optimize management of process education through the humanization of education that will ensure the establishment of priority of human values in society.Key words: values, value orientations, training and education, junior pupils, patriotism, identity, dignity, courage, duty, responsibility, tolerance.

Elementary School Students' Strategic Learning: Does Task-Type Matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Malmberg, Jonna; Järvelä, Sanna; Kirschner, Paul A.

2014-01-01

This study investigated what types of learning patterns and strategies elementary school students use to carry out ill- and well-structured tasks. Specifically, it was investigated which and when learning patterns actually emerge with respect to students' task solutions. The present study uses computer log file traces to investigate how…

The Impact of Within-School Autonomy on Students' Goal Orientations and Engagement with Mathematics

Science.gov (United States)

Carmichael, Colin; Muir, Tracey; Callingham, Rosemary

2017-01-01

School autonomy has been identified as having an impact on a school's performance, yet less has been reported about the effect this has on students' goal orientations and engagement with mathematics. In a national study conducted in schools across Australia, measures of school autonomy were collected from teachers and school leaders, along with…

Academic Identity Status, Goal Orientation, and Academic Achievement among High School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Hejazi, Elaheh; Lavasani, Masoud Gholamali; Amani, Habib; Was, Christopher A.

2012-01-01

The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between academic identity status, goal orientations and academic achievement. 301 first year high school students completed the Academic Identity Measure and Goal Orientation Questionnaire. The average of 10 exam scores in the final semester was used as an index of academic…

LOGICAL-ORIENTED TASKS AS A FORM OF ORGANIZATION OF THE EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL CONTENT IN TEACHING MATHEMATICS TO STUDENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oksana Smirnova

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The article substantiates the need to improve the logical preparation of students. The authors regard the logical-oriented tasks as a form of organization of the content of educational material in teaching Mathematics and discriminate the types of tasks aimed at the formation of logical methods and operations.

Extracurricular participation and the development of school attachment and learning goal orientation: the impact of school quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Natalie; Theis, Désirée

2014-06-01

School motivation and attachment typically decline after the transition to middle school. According to the stage-environment fit approach, extracurricular activities are supposed to promote motivation. However, research has shown that the effects depend on the quality of the activities, which usually is measured by assessing students' individual perceptions. This article adds to previous studies in examining effects of school-based extracurricular participation on the development of individual motivation (learning goal orientation) and school attachment depending on the quality of the activities (i.e., amounts of challenge and social support) at the school level. We focused on the motivation development of 3,230 students at 98 schools who filled in questionnaires in Grades 5 (2005), 7 (2007), and 9 (2009). The quality of extracurricular activities was assessed on the basis of responses from 4,270 students in Grades 5, 7, and 9 at the same schools at the first measurement point (2005). Thus, individual development of the longitudinal sample was predicted by aggregated quality measures at the school level. Three-level hierarchical linear growth-curve models including school level, student level, and time were calculated. Cross-level interactions were analyzed to examine the influence of extracurricular participation on individual development as a function of school quality. Results show that the effects of extracurricular participation on the development of learning goal orientation are dependent on both features of school quality, whereas the development of school attachment in particular is influenced by activities offering social support. Thus, the effects of extracurricular activities are based not only on individual perceptions of activity features but also on school quality. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Task-oriented lossy compression of magnetic resonance images

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Mark C.; Atkins, M. Stella; Vaisey, Jacques

1996-04-01

A new task-oriented image quality metric is used to quantify the effects of distortion introduced into magnetic resonance images by lossy compression. This metric measures the similarity between a radiologist's manual segmentation of pathological features in the original images and the automated segmentations performed on the original and compressed images. The images are compressed using a general wavelet-based lossy image compression technique, embedded zerotree coding, and segmented using a three-dimensional stochastic model-based tissue segmentation algorithm. The performance of the compression system is then enhanced by compressing different regions of the image volume at different bit rates, guided by prior knowledge about the location of important anatomical regions in the image. Application of the new system to magnetic resonance images is shown to produce compression results superior to the conventional methods, both subjectively and with respect to the segmentation similarity metric.

Effects of Task-Oriented Circuit Class Training on Walking Competency After Stroke A Systematic Review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wevers, Lotte; van de Port, Ingrid; Vermue, Mathijs; Mead, Gillian; Kwakkel, Gert

Background and Purpose-There is increasing interest in the potential benefits of circuit class training after stroke, but its effectiveness is uncertain. Our aim was to systematically review randomized, controlled trials of task-oriented circuit class training on gait and gait-related activities in

Cultural value orientation and authoritarian parenting as parameters of bullying and victimization at school.

Science.gov (United States)

Georgiou, Stelios N; Fousiani, Kyriaki; Michaelides, Michalis; Stavrinides, Panayiotis

2013-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to examine the existing association between cultural value orientation, authoritarian parenting, and bullying and victimization at school. The participants (N = 231) were early adolescents, randomly selected from 11 different schools in urban and rural areas of Cyprus. Participants completed self reports measuring cultural value orientation, authoritarian parenting, bullying, and victimization. These instruments were the following: the cultural value scale (CVS), the parental authority questionnaire (PAQ), and the revised bullying and victimization questionnaire (BVQ-R). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine mediation effects. It was found that vertical individualism acted as a mediator between authoritarian parenting and bullying. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between authoritarian parenting and the vertical dimensions of both cultural value orientations (individualism and collectivism), but not with the horizontal dimensions of either cultural orientation. Further, authoritarian parenting was also positively associated with bullying and victimization at school. The main contribution of the present study is the finding that vertical individualism significantly mediates the relationship between authoritarian parental style and bullying propensity.

Inculcation of Values across the School Curriculum: Development and Validation of Teachers' Orientation Scale

OpenAIRE

Mohamad Sahari; Abdul Aziz Mohd Sultan; Mohd Tahrim Raffor; Ismail Sheikh Ahmad; Ahmad Marzuki Hj. Zainuddin; Zainurin Abdul Rahman; Tunku Badariah Tunku Ahmad; Haniza Rais

1999-01-01

Teacher orientation to the inculcation of values across school curriculum-a function of the teacher knowledge and attitudes-has been conceptualised as his or her (1) identification with the goals of the curriculum, and (2) conformity with the predetermined instructional behaviours. Based on this framework, the study explored the construct of teacher orientation to the inculcation of values across school subjects. More specifically, the study examined the likelihood of two underlying dimension...

The implementation of a discovery-oriented science education program in a rural elementary school

Science.gov (United States)

Liddell, Martha Sue

2000-10-01

This study focused on the implementation of a discovery-oriented science education program at a rural elementary school in Mississippi. The instructional leadership role of the principal was examined in the study through identification and documentation of processes undertaken by the principal to implement a discovery-oriented science education program school. The goal of the study was to develop a suggested approach for implementing a discovery-oriented science education program for principals who wish to become instructional leaders in the area of science education at their schools. Mixed methods were used to collect, analyze, and interpret data. Subjects for the study consisted of teachers, students, and parents. Data were collected through field observation; observations of science education being taught by classroom teachers; examination of the principal's log describing actions taken to implement a discovery-oriented science education program; conducting semi-structured interviews with teachers as the key informants; and examining attitudinal data collected by the Carolina Biological Supply Company for the purpose of measuring attitudes of teachers, students, and parents toward the proposed science education program and the Science and Technology for Children (STC) program piloted at the school. To develop a suggested approach for implementing a discovery-oriented science education program, data collected from field notes, classroom observations, the principal's log of activities, and key informant interviews were analyzed and group into themes pertinent to the study. In addition to descriptive measures, chi-square goodness-of-fit tests were used to determine whether the frequency distribution showed a specific pattern within the attitudinal data collected by the Carolina Biological Supply Company. The pertinent question asked in analyzing data was: Are the differences significant or are they due to chance? An alpha level of .01 was selected to determine

NASN position statement: Sexual orientation and gender identity/expression (sexual minority students): school nurse practice.

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Bradley, Beverly; Kelts, Susan; Robarge, Deb; Davis, Catherine; Delger, Suzey; Compton, Linda

2013-03-01

It is the position of the National Association of School Nurses that all students, regardless of their sexual orientation or the sexual orientation of their parents and family members, are entitled to a safe school environment and equal opportunities for a high level of academic achievement and school participation/involvement. Sexual minority persons are those who identify themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual (LGB) or are unsure of their sexual orientation, or those who have had sexual contact with persons of the same sex or both sexes (Kann et al., 2011). Sexual minority is thought to be a more inclusive and neutral term. For the purposes of this statement, the term sexual minority will be used in lieu of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning).

Temporal motifs reveal collaboration patterns in online task-oriented networks

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Xuan, Qi; Fang, Huiting; Fu, Chenbo; Filkov, Vladimir

2015-05-01

Real networks feature layers of interactions and complexity. In them, different types of nodes can interact with each other via a variety of events. Examples of this complexity are task-oriented social networks (TOSNs), where teams of people share tasks towards creating a quality artifact, such as academic research papers or software development in commercial or open source environments. Accomplishing those tasks involves both work, e.g., writing the papers or code, and communication, to discuss and coordinate. Taking into account the different types of activities and how they alternate over time can result in much more precise understanding of the TOSNs behaviors and outcomes. That calls for modeling techniques that can accommodate both node and link heterogeneity as well as temporal change. In this paper, we report on methodology for finding temporal motifs in TOSNs, limited to a system of two people and an artifact. We apply the methods to publicly available data of TOSNs from 31 Open Source Software projects. We find that these temporal motifs are enriched in the observed data. When applied to software development outcome, temporal motifs reveal a distinct dependency between collaboration and communication in the code writing process. Moreover, we show that models based on temporal motifs can be used to more precisely relate both individual developer centrality and team cohesion to programmer productivity than models based on aggregated TOSNs.

Assessing executive functions in preschoolers using Shape School Task

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Marta Nieto

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Over the last two decades, there has been a growing interest in the study of the development of executive functions in preschool children due to their relationship with different cognitive, psychological, social and academic domains. Early detection of individual differences in executive functioning can have major implications for basic and applied research. Consequently, there is a key need for assessment tools adapted to preschool skills: Shape School has been shown to be a suitable task for this purpose. Our study uses Shape School as the main task to analyze development of inhibition, task-switching and working memory in a sample of 304 preschoolers (age range 3.25-6.50 years. Additionally, we include cognitive tasks for the evaluation of verbal variables (vocabulary, word reasoning and short-term memory and performance variables (picture completion and symbol search, so as to analyze their relationship with executive functions. Our results show age-associated improvements in executive functions and the cognitive variables assessed. Furthermore, correlation analyses reveal positive relationships between executive functions and the other cognitive variables. More specifically, using structural equation modeling and including age direct and indirect effects, our results suggest that executive functions explain to a greater extent performance on verbal and performance tasks. These findings provide further information to support research that considers preschool age to be a crucial period for the development of executive functions and their relationship with other cognitive processes

Discourse pragmatics and ellipsis resolution in task-oriented natural language interfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carbonell, J.G.

1983-01-01

The author reviews discourse phenomena that occur frequently in task-oriented man-machine dialogs, reporting on an empirical study that demonstrates the necessity of handling ellipsis, anaphora, extragrammaticality, intersentential metalanguage, and other abbreviatory devices in order to achieve convivial user interaction. Invariably, users prefer to generate terse or fragmentary utterances instead of longer, more complete stand-alone expressions, even when given clear instructions to the contrary. The xcalibur expert system interface is designed to meet these needs, including generalized ellipsis resolution by means of a rule-based caseframe method superior to previous semantic grammar approaches. 23 references.

Learners’ perceptions of learners regarded as having a homosexual orientation in an independent secondary school environment

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Hendrik P. Mostert

2012-10-01

Full Text Available In schools today discrimination based on sexual orientation takes place on a regular basis. This form of discrimination leads to aggression towards learners perceived to be homosexual, as well as towards those with a homosexual orientation. For more than 15 years South Africa has been a democratic country with laws that protect learners who have a homosexual orientation. Nevertheless, aggression and discrimination towards these learners still occur in schools. Aggression often leads to verbal and physical bullying of the victims by perpetrators. The objectives of this research were to explore and describe Grade 11 learners’ experiences of aggression towards learners perceived to be homosexual as well as those with a homosexual orientation in an independent secondary school environment. The research design was qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual in nature. The data for this investigation consisted of essays based on a published newspaper photograph, phenomenological group interviews, observations and field notes. Tesch’s method of data analysis was used, and an independent coder assisted. Three themes were identified, discussed and supported by a literature control: that learners experience that it is right and acceptable to have a homosexual orientation; that they experience ambivalence towards homosexual orientation of learners; and experienced feelings that it is wrong to have a homosexual orientation. Recommended guidelines are provided to address aggression towards learners perceived to be homosexual and those with a homosexual orientation.

Learners' perceptions of learners regarded as having a homosexual orientation in an independent secondary school environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Mostert, Hendrik P; Myburgh, Chris; Poggenpoel, Marie

2012-10-04

In schools today discrimination based on sexual orientation takes place on a regular basis. This form of discrimination leads to aggression towards learners perceived to be homosexual, as well as towards those with a homosexual orientation. For more than 15 years South Africa has been a democratic country with laws that protect learners who have a homosexual orientation. Nevertheless, aggression and discrimination towards these learners still occur in schools. Aggression often leads to verbal and physical bullying of the victims by perpetrators. The objectives of this research were to explore and describe Grade 11 learners' experiences of aggression towards learners perceived to be homosexual as well as those with a homosexual orientation in an independent secondary school environment. The research design was qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual in nature. The data for this investigation consisted of essays based on a published newspaper photograph, phenomenological group interviews, observations and field notes. Tesch's method of data analysis was used, and an independent coder assisted. Three themes were identified, discussed and supported by a literature control: that learners experience that it is right and acceptable to have a homosexual orientation; that they experience ambivalence towards homosexual orientation of learners; and experienced feelings that it is wrong to have a homosexual orientation. Recommended guidelines are provided to address aggression towards learners perceived to be homosexual and those with a homosexual orientation.

Mental Health and School Functioning for Girls in the Child Welfare System: the Mediating Role of Future Orientation and School Engagement.

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Threlfall, Jennifer M; Auslander, Wendy; Gerke, Donald; McGinnis, Hollee; Myers Tlapek, Sarah

2017-01-01

This study investigated the association between mental health problems and academic and behavioral school functioning for adolescent girls in the child welfare system and determined whether school engagement and future orientation meditated the relationship. Participants were 231 girls aged between 12 and 19 who had been involved with the child welfare system. Results indicated that 39% of girls reported depressive symptoms in the clinical range and 54% reported posttraumatic symptoms in the clinical range. The most common school functioning problems reported were failing a class (41%) and physical fights with other students (35%). Participants reported a mean number of 1.7 school functioning problems. Higher levels of depression and PTSD were significantly associated with more school functioning problems. School engagement fully mediated the relationship between depression and school functioning and between PTSD and school functioning, both models controlling for age, race, and placement stability. Future orientation was not significantly associated with school functioning problems at the bivariate level. Findings suggest that school engagement is a potentially modifiable target for interventions aiming to ameliorate the negative influence of mental health problems on school functioning for adolescent girls with histories of abuse or neglect.

Associations among School Characteristics and Foodservice Practices in a Nationally Representative Sample of United States Schools

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Thomson, Jessica L.; Tussing-Humphreys, Lisa M.; Martin, Corby K.; LeBlanc, Monique M.; Onufrak, Stephen J.

2012-01-01

Objective: Determine school characteristics associated with healthy/unhealthy food service offerings or healthy food preparation practices. Design: Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data. Setting: Nationally representative sample of public and private elementary, middle, and high schools. Participants: Data from the 2006 School Health Policies…

Canonical Correlational Models of Students’ Perceptions of Assessment Tasks, Motivational Orientations, and Learning Strategies

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Hussain Alkharusi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The present study aims at deriving correlational models of students' perceptions of assessment tasks, motivational orientations, and learning strategies using canonical analyses. Data were collected from 198 Omani tenth grade students. Results showed that high degrees of authenticity and transparency in assessment were associated with positive students' self-efficacy and task value. Also, high degrees of authenticity, transparency, and diversity in assessment were associated with a strong reliance on deep learning strategies; whereas a high degree of congruence with planned learning and a low degree of authenticity were associated with more reliance on surface learning strategies. Implications for classroom assessment practice and research were discussed.

Invariant practical tasks for work with text documents at the secondary school

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Л И Карташова

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In article examples of practical tasks on creation, editing and formatting of text documents focused on pupils of the secondary school are given. Tasks have invariant character and don't depend on concrete software.

Motivation and performance within a collaborative computer-based modeling task: Relations between student's achievement goal orientation, self-efficiacy, cognitive processing and achievement.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sins, Patrick H.M.; van Joolingen, Wouter; Savelsbergh, Elwin R.; van Hout-Wolters, Bernadette

2008-01-01

Purpose of the present study was to test a conceptual model of relations among achievement goal orientation, self-efficacy, cognitive processing, and achievement of students working within a particular collaborative task context. The task involved a collaborative computer-based modeling task. In

Motivation and performance within a collaborative computer-based modeling task: Relations between students' achievement goal orientation, self-efficacy, cognitive processing and achievement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sins, P.H.M.; van Joolingen, W.R.; Savelsbergh, E.R.; van Hout-Wolters, B.H.A.M.

2008-01-01

Purpose of the present study was to test a conceptual model of relations among achievement goal orientation, self-efficacy, cognitive processing, and achievement of students working within a particular collaborative task context. The task involved a collaborative computer-based modeling task. In

Developing a Study Orientation Questionnaire in Mathematics for primary school students.

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Maree, Jacobus G; Van der Walt, Martha S; Ellis, Suria M

2009-04-01

The Study Orientation Questionnaire in Mathematics (Primary) is being developed as a diagnostic measure for South African teachers and counsellors to help primary school students improve their orientation towards the study of mathematics. In this study, participants were primary school students in the North-West Province of South Africa. During the standardisation in 2007, 1,013 students (538 boys: M age = 12.61; SD = 1.53; 555 girls: M age = 11.98; SD = 1.35; 10 missing values) were assessed. Factor analysis yielded three factors. Analysis also showed satisfactory reliability coefficients and item-factor correlations. Step-wise linear regression indicated that three factors (Mathematics anxiety, Study attitude in mathematics, and Study habits in mathematics) contributed significantly (R2 = .194) to predicting achievement in mathematics as measured by the Basic Mathematics Questionnaire (Primary).

Attitudes and value orientations of high school students in Serbia

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Radoman Marija

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The analysis of attitudes and value orientations of high school students comes as the result of research based on data collected during April-June 2011 in six towns in Serbia. The main objective of this research was to detect the dominant attitudes and value orientations of high school students on a scale of traditionalism, homophobia, anti-Romism, ethnic stereotypes and attitudes toward abortion. The research was conducted in the following cities: Belgrade, Krusevac, Novi Sad, Zrenjanin, Nis and Novi Pazar. The results showed that high school students in Serbia in regards to their beliefs do not differ much from the general social climate in which they grew up and were educated in. Traditional respondents are represented at the level of 33.9%; 27.9% of them are moderately traditional and 25% of them are non-traditional. On the one side there are extremely radical position of high school students especially in relation to Roma and LGBT people. On the other side, certain number of respondents howed high affinity and positive individual interprets of the lifestyles of those groups (such as the rights of marriage for homosexual population. Attitudes towards women's rights are also bipolar - high school students have a patriarchal attitude towards marriage, family and abortion, but they show sensitivity to the issue of domestic violence. The obtained data should be interpreted in accordance with the changes in Serbian society - economic crisis, privatization, increase of violence in society and family, redefining of gender roles, etc.

Principals' Leadership Orientation in Relationship to the Classification of Their Schools in New Jersey

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dela Cruz, Samuel

2016-01-01

The relationship of principals' leadership orientations to the classification of their schools in New Jersey were examined in this study. While their role has expanded over the years, school principals continue to be essential in school reform and sustainability efforts. However, they are often overshadowed by the role of teachers. This…

[Current informational technologies in the structure of medical and psychological tasks of school education].

Science.gov (United States)

Sukhareva, L M; Pavlovich, K E; Druzhinin, P V; Sakharova, V G; Kvasov, G I

2000-01-01

Prospects for equipment of present-day school with computing machinery allow fresh approaches to be applied to the improvement of means for diagnosis and health prophylaxis in children and to professional orientation. Automatic systems have been developed for diagnosing diseases and monitoring the sociomental health of children and the adaptation of junior and middle schoolchildren to school activities. The systems provide a real way of successfully following the development of major mental functions for prenosological diagnosis of detected abnormalities and their subsequent correction. An automatic system for professional orientation of middle- and senior-form pupils has been devised on the basis of mental diagnostic testing of the schoolchildren's professional orientation, interests, inclinations, psychophysiological and personality traits.

SOCIAL AND PEDAGOGICAL CONDITIONS OF PROFESSIONAL ORIENTATION OF THE OLD SCHOOLS

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C. E. Plotnikova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The change in the conditions of the person's life activity and its innovative mentality intensified the problems of personal and professional self-determination. The senior school age is a period of primary, ambivalent options. At this age, the foundations of the moral attitude to different kinds of work are laid, the formation of a system of personal values that determine the selectivity of the attitude of high school students to various professions. The purpose of the study was to study the socio-pedagogical conditions for the vocational guidance of high school students. The object of research is the professional orientation of high school students. The subject of the study is the design of the socio-pedagogical conditions for the vocational guidance of high school students. The article analyzes the following social and pedagogical conditions for the vocational guidance of high school students: the development of individual abilities of schoolchildren, the expansion of differentiated education in accordance with their inclinations and educational needs, the development of a network of specialized classes with in-depth study of various subjects, ensuring the level of secondary education meets the requirements of scientific and technological progress. The authors emphasize that vocational guidance is one of the key functions of a basic school in modern conditions. It is the activities of vocational guidance that contribute to the adequate professional choice of schoolchildren, which gives them further success in life, and the labor market - specialists of the required quality and in the required quantity. Consequently, the effectiveness of this work requires regular evaluation through interviews with high-school students aimed at identifying their vocational and educational orientations and assessing the quality of career counseling services. Such studies are necessary to improve the quality of vocational guidance work carried out by schools.

Effect of position feedback during task-oriented upper-limb training after stroke: Five-case pilot study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Molier, B.I.; Prange, Grada Berendina; Krabben, T.; Stienen, Arno; van der Kooij, Herman; Buurke, Jaap; Jannink, M.J.A.; Hermens, Hermanus J.

2011-01-01

Feedback is an important element in motor learning during rehabilitation therapy following stroke. The objective of this pilot study was to better understand the effect of position feedback during task-oriented reach training of the upper limb in people with chronic stroke. Five subjects

Implicit orientation toward family and school among bilingual Latino college students.

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Devos, Thierry; Blanco, Karla; Muñoz, Cynthia; Dunn, Roger; Ulloa, Emilio C

2008-08-01

The authors examined the associations that underlie the orientations of bilingual Latino college students toward family and school. Participants completed, in English or Spanish, 3 implicit association tests assessing their attitude toward family vs. school, identifications with these concepts, and self-esteem. Results revealed a more positive attitude toward, and stronger identification with, family than school. Identification with family was stronger among participants who completed the study in English, suggesting self-definition in terms of distinctions from the context. Last, the more participants valued family over school and identified with family rather than school, the higher was their self-esteem. These findings shed light on the subtle, yet crucial, mechanisms by which cultural knowledge is incorporated in the self-concept of bilingual Latino college students.

Value Orientations and the Effects of Professional Schools on Students.

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Forsyth, Patrick B.; Danisiewicz, Thomas J.

The extent to which value orientations of professional students differ by occupational groups and by the socializing effects of professional schools on students was assessed. Approximately 1,150 students in nine major doctoral-granting universities participated. Based on work by Bengtson (1975), a humanism/materialism score was constructed for…

Sex differences in young children's use of tools in a problem-solving task : The role of object-oriented play.

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Gredlein, Jeffrey M; Bjorklund, David F

2005-06-01

Three-year-old children were observed in two free-play sessions and participated in a toy-retrieval task, in which only one of six tools could be used to retrieve an out-of-reach toy. Boys engaged in more object-oriented play than girls and were more likely to use tools to retrieve the toy during the baseline tool-use task. All children who did not retrieve the toy during the baseline trials did so after being given a hint, and performance on a transfer-of-training tool-use task approached ceiling levels. This suggests that the sex difference in tool use observed during the baseline phase does not reflect a difference in competency, but rather a sex difference in motivation to interact with objects. Amount of time boys, but not girls, spent in object-oriented play during the free-play sessions predicted performance on the tool-use task. The findings are interpreted in terms of evolutionary theory, consistent with the idea that boys' and girls' play styles evolved to prepare them for adult life in traditional environments.

Measuring implicit gender-role orientation: the gender initial preference task.

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Stieger, Stefan; Burger, Christoph; Schiller, Franziska R; Schulze, Esther K; Voracek, Martin

2014-01-01

Individuals prefer their name letters over nonname letters, which is known as the name-letter effect (NLE). This research aimed to examine a possible NLE for gender-role orientation (GRO) by rating letters for their gender-typicality in an initial preference task (Gender-IPT). Indeed, a clear NLE appeared: Men rated their initials as more male-typical, whereas women rated them as more female-typical. The Gender-IPT showed good convergent validity with other direct and indirect (Gender Implicit Association Test) measures of GRO as well as predictive validity with sensation seeking and gender-typical everyday life behaviors. The Gender-IPT seems to be a useful and practical indirect measure to assess GRO in a short, convenient, and computer-independent way, complementing other indirect measures of GRO.

Workplace foodservice; perception of quality and trust.

Science.gov (United States)

Price, Sarah; Hartwell, Heather; Hemingway, Ann; Chapleo, Chris

2016-02-01

In settings such as workplaces there is a growing acceptance that the food provided has a significant impact on health and wellbeing. This is a captive environment where the overall contribution of the meal served could be an important element of the overall diet and represents an under researched area. Despite growing demand, little information is available; time pressure when making food choice alongside the challenge of understanding information provided can act as barriers for healthy selection and can also decrease confidence in the food system. We would also argue that the fundamental human right of informing consumers what they are eating is not currently being addressed and is underscored. This study used focus groups to explore criteria that motivate peoples' food choice in a workplace foodservice setting. Thematic analysis was applied to categorise data according to frequently occurring responses. Data were collected from four focus groups in Germany and the UK with a total of 23 participants. Although there is little expectation in the quality of food served in the workplace, respondents valued any transparency of information and the opportunity to socialise with other work colleagues. Criteria of importance were identified as: Value for money, Variety, Naturalness, Nutrition, Portion Size, Taste, Visual Appearance, Origin, Animal welfare, Environmental impact, Fair Trade and Organic. Gaining insight into these criteria can enable operators to meet the needs and expectations of their customers in order to increase confidence in the food provided and in addition signpost a healthier selection. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Linking University Students’ Willingness to Learn to Their Recollections of Motivation at Secondary School

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Julia Gorges

2013-11-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the role of recollected school-based motivation on university students’ willingness to use new learning opportunities. Following Eccles’ expectancy-value theory, willingness to learn was conceptualized as task value, which has been found to predict task choice in previous empirical studies. Based on three motivational theories, we suggest two broad motivational dimensions for an economic description of motivational orientations, inward and outward, that should differentially predict the formation of task value. German university students (N = 1580 were asked about their task value for receiving their instructions in English as a foreign language at university and, retrospectively, their motivation in English language class at secondary school. Principal components analysis and confirmatory factor analyses of motivational variables yielded a two-factor solution supporting the differentiation between inward and outward motivational orientation. Inward motivational orientation at school was positively linked to students’ task value in adulthood, even if the individual’s self-concept of ability was controlled. The effects of outward motivation were rather small and tended to be counterproductive. Our findings suggest a complex interplay between past and present motivation and self-concept of ability underlying one’s willingness to learn and to participate in education.

Task-Oriented Training with Computer Games for People with Rheumatoid Arthritis or Hand Osteoarthritis: A Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial.

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Srikesavan, Cynthia Swarnalatha; Shay, Barbara; Szturm, Tony

2016-09-13

To examine the feasibility of a clinical trial on a novel, home-based task-oriented training with conventional hand exercises in people with rheumatoid arthritis or hand osteoarthritis. To explore the experiences of participants who completed their respective home exercise programmes. Thirty volunteer participants aged between 30 and 60 years and diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis or hand osteoarthritis were proposed for a single-center, assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial ( ClinicalTrials.gov : NCT01635582). Participants received task-oriented training with interactive computer games and objects of daily life or finger mobility and strengthening exercises. Both programmes were home based and were done four sessions per week with 20 minutes each session for 6 weeks. Major feasibility outcomes were number of volunteers screened, randomized, and retained; completion of blinded assessments, exercise training, and home exercise sessions; equipment and data management; and clinical outcomes of hand function. Reaching the recruitment target in 18 months and achieving exercise compliance >80% were set as success criteria. Concurrent with the trial, focus group interviews explored experiences of those participants who completed their respective programmes. After trial initiation, revisions in inclusion criteria were required to promote recruitment. A total of 17 participants were randomized and 15 were retained. Completion of assessments, exercise training, and home exercise sessions; equipment and data collection and management demonstrated excellent feasibility. Both groups improved in hand function outcomes and exercise compliance was above 85%. Participants perceived both programmes as appropriate and acceptable. Participants who completed task-oriented training also agreed that playing different computer games was enjoyable, engaging, and motivating. Findings demonstrate initial evidence on recruitment, feasibility of trial procedures, and acceptability of

The developmental dynamics of task-avoidant behavior and math performance in kindergarten and elementary school

OpenAIRE

Hirvonen, Riikka; Tolvanen, Asko; Aunola, Kaisa; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

2012-01-01

Besides cognitive factors, children's learning at school may be influenced by more dynamic phenomena, such as motivation and achievement-related task-avoidant behavior. The present study examined the developmental dynamics of task-avoidant behavior and math performance from kindergarten to Grade 4. A total of 225 children were tested for their arithmetic skills in kindergarten and in Grades 1, 2, and 4 of elementary school. Children's task-avoidant behavior in learning situations was rated by...

How to control self-promotion among performance-oriented employees : The roles of task clarity and personalized responsibility

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Molleman, Eric; Emans, Ben; Turusbekova, Nonna

2012-01-01

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between the performance orientation of employees and self-promotion in the form of overstating one's performance. It is hypothesized that this relationship depends on task clarity and personalized responsibility.

Goal Orientation among Boys and Girls in Higher Secondary Schools of Kerala: How Parenting Styles Influence It?

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Gafoor, Kunnathodi Abdul; Kurukkan, Abidha

2014-01-01

The purpose of the study is to investigate the relation between parenting style and goal orientation among boys and girls in higher secondary schools of Kerala. Four types of parenting style and five categories of goal orientation. The sample comprised of 467 girls and 365 boys from higher secondary school in Kerala who were selected through…

Task-Based Teaching of English-Chinese Translation under "Caliber-Oriented Education to Success" Based on Web

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Duan, Zhongyan

This paper, under 3-using principle in the philosophy of caliber-oriented education to success (CETS), makes a tentative qualitative study on the application of task-based approach in the teaching of English-Chinese translation based on the web. Translation teaching is characterized by its practicality. Therefore, the task-based approach can be employed to guide the web-based content collection and the process of English translation teaching. In this way, the prospect for enhancing student's translation ability is quite encouraging, which has been verified by one year's teaching.

The relationship between future orientation and street substance use among Texas alternative school students.

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Peters, R J; Tortolero, Susan R; Johnson, Regina Jones; Addy, Robert C; Markham, Christine M; Escobar-Chaves, S Liliana; Lewis, Holly; Yacoubian, George S

2005-01-01

Self-reported substance use data were collected from 963 alternative school students in grades 7-12 who were surveyed through the Safer Choices 2 study in Houston, Texas. Data were collected between October 2000 and March 2001. Logistic regression analyses indicated that lower levels of future orientation was significantly associated (OR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.81-0.97) with thirty-day substance use after controlling for age and gender. In addition, lower levels of future orientation was found to have a significant association with students' lifetime substance use (OR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.87-.99) after controlling for age, race, and gender. While the relationships tested in this study are exploratory, they provide evidence for an important connection between future orientation and substance use among adolescents attending alternative schools.

A novel task-oriented optimal design for P300-based brain-computer interfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Zongtan; Yin, Erwei; Liu, Yang; Jiang, Jun; Hu, Dewen

2014-10-01

Objective. The number of items of a P300-based brain-computer interface (BCI) should be adjustable in accordance with the requirements of the specific tasks. To address this issue, we propose a novel task-oriented optimal approach aimed at increasing the performance of general P300 BCIs with different numbers of items. Approach. First, we proposed a stimulus presentation with variable dimensions (VD) paradigm as a generalization of the conventional single-character (SC) and row-column (RC) stimulus paradigms. Furthermore, an embedding design approach was employed for any given number of items. Finally, based on the score-P model of each subject, the VD flash pattern was selected by a linear interpolation approach for a certain task. Main results. The results indicate that the optimal BCI design consistently outperforms the conventional approaches, i.e., the SC and RC paradigms. Specifically, there is significant improvement in the practical information transfer rate for a large number of items. Significance. The results suggest that the proposed optimal approach would provide useful guidance in the practical design of general P300-based BCIs.

Effect of task-oriented training and high-variability practice on gross motor performance and activities of daily living in children with spastic diplegia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Hae-Yeon; Ahn, So-Yoon

2016-10-01

[Purpose] This study investigates how a task-oriented training and high-variability practice program can affect the gross motor performance and activities of daily living for children with spastic diplegia and provides an effective and reliable clinical database for future improvement of motor performances skills. [Subjects and Methods] This study randomly assigned seven children with spastic diplegia to each intervention group including that of a control group, task-oriented training group, and a high-variability practice group. The control group only received neurodevelopmental treatment for 40 minutes, while the other two intervention groups additionally implemented a task-oriented training and high-variability practice program for 8 weeks (twice a week, 60 min per session). To compare intra and inter-relationships of the three intervention groups, this study measured gross motor performance measure (GMPM) and functional independence measure for children (WeeFIM) before and after 8 weeks of training. [Results] There were statistically significant differences in the amount of change before and after the training among the three intervention groups for the gross motor performance measure and functional independence measure. [Conclusion] Applying high-variability practice in a task-oriented training course may be considered an efficient intervention method to improve motor performance skills that can tune to movement necessary for daily livelihood through motor experience and learning of new skills as well as change of tasks learned in a complex environment or similar situations to high-variability practice.

Market Orientation Effects on Business School Performance: Views from inside and outside the Business School

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Webster, Robert L.; Hammond, Kevin L.; Rothwell, James C.

2014-01-01

In the world of higher education, organizational strategies may take the form of a research, teaching, student-centered, comprehensive, or international strategy, just to name a few. This manuscript reports the results of a national survey examining the possible impacts of employing a market orientation strategy within schools of business and its…

Evaluation of the School Environment of Public and Private Schools in Enugu to Ensure Child Health Promotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Bisi-Onyemaechi, A I; Akani, N A; Ikefuna, A N; Tagbo, B N; Chinawa, J M

2018-02-01

Poor maintenance of school environment can cause or worsen illnesses among schoolchildren. The objective of this study was to assess the healthfulness of school environments of primary schools in Enugu East, Nigeria, and to compare the difference if any between public and private schools. This was a cross-sectional noninterventional study of the school environments in Enugu East, Nigeria. Multistage sampling method was used to select the sample population. The participating schools were inspected and their head teachers were interviewed using a questionnaire. Scores were awarded using the School Health Program Evaluation scale. Results: Thirty-three schools were studied. The most common source of water for most schools was well. Eleven schools dump refuse openly. Three public schools only had functional toilets. All public schools were adequately ventilated and lit. One private school had a foodservice area. Ten schools did not have a play field, while three public schools had soaps for handwashing. The mean scores for public and private schools were 33.00 and 37.86, respectively. Three schools only attained the minimum score of 57 of a maximum of 66. The environment of primary schools in Enugu east, Nigeria, is unhealthy and unfriendly and currently cannot promote and protect the health of the schoolchildren.

Assessment of food offerings and marketing strategies in the food-service venues at California Children's Hospitals.

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Lesser, Lenard I; Hunnes, Dana E; Reyes, Phedellee; Arab, Lenore; Ryan, Gery W; Brook, Robert H; Cohen, Deborah A

2012-01-01

Marketing strategies and food offerings in hospital cafeterias can impact dietary choices. Using a survey adapted to assess food environments, the purpose of this study was to assess the food environment available to patients, staff, and visitors at the food-service venues in all 14 California children's hospitals. We modified a widely-used tool to create the Nutritional Environment Measures Survey for Cafeterias (NEMS-C) by partnering with a hospital wellness committee. The NEMS-C summarizes the number of healthy items offered, whether calorie labeling is present, if there is signage promoting healthy or unhealthy foods, pricing structure, and the presence of unhealthy combination meals. The range of possible scores is zero (unhealthy) to 37 (healthy). We directly observed the food-service venues at all 14 tertiary care children's hospitals in California and scored them. Inter-rater reliability showed 89% agreement on the assessed items. For the 14 hospitals, the mean score was 19.1 (SD = 4.2; range, 13-30). Analysis revealed that nearly all hospitals offered diet drinks, low-fat milk, and fruit. Fewer than one-third had nutrition information at the point of purchase and 30% had signs promoting healthy eating. Most venues displayed high calorie impulse items such as cookies and ice cream at the registers. Seven percent (7%) of the 384 entrees served were classified as healthy according to NEMS criteria. Most children's hospitals' food venues received a mid-range score, demonstrating there is considerable room for improvement. Many inexpensive options are underused, such as providing nutritional information, incorporating signage that promotes healthy choices, and not presenting unhealthy impulse items at the register. Copyright © 2012 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Measuring potential access to food stores and food-service places in rural areas in the U.S.

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Sharkey, Joseph R

2009-04-01

Geographic access to healthy food resources remains a major focus of research that examines the contribution of the built environment to healthful eating. Methods used to define and measure spatial accessibility can significantly affect the results. Considering the implications for marketing, policy, and programs, adequate measurement of the food environment is important. Little of the published work on food access has focused on rural areas, where the burden of nutrition-related disease is greater. This article seeks to expand our understanding of the challenges to measurement of potential spatial access to food resources in rural areas in the U.S. Key challenges to the accurate measurement of the food environment in rural areas include: (1) defining the rural food environment while recognizing that market factors may be changing; (2) describing characteristics that may differentiate similar types of food stores and food-service places; and (3) determining location coordinates for food stores and food-service places. In order to enhance measurements in rural areas, "ground-truthed" methodology, which includes on-site observation and collection of GPS data, should become the standard for rural areas. Measurement must also recognize the emergence of new and changing store formats. Efforts should be made to determine accessibility, in terms of both proximity to a single location and variety of multiple locations within a specified buffer, from origins other than the home, and consider multipurpose trips and trip chaining. The measurement of food access will be critical for community-based approaches to meet dietary needs. Researchers must be willing to take the steps necessary for rigorous measurement of a dynamic food environment.

Cost-effectiveness of a structured progressive task-oriented circuit class training programme to enhance walking competency after stroke: The protocol of the FIT-Stroke trial

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Roelse Hanneke

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Most patients who suffer a stroke experience reduced walking competency and health-related quality of life (HRQoL. A key factor in effective stroke rehabilitation is intensive, task-specific training. Recent studies suggest that intensive, patient-tailored training can be organized as a circuit with a series of task-oriented workstations. Primary aim of the FIT-Stroke trial is to evaluate the effects and cost-effectiveness of a structured, progressive task-oriented circuit class training (CCT programme, compared to usual physiotherapeutic care during outpatient rehabilitation in a rehabilitation centre. The task-oriented CCT will be applied in groups of 4 to 6 patients. Outcome will be defined in terms of gait and gait-related ADLs after stroke. The trial will also investigate the generalizability of treatment effects of task-oriented CCT in terms of perceived fatigue, anxiety, depression and perceived HRQoL. Methods/design The multicentre single-blinded randomized trial will include 220 stroke patients discharged to the community from inpatient rehabilitation, who are able to communicate and walk at least 10 m without physical, hands-on assistance. After discharge from inpatient rehabilitation, patients in the experimental group will receive task-oriented CCT two times a week for 12 weeks at the physiotherapy department of the rehabilitation centre. Control group patients will receive usual individual, face-to-face, physiotherapy. Costs will be evaluated by having each patient keep a cost diary for the first 24 weeks after randomisation. Primary outcomes are the mobility part of the Stroke Impact Scale (SIS-3.0 and the EuroQol. Secondary outcomes are the other domains of SIS-3.0, lower limb muscle strength, walking endurance, gait speed, balance, confidence not to fall, instrumental ADL, fatigue, anxiety, depression and HRQoL. Discussion Based on assumptions about the effect of intensity of practice and specificity of

Examining School Counseling Students' Multicultural and Sexual Orientation Competencies through a Cross-Specialization Comparison

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Bidell, Markus P.

2012-01-01

Professional school counselors have an opportunity to directly address the educational, emotional, and social problems facing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. The purpose of this study was to examine the multicultural and sexual orientation counselor competencies of school counseling students through a…

Customer and Market Orientation within AACSB Member Business Schools: Comparative Views from Three Levels of Administrators

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Webster, Robert L.; Hammond, Kevin L.; Rothwell, James C.

2010-01-01

This paper is part of a stream of research dealing with customer and market orientation within higher education, specifically within business schools holding membership in AACSB-International. A market orientation strategy leading to a customer and market-oriented organizational culture is based upon the acceptance and adoption of the marketing…

Relationships between Task-Oriented Postural Control and Motor Ability in Children and Adolescents with Down Syndrome

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Wang, Hui-Yi; Long, I-Man; Liu, Mei-Fang

2012-01-01

Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) have been characterized by greater postural sway in quiet stance and insufficient motor ability. However, there is a lack of studies to explore the properties of dynamic postural sway, especially under conditions of task-oriented movement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between…

Core stability exercise is as effective as task-oriented motor training in improving motor proficiency in children with developmental coordination disorder: a randomized controlled pilot study.

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Au, Mei K; Chan, Wai M; Lee, Lin; Chen, Tracy Mk; Chau, Rosanna Mw; Pang, Marco Yc

2014-10-01

To compare the effectiveness of a core stability program with a task-oriented motor training program in improving motor proficiency in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Randomized controlled pilot trial. Outpatient unit in a hospital. Twenty-two children diagnosed with DCD aged 6-9 years were randomly allocated to the core stability program or the task-oriented motor program. Both groups underwent their respective face-to-face training session once per week for eight consecutive weeks. They were also instructed to carry out home exercises on a daily basis during the intervention period. Short Form of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (Second Edition) and Sensory Organization Test at pre- and post-intervention. Intention-to-treat analysis revealed no significant between-group difference in the change of motor proficiency standard score (P=0.717), and composite equilibrium score derived from the Sensory Organization Test (P=0.100). Further analysis showed significant improvement in motor proficiency in both the core stability (mean change (SD)=6.3(5.4); p=0.008) and task-oriented training groups (mean change(SD)=5.1(4.0); P=0.007). The composite equilibrium score was significantly increased in the task-oriented training group (mean change (SD)=6.0(5.5); P=0.009), but not in the core stability group (mean change(SD) =0.0(9.6); P=0.812). In the task-oriented training group, compliance with the home program was positively correlated with change in motor proficiency (ρ=0.680, P=0.030) and composite equilibrium score (ρ=0.638, P=0.047). The core stability exercise program is as effective as task-oriented training in improving motor proficiency among children with DCD. © The Author(s) 2014.

Associations among school characteristics and foodservice practices in a nationally representative sample of United States schools

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Despite knowledge that the school food environment can have a significant impact on children’s nutritional health, few studies have taken a comprehensive approach to assessing this environment. The purpose of this study was to determine school characteristics that were associated with healthy and u...

Sexual orientation and education politics: gay and lesbian representation in American schools.

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Wald, Kenneth D; Rienzo, Barbara A; Button, James W

2002-01-01

In what has sometimes provoked a "culture war" over America's schools, gays and lesbians have sought an expanded voice in the making of education policy. This paper explores the factors that promote gay representation on school boards, how this variable in turn influences gay representation in both administrative and teaching positions, and how all three forms of gay representation relate to school board policies regarding sexual orientation education. Three of the four models drawn from the social movement literature help to explain gay school board representation. In a manner similar to other minority groups, gay representation on school boards directly or indirectly promotes the appointment of gays to administrative and teaching positions and the adoption of policies that address the problems faced by gay and lesbian students in the public schools.

Accounting Department Chairpersons' Perceptions of Business School Performance Using a Market Orientation Model

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Webster, Robert L.; Hammond, Kevin L.; Rothwell, James C.

2013-01-01

This manuscript is part of a stream of continuing research examining market orientation within higher education and its potential impact on organizational performance. The organizations researched are business schools and the data collected came from chairpersons of accounting departments of AACSB member business schools. We use a reworded Narver…

Fostering Teacher Professionalism in Schools: The Role of Leadership Orientation and Trust

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Tschannen-Moran, Megan

2009-01-01

Purpose: Schools necessarily employ elements of a bureaucratic structure to organize the complex task of educating large and diverse groups of students--elements such as a hierarchy of authority, a division of labor, policies, rules, and regulations. Although such a structure is useful, there is a danger that school leaders will overemphasize…

Moral Orientation and Relationships in School and Adolescent Pro-and Antisocial Behaviors : A Multilevel Study

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Wissink, Inge B.; Dekovic, Maja; Stams, Geert-Jan; Asscher, Jessica J.; Rutten, Esther; Zijlstra, Bonne J. H.

This multilevel study examined the relationships between moral climate factors and prosocial as well as antisocial behaviors inside and outside the school (school misconduct, delinquent behavior, and vandalism). The moral climate factors were punishment- and victim-based moral orientation,

Effects of activity repetition training with Salat (prayer) versus task oriented training on functional outcomes of stroke.

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Ghous, Misbah; Malik, Arshad Nawaz; Amjad, Mian Imran; Kanwal, Maria

2017-07-01

Stroke is one of most disabling condition which directly affects quality of life. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of activity repetition training with salat (prayer) versus task oriented training on functional outcomes of stroke. The study design was randomized control trial and 32 patients were randomly assigned into two groups'. The stroke including infarction or haemorrhagic, age bracket 30-70 years was included. The demographics were recorded and standardized assessment tool included Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Motor assessment scale (MAS) and Time Up and Go Test (TUG). The measurements were obtained at baseline, after four and six weeks. The mean age of the patients was 54.44±10.59 years with 16 (59%) male and 11(41%) female patients. Activity Repetition Training group showed significant improvement (peffective in enhancing the functional status as compare to task oriented training group. The repetition with motivation and concentration is the key in re-learning process of neural plasticity.

Bureaucracy and Pupil Control Orientation and Behavior in Urban Secondary Schools.

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Lunenburg, Fred C.; Mankowsky, Scarlett A.

Data collected from 297 teachers and 7,376 students in 20 urban high schools were used to examine relationships between dimensions of bureaucratic structure and pupil control orientation and behavior. Results of the analyses revealed two distinct patterns of rational organization. Hierarchy, rules, impersonality, and centralization comprised the…

[Action-oriented versus state-oriented reactions to experimenter-induced failures].

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Brunstein, J C

1989-01-01

The present study assessed different effects of action-oriented versus state-oriented styles of coping with failure on achievement-related performance and cognition. In a learned helplessness experiment, students were exposed to an academic failure situation and were then tested on a series of problem-solving tasks, either immediately after the pretreatment or after a delay of 24 hours. Performance and cognitive concomitants were measured during both experimental periods. Results demonstrated that action orientation was associated with self-immunizing cognitions during helplessness training. Action-oriented participants improved their performance level even after repeated failure feedbacks. Moreover, action-oriented students assigned to the delayed test condition responded with increased striving for success and showed performance increments, even in comparison with control subjects. In contrast, state-oriented participants developed symptoms of helplessness and showed impaired performance during failure inductions. In later tests on problem-solving tasks, state-oriented groups responded with increased fear of failure. Independent of immediate or delayed test conditions, they soon lapsed into new performance decrements.

Organization of Individual Work of Students under Competence-Oriented Approach to Education in Higher School

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Ualiyeva, Nazym T.; Murzalinova, Alma Z.

2016-01-01

The main objective of this research is to identify the essence, content and specifics of organization of individual work of higher school students under competence-oriented approach. The research methodology is related to the choice of competence-oriented approach to ensure transformation of individual work into individual activity in…

Adolescents' goal orientations for science in single-gender Israeli religious schools

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Fortus, David; Daphna, Limor

2017-01-01

Israeli students and their families can choose between state-funded secular, religious, orthodox, and other alternative schools (e.g., Waldorf, Montessori, democratic). Earlier studies showed that the motivation to engage with science differs greatly between Israeli students in secular schools and democratic schools, with these differences being attributed to differences in school culture rather than home influence (Vedder-Weiss & Fortus, 2011, 2012). In this study we extend earlier studies by looking at religious state-funded schools that serve 18% of Israel's Jewish population. These schools provide a unique research environment since from grade 6 they are gender-separated. We examined the science-related mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoid goal orientations, perceptions of the science teachers, parents, schools, and peers' goal emphases in relation to science of the students in these schools. We compared between students in religious schools (newly collected data) and secular schools (data reported in prior studies), and found that there is a distinct difference between these two populations that is associated with differing attitudes toward gender and science at these schools. This study provides additional evidence for the influence of culture on students' motivation to engage with science, suggests mechanisms by which this influence may occur.

Developments in motivation and achievement during primary school: A longitudinal study on group-specific differences

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Hornstra, L.; van der Veen, I.; Peetsma, T.; Volman, M.

2013-01-01

To gain insight in developmental trajectories of motivation during upper primary school, the present study focused on how different aspects of students' motivation, i.e., task-orientation, self-efficacy, and school investment develop from grade three to six of primary school and how these

School Nurse Evaluations: Making the Process Meaningful and Motivational

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McDaniel, Kathryn H.; Overman, Muriel; Guttu, Martha; Engelke, Martha Keehner

2013-01-01

The professional standards of school nursing practice provide a framework to help school nurses focus on their unique mission of promoting health and academic achievement for all students. Without the standards, the nurse’s role can become task oriented and limited in scope. By using an evaluation tool that reflects the standards, nurses not only…

Who multi-tasks and why? Multi-tasking ability, perceived multi-tasking ability, impulsivity, and sensation seeking.

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Sanbonmatsu, David M; Strayer, David L; Medeiros-Ward, Nathan; Watson, Jason M

2013-01-01

The present study examined the relationship between personality and individual differences in multi-tasking ability. Participants enrolled at the University of Utah completed measures of multi-tasking activity, perceived multi-tasking ability, impulsivity, and sensation seeking. In addition, they performed the Operation Span in order to assess their executive control and actual multi-tasking ability. The findings indicate that the persons who are most capable of multi-tasking effectively are not the persons who are most likely to engage in multiple tasks simultaneously. To the contrary, multi-tasking activity as measured by the Media Multitasking Inventory and self-reported cell phone usage while driving were negatively correlated with actual multi-tasking ability. Multi-tasking was positively correlated with participants' perceived ability to multi-task ability which was found to be significantly inflated. Participants with a strong approach orientation and a weak avoidance orientation--high levels of impulsivity and sensation seeking--reported greater multi-tasking behavior. Finally, the findings suggest that people often engage in multi-tasking because they are less able to block out distractions and focus on a singular task. Participants with less executive control--low scorers on the Operation Span task and persons high in impulsivity--tended to report higher levels of multi-tasking activity.

Who multi-tasks and why? Multi-tasking ability, perceived multi-tasking ability, impulsivity, and sensation seeking.

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David M Sanbonmatsu

Full Text Available The present study examined the relationship between personality and individual differences in multi-tasking ability. Participants enrolled at the University of Utah completed measures of multi-tasking activity, perceived multi-tasking ability, impulsivity, and sensation seeking. In addition, they performed the Operation Span in order to assess their executive control and actual multi-tasking ability. The findings indicate that the persons who are most capable of multi-tasking effectively are not the persons who are most likely to engage in multiple tasks simultaneously. To the contrary, multi-tasking activity as measured by the Media Multitasking Inventory and self-reported cell phone usage while driving were negatively correlated with actual multi-tasking ability. Multi-tasking was positively correlated with participants' perceived ability to multi-task ability which was found to be significantly inflated. Participants with a strong approach orientation and a weak avoidance orientation--high levels of impulsivity and sensation seeking--reported greater multi-tasking behavior. Finally, the findings suggest that people often engage in multi-tasking because they are less able to block out distractions and focus on a singular task. Participants with less executive control--low scorers on the Operation Span task and persons high in impulsivity--tended to report higher levels of multi-tasking activity.

Who Multi-Tasks and Why? Multi-Tasking Ability, Perceived Multi-Tasking Ability, Impulsivity, and Sensation Seeking

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Sanbonmatsu, David M.; Strayer, David L.; Medeiros-Ward, Nathan; Watson, Jason M.

2013-01-01

The present study examined the relationship between personality and individual differences in multi-tasking ability. Participants enrolled at the University of Utah completed measures of multi-tasking activity, perceived multi-tasking ability, impulsivity, and sensation seeking. In addition, they performed the Operation Span in order to assess their executive control and actual multi-tasking ability. The findings indicate that the persons who are most capable of multi-tasking effectively are not the persons who are most likely to engage in multiple tasks simultaneously. To the contrary, multi-tasking activity as measured by the Media Multitasking Inventory and self-reported cell phone usage while driving were negatively correlated with actual multi-tasking ability. Multi-tasking was positively correlated with participants’ perceived ability to multi-task ability which was found to be significantly inflated. Participants with a strong approach orientation and a weak avoidance orientation – high levels of impulsivity and sensation seeking – reported greater multi-tasking behavior. Finally, the findings suggest that people often engage in multi-tasking because they are less able to block out distractions and focus on a singular task. Participants with less executive control - low scorers on the Operation Span task and persons high in impulsivity - tended to report higher levels of multi-tasking activity. PMID:23372720

Safe school task force: University-community partnership to promote student development and a safer school environment.

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Adler, Corey; Chung-Do, Jane; Ongalibang, Ophelia

2008-01-01

The Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Violence Prevention Center (APIYVPC) focuses its youth violence prevention efforts on community mobilization by partnering with Kailua High School and other local community groups. This paper describes the development and activities of the Safe School Task Force (SSTF) and the lessons learned. In response to concerns of school, community members, and students, the SSTF was organized to promote student leadership in raising awareness about problems related to violence. Collaboration among the school, community, and the university places students in leadership roles to reduce school violence and enhances their self-efficacy to improve their school environment. To increase SSTF effectiveness, more attention must be paid to student recruitment, consistent community partnerships, and gaining teacher buy-in. This partnership may be useful in multicultural communities to provide students the opportunities to learn about violence prevention strategies, community mobilization, and leadership skills.

Task-set inertia and memory-consolidation bottleneck in dual tasks.

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Koch, Iring; Rumiati, Raffaella I

2006-11-01

Three dual-task experiments examined the influence of processing a briefly presented visual object for deferred verbal report on performance in an unrelated auditory-manual reaction time (RT) task. RT was increased at short stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOAs) relative to long SOAs, showing that memory consolidation processes can produce a functional processing bottleneck in dual-task performance. In addition, the experiments manipulated the spatial compatibility of the orientation of the visual object and the side of the speeded manual response. This cross-task compatibility produced relative RT benefits only when the instruction for the visual task emphasized overlap at the level of response codes across the task sets (Experiment 1). However, once the effective task set was in place, it continued to produce cross-task compatibility effects even in single-task situations ("ignore" trials in Experiment 2) and when instructions for the visual task did not explicitly require spatial coding of object orientation (Experiment 3). Taken together, the data suggest a considerable degree of task-set inertia in dual-task performance, which is also reinforced by finding costs of switching task sequences (e.g., AC --> BC vs. BC --> BC) in Experiment 3.

Elementary school students’ strategic learning and quality of strategy use: Does task type matter?

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Malmberg, Jonna; Järvelä, Sanna; Kirschner, Paul A.

2018-01-01

This study investigated what types of learning patterns and strategies elementary school students use to carry out ill- and- well-structured tasks. Specifically, it was investigated which and when learning patterns actually emerge with respect to students’ task solutions. The present study uses

Orienting to Medicine: Scripting Professionalism, Hierarchy, and Social Difference at the Start of Medical School.

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Craig, Sienna R; Scott, Rebekah; Blackwood, Kristy

2018-04-23

Nascent medical students' first view into medical school orients them toward what is considered important in medicine. Based on ethnography conducted over 18 months at a New England medical school, this article explores themes which emerged during a first-year student orientation and examines how these scripts resurface across a four-year curriculum, revealing dynamics of enculturation into an institution and the broader profession. We analyze orientation activities as discursive and embodied fields which serve "practical" purposes of making new social geographies familiar, but which also frame institutional values surrounding "soft" aspects of medicine: professionalism; dynamics of hierarchy and vulnerability; and social difference. By examining orientation and connecting these insights to later, discerning educational moments, we argue that orientation reveals tensions between the overt and hidden curricula within medical education, including what being a good doctor means. Our findings are based on data from semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and participant-observation in didactic and clinical settings. This article answers calls within medical anthropology and medical education literature to recognize implicit values at play in producing physicians, unearthing ethnographically how these values are learned longitudinally via persisting gaps between formal and hidden curricula. Assumptions hidden in plain sight call for ongoing medical education reform.

Leadership Style of School Head-Teachers and Their Colleague's Work-Family Conflict

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Tatlah, Ijaz Ahmed; Quraishi, Uzma

2010-01-01

This paper aims to investigate the relationship of people-oriented and task-oriented leadership styles with the work-family and family-work conflicts and the intensity of mutual relationship between work-family and family-work conflicts. Data for the research were collected through a survey of public sector elementary and secondary school teachers…

Is scratch-cooking a cost-effective way to prepare healthy school meals with US Department of Agriculture foods?

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Woodward-Lopez, Gail; Kao, Janice; Kiesel, Kristin; Lewis Miller, Markell; Boyle, Maria; Drago-Ferguson, Soledad; Braff-Guajardo, Ellen; Crawford, Patricia

2014-09-01

Despite the resurgence of interest in scratch-cooking as a way to increase the quality and appeal of school meals, many school districts are concerned about the cost implications of switching to scratch-cooking. US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foods are the single largest source of ingredients for school meals, and about half of USDA Foods are diverted for processing before being sent to the school district. We aimed to determine whether school lunch entrées made in a district from basic or raw USDA Foods ingredients can be healthier and less expensive to prepare than those sent to external processors. This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between the extent of scratch-cooking and the nutritional content and cost to prepare entrées. Information was gathered by interview with school foodservice personnel and from school foodservice records from a convenience sample of 10 school districts in California that employed varying degrees of scratch-cooking and is diverse in terms of geographic location and the sociodemographics of the student body. The sample included all elementary school lunch entrées that contain USDA Foods offered during October 2010 for a total sample of 146 entrées. Ordinary least squares regressions were used to test for statistically significant differences in cost and nutrient content of entrées according to the level of scratch-cooking. There was no significant relationship between total costs and level of scratch-cooking. Entrées with the highest scratch-cooking scores had significantly lower food costs, higher labor costs, and not significantly different total costs compared with entrées with no scratch-cooking. Nutrient content was not consistently associated with scratch-cooking, but scratch-cooked entrées did include a larger variety of non-fast-food-type entrées. The findings suggest that scratch-cooking can be a cost-effective way to expand the variety of healthy school lunches prepared with USDA Foods

Robotics and STEM Learning: Students' Achievements in Assignments According to the P3 Task Taxonomy--Practice, Problem Solving, and Projects

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Barak, Moshe; Assal, Muhammad

2018-01-01

This study presents the case of development and evaluation of a STEM-oriented 30-h robotics course for junior high school students (n = 32). Class activities were designed according to the P3 Task Taxonomy, which included: (1) practice-basic closed-ended tasks and exercises; (2) problem solving--small-scale open-ended assignments in which the…

Moderation of Nicotine Effects on Covert Orienting of Attention Tasks by Poor Placebo Performance and Cue Validity

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Gilbert, David G.; Rzetelny, Adam; Rabinovich, Norka E.

2016-01-01

Introduction and Rationale Given baseline-dependent effects of nicotine on other forms of attention, there is reason to believe that inconsistent findings for the effects of nicotine on attentional orienting may be partly due to individual differences in baseline (abstinence state) functioning. Individuals with low baseline attention may benefit more from nicotine replacement. Method The effects of nicotine as a function of baseline performance (bottom, middle, and top third of mean reaction times during placebo) were assessed in 52 habitual abstinent smokers (26 females/26 males) utilizing an arrow-cued covert orienting of attention task. Results Compared to a placebo patch, a 14 mg nicotine patch produced faster overall reaction times (RTs). In addition, individuals with slower RTs during the placebo condition benefitted more from nicotine on cued trials than did those who had shorter (faster) RTs during placebo. Nicotine also enhanced the validity effect (shorter RTs to validly vs. invalidly cued targets), but this nicotine benefit did not differ as a function of overall placebo-baseline performance. Conclusions These findings support the view that nicotine enhances cued spatial attentional orienting in individuals who have slower RTs during placebo (nicotine-free) conditions; however, baseline-dependent effects may not generalize to all aspects of spatial attention. These findings are consistent with findings indicating that nicotine’s effects vary as a function of task parameters rather than simple RT speeding or cognitive enhancement. PMID:27461547

Belongingness in Early Secondary School: Key Factors that Primary and Secondary Schools Need to Consider.

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Sharmila Vaz

Full Text Available It is unknown if, and how, students redefine their sense of school belongingness after negotiating the transition to secondary school. The current study used longitudinal data from 266 students with, and without, disabilities who negotiated the transition from 52 primary schools to 152 secondary schools. The study presents the 13 most significant personal student and contextual factors associated with belongingness in the first year of secondary school. Student perception of school belongingness was found to be stable across the transition. No variability in school belongingness due to gender, disability or household-socio-economic status (SES was noted. Primary school belongingness accounted for 22% of the variability in secondary school belongingness. Several personal student factors (competence, coping skills and school factors (low-level classroom task-goal orientation, which influenced belongingness in primary school, continued to influence belongingness in secondary school. In secondary school, effort-goal orientation of the student and perception of their school's tolerance to disability were each associated with perception of school belongingness. Family factors did not influence belongingness in secondary school. Findings of the current study highlight the need for primary schools to foster belongingness among their students at an early age, and transfer students' belongingness profiles as part of the hand-over documentation. Most of the factors that influenced school belongingness before and after the transition to secondary are amenable to change.

Relationship between epistemological beliefs and motivational orientation among high school students

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Simić Nataša

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Relationship between epistemological beliefs and motivational orientation of high school students was studied and their relationship with school majoring, GPA and gender. To estimate epistemological beliefs and motivational orientation Schommer’s Epistemological Questionnaire (EQ and Work Preference Inventory (WPI were used. Through factor analysis of EQ 5 factors were extracted, that differ from those Schommer singled out. Negative correlation between naive epistemological beliefs on one side, and intrinsic (-0.327, p<0.01 and general motivation (-0.247, p<0.01 on the other, was determined. Students majoring in social sciences have more mature epistemological beliefs (F=11.278, df=1, p<0.01. Boys have more mature epistemological beliefs than girls only on factor Avoiding relating, ambiguity and dependence on authority (F=16.899, df=1, p<0.01. Correlation between epistemological beliefs and GPA was not determined. Students majoring in social sciences have higher level of motivation (F=6.626, df=1, p<0.05. Girls are more motivated by enjoying in what they are doing (F=6.261, df=1, p<0.05. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179018

Staying with the Text: The Contribution of Gender, Achievement Orientations, and Interest to Students' Performance on a Literacy Task

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Graham, Jedda; Tisher, Ruth; Ainley, Mary; Kennedy, Gregor

2008-01-01

This study addresses concerns about boys' underperformance on literacy tasks compared to girls, by investigating male and females students' responses to narrative texts. Participants were 142 Grade 9 and 10 students. Achievement orientations, including goals, self-efficacy, and self-handicapping, were measured and approach and avoidance factors…

Description of Sexual Orientation and Sexual Behaviors among High School Girls in New York City.

Science.gov (United States)

Coble, Chanelle A; Silver, Ellen J; Chhabra, Rosy

2017-08-01

Examination of the association of sexual orientation to the sexual practices and health behaviors of high school girls in New York City (NYC). Data were drawn from the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System survey of public high school students in grades 9-12 in NYC. None. Independent variables included sexual orientation and gender of sexual partners. Dependent variables include sexual/health risk behaviors. We used t tests to compare mean ages and χ 2 tests to compare distributions according to sexual orientation, gender of sexual partners, and differences in risk behaviors. The survey was completed by 4643 girls; mean age, 15.5 years; (1103 + 1842)/4254 (69%) black or Latina; 1101/4000 (27.5%) sexually active; 3574/4412 (81%) heterosexual; and (92 + 526)/4412 (14%) sexual minorities; 24.1% were heterosexual, 52.1% lesbian, and 49.4% were bisexual girls and were sexually active; 247 were classified as women who have sex with women (WSW) or WSW and men (WSWM). Of the sexually active girls, (65 + 182)/1081 (23%) were WSW/WSWM. The WSW/WSWM reported earlier sexual debut, more sexual partners, higher pregnancy rate, use of alcohol at last sex, history of intimate partner violence, and less likelihood of having an HIV test. Almost one in four of sexually active high school girls in NYC can be classified as WSW, who are vulnerable to increased sexual and health risk-taking behaviors leading to adverse health outcomes. The discordance between sexual behavior and sexual orientation emphasizes the importance of the provider sharing protective strategies in the sexual health counseling session for their patients who engage in sex with female partners regardless of sexual orientation. Copyright © 2017 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Parental Involvement in English Homework Tasks: Bridging the Gap between School and Home

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nelly Patricia Ávila Daza

2009-10-01

Full Text Available This paper explores the concept of parental involvement in English homework tasks as a way to include parents in the educational community. This descriptive study was carried out in a female public school with 10 students from third and fourth grades and their parents. In order to obtain the information, different instruments were used: artifacts, interviews, questionnaires and observations. After analyzing the data, it was stated that parental involvement was seen as a means to bridge the gap between the school and home. The findings also showed the possibility of learning from each other and the importance of homework tasks as interactional and learning spaces among parents and children.

Body Mass Index and Sociodemographic Predictors of School Lunch Purchase Behavior during a Year-Long Environmental Intervention in Middle School

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacey A. Greece

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Modifying the school food environment is on the national agenda as one strategy to improve the nutritional quality of children’s diets. Because few environmental-level interventions have been rigorously evaluated, the evidence base to inform programs and policies is limited. Of concern is the impact that changes to cafeteria offerings will have on participation in school meal programs. This study evaluates school lunch participation in the setting of a year-long middle school cafeteria intervention by examining the association between body mass index (BMI, sociodemographics, and the purchases of school lunch meals. IMOVE meals were healthier choices that met stringent nutritional criteria and were offered alongside standard lunch meals. Students who were overweight had a significantly higher purchase rate for both types of meals compared to those with a healthy BMI. Non-white race, younger age, being male, and low-income status were also significantly associated with participation in school lunch. Results indicate that nutritionally vulnerable students participate in school lunch and are equally likely to buy healthy alternatives or standard meals. This behavioral observation has important implications for school foodservice programs and policies. These results are timely given recent federal legislation to improve the school food environment to influence students’ food choice behaviors.

Body Mass Index and Sociodemographic Predictors of School Lunch Purchase Behavior during a Year-Long Environmental Intervention in Middle School.

Science.gov (United States)

Greece, Jacey A; Kratze, Alyssa; DeJong, William; Cozier, Yvette C; Quatromoni, Paula A

2015-06-10

Modifying the school food environment is on the national agenda as one strategy to improve the nutritional quality of children's diets. Because few environmental-level interventions have been rigorously evaluated, the evidence base to inform programs and policies is limited. Of concern is the impact that changes to cafeteria offerings will have on participation in school meal programs. This study evaluates school lunch participation in the setting of a year-long middle school cafeteria intervention by examining the association between body mass index (BMI), sociodemographics, and the purchases of school lunch meals. IMOVE meals were healthier choices that met stringent nutritional criteria and were offered alongside standard lunch meals. Students who were overweight had a significantly higher purchase rate for both types of meals compared to those with a healthy BMI. Non-white race, younger age, being male, and low-income status were also significantly associated with participation in school lunch. Results indicate that nutritionally vulnerable students participate in school lunch and are equally likely to buy healthy alternatives or standard meals. This behavioral observation has important implications for school foodservice programs and policies. These results are timely given recent federal legislation to improve the school food environment to influence students' food choice behaviors.

New Kids on the Block: How To Recruit, Select, and Orient School Employees.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Mark E.; And Others

A conference presentation on the recruitment, selection, and orientation of school employees are highlighted in this paper. Part 1 describes organizing strategies for recruitment and selection, such as defining administrative roles, assessing current practices, and scheduling. Practices for attracting capable teacher candidates are presented in…

Managerial Behaviors of Elementary School Teachers and Student On-Task Behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldstein, Jane McCarthy

The classroom management techniques of elementary school teachers were observed to determine their effectiveness in promoting desirable on-task behavior on the part of pupils. Seven approaches to class management were used as a framework for observation--authoritarian, behavior modification, common sense, group process, instructional emphasis,…

School Social Workers' Perceived Efficacy at Tasks Related to Curbing Suspension and Undesirable Behaviors

Science.gov (United States)

Teasley, Martell L.; Miller, Christina R.

2011-01-01

This study explores school social workers' perceptions of their ability to successfully engage in practice tasks that reduce the likelihood of school suspension and undesirable behaviors among racial and ethnic groups within diverse geographical locations (urban, suburban, and rural). Using survey research methods with a convenience sample, 201…

Task-oriented training with computer gaming in people with rheumatoid arthritisor osteoarthritis of the hand: study protocol of a randomized controlled pilot trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Srikesavan, Cynthia Swarnalatha; Shay, Barbara; Robinson, David B; Szturm, Tony

2013-03-09

Significant restriction in the ability to participate in home, work and community life results from pain, fatigue, joint damage, stiffness and reduced joint range of motion and muscle strength in people with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis of the hand. With modest evidence on the therapeutic effectiveness of conventional hand exercises, a task-oriented training program via real life object manipulations has been developed for people with arthritis. An innovative, computer-based gaming platform that allows a broad range of common objects to be seamlessly transformed into therapeutic input devices through instrumentation with a motion-sense mouse has also been designed. Personalized objects are selected to target specific training goals such as graded finger mobility, strength, endurance or fine/gross dexterous functions. The movements and object manipulation tasks that replicate common situations in everyday living will then be used to control and play any computer game, making practice challenging and engaging. The ongoing study is a 6-week, single-center, parallel-group, equally allocated and assessor-blinded pilot randomized controlled trial. Thirty people with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis affecting the hand will be randomized to receive either conventional hand exercises or the task-oriented training. The purpose is to determine a preliminary estimation of therapeutic effectiveness and feasibility of the task-oriented training program. Performance based and self-reported hand function, and exercise compliance are the study outcomes. Changes in outcomes (pre to post intervention) within each group will be assessed by paired Student t test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test and between groups (control versus experimental) post intervention using unpaired Student t test or Mann-Whitney U test. The study findings will inform decisions on the feasibility, safety and completion rate and will also provide preliminary data on the treatment effects of the task-oriented

A New Approach for New Demands: The Promise of Learning-Oriented School Leadership

Science.gov (United States)

Drago-Severson, Eleanor; Blum-DeStefano, Jessica

2013-01-01

In response to the complexity and mounting adaptive challenges of teaching, learning and leadership today, this article presents an overview of a new "learning-oriented model of school leadership," which is composed of four pillar practices--teaming, mentoring, collegial inquiry, and providing leadership roles--that support internal…

Relationships between Teacher Value Orientations, Collegiality, and Collaboration in School Professional Learning Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Ning, Hoi Kwan; Lee, Daphnee; Lee, Wing On

2015-01-01

Unlike past research which has mainly examined whole school or whole department professional learning communities, this study focused on factors related to effective collaborative practices within teacher learning teams. Our main objective was to ascertain the roles of team value orientations (collectivism and power distance) and team collegiality…

The Relationships among Middle School Students' Motivational Orientations, Learning Strategies, and Academic Achievement

Science.gov (United States)

McClintic-Gilbert, Megan S.; Corpus, Jennifer Henderlong; Wormington, Stephanie V.; Haimovitz, Kyla

2013-01-01

The present study examined the extent to which middle school students' (N = 90) learning strategies mediated the relationship between their motivational orientations and academic achievement. Survey data revealed that higher degrees of intrinsic motivation predicted the use of both deep and surface learning strategies, whereas higher degrees of…

Cross-Cultural Validation of the Inventory of School Motivation (ISM): Motivation Orientations of Navajo and Anglo Students.

Science.gov (United States)

McInerney, Dennis M.; Yeung, Alexander Seeshing; McInerney, Valentina

2001-01-01

Validated the Motivation Orientation scales of the Inventory of School Motivation (ISM) (M. Maher, 1984) across Navajo (n=760) and Anglo (n=1,012) students. Findings show that even though the ISM motivation orientation scales are applicable to students of different cultural backgrounds, meaningful cross-cultural comparisons should use the 30 items…

CONCEPTS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF CLOUD ORIENTED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT OF SCHOOL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Svitlana G. Lytvynova

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the basic concepts and characteristics of cloud oriented learning environment (COLE of secondary school. It is examined the concept of "cloud oriented learning environment", "mobility training", the requirements for COLE, the goal of creating, the structural components, model deployment, maintenance. Four cloud storages are compared; the subjects and objects of COLE are described; the meaning of spatial and semantic, content and methodical, communication and organizational components are clarified; the benefits and features of cloud computing are defined. It is found that COLE creates conditions for active cooperation, provides mobility of learning process participants, and objects’ virtualization. It is available anywhere and at any time, ensures the development of creativity and innovation, critical thinking, ability to solve problems, to develop communicative, cooperative, life and career skills, to work with data, media, to develop ICT competence either of students and teachers.

Differences in perceptual learning transfer as a function of training task.

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Green, C Shawn; Kattner, Florian; Siegel, Max H; Kersten, Daniel; Schrater, Paul R

2015-01-01

A growing body of research--including results from behavioral psychology, human structural and functional imaging, single-cell recordings in nonhuman primates, and computational modeling--suggests that perceptual learning effects are best understood as a change in the ability of higher-level integration or association areas to read out sensory information in the service of particular decisions. Work in this vein has argued that, depending on the training experience, the "rules" for this read-out can either be applicable to new contexts (thus engendering learning generalization) or can apply only to the exact training context (thus resulting in learning specificity). Here we contrast learning tasks designed to promote either stimulus-specific or stimulus-general rules. Specifically, we compare learning transfer across visual orientation following training on three different tasks: an orientation categorization task (which permits an orientation-specific learning solution), an orientation estimation task (which requires an orientation-general learning solution), and an orientation categorization task in which the relevant category boundary shifts on every trial (which lies somewhere between the two tasks above). While the simple orientation-categorization training task resulted in orientation-specific learning, the estimation and moving categorization tasks resulted in significant orientation learning generalization. The general framework tested here--that task specificity or generality can be predicted via an examination of the optimal learning solution--may be useful in building future training paradigms with certain desired outcomes.

Effects of mirror therapy integrated with task-oriented exercise on the balance function of patients with poststroke hemiparesis: a randomized-controlled pilot trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Cha, Hyun-Gyu; Oh, Duck-Won

2016-03-01

This study aimed to explore the effects of mirror therapy integrated with task-oriented exercise on balance function in poststroke hemiparesis. Twenty patients with poststroke hemiparesis were assigned randomly to an experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG), with 10 individuals each. Participants of the EG and CG received a task-oriented exercise program with a focus on the strengthening of the lower limb and the practice of balance-related functional tasks. An additional option for the EG was front and side wall mirrors to provide visual feedback for their own movements while performing the exercise. The program was performed for 30 min, twice a day, five times per week for 4 weeks. Outcome measures included the Berg balance scale, the timed up-and-go test, and quantitative data (balance index and dynamic limits of stability). In the EG and CG, all variables showed significant differences between pretest and post-test (Phemiparesis.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Zichittella, Gail Eberhardt

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

International summer school on hyperfine interactions and physics with oriented nuclei - 1985. Pt.1,2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rotter, M.

1985-01-01

Part I and part II are presented of the contributions submitted to the International study meeting on physics with oriented nuclei and of papers from the International summer school on hyperfine interactions. The contributions and papers are devoted to the present status and further development of low temperature nuclear orientation of short-lived nuclei with emphasis on online techniques. The following topics are covered: nuclear orientation, NMR/ON, level mixing and level crossing resonances, laser spectroscopy, Moessbauer spectroscopy, polarization phenomena in low, medium and high energy physics, applications of hyperfine interaction techniques in nuclear physics, atomic physics, solid state physics, biology and materials research. (Z.J.)

Unpacking Resistance to Change within-School Reform Programmes with a Social Justice Orientation

Science.gov (United States)

Hynds, Anne

2010-01-01

Previous research in the area of resistance has inadequately described opposition to change within-school reform initiatives with a social justice orientation. A lack of attention to, and agreement on, the nature and causes of resistance may explain why so many equity-minded educational reforms fail to be sustained. This article highlights various…

Competition Between Endogenous and Exogenous Orienting of Visual Attention

Science.gov (United States)

Berger, Andrea; Henik, Avishai; Rafal, Robert

2005-01-01

The relation between reflexive and voluntary orienting of visual attention was investigated with 4 experiments: a simple detection task, a localization task, a saccade toward the target task, and a target identification task in which discrimination difficulty was manipulated. Endogenous and exogenous orienting cues were presented in each trial and…

Missouri K-12 school disaster and biological event preparedness and seasonal influenza vaccination among school nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Rebmann, Terri; Elliott, Michael B; Artman, Deborah; VanNatta, Matthew; Wakefield, Mary

2015-10-01

School preparedness for bioevents, such as emerging infectious diseases, bioterrorism, and pandemics, is imperative, but historically has been low. The Missouri Association of School Nurses members were sent an online survey during the 2013-2014 school year to assess current bioevent readiness. There were 15 and 35 indicators of school disaster and bioevent preparedness, respectively. Multivariate linear regressions were conducted to delineate factors associated with higher school disaster and bioevent preparedness scores. In total, 133 school nurses participated, with a 33.6% response rate. On average, schools had fewer than half of the disaster or bioevent indicators. Disaster and bioevent preparedness scores ranged from 1-12.5 (mean, 6.0) and 5-25 (mean, 13.8), respectively. The least frequently reported plan components included bioterrorism-specific psychological needs addressed (1.5%, n = 2), having a foodservice biosecurity plan (8.3%, n = 11), and having a liberal sick leave policy for bioevents (22.6%, n = 30). Determinants of better bioevent preparedness include perception that the school is well prepared for a pandemic (P = .001) or natural disaster (P nurse being on the disaster planning committee (P = .001), and school being a closed point of dispensing (P < .05). Schools are underprepared for biological events and are not on track to meet state and national biological preparedness goals. Copyright © 2015 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sex differences on the judgment of line orientation task: a function of landmark presence and hormonal status.

Science.gov (United States)

Goyette, Sharon Ramos; McCoy, John G; Kennedy, Ashley; Sullivan, Meghan

2012-02-28

It has been well-established that men outperform women on some spatial tasks. The tools commonly used to demonstrate this difference (e.g. The Mental Rotations Task) typically involve problems and solutions that are presented in a context devoid of referents. The study presented here assessed whether the addition of referents (or "landmarks") would attenuate the well-established sex difference on the judgment of line orientation task (JLOT). Three versions of the JLOT were presented in a within design. The first iteration contained the original JLOT (JLOT 1). JLOT 2 contained three "landmarks" or referents and JLOT 3 contained only one landmark. The sex difference on JLOT 1 was completely negated by the addition of three landmarks on JLOT 2 or the addition of one landmark on JLOT3. In addition, salivary testosterone was measured. In men, gains in performance on the JLOT due to the addition of landmarks were positively correlated with testosterone levels. This suggests that men with the highest testosterone levels benefited the most from the addition of landmarks. These data help to highlight different strategies used by men and women to solve spatial tasks. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Developmental dynamics between mathematical performance, task motivation, and teachers' goals during the transition to primary school.

Science.gov (United States)

Aunola, Kaisa; Leskinen, Esko; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

2006-03-01

It has been suggested that children's learning motivation and interest in a particular subject play an important role in their school performance, particularly in mathematics. However, few cross-lagged longitudinal studies have been carried out to investigate the prospective relationships between academic achievement and task motivation. Moreover, the role that the classroom context plays in this development is largely unknown. The aim of the study was to investigate the developmental dynamics of maths-related motivation and mathematical performance during children's transition to primary school. The role of teachers' pedagogical goals and classroom characteristics on this development was also investigated. A total of 196 Finnish children were examined four times: (0) in October during their preschool year; (1) in October and (2) April during their first grade of primary school; and (3) in October during their second grade. Children's mathematical performance was tested at each measurement point. Task motivation was examined at measurement points 2, 3, and 4 using the Task-value scale for children. First-grade teachers were interviewed in November about their pedagogical goals and classroom characteristics. The results showed that children's mathematical performance and related task motivation formed a cumulative developmental cycle: a high level of maths performance at the beginning of the first grade increased subsequent task motivation towards mathematics, which further predicted a high level of maths performance at the beginning of the second grade. The level of maths-related task motivation increased in those classrooms where the teachers emphasized motivation or self-concept development as their most important pedagogical goal.

Student Self-Assessment Practices: The Role of Gender, School Level and Goal Orientation

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Zi

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the key demographic variables of gender, school level and goal orientation on students' self-assessment practices, including self-directed feedback seeking (SDFS) and self-reflection (SR). A total of 8843 Hong Kong students were surveyed, ranging from Primary 4 to Secondary 6. The results…

Reading Comprehension Course through a Genre-Oriented Approach at a School in Colombia

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez Sánchez, Andrés

2017-01-01

This paper reports on an action-research study aimed at identifying the problems and needs of a specific group of tenth graders at a school in Colombia in relation to their reading comprehension in English in order to design, partially implement, and evaluate a genre-oriented syllabus. Findings show that the explicit instruction of metacognitive…

Self-Determination and Goal Orientation in Track and Field

Science.gov (United States)

Chin, Ngien-Siong; Khoo, Selina; Low, Wah-Yun

2012-01-01

This study investigated gender, age group and locality differences in adolescent athletes’ self-determination motivation and goal orientations in track and field. It also examined the relationship between the self-determination theory and achievement goal theory. A total of 632 (349 boys, 283 girls) adolescent athletes (aged 13–18 years) completed the Sports Motivation Scale and Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire. Results indicated significant differences between gender on intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, amotivation (t(630) = 4.10, p motivation, extrinsic motivation, amotivation and ego orientation. A significant difference was found between age groups on task orientation (t(630) = 1.94, p motivation. Task orientation was related to intrinsic motivation (r = 0.55, p extrinsic motivation (r = 0.55, p motivation (r = 0.30, p extrinsic motivation (r = 0.36, p motivation, extrinsic motivation and amotivation accounted for 30.5% of the variances in task orientation. PMID:23486244

Red orientalism: Mikhail Pavlovich and Marxist Oriental studies in early Soviet Russia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kemper, M.

2010-01-01

Marxist Oriental Studies in early Soviet Russia emerged in opposition to the 'bourgeois' Russian tradition of classical Oriental scholarship; rather than studying texts and history, Bolshevik Orientalists saw their task in providing the Soviet government with the necessary political and

Staff Perceptions of Professional Development and Empowerment as Long-Term Leadership Tasks of School Principals in South African Schools: An Exploratory Study

Science.gov (United States)

van Niekerk, Eldridge; Muller, Hélène

2017-01-01

This article reports on the perceptions of school staff of professional development and empowerment as part of the long-term leadership task of principals. The long-term leadership model was used as a theoretical framework to quantitatively determine the perceptions of 118 teachers and education managers in approximately 100 schools throughout…

Producing an Assistant Guide for Haaga-Helia StartUp School

OpenAIRE

Averina, Maria

2016-01-01

This product-oriented thesis was commissioned by the StartUp School (SUS), a program of Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences that supports Haaga-Helia students to become entrepreneurs. The StartUp School offers Haaga-Helia students a six-month assistant trainee position. Consequently, every half a year there is a new assistant at the StartUp School. The commissioning party was lacking an essential tool to introduce work tasks to new assistant interns. The objective of the thesis was...

Perceived parental influences on motivational profiles of secondary school athletes

OpenAIRE

2011-01-01

M.Sc. This study investigated the correlations between the motivational profiles as defined by Achievement Goal Theory (AGT) and parental expectations and criticism of secondary school children in South Africa who participate in sport. A sample of 267 secondary school athletes completed the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) as well as the Parental Expectations (PE) and Parental Criticism (PC) subscales of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS). Results indicat...

Interest, Attitudes and Self-Efficacy Beliefs Explaining Upper-Secondary School Students' Orientation Towards Biology-Related Careers

Science.gov (United States)

Uitto, Anna

2014-01-01

The aim of the study was to discover the contribution of students' interest in school biology, as well as their self-efficacy and attitudes towards different science subjects and mathematics when explaining students' orientation towards biology-related careers at upper-secondary school. The data of 321 K-11 students (49% women) were…

Object-oriented communications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapman, L.J.

1989-01-01

OOC is a high-level communications protocol based on the object-oriented paradigm. OOC's syntax, semantics, and pragmatics balance simplicity and expressivity for controls environments. While natural languages are too complex, computer protocols are often insufficiently expressive. An object-oriented communications philosophy provides a base for building the necessary high-level communications primitives like I don't understand and the current value of X is K. OOC is sufficiently flexible to express data acquisition, control requests, alarm messages, and error messages in a straightforward generic way. It can be used in networks, for inter-task communication, and even for intra-task communication

Self-injury, suicide ideation, and sexual orientation: differences in causes and correlates among high school students.

Science.gov (United States)

DeCamp, Whitney; Bakken, Nicholas W

2016-01-01

Research has suggested that sexual minority youth are more likely to experience a number of behavioral and health-related risk factors due to their exposure to negative attitudes and beliefs about sexual minorities. Few studies, however, have examined the prevalence of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among sexual minority youth. With self-cutting and suicidal ideation common in middle and high schools, understanding the antecedents and correlates of such behavior may help identify troubled students and initiate preventative measures. Bivariate probit regression analyses are performed using data from 7,326 high school students collected via the Delaware Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Results indicate that bullying victimization, fighting, substance use, sexual behavior, depression, and unhealthy dieting behaviors were generally associated with NSSI and suicidal ideation. Some effects--including those from sexual activity, substance use, and unhealthy dieting behaviors--significantly differed based on gender and orientation. Risk factors for suicide and NSSI vary by gender and orientation. Both prevention/intervention specialists and researchers should consider the intersection of these risk factors with sexual orientation in their efforts. © 2016 KUMS, All rights reserved.

Self-injury, suicide ideation, and sexual orientation: differences in causes and correlates among high school students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Whitney DeCamp

2016-01-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Researchhas suggested that sexual minority youth are more likely to experience a number of behavioral and health-related risk factors due to their exposure to negative attitudes and beliefs about sexual minorities. Few studies, however, have examined the prevalence of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI among sexual minority youth. With self-cutting and suicidal ideation common in middle and high schools, understanding the antecedents and correlates of such behaviormay help identify troubled students and initiate preventative measures. METHODS: Bivariate probit regression analyses are performed using data from 7,326 high school students collected via the Delaware Youth Risk Behavior Survey. RESULTS: Results indicate that bullying victimization, fighting, substance use, sexual behavior, depression, and unhealthy dieting behaviors were generally associated with NSSI and suicidal ideation. Some effects - including those from sexual activity, substance use, and unhealthy dieting behaviors – significantly differed based on gender and orientation. CONCLUSIONS: Risk factors for suicide and NSSI vary by gender and orientation. Both prevention/intervention specialists and researchers should consider the intersection of these risk factors with sexual orientation in their efforts.

Task oriented design of robot kinematics using grid method and its application to nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Pyung-Hun; Park, Joon-Young

2002-01-01

This paper presents a Task Oriented Design method for robot kinematics based on grid method, widely used in finite difference method and heat transfer/fluid flow analyses. This approach drastically reduces complexities and computational burden due to previous approaches. More specifically, the grid method with a new formulation simplifies the design to a problem of three-design-variable unit grid, which does not require to solve inverse/forward kinematics. The effectiveness of the grid method has been confirmed through a kinematics design of a robot for nuclear power plants. (author)

Effects of alcohol on attention orienting and dual-task performance during simulated driving: an event-related potential study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wester, Anne E; Verster, Joris C; Volkerts, Edmund R; Böcker, Koen B E; Kenemans, J Leon

2010-09-01

Driving is a complex task and is susceptible to inattention and distraction. Moreover, alcohol has a detrimental effect on driving performance, possibly due to alcohol-induced attention deficits. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of alcohol on simulated driving performance and attention orienting and allocation, as assessed by event-related potentials (ERPs). Thirty-two participants completed two test runs in the Divided Attention Steering Simulator (DASS) with blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of 0.00%, 0.02%, 0.05%, 0.08% and 0.10%. Sixteen participants performed the second DASS test run with a passive auditory oddball to assess alcohol effects on involuntary attention shifting. Sixteen other participants performed the second DASS test run with an active auditory oddball to assess alcohol effects on dual-task performance and active attention allocation. Dose-dependent impairments were found for reaction times, the number of misses and steering error, even more so in dual-task conditions, especially in the active oddball group. ERP amplitudes to novel irrelevant events were also attenuated in a dose-dependent manner. The P3b amplitude to deviant target stimuli decreased with blood alcohol concentration only in the dual-task condition. It is concluded that alcohol increases distractibility and interference from secondary task stimuli, as well as reduces attentional capacity and dual-task integrality.

[Developmental changes in reading ability of Japanese elementary school children--analysis of 4 kana reading tasks].

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, Tomoka; Inagaki, Masumi; Gunji, Atsuko; Yatabe, Kiyomi; Kaga, Makiko; Goto, Takaaki; Koike, Toshihide; Wakamiya, Eiji; Koeda, Tatsuya

2010-01-01

Five hundred and twenty-eight Japanese elementary school children aged from 6 (Grade 1) to 12 (Grade 6) were tested for their abilities to read Hiragana characters, words, and short sentences. They were typically developing children whom the classroom teachers judged to have no problems with reading and writing in Japanese. Each child was asked to read four tasks which were written in Hiragana script: single mora reading task, four syllable non-word reading task, four syllable word reading task, and short sentence reading task. The total articulation time for reading and performance in terms of accuracy were measured for each task. Developmental changes in these variables were evaluated. The articulation time was significantly longer for the first graders, and it gradually shortened as they moved through to the upper grades in all tasks. The articulation time reached a plateau in the 4th grade for the four syllable word and short sentence reading tasks, while it did so for the single mora and four syllable non-word reading tasks in the 5th grade. The articulation times for the four syllable word and short sentence reading tasks correlated strongly. There were very few clear errors for all tasks, and the number of such errors significantly changed between the school grades only for the single mora and four syllable word reading tasks. It was noted that more than half of the children read the beginning portion of the word or phrase twice or more, in order to read it accurately, and developmental changes were also seen in this pattern of reading. This study revealed that the combination of these reading tasks may function as a screening test for reading disorders such as developmental dyslexia in children below the age of ten or eleven years old.

Schooling or Social Origin? The Bias in the Effect of Educational Attainment on Social Orientations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sieben, I.J.P.; Graaf, P.M. de

2004-01-01

The strong relationship between educational attainment and social attitudes and behaviour is often explained as an effect of schooling. However, educational attainment also reflects social origins. In order to obtain a view of the unbiased effect of educational attainment on social orientations,

Self-determination and goal orientation in track and field.

Science.gov (United States)

Chin, Ngien-Siong; Khoo, Selina; Low, Wah-Yun

2012-06-01

This study investigated gender, age group and locality differences in adolescent athletes' self-determination motivation and goal orientations in track and field. It also examined the relationship between the self-determination theory and achievement goal theory. A total of 632 (349 boys, 283 girls) adolescent athletes (aged 13-18 years) completed the Sports Motivation Scale and Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire. Results indicated significant differences between gender on intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, amotivation (t(630) = 4.10, p amotivation and ego orientation. A significant difference was found between age groups on task orientation (t(630) = 1.94, p amotivation (r = 0.10, p amotivation accounted for 30.5% of the variances in task orientation.

Schools, Animals, and Kids. Orientation to the Humanities (Latin), Part 3: 7500.03.

Science.gov (United States)

Dade County Public Schools, Miami, FL.

In an effort to orient the student of Latin to the humanities, a series of three quinmester courses focus on various aspects of life of a Roman family in the first century A. D. The third part of the trilogy, to be used independently or in sequence, concentrates on the telling of time by day and year, all about schools, animals, and gladiatorial…

The role of self-regulated strategies and goal orientation in predicting achievement of elementary school children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anastasia Kitsantas

2009-10-01

Full Text Available The present study examined the predictiveness of self-regulated learning strategies and goal orientation of elementary students’ academic achievement. Eighty one (n = 81 fifth graders were asked to respond to two scales. It was hypothesized that student achievement would be predicted by prior achievement, use of self-regulation strategies, and goal orientation. Results showed that prior achievement and use of self-regulation strategies accounted for a significant amount of variance in students’ academic achievement. Overall, goal orientation was not a significant predictor of students’ outcomes measures across different subject areas. Areas for future research are explored and implications for school personnel are provided.

Relationship between Different Types of Educational, Emotional and Spiritual Intelligence and Second Grade High School Female Students’ Religious Orientation, in Sari, Iran

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Seyyed Ali Doustdar Toosi

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In the current research, we investigated how significantly the second grade high school female students’ educational, emotional, and spiritual intelligence were associated with their religious orientation. This research is descriptive (non- experimental with a correlation design. The research population includes all of the second grade high school girl students, during the 2015-16 educational year in Sari, a city in the north of Iran.  In this research, 260 samples were selected randomly. Research results showed that educational, emotional, and spiritual intelligence (independent variables had positive and significant relationship with internal and external religious orientation (dependent variable. As the levels of educational, emotional, and spiritual intelligence increased, so did the level of religious orientation. Also the results of multiple regression analysis showed that educational, emotional, spiritual intelligence were anticipants of religious orientation and its dimensions (internal and external religious orientation.

Achievement Goal Orientations and Adolescents’ Subjective Well-Being in School: The Mediating Roles of Academic Social Comparison Directions

OpenAIRE

Tian, Lili; Yu, Tingting; Huebner, E. Scott

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the multiple mediational roles of academic social comparison directions (upward academic social comparison and downward academic social comparison) on the relationships between achievement goal orientations (i.e., mastery goals, performance-approach goals, and performance-avoidance goals) and subjective well-being (SWB) in school (school satisfaction, school affect) in adolescent students in China. A total of 883 Chinese adolescent students (430 males;...

Victimisation and psychosocial difficulties associated with sexual orientation concerns: a school-based study of adolescents.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Cotter, P

2014-11-01

This study examined victimisation, substance misuse, relationships, sexual activity, mental health difficulties and suicidal behaviour among adolescents with sexual orientation concerns in comparison to those without such concerns. 1112 Irish students (mean age 14 yrs) in 17 mixed-gender secondary schools completed a self-report questionnaire with standardised scales and measures of psychosocial difficulties. 58 students (5%) reported having concerns regarding their sexual orientation. Compared with their peers, they had higher levels of mental health difficulties and a markedly-increased prevalence of attempted suicide (29% vs. 2%), physical assault (40% vs. 8%), sexual assault (16%vs. 1%) and substance misuse. Almost all those (90%) with sexual orientation concerns reported having had sex compared to just 4% of their peers. These results highlight the significant difficulties associated with sexual orientation concerns in adolescents in Ireland. Early and targeted interventions are essential to address their needs.

The relationship between individual personality orientation and principals’ leadership behavior

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Faribah Gorkani

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This study examined the relationship between personality types and leadership styles in the city's high school principals. The population of this survey includes all principals of secondary schools in city of Zanjan, Iran. Using a stratified random sampling, 48 principals were surveyed. To assess the reliability of the questionnaire, a pretest was accomplished by distributing 20 questionnaires among the target population and Cronbach alpha has been calculated as 0.79. To analyze the data, descriptive and inferential statistics has been used. The study has confirmed that there was a positive and meaningful relationship between personality and leadership style. In addition, the study has confirmed that there were positive and meaningful relationships between task/relationship-oriented leadership style and principals’ competition/ Impatience and restlessness behavior.

Intra-Mathematical Connections Made by High School Students in Performing Calculus Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

García-García, Javier; Dolores-Flores, Crisólogo

2018-01-01

In this article, we report the results of research that explores the intra-mathematical connections that high school students make when they solve Calculus tasks, in particular those involving the derivative and the integral. We consider mathematical connections as a cognitive process through which a person relates or associates two or more ideas,…

Are School Policies Focused on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Associated with Less Bullying? Teachers’ Perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Stephen T.; Day, Jack K.; Ioverno, Salvatore; Toomey, Russell B.

2016-01-01

Bullying is common in U.S. schools and is linked to emotional, behavioral, and academic risk for school-aged students. School policies and practices focused on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) have been designed to reduce bullying and show promising results. Most studies have drawn from students’ reports: We examined teachers’ reports of bullying problems in their schools along with their assessments of school safety, combined with principals’ reports of SOGI-focused policies and practices. Merging two independent sources of data from over 3,000 teachers (California School Climate Survey) and nearly 100 school principals (School Health Profiles) at the school level, we used multi-level models to understand bullying problems in schools. Our results show that SOGI-focused policies reported by principals do not have a strong independent association with teachers’ reports of bullying problems in their schools. However, in schools with more SOGI-focused policies, the association between teachers’ assessments of school safety and bullying problems is stronger. Recent developments in education law and policy in the United States and their relevance for student well-being are discussed. PMID:26790701

Behavior Modification in the Classroom. Final Report. Production and Evaluation of a Film about Behavior Techniques to Increase Task Oriented Behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Stanford Univ., CA. Dept. of Communication.

A 21 minute sound color film was produced in an attempt to help teachers and educational specialists see people like themselves helping youngsters become more task oriented by the use of operant conditioning and modeling procedures formulated by Skinner (1953) and Bandura (1964). The unstructured and unrehearsed film consists of edited film…

Self-Handicapping Prior to Academic-Oriented Tasks in Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Medication Effects and Comparisons with Controls

Science.gov (United States)

Waschbusch, Daniel A.; Craig, Rebecca; Pelham, William E., Jr.; King, Sara

2007-01-01

The authors examined self-handicapping prior to academic-oriented tasks in children with and without ADHD and examined whether stimulant medication influenced self-handicapping. Participants were 61 children ages 6 to 13, including 22 children with ADHD tested after taking a placebo, 21 children with ADHD tested after taking stimulant medication,…

Monetary rewards influence retrieval orientations.

Science.gov (United States)

Halsband, Teresa M; Ferdinand, Nicola K; Bridger, Emma K; Mecklinger, Axel

2012-09-01

Reward anticipation during learning is known to support memory formation, but its role in retrieval processes is so far unclear. Retrieval orientations, as a reflection of controlled retrieval processing, are one aspect of retrieval that might be modulated by reward. These processes can be measured using the event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by retrieval cues from tasks with different retrieval requirements, such as via changes in the class of targeted memory information. To determine whether retrieval orientations of this kind are modulated by reward during learning, we investigated the effects of high and low reward expectancy on the ERP correlates of retrieval orientation in two separate experiments. The reward manipulation at study in Experiment 1 was associated with later memory performance, whereas in Experiment 2, reward was directly linked to accuracy in the study task. In both studies, the participants encoded mixed lists of pictures and words preceded by high- or low-reward cues. After 24 h, they performed a recognition memory exclusion task, with words as the test items. In addition to a previously reported material-specific effect of retrieval orientation, a frontally distributed, reward-associated retrieval orientation effect was found in both experiments. These findings suggest that reward motivation during learning leads to the adoption of a reward-associated retrieval orientation to support the retrieval of highly motivational information. Thus, ERP retrieval orientation effects not only reflect retrieval processes related to the sought-for materials, but also relate to the reward conditions with which items were combined during encoding.

Performance-Based Task Assessment of Higher-Order Proficiencies in Redesigned STEM High Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Ernst, Jeremy V.; Glennie, Elizabeth; Li, Songze

2017-01-01

This study explored student abilities in applying conceptual knowledge when presented with structured performance tasks. Specifically, the study gauged proficiency in higher-order applications of students enrolled in earth and environmental science or biology. The student sample was drawn from a Redesigned STEM high school model where a tested…

Negotiation with teachers as a managerial task of the school principal / Sewagodimo Amos Sebetlele

OpenAIRE

Sebetlele, Sewagodimo Amos

2005-01-01

The study focuses on the use of negotiation skills as a managerial task of the school principal in order to reduce conflicts between teachers and between teachers and themselves, so as to enhance a good working interpersonal relationship between them. This will lead to the building of trust, professional development and success. The purpose of this study was to determine through a literature study and empirical investigation, the nature of negotiation in schools and the skills ...

Are school policies focused on sexual orientation and gender identity associated with less bullying? Teachers' perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Stephen T; Day, Jack K; Ioverno, Salvatore; Toomey, Russell B

2016-02-01

Bullying is common in U.S. schools and is linked to emotional, behavioral, and academic risk for school-aged students. School policies and practices focused on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) have been designed to reduce bullying and show promising results. Most studies have drawn from students' reports: We examined teachers' reports of bullying problems in their schools along with their assessments of school safety, combined with principals' reports of SOGI-focused policies and practices. Merging two independent sources of data from over 3000 teachers (California School Climate Survey) and nearly 100 school principals (School Health Profiles) at the school level, we used multi-level models to understand bullying problems in schools. Our results show that SOGI-focused policies reported by principals do not have a strong independent association with teachers' reports of bullying problems in their schools. However, in schools with more SOGI-focused policies, the association between teachers' assessments of school safety and bullying problems is stronger. Recent developments in education law and policy in the United States and their relevance for student well-being are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Didactical design based on sharing and jumping tasks for senior high school chemistry learning

Science.gov (United States)

Fatimah, I.; Hendayana, S.; Supriatna, A.

2018-05-01

The purpose of this research is to develop the didactical design of senior high school chemistry learning based on sharing and jumping tasks in shift equilibrium chemistry. Sharing tasks used to facilitate students slow learners with help by other students of fast learners so they engage in learning. While jumping tasks used to challenge fast learners students so they didn’t feel bored in learning. In developing the didactic design, teacher activity is not only to focus on students and learning materials but also on the relationship between students and learning materials. The results of the analysis teaching plan of shift equilibrium chemistry in attached Senior High School to Indonesia University of Education showed that the learning activities more focus on how the teacher teaches instead of how the process of students’ learning. The use of research method is didactical design research (DDR). Didactical design consisted of three steps i.e. (a) analysing didactical condition before learning, (b) analyzing metapedadidactical, and (c) analyzing retrospective. Data were collected by test, observations, interviews, documentation and recordings (audio and video).The result showed that the didactical design on shift equilibrium chemistry was valid.

Seeing the forest before the trees-spatial orientation in freshwater stingrays (Potamotrygon motoro) in a hole-board task.

Science.gov (United States)

Schluessel, V; Herzog, H; Scherpenstein, M

2015-10-01

Freshwater stingrays (Potamotrygon motoro) have been shown to use a variety of spatial learning strategies including directional, landmark and place learning. In the present study, the significance of landmarks and geometric cues was investigated in a hole-board task. The aim was to determine cue preferences and collect additional information on the orientation mechanisms used in elasmobranchs. In four experiments, five juvenile stingrays had to memorize a fixed goal location within either a rectangular or a circular arena in the presence of goal-associated, signaling landmarks, proximal and distal cues. Transfer tests elucidated which cues the rays used or favored to reach the goal position. All rays successfully solved three of four tasks; as expected, different strategies were used in the process. Small alterations in the positioning of signaling landmarks (causing a spatial conflict between the previous feeding location and the new position of the signaling landmark) caused individuals to visit both locations equally often, whereas large alterations caused animals to ignore signaling cues and return to the previous feeding location. In the last and most complex experiment, three of five rays found the feeding location by remembering the positions of both proximate and distal landmarks in addition to memorizing particular swimming paths. Results showed that rays generally placed more importance on the overall environmental or geometric arrangement of the arena than on (individual) landmarks. This seems ecologically feasible, as distinct landmarks (e.g. rocks, pieces of wood, water plants) in the rays' natural environment may be more easily altered, removed or obscured from view than global ones (e.g. a river bend), which tend to be more stable. Overall, these results confirm those of previous studies, in that freshwater stingrays orient visually, learn quickly and can apply various orientation strategies, which are not mutually exclusive. Copyright © 2015

Lexical Categorization Modalities in Pre-School Children: Influence of Perceptual and Verbal Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Tallandini, Maria Anna; Roia, Anna

2005-01-01

This study investigates how categorical organization functions in pre-school children, focusing on the dichotomy between living and nonliving things. The variables of familiarity, frequency of word use and perceptual complexity were controlled. Sixty children aged between 4 years and 5 years 10 months were investigated. Three tasks were used: a…

A Survey Study to Find out the Relationship between Leadership Styles and Demographic Characteristics of Elementary and Secondary School Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Tatlah, Ijaz Ahmed; Quraishi, Uzma; Hussain, Ishtiaq

2010-01-01

This article reports a study aiming to investigate the leadership styles of elementary and secondary school teachers' in Public Sector schools in Lahore, Pakistan. The study also explored if there was any correlation between demographic characteristics of teachers and their leadership styles. A survey was conducted using Task-oriented and…

School District Cabinet Member Task and Relationship Conflict Behavior during Budget Development in a State Fiscal Crisis

Science.gov (United States)

Nickerson, John

2009-01-01

Purpose. The first purpose of this study was to determine to what extent task and relationship conflict occurred in school district cabinets during budget development in a state budget crisis. The second purpose was to determine which cabinet member task and relationship conflict behaviors were demonstrated during budget development in a state…

Effects of orientation on Rey complex figure performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferraro, F Richard; Grossman, Jennifer; Bren, Amy; Hoverson, Allysa

2002-10-01

An experiment was performed that examined the impact of stimulus orientation on performance on the Rey complex figure. A total of 48 undergraduates (24 men, 24 women) were randomly assigned to one of four Rey figure orientation groups (0 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, and 270 degrees ). Participants followed standard procedures for the Rey figure, initially copying it in whatever orientation group they were assigned to. Next, all participants performed a 15-20 min lexical decision experiment, used as a filler task. Finally, and unbeknownest to them, participants were asked to recall as much of the figure as they could. As expected, results revealed a main effect of Task (F = 83.92, p orientation was not significant, nor did orientation interact with task (Fs .57). The results are important from an applied setting, especially if testing conditions are less than optimal and a fixed stimulus position is not possible (e.g., testing at the bedside).

A Path Analysis of the Effects of Principal Professional Orientation towards Leadership, Professional Teacher Behavior, and School Academic Optimism on School Reading Achievement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roxanne M. Mitchell

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This study tested the effects of the principal’s professional orientation towards leadership/enabling school structure (ESS on two mediating variables, school academic optimism (SAO and professional teacher behavior (PTB, on the outcome variable school reading achievement (RA. Data were drawn from a sample of 54 schools (including 45 elementary schools and nine middle schools; the school was the unit of analysis. Data analysis supported a path to RA in which a structural variable, ESS was the immediate antecedent of SAO and PTB. Two control variables, school level and SES, were included in the model. SES had a significant effect on SAO but not on PTB. School level had a negative effect on both PTB and SAO suggesting that both variables were higher in elementary school and declined in middle school. SES paired with SAO in predicting RA. As expected, SAO had a greater effect on RA than SES. The significance of the findings lies in the confirmation of SAO as an important influence on RA and in demonstrating the importance of ESS in establishing a context in which AO and PTB can flourish.

The equivalent internal orientation and position noise for contour integration.

Science.gov (United States)

Baldwin, Alex S; Fu, Minnie; Farivar, Reza; Hess, Robert F

2017-10-12

Contour integration is the joining-up of local responses to parts of a contour into a continuous percept. In typical studies observers detect contours formed of discrete wavelets, presented against a background of random wavelets. This measures performance for detecting contours in the limiting external noise that background provides. Our novel task measures contour integration without requiring any background noise. This allowed us to perform noise-masking experiments using orientation and position noise. From these we measure the equivalent internal noise for contour integration. We found an orientation noise of 6° and position noise of 3 arcmin. Orientation noise was 2.6x higher in contour integration compared to an orientation discrimination control task. Comparing against a position discrimination task found position noise in contours to be 2.4x lower. This suggests contour integration involves intermediate processing that enhances the quality of element position representation at the expense of element orientation. Efficiency relative to the ideal observer was lower for the contour tasks (36% in orientation noise, 21% in position noise) compared to the controls (54% and 57%).

Measuring Promotion and Prevention Orientations of Secondary School Students: It Is More Than Meets the Eye

Science.gov (United States)

Hodis, Flaviu A.; Hattie, John A. C.; Hodis, Georgeta M.

2016-01-01

The General Regulatory Focus Measure has been used extensively in psychological research to gauge promotion and prevention orientations. Findings of this research show that for New Zealand secondary school students, the General Regulatory Focus Measure does not measure promotion and prevention as theoretically independent constructs.

System and method for seamless task-directed autonomy for robots

Science.gov (United States)

Nielsen, Curtis; Bruemmer, David; Few, Douglas; Walton, Miles

2012-09-18

Systems, methods, and user interfaces are used for controlling a robot. An environment map and a robot designator are presented to a user. The user may place, move, and modify task designators on the environment map. The task designators indicate a position in the environment map and indicate a task for the robot to achieve. A control intermediary links task designators with robot instructions issued to the robot. The control intermediary analyzes a relative position between the task designators and the robot. The control intermediary uses the analysis to determine a task-oriented autonomy level for the robot and communicates target achievement information to the robot. The target achievement information may include instructions for directly guiding the robot if the task-oriented autonomy level indicates low robot initiative and may include instructions for directing the robot to determine a robot plan for achieving the task if the task-oriented autonomy level indicates high robot initiative.

Nutrient intakes among children and adolescents eating usual pizza products in school lunch compared with pizza meeting HealthierUS School Challenge criteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Hur, In Young; Marquart, Len; Reicks, Marla

2014-05-01

Pizza is a popular food that can contribute to high intakes of saturated fat and sodium among children and adolescents. The objective of this study was to compare daily nutrient intakes when a pizza product meeting the US Department of Agriculture's criteria for competitive food entrées under the HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC) was substituted for usual pizza products consumed during foodservice-prepared school lunch. The study used National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005-2008) dietary recall data from a cross-sectional sample of US children and adolescents (age 5 to 18 years, n=337) who ate pizza during school lunch on 1 day of dietary recall. Daily nutrient intakes based on the consumption of usual pizza products for school lunch (pre-modeled) were compared with intakes modeled by substituting nutrient values from an HUSSC whole-grain pizza product (post-modeled). Paired t tests were used to make the comparison. Post-modeled intakes were lower in daily energy, carbohydrate, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium compared with pre-modeled intakes among children and adolescents (Ppizza product for usual pizza products may significantly improve dietary quality of children and adolescents eating pizza for school lunch, indicating that it could be an effective approach to improve the nutritional quality of school lunch programs. Copyright © 2014 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Study orientation and knowledge of basic vocabulary in Mathematics in the primary school

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marthie van der Walt

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Whatever the reason, underachievement in mathematics in South Africa is endemic and tantamount to a national disaster. Despite the transformation of education in South Africa, failure rates in mathematics at school and university remain unacceptably high, and the number of learners who leave Grade 12 with a pass mark in both mathematics and physical science is unacceptably low. Relatively little has been written about inadequate performance of Grade 4 to 7 learners in mathematics in South Africa, and even less about possible solutions to the problem. South African primary school learners’ lack of basic mathematics and vocabulary skills in particular is a source of major concern. In the first national systemic evaluation of learners’ skills in English, mathematics and science in 2001 Grade 3 learners achieved an average of 30% in mathematics. In the follow-up studies, Grade 6 learners achieved a national average of 27% in mathematices, in 2004, while nationally eighty percent of Grade 3 and 6 learners achieved less than 50 percent for mathematics and Languages in 2008. The finding that so many primary school learners today are not numerate or literate has a direct influence both on the teaching and the learning of mathematics. Everything possible needs to be done to change this situation. During the past 15 years, the research focus in mathematics has shifted to an examination of the influence of social, cognitive and metacognitive, conative and affective factors on achievement in mathematics. In this regard, it is of particular importance that an ongoing investigation into “other” aspects that impact on achievement in mathematics is launched, rather than to restrict the investigation to mere assessment of objectives that are aimed at continually evaluating cognitive progress in mathematics. There is sufficient empirical evidence that an adequate orientation to the study of mathematics correlates positively with high achievement in

Relationships among goal orientations, motivational climate and flow in adolescent athletes: differences by gender.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno Murcia, Juan Antonio; Cervelló Gimeno, Eduardo; González-Cutre Coll, David

2008-05-01

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationships among perceived motivational climate, individuals' goal orientations, and dispositional flow, with attention to possible gender differences. A sample of 413 young athletes, ages 12 to 16 years, completed the Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire-2 (PMCSQ-2) and Perception of Success Questionnaire (POSQ), as well as the Dispositional Flow Scale. Task orientation was positively and significantly related to a perceived task-involving motivational climate and to the disposition to experience flow in the sport. Ego orientation was positively and significantly associated with a perceived ego-involving motivational climate and with dispositional flow. The perceptions of task-involving and ego-involving motivational climates were positively and significantly linked to general dispositional flow. Multiple regression analysis indicated that both task and ego goal orientations and perceived task- and ego-oriented climates predicted dispositional flow. Males displayed a stronger ego orientation, and were more likely to report that they participated in an ego-oriented climate, than did females. To the contrary, the females were more likely to perceive a task-oriented climate than did the males. No meaningful differences were found between males and females in general dispositional flow.

Task-oriented structural design of manipulators based on operability evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kotosaka, Shin-ya; Asama, Hajime; Takata, Shozo; Hiraoka, Hiroyuki; Kohda, Takehisa; Matsumoto, Akihiro; Endo, Isao.

1995-01-01

In this paper, a new method for designing the structure of manipulators based on evaluation of their adaptability to tasks is proposed. In the method, task directions are classified into three kinds of direction; operational direction, constrained direction and free direction. On each direction, condition of constraints by task environment is represented. The tasks are represented by a set of direction and condition of constraints. A new criterion, operability, is defined to quantify adaptability of manipulator to tasks, taking account of mobility in operational directions and immobility in constrained directions. The mobility and immobility is calculated based on the Jacobian matrix of manipulator. The operability evaluation method is implemented, and applied to structural design of manipulators, in which link parameters are optimized by the genetic algorithm. This system can derive suitable structure of manipulator to various tasks. The effectiveness of the system is shown concerning examples of welding tasks. (author)

National education ideology as the orientation of the school culture development policy at SMA N 1 and SMA N 3 Yogyakarta

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Lusila Andriani Purwastuti

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This study aimed at describing the national education ideology as the orientation of the school culture development policy at SMA N 1 and SMAN 3 Yogyakarta. This research employed the qualitative approach through ethnography method. The subjects of the research were the school community. The object was the implementation of Pancasila on the development of the school culture. The data were collected through interviews, observations, and documentation. The data were analyzed using ethnography analysis as suggested by Spradley and they were validated by data triangulation and member checks. The results show that the national education ideology as the orientation of the school culture development is understood: (1 as an open ideology; (2 implemented on the basis value; instrumental values; the value of practices in the school culture; (3 The school culture in SMA N 1 and SMA N 3 is the implementation and contextualization of the values of Pancasila, along with the uniqueness of SMA N 1 with its “Teladan” icon which represents the religious morality and intellectual, as well as at SMA N 3 with its “Padmanaba” icon representing noble behavior. (4  Both schools have developed the school culture, namely: religious morality, social-culture, intellectual, and environment/management/leadership.

From Earth to Space--Advertising Films Created in a Computer-Based Primary School Task

Science.gov (United States)

Öman, Anne

2017-01-01

Today, teachers orchestrate computer-based tasks in software applications in Swedish primary schools. Meaning is made through various modes, and multimodal perspectives on literacy have the basic assumption that meaning is made through many representational and communicational resources. The case study presented in this paper has analysed pupils'…

Enhancing Orientation and Mobility Skills in Learners who are Blind through Video gaming.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez, Jaime; Espinoza, Matías; de Borba Campos, Marcia; Merabet, Lotfi B

2013-01-01

In this work we present the results of the cognitive impact evaluation regarding the use of Audiopolis, an audio and/or haptic-based videogame. The software has been designed, developed and evaluated for the purpose of developing orientation and mobility (O&M) skills in blind users. The videogame was evaluated through cognitive tasks performed by a sample of 12 learners. The results demonstrated that the use of Audiopolis had a positive impact on the development and use of O&M skills in school-aged blind learners.

THE APPLICATION'S WAYS OF PROBLEM-ORIENTED TASKS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS IN THE DISTANCE COURSE "EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY"

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M. A. Salyuk

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Some principles on which it is expedient to lean in the process of the development of materials of distant educational courses are considered: support on multiplicity of form of representation of information in consciousness; an account of conformity to law of maintenance of information in semantic memory of man; integration of educational information in the personal experience; orientation on the future real professional activity at the design of base of executive knowledge. Application of principles is illustrated by the examples of tasks in the distance educational course «Experimental psychology».

Secondary school learners' perceptions of responsible citizenship as taught in the life orientation learning area: a case study

OpenAIRE

2008-01-01

In this study, secondary school learners perceptions of Responsible Citizenship as taught in the Life Orientation learning area are explored. Citizen Education, which is set out in Learning Outcome Two of the Life Orientation Curriculum, forms the basis of the programme used to conduct this study. An international as well as a national perspective of Responsible Citizenship and the teaching thereof is explicated with special reference being made to the Further Education and Training Band. The...

Future goal setting, task motivation and learning of minority and non-minority students in Dutch schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Andriessen, Iris; Phalet, Karen; Lens, Willy

2006-12-01

Cross-cultural research on minority school achievement yields mixed findings on the motivational impact of future goal setting for students from disadvantaged minority groups. Relevant and recent motivational research, integrating Future Time Perspective Theory with Self-Determination Theory, has not yet been validated among minority students. To replicate across cultures the known motivational benefits of perceived instrumentality and internal regulation by distant future goals; to clarify when and how the future motivates minority students' educational performance. Participants in this study were 279 minority students (100 of Turkish and 179 of Moroccan origin) and 229 native Dutch students in Dutch secondary schools. Participants rated the importance of future goals, their perceptions of instrumentality, their task motivation and learning strategies. Dependent measures and their functional relations with future goal setting were simultaneously validated across minority and non-minority students, using structural equation modelling in multiple groups. As expected, Positive Perceived Instrumentality for the future increases task motivation and (indirectly) adaptive learning of both minority and non-minority students. But especially internally regulating future goals are strongly related to more task motivation and indirectly to more adaptive learning strategies. Our findings throw new light on the role of future goal setting in minority school careers: distant future goals enhance minority and non-minority students' motivation and learning, if students perceive positive instrumentality and if their schoolwork is internally regulated by future goals.

A Longitudinal Model of School Climate, Social Justice Orientation, and Academic Outcomes among Latina/o Students

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez-Gualdrón, Leyla, M.; Helms, Janet E.

2017-01-01

Background: Social justice orientation (SJO) is the motivation to promote justice and equity among all in society. Researchers argue that students of Color with high SJO can resist structural racism in their schools/society and have positive academic outcomes. Purpose: In the present study, a longitudinal model of cultural and environmental…

Task Design for Intercultural Telecollaboration in Secondary Schools: Insights from the EU project TILA

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffstaedter, Petra; Kohn, Kurt

2014-01-01

Our contribution focuses on synchronous oral telecollaboration in secondary schools. With reference to the EU project TILA, aspects of task design and implementation are discussed against the backdrop of issues of technological quality in connection with class organisation in computer labs. Case study evidence is provided in favour of the…

Pattern recognition in bees : orientation discrimination

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hateren, J.H. van; Srinivasan, M.V.; Wait, P.B.

1990-01-01

Honey bees (Apis mellifera, worker) were trained to discriminate between two random gratings oriented perpendicularly to each other. This task was quickly learned with vertical, horizontal, and oblique gratings. After being trained on perpendicularly-oriented random gratings, bees could discriminate

Loci of Causality and Orientation in Occupational and Educational Choices

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Kalervo Friberg

2013-06-01

Full Text Available A student self-determination profile of occupational and educational choices was examined through the concepts of Locus of Causality and Locus of Orientation. Research questions associated with respondents’ certainty of occupation and orientation to vocational education were answered. The tested hypotheses were as follows: (a Independence, initiative, self-guidance, choice of discussion forums, and gender are related to certainty of future occupation choice and choice of vocational education; (b certainty of occupation relates to choosing vocational education; (c negatively biased media lessens interest in vocational education; and (d vocational education choices are related to gender. A survey of ninth-grade students in Finnish comprehensive school was conducted after implementation of a work-orientation program defined in the national comprehensive school curriculum. At the local school system level, 649 subjects of the mean ages of 16.0 years participated in an Internet survey in two school districts in southwestern Finland in 2008. The variables were inserted in Linear Multiple Regression Analysis in IBM SPSS. The means of vocational school choice and certainty of occupation, and vocational school choice and negative media image were compared in SPSS means. An independent-samples t test for vocational school choice and sex was conducted. Statistically significant regression models of loci of orientation and locus of causality were found. The more the respondents were certain of their occupation choice, the more they expressed their secondary education orientation to be vocational school. When students discussed their choices less at home, their orientation to vocational education weakened. A negative media image was not associated with vocational school choice in this data. The measured means for girls’ and boys’ orientations to vocational school did not show statistically significant differences.

Twenty Years of Successful Private Management. The Debate over Private vs. Public Management of Food Service.

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Riegel, Ronald B.

1994-01-01

Companies such as ARA Services provide lunch every day to more than 1 million students in over 280 school districts nationwide. An Illinois superintendent lists several reasons for school districts to consider "outsourcing" their food-service operations, including cost-saving opportunities, capacity for offering comprehensive services…

The Impact of Personality, Goal Orientation and Self-Efficacy on Participation of High School Teachers in Learning Activities in the Workplace

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van Daal, Tine; Donche, Vincent; De Maeyer, Sven

2014-01-01

This study examines the influence of personality traits, goal orientation and self-efficacy on high school teachers' participation in learning activities in the workplace (i.e. experimentation, informal interaction with colleagues, self-regulation and avoidance behaviour). A convenience sample of 95 teachers from six high schools in Flanders…

School nurse evaluations: making the process meaningful and motivational.

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McDaniel, Kathryn H; Overman, Muriel; Guttu, Martha; Engelke, Martha Keehner

2013-02-01

The professional standards of school nursing practice provide a framework to help school nurses focus on their unique mission of promoting health and academic achievement for all students. Without the standards, the nurse's role can become task oriented and limited in scope. By using an evaluation tool that reflects the standards, nurses not only become aware and begin to understand the standards; they also become directly accountable for meeting them. In addition, developing an evaluation process based on the standards of school nurse practice increases the visibility of school nurses and helps school administrators understand the role of the school nurse. This article describes how one school district integrated the scope and standards of school nursing into the job description and performance evaluation of the nurse. The process which is used to complete the evaluation in a manner that is meaningful and motivational to the school nurse is described.

Synthetic Synchronisation: From Attention and Multi-Tasking to Negative Capability and Judgment

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Stables, Andrew

2013-01-01

Educational literature has tended to focus, explicitly and implicitly, on two kinds of task orientation: the ability either to focus on a single task, or to multi-task. A third form of orientation characterises many highly successful people. This is the ability to combine several tasks into one: to "kill two (or more) birds with one…

Improving the family orientation process in Cuban Special Schools trough Nearest Prototype classification

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Caballero-Mota, Y.

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Cuban Schools for children with Affective – Behavioral Maladies (SABM have as goal to accomplish a major change in children behavior, to insert them effectively into society. One of the key elements in this objective is to give an adequate orientation to the children’s families; due to the family is one of the most important educational contexts in which the children will develop their personality. The family orientation process in SABM involves clustering and classification of mixed type data with non-symmetric similarity functions. To improve this process, this paper includes some novel characteristics in clustering and prototype selection. The proposed approach uses a hierarchical clustering based on compact sets, making it suitable for dealing with non-symmetric similarity functions, as well as with mixed and incomplete data. The proposal obtains very good results on the SABM data, and over repository databases.

Sex differences in a landmark environmental re-orientation task only during the learning phase.

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Piccardi, Laura; Bianchini, Filippo; Iasevoli, Luigi; Giannone, Gianluca; Guariglia, Cecilia

2011-10-10

Sex differences are consistently reported in human navigation. Indeed, to orient themselves during navigation women are more likely to use landmark-based strategies and men Euclidean-based strategies. The difference could be due to selective social pressure, which fosters greater spatial ability in men, or biological factors. And the great variability of the results reported in the literature could be due to the experimental setting more than real differences in ability. In this study, navigational behaviour was assessed by means of a place-learning task in which a modified version of the Morris water maze for humans was used to evaluate sex differences. In using landmarks, sex differences emerged only during the learning phase. Although the men were faster than the women in locating the target position, the differences between the sexes disappeared in delayed recall. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influences of Constructivist-Oriented Nutrition Education on Urban Middle School Students' Nutrition Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, and Behaviors

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McCaughtry, Nate; Fahlman, Mariane; Martin, Jeffrey J.; Shen, Bo

2011-01-01

Background: Health professionals are looking to nutrition-based youth health interventions in K-12 schools to combat the growing obesity crisis; however, none have explored the influences of interventions guided by constructivist learning theory. Purpose: This study examined the influences of a constructivist-oriented nutrition education program…

Gender relations and sexual orientation in Religious Education curriculum in state and municipal schools in Recife

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Aurenéa Maria de Oliveira

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This research conducted in state and municipal public schools of Recife in Pernambuco through research project that had the support of UFPE and CNPq aimed to analyze the Religious Education curriculum (ER, the place that women, especially with marginalized sexual orientation as lesbian, bisexual and transgender occupy. To this end, we work with the methodology of Discourse Analysis and the Theory of Speech, looking first identify the main ideologies surrounding and involving the theme, then locate the hegemonic discourse or hegemonic discourses that claimed around him . Thus, it reached the conclusion that approaches religion, gender and sexual diversity, which are expressed in the daily life of the classrooms are not, however, raised the disciplinary component examined in the absence of a curriculum that can assist teachers by through proposals and pragmatic content activities that encourage the emergence of points to be considered, negotiated and correlated to the themes in question. Thus, the difficulties in dialogue about sexual orientation and homosexuality in general, and specifically in the female case, are great in ER discipline in the schools surveyed. 

A Chaotic Particle Swarm Optimization-Based Heuristic for Market-Oriented Task-Level Scheduling in Cloud Workflow Systems.

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Li, Xuejun; Xu, Jia; Yang, Yun

2015-01-01

Cloud workflow system is a kind of platform service based on cloud computing. It facilitates the automation of workflow applications. Between cloud workflow system and its counterparts, market-oriented business model is one of the most prominent factors. The optimization of task-level scheduling in cloud workflow system is a hot topic. As the scheduling is a NP problem, Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) have been proposed to optimize the cost. However, they have the characteristic of premature convergence in optimization process and therefore cannot effectively reduce the cost. To solve these problems, Chaotic Particle Swarm Optimization (CPSO) algorithm with chaotic sequence and adaptive inertia weight factor is applied to present the task-level scheduling. Chaotic sequence with high randomness improves the diversity of solutions, and its regularity assures a good global convergence. Adaptive inertia weight factor depends on the estimate value of cost. It makes the scheduling avoid premature convergence by properly balancing between global and local exploration. The experimental simulation shows that the cost obtained by our scheduling is always lower than the other two representative counterparts.

The Monkey game: A computerized verbal working memory task for self-reliant administration in primary school children.

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Van de Weijer-Bergsma, Eva; Kroesbergen, Evelyn H; Jolani, Shahab; Van Luit, Johannes E H

2016-06-01

In two studies, the psychometric properties of an online self-reliant verbal working memory task (the Monkey game) for primary school children (6-12 years of age) were examined. In Study 1, children (n = 5,203) from 31 primary schools participated. The participants completed computerized verbal and visual-spatial working memory tasks (i.e., the Monkey game and the Lion game) and a paper-and-pencil version of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices. Reading comprehension and math achievement test scores were obtained from the schools. First, the internal consistency of the Monkey game was examined. Second, multilevel modeling was used to examine the effects of classroom membership. Multilevel multivariate regression analysis was used to examine the Monkey game's concurrent relationship with the Lion game and its predictive relationships with reading comprehension and math achievement. Also, age-related differences in performance were examined. In Study 2, the concurrent relationships between the Monkey game and two tester-led computerized working memory tasks were further examined (n = 140). Also, the 1- and 2-year stability of the Monkey game was investigated. The Monkey game showed excellent internal consistency, good concurrent relationships with the other working memory measures, and significant age differences in performance. Performance on the Monkey game was also predictive of subsequent reading comprehension and mathematics performance, even after controlling for individual differences in intelligence. Performance on the Monkey game was influenced by classroom membership. The Monkey game is a reliable and suitable instrument for the online computerized and self-reliant assessment of verbal working memory in primary school children.

Attention improves encoding of task-relevant features in the human visual cortex

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Jehee, Janneke F.M.; Brady, Devin K.; Tong, Frank

2011-01-01

When spatial attention is directed towards a particular stimulus, increased activity is commonly observed in corresponding locations of the visual cortex. Does this attentional increase in activity indicate improved processing of all features contained within the attended stimulus, or might spatial attention selectively enhance the features relevant to the observer’s task? We used fMRI decoding methods to measure the strength of orientation-selective activity patterns in the human visual cortex while subjects performed either an orientation or contrast discrimination task, involving one of two laterally presented gratings. Greater overall BOLD activation with spatial attention was observed in areas V1-V4 for both tasks. However, multivariate pattern analysis revealed that orientation-selective responses were enhanced by attention only when orientation was the task-relevant feature, and not when the grating’s contrast had to be attended. In a second experiment, observers discriminated the orientation or color of a specific lateral grating. Here, orientation-selective responses were enhanced in both tasks but color-selective responses were enhanced only when color was task-relevant. In both experiments, task-specific enhancement of feature-selective activity was not confined to the attended stimulus location, but instead spread to other locations in the visual field, suggesting the concurrent involvement of a global feature-based attentional mechanism. These results suggest that attention can be remarkably selective in its ability to enhance particular task-relevant features, and further reveal that increases in overall BOLD amplitude are not necessarily accompanied by improved processing of stimulus information. PMID:21632942

K-5 mentor teachers' journeys toward reform-oriented science within a professional development school context

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Manno, Jacqueline L.

Reform-oriented science teaching with a specific focus on evidence and explanation provides a student-centered learning environment which encourages children to question, seek answers to those questions, experience phenomena, share ideas, and develop explanations of science concepts based on evidence. One of the ways schools have risen to meet the challenge of ever-increasing demands for success in science and all other curricular areas has been in the development of professional development schools (PDSs). Dedicated to the simultaneous renewal of schools and teacher education programs, the structure of a PDS plays a significant role in the change process. The purpose of this research study was to investigate the nature of change in mentor teachers' beliefs and pedagogical practices toward science teaching in the elementary school as conveyed through their own "stories of practice". The major research questions that guided the study were: (1) How do mentor teachers describe their science teaching practices and how have they changed as a result of participation in PDS? (a) In what ways do PDS mentor teachers' descriptions of practice reflect contemporary reform ideas and practices in science education? (b) To what extent do their stories emphasize technical aspects of teaching versus epistemological changes in their thinking and knowledge? (c) How is student learning in science reflected in teachers' stories of practice? (2) What is the relationship between the levels and types of involvement in PDS to change in thinking about and practices of teaching science? (3) What is the depth of commitment that mentors convey about changes in science teaching practices? Using case study design, the research explored the ways experienced teachers, working within the context of a PDS community, described changes in the ways they think about and teach science. The connection to the issue of change in teaching practices grew out of interest in understanding the relationship

Sexual Orientation-Based Disparities in School and Juvenile Justice Discipline: A Multiple Group Comparison of Contributing Factors

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Poteat, V. Paul; Scheer, Jillian R.; Chong, Eddie S. K.

2016-01-01

There is little data on whether school discipline or juvenile justice sanctions are directed disproportionately toward sexual minority youth (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning; LGBQ) compared with heterosexual youth and even less on factors that may relate to such disparities. We tested for sexual orientation-based disparities in school…

READINESS OF MILITARY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR TACTICAL TASKS

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Nikolai Alekseevich Seredkin

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Background. The purpose of this article is to reveal the features and analyze the studies of the interpretation of the concept of “readiness”, to formulate the definition of the concept of “the future officer’s willingness to solve tactical problems,” to describe the components and its main components. Methods. The methodological basis for researching the problem of the future officers’ readiness for solving tactical tasks is the personal and activity approach. Relying on them, the author reveals the essence of the definition of readiness and a description of its components. Results. The results of the article are the readiness of the cadet for professional work and we consider it as an integrated education formed in the process of professional training, ensuring the performance of their service and job functions, the successful solution of the service-combat tasks of professional activity. It includes a system of personality qualities of the future officer, characterized by a positive attitude towards professional activity, the presence of an adequate holistic view of it, the possession of ways to solve professional problems, the perception of oneself as a subject of one’s own activity. Reflexive attitude to one’s own activity is one of the most important conditions for its deep comprehension, critical analysis and constructive improvement. Conclusion. The definition of the concept of the cadet’s readiness for the solution of tactical tasks and its components is the theoretical basis for improving the process of professional training in a military high school. The components of readiness and its indicators set the teacher of the military higher educational institution a vector of practical activities for its formation.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOAL-ORIENTATIONS AND SPORT COMMITMENT AMONG ATHLETES

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Noshin Benar.

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of present study was exploring of relationship between goal-orientations and sport commitment among athletes and comparison of goal-orientations and sport commitment and their constructs based on gender and type of sports. Participants were 108 Iranian athlete (40 female and 68 male, who responded to Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (T.E.O.S.Q and Sport Commitment Model (SCM questionnaire. Data were analyzed by Pearson's correlation coefficient, Independent-Samples t-test, and One-way ANOVA at P=0.05. The findings indicated that there were positively and significantly association between constructs, including sport enjoyment, personal investment, social constraints, involvement opportunities, and social support, whereas, involvement alternatives and task-orientation had negatively and significantly association with sport commitment. Also, team and open-skilled sport athletes had sport commitment and ego-orientation more than individual and closed-skilled sport athletes. As well as, female's athletes had sport enjoyment and social support more than male's athletes. It is possible that task-oriented players are elite and expert athletes, because extend and develop their fundamental skills in one's sport by their task-orientate characteristic, and probably these players with these characteristics tendency to turnover until experience more situations. Thus, these players had a less sport commitment than amateur athletes. Also, gender and type of sport differences can be results of individual differences and nature of sports skills. Implications for goal-orientations and sport commitment and their impacts on athletes as well as future research directions are further discussed.

A Goal Orientation Analysis of Teachers' Motivations to Participate in the School Self-Assessment Processes of a Quality Assurance System in Chile

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Montecinos, Carmen; Madrid, Romina; Fernández, María Beatriz; Ahumada, Luis

2014-01-01

The current study examined the goal orientations that could be inferred from how teachers from six municipal schools in Chile described their understandings, emotions, and behaviors during their participation in the assessment phase of the School Management Quality Assurance System. Content analysis of focus group interview transcripts evidenced…

Utilization of assistive devices for students with disabilities in the public schools

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Carolina Bastos Plotegher

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Assistive technology is an area of expanding knowledge in Brazil. Its use in school can help students with disabilities in performing important tasks to participate in different activities. Objectives: to report the experience of using assistive devices in the academic achievement of students with disabilities included in the regular school system of the municipality of Sao Carlos, state of Sao Paulo. Method: it was developed from an extension project conducted in 2010. Thirteen students with various types of disabilities participated in the project. The interventions were based on the School Function Assessment with the teachers to know the students’ difficulties. The students were also observed performing school tasks. Results: Forty-seven adaptations were made: thickeners, rings for zippers, slants, communication boards, non-slip mats, among others. Besides the adjustments, orientation regarding use of the devices was provided for teachers and persons responsible for the students. Conclusion: we believe that the project benefited the students, because it produced higher academic achievement and provided better school conditions for their school inclusion. For the undergraduate students of Occupational Therapy, the project enabled the dealing with real issues of inclusion and school interventions, thus approaching theory to practice.

Second-order motor planning in children: insights from a cup-manipulation-task.

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Wunsch, Kathrin; Weiss, Daniel J; Schack, Thomas; Weigelt, Matthias

2015-07-01

The present study examined the development of anticipatory motor planning in an object manipulation task that has been used to successfully demonstrate motor planning in non-human primates (Weiss et al. in Psychol Sci 18:1063-1068, 2007). Seventy-five participants from four different age groups participated in a cup-manipulation task. One group was preschool children (average age of 5.1 years), two groups were primary school children (7.7 and 9.8 years old respectively) and the final group was comprised of adults. The experimental task entailed reaching for a plastic cup that was vertically suspended in an apparatus in either upright or inverted orientation, removing the cup by its stem and then retrieving a small toy from the inside of the cup. When the cup was inverted in the apparatus, evidence for anticipatory motor planning could be achieved by initially gripping the stem using an inverted (thumb-down) grip posture. We found that when the cup was in upright orientation, all participants reached for the cup using an upright grip (i.e., thumb-up posture). However, when the cup was inverted in the apparatus, only adults consistently used an inverted grasping posture, though the percentage of inverted grips among participants did increase with age. These results suggest a protracted development for anticipatory motor planning abilities in children. Surprisingly, the performance of adults on this task more closely resembles the performance of several nonhuman primate species as opposed to children even at approximately 10 years of age. We discuss how morphological constraints on flexibility may help account for these findings.

Relationships between cooperation and goal orientation among male professional and semi-professional team athletes.

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Lameiras, João; Almeida, Pedro L; Garcia-Mas, Alexandre

2014-12-01

In team sports, athletes' goals may focus on the task (enhancing performance, developing better skills, etc.) or on ego (being better than the others, achieving superiority, etc.). This study investigated the relationships between athletes' goal orientation and their tendency to cooperate with teammates and coaches. 158 professional men (M age = 24.1 yr., SD = 4.6) who played on various sport teams participated in this study. Goal orientation was measured with the Portuguese version of the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire, and cooperation was measured with the Questionário de Cooperação Desportiva. Cooperation was positively correlated with task orientation, and negatively correlated with ego orientation. Overall, the findings support that in sports, directing the players' focus on task may promote prosocial behavior.

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program participation in elementary schools in the United States and availability of fruits and vegetables in school lunch meals.

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Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam; Turner, Lindsey; Chaloupka, Frank J

2012-06-01

Dietary intake among children in the United States falls short of national recommendations. Schools can play an important role in improving children's preferences and food consumption patterns. The US Department of Agriculture's Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) aims to improve children's nutrient intake patterns by offering fresh fruits and vegetables as snacks outside the reimbursable meals programs in elementary schools that serve large numbers of low-income children. Using a nationally representative sample of public elementary schools, this cross-sectional study investigated FFVP participation patterns among schools by demographic and school characteristics. Further, the study investigated the association between FFVP participation and availability of fresh fruits, salads, and vegetables at lunch as reported by school administrators and foodservice staff. Data collected via a mail-back survey from 620 public elementary schools participating in the National School Lunch Program during 2009-2010 were analyzed. Almost 70% of the FFVP-participating schools had a majority of students (>50%) eligible for free and reduced-cost meals. Participating in US Department of Agriculture Team Nutrition Program and having a registered dietitian or a nutritionist on staff were significantly associated with FFVP participation. Based on the results from logistic regression analyses schools participating in the FFVP were significantly more likely (odds ratio 2.07; 95% CI 1.12 to 3.53) to serve fresh fruit during lunch meals. Slightly >25% of public elementary schools across the United States participated in the FFVP, and participation was associated with healthier food availability in school lunches. Copyright © 2012 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Parent Involvement and Views of School Success: The Role of Parents' Latino and White American Cultural Orientations

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Ryan, Carey S.; Casas, Juan F.; Kelly-Vance, Lisa; Ryalls, Brigette O.; Nero, Collette

2010-01-01

We examined ethnicity and cultural orientation as predictors of parents' views of and involvement in children's education, using data gathered from the Latino (n = 74) and non-Latino (17 White and 13 ethnic minority) parents of children in an elementary school's dual-language program. Parents completed a questionnaire that assessed Latino and…

Goal Orientations of General Chemistry Students via the Achievement Goal Framework

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Lewis, Scott E.

2018-01-01

The Achievement Goal Framework describes students' goal orientations as: task-based, focusing on the successful completion of the task; self-based, evaluating performance relative to one's own past performance; or other-based, evaluating performance relative to the performance of others. Goal orientations have been used to explain student success…

Sexual orientation and spatial memory.

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Cánovas, Ma Rosa; Cimadevilla, José Manuel

2011-11-01

The present study aimed at determining the influence of sexual orientation in human spatial learning and memory. Participants performed the Boxes Room, a virtual reality version of the Holeboard. In Experiment I, a reference memory task, the position of the hidden rewards remained constant during the whole experiment. In Experiment II, a working memory task, the position of rewards changed between blocks. Each block consisted of two trials: One trial for acquisition and another for retrieval. The results of Experiment I showed that heterosexual men performed better than homosexual men and heterosexual women. They found the rewarded boxes faster. Moreover, homosexual participants committed more errors than heterosexuals. Experiment II showed that working memory abilities are the same in groups of different sexual orientation. These results suggest that sexual orientation is related to spatial navigation abilities, but mostly in men, and limited to reference memory, which depends more on the function of the hippocampal system.

Intra-mathematical connections made by high school students in performing Calculus tasks

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García-García, Javier; Dolores-Flores, Crisólogo

2018-02-01

In this article, we report the results of research that explores the intra-mathematical connections that high school students make when they solve Calculus tasks, in particular those involving the derivative and the integral. We consider mathematical connections as a cognitive process through which a person relates or associates two or more ideas, concepts, definitions, theorems, procedures, representations and meanings among themselves, with other disciplines or with real life. Task-based interviews were used to collect data and thematic analysis was used to analyze them. Through the analysis of the productions of the 25 participants, we identified 223 intra-mathematical connections. The data allowed us to establish a mathematical connections system which contributes to the understanding of higher concepts, in our case, the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. We found mathematical connections of the types: different representations, procedural, features, reversibility and meaning as a connection.

The School of Economics Sciences of the Universidad de Oriente and the Latin-American’s structuralism: Pertinence, Actuality and Implications

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Ulises Pacheco-Feria

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper exposes the fundamentals aims of The Economics Science School of the Universidad de Oriente and its connection with the Latin-American’s structuralism school of thought during the fifties, which was represented in the national sphere by the economists Regino Boti and Felipe Pazos. By other hand this article proves the validity nowadays for Cuba of the creator’s ideas of this school of thought, especially when this country has as challenge, in a not favorable socioeconomic situation, to upgrade its current economic model.

Diversity in goal orientation, team reflexivity, and team performance

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Pieterse, Anne Nederveen; van Knippenberg, Daan; van Ginkel, Wendy P.

Although recent research highlights the role of team member goal orientation in team functioning, research has neglected the effects of diversity in goal orientation. In a laboratory study with groups working on a problem-solving task, we show that diversity in learning and performance orientation

A Chaotic Particle Swarm Optimization-Based Heuristic for Market-Oriented Task-Level Scheduling in Cloud Workflow Systems

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Xuejun Li

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Cloud workflow system is a kind of platform service based on cloud computing. It facilitates the automation of workflow applications. Between cloud workflow system and its counterparts, market-oriented business model is one of the most prominent factors. The optimization of task-level scheduling in cloud workflow system is a hot topic. As the scheduling is a NP problem, Ant Colony Optimization (ACO and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO have been proposed to optimize the cost. However, they have the characteristic of premature convergence in optimization process and therefore cannot effectively reduce the cost. To solve these problems, Chaotic Particle Swarm Optimization (CPSO algorithm with chaotic sequence and adaptive inertia weight factor is applied to present the task-level scheduling. Chaotic sequence with high randomness improves the diversity of solutions, and its regularity assures a good global convergence. Adaptive inertia weight factor depends on the estimate value of cost. It makes the scheduling avoid premature convergence by properly balancing between global and local exploration. The experimental simulation shows that the cost obtained by our scheduling is always lower than the other two representative counterparts.

Linking school effectiveness and school improvement : The background and outline of the project

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Creemers, B.P.M.; Reezigt, G.J.

2005-01-01

School effectiveness and school improvement have different origins: School effectiveness is more directed to finding out "what works" in education and "why"; school improvement is practice and policy oriented and intended to change education in the desired direction. However, in their orientation to

Implementation of a Self-Monitoring Application to Improve On-Task Behavior: A High-School Pilot Study

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Wills, Howard P.; Mason, Benjamin A.

2014-01-01

Technological innovations offer promise for improving intervention implementation in secondary, inclusive classrooms. A withdrawal design was employed with two high-school students in order to assess the effectiveness of a technologically delivered, self-monitoring intervention in improving on-task behavior in a science classroom. Two students…

Task based synthesis of serial manipulators

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Sarosh Patel

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Computing the optimal geometric structure of manipulators is one of the most intricate problems in contemporary robot kinematics. Robotic manipulators are designed and built to perform certain predetermined tasks. There is a very close relationship between the structure of the manipulator and its kinematic performance. It is therefore important to incorporate such task requirements during the design and synthesis of the robotic manipulators. Such task requirements and performance constraints can be specified in terms of the required end-effector positions, orientations and velocities along the task trajectory. In this work, we present a comprehensive method to develop the optimal geometric structure (DH parameters of a non-redundant six degree of freedom serial manipulator from task descriptions. In this work we define, develop and test a methodology to design optimal manipulator configurations based on task descriptions. This methodology is devised to investigate all possible manipulator configurations that can satisfy the task performance requirements under imposed joint constraints. Out of all the possible structures, the structures that can reach all the task points with the required orientations are selected. Next, these candidate structures are tested to see whether they can attain end-effector velocities in arbitrary directions within the user defined joint constraints, so that they can deliver the best kinematic performance. Additionally least power consuming configurations are also identified.

Challenging tasks: The role of employees' and supervisors' goal orientations

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Preenen, P.; van Vianen, A.; de Pater, I.

2014-01-01

Research shows that challenging jobs stimulate employee learning and retention. Nevertheless, empirical knowledge on what influences the amount of challenging tasks employees perform in their job is lacking. In this study, we examined the extent to which the performance of challenging tasks is

When you have to climb downhill to reach the top: the effect of action versus state orientation on solvinga goal-subgoal conflict in the Tower of Hanoi task.

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Jostmann, Nils B; Gieselmann, Annika

2014-01-01

Complex problems often include a response conflict between a subgoal and a final goal. The present experiment investigated the roles of situational demands and individual differences in self-regulation on solving goal-subgoal conflicts in a computerized Tower of Hanoi task. Action-oriented versus state-oriented individuals were randomly assigned to a demanding condition in which they deliberated about a personal decision problem, or to a nondemanding control condition. In line with expectations state-oriented individuals had greater difficulties to solve goal-subgoal conflicts in the demanding compared to the nondemanding condition. Action-oriented individuals performed well in both conditions. In line with Personality Systems Interactions theory (Kuhl, 2000) the findings show that complex problem solving depends on how well people are able to deal with situational demands.

Orientation Transfer in Vernier and Stereoacuity Training.

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Snell, Nathaniel; Kattner, Florian; Rokers, Bas; Green, C Shawn

2015-01-01

Human performance on various visual tasks can be improved substantially via training. However, the enhancements are frequently specific to relatively low-level stimulus dimensions. While such specificity has often been thought to be indicative of a low-level neural locus of learning, recent research suggests that these same effects can be accounted for by changes in higher-level areas--in particular in the way higher-level areas read out information from lower-level areas in the service of highly practiced decisions. Here we contrast the degree of orientation transfer seen after training on two different tasks--vernier acuity and stereoacuity. Importantly, while the decision rule that could improve vernier acuity (i.e. a discriminant in the image plane) would not be transferable across orientations, the simplest rule that could be learned to solve the stereoacuity task (i.e. a discriminant in the depth plane) would be insensitive to changes in orientation. Thus, given a read-out hypothesis, more substantial transfer would be expected as a result of stereoacuity than vernier acuity training. To test this prediction, participants were trained (7500 total trials) on either a stereoacuity (N = 9) or vernier acuity (N = 7) task with the stimuli in either a vertical or horizontal configuration (balanced across participants). Following training, transfer to the untrained orientation was assessed. As predicted, evidence for relatively orientation specific learning was observed in vernier trained participants, while no evidence of specificity was observed in stereo trained participants. These results build upon the emerging view that perceptual learning (even very specific learning effects) may reflect changes in inferences made by high-level areas, rather than necessarily fully reflecting changes in the receptive field properties of low-level areas.

Basic personality dimensions and vocational orientation with pupils of fourth grade of secondary school

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ranđelović Dušan

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The main goal of this research was to explore relationship between basic personality dimensions of 'Big Five' model of personality (neuroticism, extraversion, opennes, agreeableness and conscientiousness and thirteen different groups of activities which orienting pupils toward some vocations (administration, security, electrotechnics, creativity, culture, literature, science, helping jobs, agriculture, practical jobs, sport and management and services. The participants were 219 pupils of fourth grade of secondary school from different regions of Serbia (Central Serbia, Southern Serbia and Kosovo and Metohija. Two instruments had been used: Test of Personality (FMLI and Test of Vocational Orientation (TPO. The results show that there is significant correlation between basic personality dimensions and vocational orientation. There is positive significant correlation between neuroticism and choosing security, helping jobs, agriculture and practical jobs. Extraversion is in significant positive correlation with choosing administration, security, sport, management, services, culture and literature. Opennes is in significant positive correlation with choosing creativity, culture, literature, helping jobs and services. There is positive significant correlation between agreeableness and choosing helping jobs and negative significant correlation between aggreeableness and choosing security. Conscientiousness is in significant positive correlation with choosing management and science. Also, concerning choosing certain groups of activities there is statistical significant mean difference between male and female.

Perceptual learning of basic visual features remains task specific with Training-Plus-Exposure (TPE) training.

Science.gov (United States)

Cong, Lin-Juan; Wang, Ru-Jie; Yu, Cong; Zhang, Jun-Yun

2016-01-01

Visual perceptual learning is known to be specific to the trained retinal location, feature, and task. However, location and feature specificity can be eliminated by double-training or TPE training protocols, in which observers receive additional exposure to the transfer location or feature dimension via an irrelevant task besides the primary learning task Here we tested whether these new training protocols could even make learning transfer across different tasks involving discrimination of basic visual features (e.g., orientation and contrast). Observers practiced a near-threshold orientation (or contrast) discrimination task. Following a TPE training protocol, they also received exposure to the transfer task via performing suprathreshold contrast (or orientation) discrimination in alternating blocks of trials in the same sessions. The results showed no evidence for significant learning transfer to the untrained near-threshold contrast (or orientation) discrimination task after discounting the pretest effects and the suprathreshold practice effects. These results thus do not support a hypothetical task-independent component in perceptual learning of basic visual features. They also set the boundary of the new training protocols in their capability to enable learning transfer.

Teachers’ teaching practices and beliefs regarding context-based tasks and their relation with students’ difficulties in solving these tasks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wijaya, Ariyadi; Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, M.; Doorman, Michiel

2015-01-01

In this study, we investigated teachers’ teaching practices and their underlying beliefs regarding context-based tasks to find a possible explanation for students’ difficulties with these tasks. The research started by surveying 27 Junior High School teachers from seven schools in Indonesia through

The Effect of Two-dimensional and Stereoscopic Presentation on Middle School Students' Performance of Spatial Cognition Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Price, Aaron; Lee, Hee-Sun

2010-02-01

We investigated whether and how student performance on three types of spatial cognition tasks differs when worked with two-dimensional or stereoscopic representations. We recruited nineteen middle school students visiting a planetarium in a large Midwestern American city and analyzed their performance on a series of spatial cognition tasks in terms of response accuracy and task completion time. Results show that response accuracy did not differ between the two types of representations while task completion time was significantly greater with the stereoscopic representations. The completion time increased as the number of mental manipulations of 3D objects increased in the tasks. Post-interviews provide evidence that some students continued to think of stereoscopic representations as two-dimensional. Based on cognitive load and cue theories, we interpret that, in the absence of pictorial depth cues, students may need more time to be familiar with stereoscopic representations for optimal performance. In light of these results, we discuss potential uses of stereoscopic representations for science learning.

a Task-Driven Disaster Data Link Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Qiu, L. Y.; Zhu, Q.; Gu, J. Y.; Du, Z. Q.

2015-08-01

With the rapid development of sensor networks and Earth observation technology, a large quantity of disaster-related data is available, such as remotely sensed data, historic data, cases data, simulation data, disaster products and so on. However, the efficiency of current data management and service systems has become increasingly serious due to the task variety and heterogeneous data. For emergency task-oriented applications, data searching mainly relies on artificial experience based on simple metadata index, whose high time-consuming and low accuracy cannot satisfy the requirements of disaster products on velocity and veracity. In this paper, a task-oriented linking method is proposed for efficient disaster data management and intelligent service, with the objectives of 1) putting forward ontologies of disaster task and data to unify the different semantics of multi-source information, 2) identifying the semantic mapping from emergency tasks to multiple sources on the basis of uniform description in 1), 3) linking task-related data automatically and calculating the degree of correlation between each data and a target task. The method breaks through traditional static management of disaster data and establishes a base for intelligent retrieval and active push of disaster information. The case study presented in this paper illustrates the use of the method with a flood emergency relief task.

Neurons in Primary Motor Cortex Encode Hand Orientation in a Reach-to-Grasp Task.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Chaolin; Ma, Xuan; Fan, Jing; He, Jiping

2017-08-01

It is disputed whether those neurons in the primary motor cortex (M1) that encode hand orientation constitute an independent channel for orientation control in reach-to-grasp behaviors. Here, we trained two monkeys to reach forward and grasp objects positioned in the frontal plane at different orientation angles, and simultaneously recorded the activity of M1 neurons. Among the 2235 neurons recorded in M1, we found that 18.7% had a high correlation exclusively with hand orientation, 15.9% with movement direction, and 29.5% with both movement direction and hand orientation. The distributions of neurons encoding hand orientation and those encoding movement direction were not uniform but coexisted in the same region. The trajectory of hand rotation was reproduced by the firing patterns of the orientation-related neurons independent of the hand reaching direction. These results suggest that hand orientation is an independent component for the control of reaching and grasping activity.

Broader visual orientation tuning in patients with schizophrenia

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Ariel eRokem

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Reduced gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA levels in cerebral cortex are thought to contribute to information processing deficits in patients with schizophrenia (SZ, and we have previously reported lower in vivo GABA levels in the visual cortex of patients with SZ. GABA-mediated inhibition plays a role in sharpening orientation tuning of visual cortical neurons. Therefore, we predicted that tuning for visual stimulus orientation would be wider in SZ. We measured orientation tuning with a psychophysical procedure in which subjects performed a target detection task of a low-contrast oriented grating, following adaptation to a high-contrast grating. Contrast detection thresholds were determined for a range of adapter-target orientation offsets. For both SZ and healthy controls, contrast thresholds decreased as orientation offset increased, suggesting that this tuning curve reflects the selectivity of visual cortical neurons for stimulus orientation. After accounting for generalized deficits in task performance in SZ, there was no difference between patients and controls for detection of target stimuli having either the same orientation as the adapter or orientations far from the adapter. However, patients’ thresholds were significantly higher for intermediate adapter-target offsets. In addition, the mean width parameter of a Gaussian fit to the psychophysical orientation tuning curves was significantly larger for the patient group. We also present preliminary data relating visual cortical GABA levels, as measured with magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and orientation tuning width. These results suggest that our finding of broader orientation tuning in SZ may be due to diminished visual cortical GABA levels.

Knowledge Pipeline: A Task Oriented Way to Implement Knowledge Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pan Jiajie

2014-01-01

Concept of knowledge pipeline: There are many pipelines named by tasks or business processes in an organization. Knowledge contributors put knowledge to its corresponding pipelines. A maintenance team could keep the knowledge in pipelines clear and valid. Users could get knowledge just like opening a faucet in terms of their tasks or business processes

Sleepiness, On-Task Behavior and Attention in Children with Epilepsy Who Visited a School for Special Education: A Comparative Study

Science.gov (United States)

Didden, Robert; de Moor, Jan M. H.; Korzilius, Hubert

2009-01-01

Children with epilepsy are at risk for problems in daytime functioning. We assessed daytime sleepiness, on-task behavior and attention in 17 children (aged between 7 and 11 years) with epilepsy who visited a school for special education and compared these to 17 children from a control group who visited a regular school. Within the group of…

Negative emotion provides cues for orienting auditory spatial attention

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Erkin eAsutay

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The auditory stimuli provide information about the objects and events around us. They can also carry biologically significant emotional information (such as unseen dangers and conspecific vocalizations, which provides cues for allocation of attention and mental resources. Here, we investigated whether task-irrelevant auditory emotional information can provide cues for orientation of auditory spatial attention. We employed a covert spatial orienting task: the dot-probe task. In each trial, two task irrelevant auditory cues were simultaneously presented at two separate locations (left-right or front-back. Environmental sounds were selected to form emotional vs. neutral, emotional vs. emotional, and neutral vs. neutral cue pairs. The participants’ task was to detect the location of an acoustic target that was presented immediately after the task-irrelevant auditory cues. The target was presented at the same location as one of the auditory cues. The results indicated that participants were significantly faster to locate the target when it replaced the negative cue compared to when it replaced the neutral cue. The positive cues did not produce a clear attentional bias. Further, same valence pairs (emotional-emotional or neutral-neutral did not modulate reaction times due to a lack of spatial attention capture by one cue in the pair. Taken together, the results indicate that negative affect can provide cues for the orientation of spatial attention in the auditory domain.

Relationship between goal orientation and perceived motivational climate in football players of different playing positions

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Özkan ÇEKİÇ

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this study was to determine whether the characteristics of goal orientation and perceived motivational climate change according to the playing positions of amateur footballers. Material and Methods: Four hundred and sixty amateur male football players participated in the study (age, 21.72±4.63 years; football experience, 9.24±4.18 years. Footballers were named as the defence (n=199, midfield (n=187 and forward (n=74 according to their playing position. The scores of perceived motivational climate and goal orientation were determined by the Turkish versions of ‘The Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire’ and ‘The Perceived Motivation Climate Questionnaire’, which were adopted by Toros (2002. Results: Pearson correlation analyses showed that football experience had no effect on task orientation, ego orientation, mastery climate, and performance climate. ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey tests showed that task orientation and mastery climate scores were higher in defence players than midfield players (p=0.003 vs. p<0.001. Ego orientation and performance climate scores of the midfield and defence players differed in favour of the midfield players (p<0.001 vs. p<0.001. Although there were no statistically significant differences in terms of the scores of task orientation and ego orientation among forward, defence, and midfield players, performance climate scores were higher in forward players than midfield players (p<0.001. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, players who have higher task orientation and mastery climate scores can play as defence players, and other players who have higher ego orientation and performance climate scores can play as midfield players. With the need for more extensive studies to determine the goal orientation and motivational climate scores of forward players, scores that are obtained from questionnaires should be evaluated with physical and physiological tests.

Organizing Core Tasks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boll, Karen

has remained much the same within the last 10 years. However, how the core task has been organized has changed considerable under the influence of various “organizing devices”. The paper focusses on how organizing devices such as risk assessment, output-focus, effect orientation, and treatment...... projects influence the organization of core tasks within the tax administration. The paper shows that the organizational transformations based on the use of these devices have had consequences both for the overall collection of revenue and for the employees’ feeling of “making a difference”. All in all...

Conflicts between On-Task and Off-Task Behaviors in the Classroom: The Influences of Parental Monitoring, Peer Value Orientations, Students' Goals, and Their Value Orientations

Science.gov (United States)

Kilian, Britta; Hofer, Manfred; Kuhnle, Claudia

2013-01-01

Students in class are sometimes torn between following the lesson and engaging in off-task behavior. In this paper, instead of classifying it as a form of deviant behavior, off-task behavior is reconstructed as a manifestation of students multiple motivations in the classroom. The study examines whether parental monitoring, peer value…

Postdictive modulation of visual orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawabe, Takahiro

2012-01-01

The present study investigated how visual orientation is modulated by subsequent orientation inputs. Observers were presented a near-vertical Gabor patch as a target, followed by a left- or right-tilted second Gabor patch as a distracter in the spatial vicinity of the target. The task of the observers was to judge whether the target was right- or left-tilted (Experiment 1) or whether the target was vertical or not (Supplementary experiment). The judgment was biased toward the orientation of the distracter (the postdictive modulation of visual orientation). The judgment bias peaked when the target and distracter were temporally separated by 100 ms, indicating a specific temporal mechanism for this phenomenon. However, when the visibility of the distracter was reduced via backward masking, the judgment bias disappeared. On the other hand, the low-visibility distracter could still cause a simultaneous orientation contrast, indicating that the distracter orientation is still processed in the visual system (Experiment 2). Our results suggest that the postdictive modulation of visual orientation stems from spatiotemporal integration of visual orientation on the basis of a slow feature matching process.

Gender relations and sexual orientation in Religious Education curriculum in state and municipal schools in Recife

OpenAIRE

Aurenéa Maria de Oliveira

2015-01-01

This research conducted in state and municipal public schools of Recife in Pernambuco through research project that had the support of UFPE and CNPq aimed to analyze the Religious Education curriculum (ER), the place that women, especially with marginalized sexual orientation as lesbian, bisexual and transgender occupy. To this end, we work with the methodology of Discourse Analysis and the Theory of Speech, looking first identify the main ideologies surrounding and involving the theme, then ...

A Teenager’s reϐlection on formation of the value orientations in the family and at school

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VILIJA GRINCEVIČIENĖ

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Family and school – the most important social institutions in which the young generation is prepared to live in tomorrow’s society. Analysis of the research revealed that in the period of age from 14 to 19 the most important values is considered as: empathy, perfection, justice, self-improvement, self-esteem, security, acceptance, courage, knowledge, creativity, competitiveness, friendship, cooperation, responsibility and altruism. Family, which successfully trains and educates such values as security, justice, altruism, empathy, self-esteem, enable the young generation to develop social competence. Th e main values conveyed in the school- competitiveness, education, cooperation, friendship, recognition. Looking at the situation from a range of competencies, a school distinguished by communication, learning to learn skills and personal development. A closer interaction between school and family accelerate the positive socialization process of young generation and guarantee the further development of the formation process of value orientations (personality development.

Internationalized and research-oriented photonics education: Abbe School of Photonics

Science.gov (United States)

Helgert, Christian; Nolte, Stefan; Pertsch, Thomas

2015-10-01

The Abbe School of Photonics (ASP) provides and coordinates the optics and photonics education of graduate and doctoral students at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany. The internationalized Master's degree program is the key activity in training students in the optical sciences. The program is designed to provide them with the skills necessary to fill challenging positions in industry and academia. Here, an essential factor is ASP's close collaboration with more than 20 German photonics companies. To sustain these partners' future economic development, the availability of highly qualified employees is constantly required. Accordingly, these industrial partners, the European Union, the local state and the federal German government are strongly involved in the sustainable development of ASP's curriculum by both conceptual and financial engagements. The main goal is to promote the students' academic careers and job experience in the photonics industry as well as in academia. To open up the program to students from all over the world, all ASP lectures and courses are taught in English. Since 2009, more than 250 graduate students from more than 40 different countries have been enrolled at the School. Almost 90% of them of non-German nationality, fulfilling the essential ASP philosophy to locally establish an international education program. ASP's qualification strategy is fully research-oriented and based on the principles of academic freedom, competitive research conditions and internationalization at all levels. The education program is complemented by a structured doctoral student support and a prestigious guest professorship program.

Teachers' Teaching Practices and Beliefs Regarding Context-Based Tasks and Their Relation with Students' Difficulties in Solving These Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Wijaya, Ariyadi; van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, Marja; Doorman, Michiel

2015-01-01

In this study, we investigated teachers' teaching practices and their underlying beliefs regarding context-based tasks to find a possible explanation for students' difficulties with these tasks. The research started by surveying 27 Junior High School teachers from seven schools in Indonesia through a written questionnaire. Then, to further examine…

Large sexual-orientation-related differences in performance on mental rotation and judgment of line orientation tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, Qazi; Wilson, Glenn D

2003-01-01

This study examined the performance of heterosexual and homosexual men and women on 2 tests of spatial processing, mental rotation (MR) and Benton Judgment of Line Orientation (JLO). The sample comprised 60 heterosexual men, 60 heterosexual women, 60 homosexual men, and 60 homosexual women. There were significant main effects of gender (men achieving higher scores overall) and Gender x Sexual Orientation interactions. Decomposing these interactions revealed large differences between the male groups in favor of heterosexual men on JLO and MR performance. There was a modest difference between the female groups on MR total correct scores in favor of homosexual women but no differences in MR percentage correct. The evidence suggests possible variations in the parietal cortex between homosexual and heterosexual persons.

Orienteering section as a form of extracurricular activities in physical education

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Vukadinović Nenad

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Extracurricular activities offer students the opportunity to learn and train sports not provided by curriculum of physical education. Staying active in nature in terms of the orientation movement is greatly beneficial for the development of mental and physical abilities. The aim of this paper is to present opportunities for the organizing orienteering section in elementary school. Descriptive method was applied to be shown plan and program of the section designed so that teachers of physical education in their schools provide implementation of orienteering section for 30 classes. The expected outcome of orienteering section is to enable students to independently perform at competitions. Training is done through the implementation of goals and objectives of sections, using methodological procedures with respect to the pupils' age, prior knowledge and the pace of overcoming the training. Plan and program section includes mastering the basic technique in orienteering, through theoretical and practical work. In working with students who are for the first time in orienteering, the main focus should be on reading the maps, and understanding the relationship between nature and maps. In primary schools there are possibilities to organize orienteering section, and there is a significant correlation with other subjects. The presented model provides the optimal level of theoretical and practical knowledge that students can apply in school competitions.

Food allergies in school: design and evaluation of a teacher-oriented training action.

Science.gov (United States)

Ravarotto, Licia; Mascarello, Giulia; Pinto, Anna; Schiavo, Maria Rita; Bagni, Marina; Decastelli, Lucia

2014-12-04

Food allergies are perceived as a significant problem in school environments; as a result, a teacher's ability to recognise and deal with allergic reactions is of fundamental importance to protect children's health. This paper includes the results of a study conducted for the purposes of designing, implementing and monitoring a specific set of teacher-oriented communication actions. The study involved designing, implementing and assessing five workshops. These workshops were designed on the basis of the analysis of perceptions and information needs investigated by three focus groups (25 teachers). The level of the teachers' knowledge and appreciation of the workshops was evaluated by using two structured questionnaires (n = 158). The teachers feel that they are insufficiently informed about food allergies; this knowledge gap is confirmed by an analysis of their knowledge before participating in the workshops. According to the teachers, the information which would be most useful to them has to do with the practical management of allergies in school. They feel that there is a lack of a professional contact person for precise and reliable information on health issues. The workshops seem to be appreciated as an information method. In addition, there appears to be a need to involve all children in awareness raising activities and education projects on this subject. There is an urgent need for training actions on food allergies in Italian schools, in particular the communication of practical information regarding the management of allergies and emergencies. More communication between the medical and school staff is, in particular, advisable.

Implementation effect of productive 4-stage field orientation on the student technopreneur skill in vocational schools

Science.gov (United States)

Ismail, Edy; Samsudi, Widjanarko, Dwi; Joyce, Peter; Stearns, Roman

2018-03-01

This model integrates project base learning by creating a product based on environmental needs. The Produktif Orientasi Lapangan 4 Tahap (POL4T) combines technical skills and entrepreneurial elements together in the learning process. This study is to implement the result of technopreneurship learning model development which is environment-oriented by combining technology and entrepreneurship components on Machining Skill Program. This study applies research and development design by optimizing experimental subject. Data were obtained from questionnaires, learning material validation, interpersonal, intrapersonal observation forms, skills, product, teachers and students' responses, and cognitive tasks. Expert validation and t-test calculation are applied to see how effective POL4T learning model. The result of the study is in the form of 4 steps learning model to enhance interpersonal and intrapersonal attitudes, develop practical products which orient to society and appropriate technology so that the products can have high selling value. The model is effective based on the students' post test result, which is better than the pre-test. The product obtained from POL4T model is proven to be better than the productive learning. POL4T model is recommended to be implemented for XI grade students. This is can develop entrepreneurial attitudes that are environment oriented, community needs and technical competencies students.

When you have to climb downhill to reach the top: The effect of action versus state orientation on solving a goal-subgoal conflict in the Tower of Hanoi task

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jostmann, N.B.; Gieselmann, A.

2014-01-01

Complex problems often include a response conflict between a subgoal and a final goal. The present experiment investigated the roles of situational demands and individual differences in self-regulation on solving goal-subgoal conflicts in a computerized Tower of Hanoi task. Action-oriented versus

Managing Conflict in School Teams: The Impact of Task and Goal Interdependence on Conflict Management and Team Effectiveness

Science.gov (United States)

Somech, Anit

2008-01-01

Purpose: Although conflict has traditionally been considered destructive, recent studies have indicated that conflict management can contribute to effective teamwork. The present study explores conflict management as a team phenomenon in schools. The author examined how the contextual variables (task interdependence, goal interdependence) are…

Food Perceptions and Dietary Behavior of American-Indian Children, Their Caregivers, and Educators: Formative Assessment Findings from Pathways.

Science.gov (United States)

Gittelsohn, Joel; Toporoff, Elanah Greer; Story, Mary; Evans, Marguerite; Anliker, Jean; Davis, Sally; Sharma, Anjali; White, Jean

2000-01-01

Dietary findings from a school-based obesity prevention project (Pathways) are reported for children from six different American-Indian nations. A formative assessment was undertaken with teachers, caregivers, and children from nine schools to design a culturally appropriate intervention, including classroom curriculum, food service, physical education, and family components. This assessment employed a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods (including direct observations, paired-child in-depth interviews, focus groups with child caregivers and teachers, and semistructured interviews with caregivers and foodservice personnel) to query local perceptions and beliefs about foods commonly eaten and risk behaviors associated with childhood obesity at home, at school, and in the community. An abundance of high-fat, high-sugar foods was detected in children's diets described by caregivers, school food-service workers, and the children themselves. Although children and caregivers identified fruits and vegetables as healthy food choices, this knowledge does not appear to influence actual food choices. Frequent high-fat/high-sugar food sales in the schools, high-fat entrees in school meals, the use of food rewards in the classroom, rules about finishing all of one's food, and limited family resources are some of the competing factors that need to be addressed in the Pathways intervention.

Postdictive modulation of visual orientation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takahiro Kawabe

Full Text Available The present study investigated how visual orientation is modulated by subsequent orientation inputs. Observers were presented a near-vertical Gabor patch as a target, followed by a left- or right-tilted second Gabor patch as a distracter in the spatial vicinity of the target. The task of the observers was to judge whether the target was right- or left-tilted (Experiment 1 or whether the target was vertical or not (Supplementary experiment. The judgment was biased toward the orientation of the distracter (the postdictive modulation of visual orientation. The judgment bias peaked when the target and distracter were temporally separated by 100 ms, indicating a specific temporal mechanism for this phenomenon. However, when the visibility of the distracter was reduced via backward masking, the judgment bias disappeared. On the other hand, the low-visibility distracter could still cause a simultaneous orientation contrast, indicating that the distracter orientation is still processed in the visual system (Experiment 2. Our results suggest that the postdictive modulation of visual orientation stems from spatiotemporal integration of visual orientation on the basis of a slow feature matching process.

Reading Comprehension Course Through a Genre-Oriented Approach at a School in Colombia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrés Rodríguez Sánchez

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This paper reports on an action-research study aimed at identifying the problems and needs of a specific group of tenth graders at a school in Colombia in relation to their reading comprehension in English in order to design, partially implement, and evaluate a genre-oriented syllabus. Findings show that the explicit instruction of metacognitive strategies helped students become more efficient readers, as well as the fact that the exposure and analysis of genres developed a better comprehension of different kinds of texts, making these students aware of the structure and patterns of the texts they were reading as they approached them with reading strategies that were appropriate for each genre and stage.

Orientations for the successful categorization of facial expressions and their link with facial features.

Science.gov (United States)

Duncan, Justin; Gosselin, Frédéric; Cobarro, Charlène; Dugas, Gabrielle; Blais, Caroline; Fiset, Daniel

2017-12-01

Horizontal information was recently suggested to be crucial for face identification. In the present paper, we expand on this finding and investigate the role of orientations for all the basic facial expressions and neutrality. To this end, we developed orientation bubbles to quantify utilization of the orientation spectrum by the visual system in a facial expression categorization task. We first validated the procedure in Experiment 1 with a simple plaid-detection task. In Experiment 2, we used orientation bubbles to reveal the diagnostic-i.e., task relevant-orientations for the basic facial expressions and neutrality. Overall, we found that horizontal information was highly diagnostic for expressions-surprise excepted. We also found that utilization of horizontal information strongly predicted performance level in this task. Despite the recent surge of research on horizontals, the link with local features remains unexplored. We were thus also interested in investigating this link. In Experiment 3, location bubbles were used to reveal the diagnostic features for the basic facial expressions. Crucially, Experiments 2 and 3 were run in parallel on the same participants, in an interleaved fashion. This way, we were able to correlate individual orientation and local diagnostic profiles. Our results indicate that individual differences in horizontal tuning are best predicted by utilization of the eyes.

USE OF POWERPOINT POSSIBILITIES IN IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECT METHOD INTO THE LEARNING PROCESS WHILE STUDYING CHEMISTRY IN PROFESSION-ORIENTED SCHOOL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria D. Tukalo

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The article reveals the importance of the opportunities and prospects for the introduction of PowerPoint project method in chemistry lessons in profession-oriented school, which is a prerequisite in the search for innovative, effective and optimal computer-oriented teaching methods and forms for the establishment of conditions for the development of creative potential of students based on competences through the organization individual, creative and research activities in the educational system of modern technology. It enables to design the educational process, use of generalized methods of training for providing training and guaranteed results.

INVARIANT PRACTICAL TASKS FOR WORK WITH ELECTRONIC SPREADSHEETS AT THE SECONDARY SCHOOL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Л И Карташова

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In article examples of practical jobs on creation and editing electronic spreadsheets for pupils of the main school are given. For fixing of knowledge and abilities of pupils on formatting of cells they are offered to create, for example, in the plate processor the table and to make its formatting on a sample which shall be brought to the computer monitor, is printed on a color printer and is laid out on the local area network in the form of the image. In the course of assimilation of data types jobs for determination and the explanation of data types to which different strings belong are offered school students. For assimilation of features of record of formulas school students are offered to write different mathematical expressions in the look suitable for use in electronic spreadsheets.Jobs reflect fundamental invariant approach to implementation of technology of operation with electronic spreadsheets as don’t depend on specific versions of computer programs. The provided jobs can be used in case of study of any plate processors. In training activity on the basis of use of invariant jobs there is a mastering the generalized methods of activities to numerical information that will allow to create a system view on use of information technologies and to consciously apply them to the solution of tasks.

7 CFR 227.1 - General purpose and scope.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... management training of school foodservice personnel, and (c) the conduct of nutrition education activities in... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS NUTRITION EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAM General § 227.1 General purpose...

Using goal orientations to understand motivation in strength training.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilson, Todd A; Chow, Graig M; Ewing, Martha E

2008-07-01

Despite the importance that today's athletics place on strength training, research exploring the motivation of athletes in this arena is sparse. It is known that not all athletes will use the same motivational cognitions as inspiration, and these differences can be explored through achievement goal orientations. Through questionnaire data and semistructured interviews, the present study investigated how collegiate athletes maintain high levels of motivation over a period of time during strength training and explored relationships among five goal orientations: task-orientation, self-enhancing ego-orientation, self-defeating ego-orientation, social-approval orientation, and work-avoidance orientation. Subjects (N = 133), comprising 90 men and 43 women, were current varsity collegiate athletes from 15 different sports at a major Midwestern university. In addition, using a screener survey to assess achievement goal orientations, 15 subjects from the sample group who demonstrated a stronger inclination to only one achievement goal orientation were interviewed to gain a more in-depth understanding of their motivation cognitions in strength training. Results showed that the strongest achievement goal orientations reported from all athletes were task-orientation and social-approval. Additionally, five higher-order themes (significant others, improvement, competitive demands, being stronger than others, and miscellaneous) were consistent among the interviewed athletes when describing how they stay motivated during strength training. Whereas all athletes were able to describe at least one motivational strategy they employed during strength training, the dominant achievement goal orientation of some athletes influenced their motivational strategy. By employing the T.A.R.G.E.T. model (), strength coaches can foster adaptive achievement goal orientations and thereby enhance intrinsic motivation for athletes engaging in strength training.

Orienting of attention, pupil size, and the norepinephrine system.

Science.gov (United States)

Gabay, Shai; Pertzov, Yoni; Henik, Avishai

2011-01-01

This research examined a novel suggestion regarding the involvement of the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system in orienting reflexive (exogenous) attention. A common procedure for studying exogenous orienting of attention is Posner's cuing task. Importantly, one can manipulate the required level of target processing by changing task requirements, which, in turn, can elicit a different time course of inhibition of return (IOR). An easy task (responding to target location) produces earlier onset IOR, whereas a demanding task (responding to target identity) produces later onset IOR. Aston-Jones and Cohen (Annual Review of Neuroscience, 28, 403-450, 2005) presented a theory suggesting two different modes of LC activity: tonic and phasic. Accordingly, we suggest that in the more demanding task, the LC-NE system is activated in phasic mode, and in the easier task, it is activated in tonic mode. This, in turn, influences the appearance of IOR. We examined this suggestion by measuring participants' pupil size, which has been demonstrated to correlate with the LC-NE system, while they performed cuing tasks. We found a response-locked phasic dilation of the pupil in the discrimination task, as compared with the localization task, which may reflect different firing modes of the LC-NE system during the two tasks. We also demonstrated a correlation between pupil size at the time of cue presentation and magnitude of IOR.

Towards Sustaining Levels of Reflective Learning: How Do Transformational Leadership, Task Interdependence, and Self-Efficacy Shape Teacher Learning in Schools?

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Arnoud Oude Groote Beverborg

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Whereas cross-sectional research has shown that transformational leadership, task interdependence, and self-efficacy are positively related to teachers’ engagement in reflective learning activities, the causal direction of these relations needs further inquiry. At the same time, individual teacher learning might play a mutual role in strengthening school-level capacity for sustained improvement. Building on previous research, this longitudinal study therefore examines how transformational leadership, task interdependence, self-efficacy, and teachers’ engagement in self-reflection mutually affect each other over time. Questionnaire data gathered on three measurement occasions from 655 Dutch Vocational Education and Training teachers was analyzed using a multivariate Latent Difference Score model. Results indicate that self-reflection and task interdependence reciprocally influence each other’s change. A considerate and stimulating transformational leader was found to contribute to this process. Change in self-efficacy was influenced by self-reflection, indicating that learning leads to competency beliefs. Together, the findings point to the important role transformational leadership practices play in facilitating teamwork, and sustaining teachers’ levels of learning in schools.

Visuospatial performance on an internet line judgment task and potential hormonal markers: sex, sexual orientation, and 2D:4D.

Science.gov (United States)

Collaer, Marcia L; Reimers, Stian; Manning, John T

2007-04-01

We investigated whether performance on a visuospatial line judgment task, the Judgment of Line Angle and Position-15 test (JLAP-15), showed evidence of sensitivity to early sex steroid exposure by examining how it related to sex, as well as to sexual orientation and 2D:4D digit ratios. Participants were drawn from a large Internet study with over 250,000 participants. In the main sample (ages 12-58 years), males outperformed females on the JLAP-15, showing a moderate effect size for sex. In agreement with a prenatal sex hormone hypothesis, line judgment accuracy in adults related to 2D:4D and sexual orientation, both of which are postulated to be influenced by early steroids. In both sexes, better visuospatial performance was associated with lower (more male-typical) digit ratios. For men, heterosexual participants outperformed homosexual/bisexual participants on the JLAP-15 and, for women, homosexual/bisexual participants outperformed heterosexual participants. In children aged 8-10 years, presumed to be a largely prepubertal group, boys also outperformed girls. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that visuospatial ability is influenced by early sex steroids, although they do not rule out alternative explanations or additional influences. More broadly, such results support a prenatal sex hormone hypothesis that degree of androgen exposure may influence the neural circuitry underlying cognition (visuospatial ability) and sexual orientation as well as aspects of somatic (digit ratio) development.

Object orientation affects spatial language comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Burigo, Michele; Sacchi, Simona

2013-01-01

Typical spatial descriptions, such as "The car is in front of the house," describe the position of a located object (LO; e.g., the car) in space relative to a reference object (RO) whose location is known (e.g., the house). The orientation of the RO affects spatial language comprehension via the reference frame selection process. However, the effects of the LO's orientation on spatial language have not received great attention. This study explores whether the pure geometric information of the LO (e.g., its orientation) affects spatial language comprehension using placing and production tasks. Our results suggest that the orientation of the LO influences spatial language comprehension even in the absence of functional relationships. Copyright © 2013 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

A Model of Parental Achievement-Oriented Psychological Control in Academically Gifted Students

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Garn, Alex C.; Jolly, Jennifer L.

2015-01-01

This study investigated achievement-oriented parent socialization as it pertains to school avoidance in a sample of gifted students. A serial mediation model examining relationships among parental achievement-oriented psychological control (APC), fear of academic failure, academic amotivation, and school avoidance was tested. The sample included…

PEER-ORIENTED INTERVENTION: A SOCIAL FACTOR OF LANGUAGE SHIFT IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

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Ihda Rosdiana

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This study aims at ascertaining the social factor causing the shifting of Bahasa Jawa Ngoko into Bahasa Indonesia among the elementary school students and confirming whether this phenomenon also occurs in all grades. The data were collected through observation and interview. Those data were analyzed using interactive analysis model (Milles & Huberman, 1994. There are two triangulations used in this research: source and method triangulations. Finally, the research found that peer-oriented intervention (Mrug et al,. 2001 functions as a social factor of language shift. However, this Javanese shift did not occur in the fifth grade students since they are from the same speech community.   Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui faktor sosial yang menyebabkan pergeseran Bahasa Jawa Ngoko dalam Bahasa Indonesia di kalangan siswa sekolah dasar dan memastikan apakah fenomena ini juga terjadi di semua kelas. Data dikumpulkan melalui pengamatan dan wawancara. Selanjutnya, data tersebut dianalisis dengan menerapkan model analisis interaktif (Milles &Huberman, 1994. Selain itu, penelitian ini menggunakan triangulasi sumber dan metode. Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa peer-oriented intervention berfungsi sebagai faktor sosial pergeseran bahasa. Namun, pergeseran Bahasa Jawa Ngoko ke Bahasa Indonesia ini tidak terjadi pada siswa kelas lima karena mereka berasal dari komunitas bahasa yang sama.

Age Differences in Future Orientation and Delay Discounting

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Steinberg, Laurence; Graham, Sandra; O'Brien, Lia; Woolard, Jennifer; Cauffman, Elizabeth; Banich, Marie

2009-01-01

Age differences in future orientation are examined in a sample of 935 individuals between 10 and 30 years using a delay discounting task as well as a new self-report measure. Younger adolescents consistently demonstrate a weaker orientation to the future than do individuals aged 16 and older, as reflected in their greater willingness to accept a…

A focus on polarity: Investigating the role of orientation cues in mediating student performance on mRNA synthesis tasks in an introductory cell and molecular biology course.

Science.gov (United States)

Olimpo, Jeffrey T; Quijas, Daniel A; Quintana, Anita M

2017-11-01

The central dogma has served as a foundational model for information flow, exchange, and storage in the biological sciences for several decades. Despite its continued importance, however, recent research suggests that novices in the domain possess several misconceptions regarding the aforementioned processes, including those pertaining specifically to the formation of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) transcripts. In the present study, we sought to expand upon these observations through exploration of the influence of orientation cues on students' aptitude at synthesizing mRNAs from provided deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) template strands. Data indicated that participants (n = 45) were proficient at solving tasks of this nature when the DNA template strand and the mRNA molecule were represented in an antiparallel orientation. In contrast, participants' performance decreased significantly on items in which the mRNA was depicted in a parallel orientation relative to the DNA template strand. Furthermore, participants' Grade Point Average, self-reported confidence in understanding the transcriptional process, and spatial ability were found to mediate their performance on the mRNA synthesis tasks. Collectively, these data reaffirm the need for future research and pedagogical interventions designed to enhance students' comprehension of the central dogma in a manner that makes transparent its relevance to real-world scientific phenomena. © 2017 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(6):501-508, 2017. © 2017 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

A Focus Group Study of Child Nutrition Professionals' Attitudes about Food Allergies and Current Training Practices

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Lee, Yee Ming; Kwon, Junehee; Sauer, Kevin

2014-01-01

Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore child nutrition professionals' (CNPs) attitudes about food allergies, current practices of food allergy training, and operational issues related to food allergy training in school foodservice operations. Methods: Three focus groups were conducted with 21 CNPs with managerial…

Exploring the motivation jungle: predicting performance on a novel task by investigating constructs from different motivation perspectives in tandem.

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Van Nuland, Hanneke J C; Dusseldorp, Elise; Martens, Rob L; Boekaerts, Monique

2010-08-01

Different theoretical viewpoints on motivation make it hard to decide which model has the best potential to provide valid predictions on classroom performance. This study was designed to explore motivation constructs derived from different motivation perspectives that predict performance on a novel task best. Motivation constructs from self-determination theory, self-regulation theory, and achievement goal theory were investigated in tandem. Performance was measured by systematicity (i.e. how systematically students worked on a problem-solving task) and test score (i.e. score on a multiple-choice test). Hierarchical regression analyses on data from 259 secondary school students showed a quadratic relation between a performance avoidance orientation and both performance outcomes, indicating that extreme high and low performance avoidance resulted in the lowest performance. Furthermore, two three-way interaction effects were found. Intrinsic motivation seemed to play a key role in test score and systematicity performance, provided that effort regulation and metacognitive skills were both high. Results indicate that intrinsic motivation in itself is not enough to attain a good performance. Instead, a moderate score on performance avoidance, together with the ability to remain motivated and effectively regulate and control task behavior, is needed to attain a good performance. High time management skills also contributed to higher test score and systematicity performance and a low performance approach orientation contributed to higher systematicity performance. We concluded that self-regulatory skills should be trained in order to have intrinsically motivated students perform well on novel tasks in the classroom.

Effect of tDCS on task relevant and irrelevant perceptual learning of complex objects.

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Van Meel, Chayenne; Daniels, Nicky; de Beeck, Hans Op; Baeck, Annelies

2016-01-01

During perceptual learning the visual representations in the brain are altered, but these changes' causal role has not yet been fully characterized. We used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to investigate the role of higher visual regions in lateral occipital cortex (LO) in perceptual learning with complex objects. We also investigated whether object learning is dependent on the relevance of the objects for the learning task. Participants were trained in two tasks: object recognition using a backward masking paradigm and an orientation judgment task. During both tasks, an object with a red line on top of it were presented in each trial. The crucial difference between both tasks was the relevance of the object: the object was relevant for the object recognition task, but not for the orientation judgment task. During training, half of the participants received anodal tDCS stimulation targeted at the lateral occipital cortex (LO). Afterwards, participants were tested on how well they recognized the trained objects, the irrelevant objects presented during the orientation judgment task and a set of completely new objects. Participants stimulated with tDCS during training showed larger improvements of performance compared to participants in the sham condition. No learning effect was found for the objects presented during the orientation judgment task. To conclude, this study suggests a causal role of LO in relevant object learning, but given the rather low spatial resolution of tDCS, more research on the specificity of this effect is needed. Further, mere exposure is not sufficient to train object recognition in our paradigm.

An evaluation of the process used to determine life orientation moderation in school based asssessments for Grade twelve

OpenAIRE

2013-01-01

M. Ed. (Higher Education) This study seeks to evaluate the processes used in the moderation of School-based Assessment (SBA) in Life Orientation (LO). This subject has been introduced by the Department of Education (DoE) to form part of Grade 12 exit examinations the National Curriculum Statement (NCS). SBA refers to all assessment that is conducted by teachers, and sometimes is known as internal assessment, coursework or continuous assessment...

Educational Evaluators--A Model for Task Oriented Position Development

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Rice, David; and others

1970-01-01

An outline of 44 evaluator tasks is discussed in terms of its usefulness in defining, evaluating, and improving the position of "educational evaluator ; in adapting the position to the needs of particular institutions; and in designing appropriate evaluator training programs. (JES)

The Software Bus, an Object-Oriented Data Exchange System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akerbaek, T.; Louka, M.

1996-01-01

This document describes the Software Bus System, developed for object-oriented task to task communication in a TCP/IP based network. The Software Bus is a set of library functions, developed to be used for the Picasso-3 UIMS, and as a general purpose tool for dynamically interfacing programs at run-time. The Software Bus offers a high level object-oriented data exchange mechanism that relieves the application programmer of the low level TCP/IP-programming and communication protocol handling. The Software Bus is currently available under several UNIX platforms and a version for Windows NT is planned for late 1996. (author)

Disparities in safety belt use by sexual orientation identity among US high school students.

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Reisner, Sari L; Van Wagenen, Aimee; Gordon, Allegra; Calzo, Jerel P

2014-02-01

We examined associations between adolescents' safety belt use and sexual orientation identity. We pooled data from the 2005 and 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (n = 26,468 weighted; mean age = 15.9 years; 35.4% White, 24.7% Black, 23.5% Latino, 16.4% other). We compared lesbian and gay (1.2%), bisexual (3.5%), and unsure (2.6%) youths with heterosexuals (92.7%) on a binary indicator of passenger safety belt use. We stratified weighted multivariable logistic regression models by sex and adjusted for survey wave and sampling design. Overall, 12.6% of high school students reported "rarely" or "never" wearing safety belts. Sexual minority youths had increased odds of reporting nonuse relative to heterosexuals (48% higher for male bisexuals, 85% for lesbians, 46% for female bisexuals, and 51% for female unsure youths; P < .05), after adjustment for demographic (age, race/ethnicity), individual (body mass index, depression, bullying, binge drinking, riding with a drunk driver, academic achievement), and contextual (living in jurisdictions with secondary or primary safety belt laws, percentage below poverty, percentage same-sex households) risk factors. Public health interventions should address sexual orientation identity disparities in safety belt use.

Eating Disorder Symptoms and Obesity at the Intersections of Gender, Ethnicity, and Sexual Orientation in US High School Students

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Nelson, Lauren A.; Birkett, Michelle A.; Calzo, Jerel P.; Everett, Bethany

2013-01-01

Objectives. We examined purging for weight control, diet pill use, and obesity across sexual orientation identity and ethnicity groups. Methods. Anonymous survey data were analyzed from 24 591 high school students of diverse ethnicities in the federal Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System Survey in 2005 and 2007. Self-reported data were gathered on gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation identity, height, weight, and purging and diet pill use in the past 30 days. We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate odds of purging, diet pill use, and obesity associated with sexual orientation identity in gender-stratified models and examined for the presence of interactions between ethnicity and sexual orientation. Results. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) identity was associated with substantially elevated odds of purging and diet pill use in both girls and boys (odds ratios [OR] range =  1.9–6.8). Bisexual girls and boys were also at elevated odds of obesity compared to same-gender heterosexuals (OR = 2.3 and 2.1, respectively). Conclusions. Interventions to reduce eating disorders and obesity that are appropriate for LGB youths of diverse ethnicities are urgently needed. PMID:23237207

The Impact of Authentic Materials and Tasks on Students’ Communicative Competence at a Colombian Language School

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César Augusto Castillo Losada

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article reports on a study carried out in a foreign language school at a Colombian public university. Its main purpose was to analyze the extent to which the use of authentic materials and tasks contributes to the enhancement of the communicative competence on an A2 level English course. A mixed study composed of a quasi-experimental and a descriptive-qualitative research design was implemented by means of a pre-test, a post-test, observations, semi-structured interviews, surveys, and diaries. The findings showed that the use of authentic materials and tasks, within the framework of a pedagogical project, had an impact on students’ communicative competence progress and on the teaching practices of the experimental group teacher.

A comparative analysis of multiple-choice and student performance-task assessment in the high school biology classroom

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Cushing, Patrick Ryan

This study compared the performance of high school students on laboratory assessments. Thirty-four high school students who were enrolled in the second semester of a regular biology class or had completed the biology course the previous semester participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to examinations of two formats, performance-task and traditional multiple-choice, from two content areas, using a compound light microscope and diffusion. Students were directed to think-aloud as they performed the assessments. Additional verbal data were obtained during interviews following the assessment. The tape-recorded narrative data were analyzed for type and diversity of knowledge and skill categories, and percentage of in-depth processing demonstrated. While overall mean scores on the assessments were low, elicited statements provided additional insight into student cognition. Results indicated that a greater diversity of knowledge and skill categories was elicited by the two microscope assessments and by the two performance-task assessments. In addition, statements demonstrating in-depth processing were coded most frequently in narratives elicited during clinical interviews following the diffusion performance-task assessment. This study calls for individual teachers to design authentic assessment practices and apply them to daily classroom routines. Authentic assessment should be an integral part of the learning process and not merely an end result. In addition, teachers are encouraged to explicitly identify and model, through think-aloud methods, desired cognitive behaviors in the classroom.

Improving the human readability of Arden Syntax medical logic modules using a concept-oriented terminology and object-oriented programming expressions.

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Choi, Jeeyae; Bakken, Suzanne; Lussier, Yves A; Mendonça, Eneida A

2006-01-01

Medical logic modules are a procedural representation for sharing task-specific knowledge for decision support systems. Based on the premise that clinicians may perceive object-oriented expressions as easier to read than procedural rules in Arden Syntax-based medical logic modules, we developed a method for improving the readability of medical logic modules. Two approaches were applied: exploiting the concept-oriented features of the Medical Entities Dictionary and building an executable Java program to replace Arden Syntax procedural expressions. The usability evaluation showed that 66% of participants successfully mapped all Arden Syntax rules to Java methods. These findings suggest that these approaches can play an essential role in the creation of human readable medical logic modules and can potentially increase the number of clinical experts who are able to participate in the creation of medical logic modules. Although our approaches are broadly applicable, we specifically discuss the relevance to concept-oriented nursing terminologies and automated processing of task-specific nursing knowledge.

Impact of Maine's statewide nutrition policy on high school food environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Whatley Blum, Janet E; Beaudoin, Christina M; O'Brien, Liam M; Polacsek, Michele; Harris, David E; O'Rourke, Karen A

2011-01-01

We assessed the effect on the food environments of public high schools of Maine's statewide nutrition policy (Chapter 51), which banned "foods of minimal nutritional value" (FMNV) in public high schools that participated in federally funded meal programs. We documented allowable exceptions to the policy and describe the school food environments. We mailed surveys to 89 high school food-service directors to assess availability pre-Chapter 51 and post-Chapter 51 of soda, other sugar-sweetened beverages, and junk food. Frequency data were tabulated pre-Chapter 51 and post-Chapter 51, and Fisher exact test was used to assess significance in changes. We conducted food and beverage inventories at 11 high schools. The survey return rate was 61% (N = 54). Availability of soda in student vending significantly decreased pre-Chapter 51 versus post-Chapter 51 (P = .04). No significant changes were found for other sugar-sweetened beverages and junk food. Exceptions to Chapter 51 were permitted to staff (67%), to the public (86%), and in career and technical education programs (31%). Inventories in a subset of schools found no availability of soda for students, whereas other sugar-sweetened beverages and junk food were widely available in à la carte, vending machines, and school stores. Candy, considered a FMNV, was freely available. Soda advertisement on school grounds was common. Student vending choices improved after the implementation of Chapter 51; however, use of FMNV as the policy standard may be limiting, as availability of other sugar-sweetened beverages and junk food was pervasive. School environments were not necessarily supportive of the policy, as advertisement of soda was common and some FMNV were available. Furthermore, local exceptions to Chapter 51 likely reduced the overall effect of the policy.

Reasoning Abilities in Primary School: A Pilot Study on Poor Achievers vs. Normal Achievers in Computer Game Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Dagnino, Francesca Maria; Ballauri, Margherita; Benigno, Vincenza; Caponetto, Ilaria; Pesenti, Elia

2013-01-01

This paper presents the results of preliminary research on the assessment of reasoning abilities in primary school poor achievers vs. normal achievers using computer game tasks. Subjects were evaluated by means of cognitive assessment on logical abilities and academic skills. The aim of this study is to better understand the relationship between…

Gender differences in global-local perception? Evidence from orientation and shape judgments.

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Kimchi, Ruth; Amishav, Rama; Sulitzeanu-Kenan, Anat

2009-01-01

Direct examinations of gender differences in global-local processing are sparse, and the results are inconsistent. We examined this issue with a visuospatial judgment task and with a shape judgment task. Women and men were presented with hierarchical stimuli that varied in closure (open or closed shape) or in line orientation (oblique or horizontal/vertical) at the global or local level. The task was to classify the stimuli on the basis of the variation at the global level (global classification) or at the local level (local classification). Women's classification by closure (global or local) was more accurate than men's for stimuli that varied in closure on both levels, suggesting a female advantage in discriminating shape properties. No gender differences were observed in global-local processing bias. Women and men exhibited a global advantage, and they did not differ in their speed of global or local classification, with only one exception. Women were slower than men in local classification by orientation when the to-be-classified lines were embedded in a global line with a different orientation. This finding suggests that women are more distracted than men by misleading global oriented context when performing local orientation judgments, perhaps because women and men differ in their ability to use cognitive schemes to compensate for the distracting effects of the global context. Our findings further suggest that whether or not gender differences arise depends not only on the nature of the visual task but also on the visual context.

Parental influences on students' self-concept, task value beliefs, and achievement in science.

Science.gov (United States)

Senler, Burcu; Sungur, Semra

2009-05-01

The aim of this study was twofold: firstly, to investigate the grade level (elementary and middle school) and gender effect on students' motivation in science (perceived academic science self-concept and task value) and perceived family involvement, and secondly to examine the relationship among family environment variables (fathers' educational level, mothers' educational level, and perceived family involvement), motivation, gender and science achievement in elementary and middle schools. Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) showed that elementary school students have more positive science self-concept and task value beliefs compared to middle school students. Moreover, elementary school students appeared to perceive more family involvement in their schooling. Path analyses also suggested that family involvement was directly linked to elementary school students' task value and achievement. Also, in elementary school level, significant relationships were found among father educational level, science self-concept, task value and science achievement. On the other hand, in middle school level, family involvement, father educational level, and mother educational level were positively related to students' task value which is directly linked to students' science achievement. Moreover, mother educational level contributed to science achievement through its effect on self-concept.

Intact reflexive but deficient voluntary social orienting in autism spectrum disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Megan Anne Kirchgessner

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Impairment in social interactions is a primary characteristic of people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD. Although these individuals tend to orient less to naturalistic social cues than do typically developing (TD individuals, laboratory experiments testing social orienting in ASD have been inconclusive, possibly because of a failure to fully isolate reflexive (stimulus-driven and voluntary (goal-directed social orienting processes. The purpose of the present study was to separately examine potential reflexive and/or voluntary social orienting differences in individuals with ASD relative to TD controls. Subjects (ages 7-14 with high-functioning ASD and a matched control group completed three gaze cueing tasks on an iPad in which individuals briefly saw a face with averted gaze followed by a target after a variable delay. Two tasks were 100% predictive with either all congruent (target appears in gaze direction or all incongruent (target appears opposite from gaze direction trials, respectively. Another task was non-predictive with these same trials (half congruent and half incongruent intermixed randomly. Response times (RTs to the target were used to calculate reflexive (incongruent condition RT – congruent condition RT and voluntary (non-predictive condition RT – predictive condition RT gaze cueing effects. Subjects also completed two additional non-social orienting tasks (ProPoint and AntiPoint. Subjects with ASD demonstrate intact reflexive but deficient voluntary gaze following. Similar results were found in a separate test of non-social orienting. This suggests problems with using social cues, but only in a goal-directed fashion, in our sample of high-functioning individuals with ASD. Such findings may not only explain inconclusive previous findings but more importantly be critical for understanding social dysfunctions in ASD and for developing future interventions.

Web 2.0 Tasks in Action: EFL Learning in the U.S. Embassy School Election Project 2012

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Joannis Kaliampos

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Exploring topics that are personally relevant and interesting to young adult English as a foreign language (EFL learners remains a core challenge in language teaching. At the same time, the advent of Web 2.0 applications has many repercussions for authentic language learning. The “U.S. Embassy School Election Project 2012” has addressed these questions by combining a close focus on the U.S. Presidential Election with an interactive project scenario. Over 1,400 students across Germany participated in this project and produced an election forecast for an assigned U.S. state based on a survey of regional news media and social network data. Their predictions were in many cases more accurate than those of major U.S. broadcasting networks. This paper discusses the general educational potential of such projects in the contexts of computer-assisted language learning (CALL, intercultural learning, and learning in a task-based project environment. The authors have applied a multimodal qualitative approach to analyze tasks and learner perceptions of tasks in the context of the election project. In a first step, the micro-perspective of the perception of web-based tasks is investigated by example of one selected task cycle and a focus group of three learners. The second part of the analysis represents a bird’s-eye view on the learner products arising out of such tasks.

Task decomposition for a multilimbed robot to work in reachable but unorientable space

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Chau; Zheng, Yuan F.

1991-01-01

Robot manipulators installed on legged mobile platforms are suggested for enlarging robot workspace. To plan the motion of such a system, the arm-platform motion coordination problem is raised, and a task decomposition is proposed to solve the problem. A given task described by the destination position and orientation of the end effector is decomposed into subtasks for arm manipulation and for platform configuration, respectively. The former is defined as the end-effector position and orientation with respect to the platform, and the latter as the platform position and orientation in the base coordinates. Three approaches are proposed for the task decomposition. The approaches are also evaluated in terms of the displacements, from which an optimal approach can be selected.

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

Science.gov (United States)

California State Dept. of Education, Sacramento.

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

The Wikipedia Image Retrieval Task

NARCIS (Netherlands)

T. Tsikrika (Theodora); J. Kludas

2010-01-01

htmlabstractThe wikipedia image retrieval task at ImageCLEF provides a testbed for the system-oriented evaluation of visual information retrieval from a collection of Wikipedia images. The aim is to investigate the effectiveness of retrieval approaches that exploit textual and visual evidence in the

Medical students' learning orientation regarding interracial interactions affects preparedness to care for minority patients: a report from Medical Student CHANGES.

Science.gov (United States)

Burgess, Diana J; Burke, Sara E; Cunningham, Brooke A; Dovidio, John F; Hardeman, Rachel R; Hou, Yuefeng; Nelson, David B; Perry, Sylvia P; Phelan, Sean M; Yeazel, Mark W; van Ryn, Michelle

2016-09-29

There is a paucity of evidence on how to train medical students to provide equitable, high quality care to racial and ethnic minority patients. We test the hypothesis that medical schools' ability to foster a learning orientation toward interracial interactions (i.e., that students can improve their ability to successfully interact with people of another race and learn from their mistakes), will contribute to white medical students' readiness to care for racial minority patients. We then test the hypothesis that white medical students who perceive their medical school environment as supporting a learning orientation will benefit more from disparities training. Prospective observational study involving web-based questionnaires administered during first (2010) and last (2014) semesters of medical school to 2394 white medical students from a stratified, random sample of 49 U.S. medical schools. Analysis used data from students' last semester to build mixed effects hierarchical models in order to assess the effects of medical school interracial learning orientation, calculated at both the school and individual (student) level, on key dependent measures. School differences in learning orientation explained part of the school difference in readiness to care for minority patients. However, individual differences in learning orientation accounted for individual differences in readiness, even after controlling for school-level learning orientation. Individual differences in learning orientation significantly moderated the effect of disparities training on white students' readiness to care for minority patients. Specifically, white medical students who perceived a high level of learning orientation in their medical schools regarding interracial interactions benefited more from training to address disparities. Coursework aimed at reducing healthcare disparities and improving the care of racial minority patients was only effective when white medical students perceived their

UNDERSTANDING PROSE THROUGH TASK ORIENTED AUDIO-VISUAL ACTIVITY: AN AMERICAN MODERN PROSE COURSE AT THE FACULTY OF LETTERS, PETRA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Prasasti

2001-01-01

Full Text Available The method presented here provides the basis for a course in American prose for EFL students. Understanding and appreciation of American prose is a difficult task for the students because they come into contact with works that are full of cultural baggage and far apart from their own world. The audio visual aid is one of the alternatives to sensitize the students to the topic and the cultural background. Instead of proving the ready-made audio visual aids, teachers can involve students to actively engage in a more task oriented audiovisual project. Here, the teachers encourage their students to create their own audio visual aids using colors, pictures, sound and gestures as a point of initiation for further discussion. The students can use color that has become a strong element of fiction to help them calling up a forceful visual representation. Pictures can also stimulate the students to build their mental image. Sound and silence, which are a part of the fabric of literature, may also help them to increase the emotional impact.

Social Studies Oriented Achievement Goal Scale (SOAGS: Validity and Reliability Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melehat GEZER

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study aims to develop a valid and reliable instrument for measuring students' social studies achievement goal. The research was conducted on a study group consisted of 374 middle school students studying in the central district of Diyarbakır in 2014-2015 school year fall semester. Expert opinion was consulted with regard to the scale's content and face validity. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA were performed in order to measure the scale's construct validity. As a result of EFA, a 29-item and a six-factor structure model which explains 50.82% of the total variance was obtained. The emerging factors were called as a self-approach, task-approach, other-approach, task-avoidance, other-avoidance and self-avoidance respectively. The findings acquired CFA indicated that the 29-item and six-factor structure related to social studies oriented achievement goal scale have acceptable goodness of fit indices. The scale's reliability coefficients were calculated by means of internal consistency method. As a result of reliability analysis, it was determined that the reliability coefficients were within admissible limits. The finding of the item correlation and 27% of upper and lower group comparisons demonstrated that all of the items in the scale should remain. In light of these results, it could be argued that the scale is reliable and valid instrument and can be used in order to test students' social studies achievement goals.

A Cross-Cultural Study of the Effect of a Graph-Oriented Computer-Assisted Project-Based Learning Environment on Middle School Students' Science Knowledge and Argumentation Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, P.-S.; Van Dyke, M.; Chen, Y.; Smith, T. J.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore how seventh graders in a suburban school in the United States and sixth graders in an urban school in Taiwan developed argumentation skills and science knowledge in a project-based learning environment that incorporated a graph-oriented, computer-assisted application (GOCAA). A total of 42…

Indoor Air Quality In Maine Schools: Report of the Task Force To Examine the Establishment and Implementation of State Standards for Indoor Air Quality in Maine Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Malcolm, Judith

Asserting that in Maine and across the nation, school buildings are becoming increasingly plagued with indoor air quality (IAQ) problems which contribute to a variety of illnesses in children and adults, this report from a Maine state legislative task force identifies appropriate policies and identifies actions necessary for the prevention and…

Enhancing Problem-Solving Capabilities Using Object-Oriented Programming Language

Science.gov (United States)

Unuakhalu, Mike F.

2009-01-01

This study integrated object-oriented programming instruction with transfer training activities in everyday tasks, which might provide a mechanism that can be used for efficient problem solving. Specifically, a Visual BASIC embedded with everyday tasks group was compared to another group exposed to Visual BASIC instruction only. Subjects were 40…

A face detection bias for horizontal orientations develops in middle childhood

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjamin J Balas

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Faces are complex stimuli that can be described via intuitive facial features like the eyes, nose, and mouth, configural features like the distances between facial landmarks, and features that correspond to computations performed in the early visual system (e.g. oriented edges. With regard to this latter category of descriptors, adult face recognition relies disproportionately on information in specific spatial frequency and orientation bands: Many recognition tasks are performed more accurately when adults have access to mid-range spatial frequencies (8-16 cycles/face and horizontal orientations (Dakin & Watt, 2009. In the current study, we examined how this information bias develops in middle childhood. We recruited children between the ages of 5-10 years old to participate in a simple categorization task that required them to label images according to whether they depicted a face or a house. Critically, children were presented with face and house images comprised either of primarily horizontal orientation energy, primarily vertical orientation energy, or both horizontal and vertical orientation energy. We predicted that any bias favoring horizontal information over vertical should be more evident in faces than in houses, and also that older children would be more likely to show such a bias than younger children. We designed our categorization task to be sufficiently easy that children would perform at near-ceiling accuracy levels, but with variation in response times that would reflect how they rely on different orientations as a function of age and object category. We found that horizontal bias for face detection (but not house detection correlated significantly with age, suggesting an emergent category-specific bias for horizontal orientation energy that develops during middle childhood. These results thus suggest that the tuning of high-level recognition to specific low-level visual features takes take place over several years of visual

Implementing the Science Assessment Standards: Developing and validating a set of laboratory assessment tasks in high school biology

Science.gov (United States)

Saha, Gouranga Chandra

Very often a number of factors, especially time, space and money, deter many science educators from using inquiry-based, hands-on, laboratory practical tasks as alternative assessment instruments in science. A shortage of valid inquiry-based laboratory tasks for high school biology has been cited. Driven by this need, this study addressed the following three research questions: (1) How can laboratory-based performance tasks be designed and developed that are doable by students for whom they are designed/written? (2) Do student responses to the laboratory-based performance tasks validly represent at least some of the intended process skills that new biology learning goals want students to acquire? (3) Are the laboratory-based performance tasks psychometrically consistent as individual tasks and as a set? To answer these questions, three tasks were used from the six biology tasks initially designed and developed by an iterative process of trial testing. Analyses of data from 224 students showed that performance-based laboratory tasks that are doable by all students require careful and iterative process of development. Although the students demonstrated more skill in performing than planning and reasoning, their performances at the item level were very poor for some items. Possible reasons for the poor performances have been discussed and suggestions on how to remediate the deficiencies have been made. Empirical evidences for validity and reliability of the instrument have been presented both from the classical and the modern validity criteria point of view. Limitations of the study have been identified. Finally implications of the study and directions for further research have been discussed.

Network Communication as a Service-Oriented Capability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johnston, William; Johnston, William; Metzger, Joe; Collins, Michael; Burrescia, Joseph; Dart, Eli; Gagliardi, Jim; Guok, Chin; Oberman, Kevin; O' Conner, Mike

2008-01-08

In widely distributed systems generally, and in science-oriented Grids in particular, software, CPU time, storage, etc., are treated as"services" -- they can be allocated and used with service guarantees that allows them to be integrated into systems that perform complex tasks. Network communication is currently not a service -- it is provided, in general, as a"best effort" capability with no guarantees and only statistical predictability. In order for Grids (and most types of systems with widely distributed components) to be successful in performing the sustained, complex tasks of large-scale science -- e.g., the multi-disciplinary simulation of next generation climate modeling and management and analysis of the petabytes of data that will come from the next generation of scientific instrument (which is very soon for the LHC at CERN) -- networks must provide communication capability that is service-oriented: That is it must be configurable, schedulable, predictable, and reliable. In order to accomplish this, the research and education network community is undertaking a strategy that involves changes in network architecture to support multiple classes of service; development and deployment of service-oriented communication services, and; monitoring and reporting in a form that is directly useful to the application-oriented system so that it may adapt to communications failures. In this paper we describe ESnet's approach to each of these -- an approach that is part of an international community effort to have intra-distributed system communication be based on a service-oriented capability.

Student goal orientation in learning inquiry skills with modifiable software advisors

Science.gov (United States)

Shimoda, Todd Adrian

A computer support environment (SCI-WISE) for learning and doing inquiry was designed. The system incorporates software advisors that give task completion advice (eg., forming hypotheses), general purpose advice (e.g., brainstorming), or system modification advice. Advisors' knowledge includes concepts, strategies, examples, referrals to other advisors, and criteria for evaluating good products and skills. Students using SCI-WISE can select the advisors' advice type (specific, general, or hints), and when advisors give advice (anytime, alert, or ask). Students can also modify the advisors' knowledge. The system is designed partly on a theoretical framework that assumes giving students higher levels of agency will facilitate higher-level goal orientation (such as knowledge-building) and produce higher levels of competence. In two studies of sixth graders, science students took a pretest of an open-ended inquiry question and a questionnaire that measured their goal orientations. The students worked in pairs on an inquiry project about memory, using one of two versions of SCI-WISE, one modifiable and one not modifiable. After finishing the project, the students took a posttest similar to the pretest, and evaluated the system. The main hypotheses predicted that knowledge-oriented students using the modifiable version would rate the system higher, use it more effectively, and do better on the inquiry posttest than task-oriented students. The results supported many of the hypotheses generated from the theoretical framework. Knowledge-oriented students tended to rate SCI-WISE higher, use more general purpose and system development advisors, and select more general advice and hints than task-oriented students. On the posttest inquiry test, students with higher goal orientations scored higher on average, particularly when paired with another knowledge oriented student. The studies also showed that goal orientation was not correlated with grade point average. Finally, the

The development of a task analysis method applicable to the tasks of nuclear power plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoon, Wan Chul; Park, Ji Soo; Baek, Dong Hyeon; Ham, Dong Han; Kim, Huhn [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1996-07-01

While task analysis is one of the essential processes for human factors studies, traditional methods reveal weaknesses in dealing with the cognitive aspects, which become more critical in modern complex system. This report proposes a cognitive task analysis (CTA) method for identifying cognitive requirements of operators' tasks in nuclear power plants. The proposed CTA method is characterized by the information-oriented concept and procedure-based approach. The task prescription identifies the information requirements and trace the information flow to reveal the cognitive organization of task procedure with emphasis to the relations among the information requirements. The cognitive requirements are then analyzed in terms of cognitive span of task information, cognitive envelope and working memory relief point of t procedures, and working memory load. The proposed method is relatively simple and, possibly being incorporated in a full task analysis scheme, directly applicable to the design/evaluation of human-machine interfaces and operating procedures. A prototype of a computerized support system is developed for supporting the practicality of the proposed method. (Author) 104 refs., 8 tabs., 7 figs.

The development of a task analysis method applicable to the tasks of nuclear power plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoon, Wan Chul; Park, Ji Soo; Baek, Dong Hyeon; Ham, Dong Han; Kim, Huhn [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1996-07-01

While task analysis is one of the essential processes for human factors studies, traditional methods reveal weaknesses in dealing with the cognitive aspects, which become more critical in modern complex system. This report proposes a cognitive task analysis (CTA) method for identifying cognitive requirements of operators' tasks in nuclear power plants. The proposed CTA method is characterized by the information-oriented concept and procedure-based approach. The task prescription identifies the information requirements and trace the information flow to reveal the cognitive organization of task procedure with emphasis to the relations among the information requirements. The cognitive requirements are then analyzed in terms of cognitive span of task information, cognitive envelope and working memory relief point of t procedures, and working memory load. The proposed method is relatively simple and, possibly being incorporated in a full task analysis scheme, directly applicable to the design/evaluation of human-machine interfaces and operating procedures. A prototype of a computerized support system is developed for supporting the practicality of the proposed method. (Author) 104 refs., 8 tabs., 7 figs.

Value orientation towards physical education and physical activity ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The purpose of this study was to examine the value orientation towards physical education among secondary school students in Hong Kong. After surveying 2748 students it was found that male students had stronger value orientation towards physical education than female students. It was also found that as the students ...

Task decomposition for multilimbed robots to work in the reachable-but-unorientable space

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Chao; Zheng, Yuan F.

1990-01-01

Multilimbed industrial robots that have at least one arm and two or more legs are suggested for enlarging robot workspace in industrial automation. To plan the motion of a multilimbed robot, the arm-leg motion-coordination problem is raised and task decomposition is proposed to solve the problem; that is, a given task described by the destination position and orientation of the end-effector is decomposed into subtasks for arm manipulation and for leg locomotion, respectively. The former is defined as the end-effector position and orientation with respect to the legged main body, and the latter as the main-body position and orientation in the world coordinates. Three approaches are proposed for the task decomposition. The approaches are further evaluated in terms of energy consumption, from which an optimal approach can be selected.

User-Oriented and Cognitive Models of Information Retrieval

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skov, Mette; Järvelin, Kalervo; Ingwersen, Peter

2018-01-01

The domain of user-oriented and cognitive information retrieval (IR) is first discussed, followed by a discussion on the dimensions and types of models one may build for the domain. The focus of the present entry is on the models of user-oriented and cognitive IR, not on their empirical...... applications. Several models with different emphases on user-oriented and cognitive IR are presented—ranging from overall approaches and relevance models to procedural models, cognitive models, and task-based models. The present entry does not discuss empirical findings based on the models....

Object-oriented programming with gradual abstraction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørmark, Kurt; Thomsen, Lone Leth; Thomsen, Bent

2013-01-01

We describe an experimental object-oriented programming language, ASL2, that supports program development by means of a series of abstraction steps. The language allows immediate object construction, and it is possible to use the constructed objects for concrete problem solving tasks. Classes...... restrictive. As a central mechanism, weakly classified objects are allowed to borrow methods from each other. ASL2 supports class generalization, as a counterpart to class specialization and inheritance in mainstream object-oriented programming languages. The final abstraction step discussed in this paper...

The Clock Is Ticking: Library Orientation as Puzzle Room

Science.gov (United States)

Reade, Tripp

2017-01-01

Tripp Reade is the school librarian at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. This article describes how he redesigned his school's library orientation program after learning about escape rooms and a variant known as puzzle rooms. Puzzle rooms present players with a set of challenges to solve; they require "teamwork,…

Investigating conversational dynamics: Interactive alignment, Interpersonal synergy, and collective task performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fusaroli, Riccardo; Tylén, Kristian

2016-01-01

This study investigates interpersonal processes underlying dialog by comparing two approaches, interactive alignment and interpersonal synergy, and assesses how they predict collective performance in a joint task. While the interactive alignment approach highlights imitative patterns between...... and their impact on collective performance in a corpus of task-oriented conversations. The results show statistical presence of patterns relevant for both approaches. However, synergetic aspects of dialog provide the best statistical predictors of collective performance and adding aspects of the alignment approach...... does not improve the model. This suggests that structural organization at the level of the interaction plays a crucial role in task-oriented conversations, possibly constraining and integrating processes related to alignment....

Readiness of educational activity subjects for results-oriented cooperation in the inclusive educational practice of higher school

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir Ts. Tsyrenov

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The relevance of the research is due to the necessity of integration of persons with health limitations and disabilities into the educational space of higher education institutions. With regard to this, the paper is aimed at finding out the extent of readiness of the educational activity subjects for results-oriented cooperation in inclusive educational practice of the higher school. The leading approach to studying this problem is the retrospective interdisciplinary analysis that allows an integrated consideration of the universities' readiness for full-fledged integration of people with health limitations and disabilities into the educational process. In the paper, the results of research into students' attitude toward the disabled and HL people and their readiness for results-oriented cooperation are presented, and the specific problems of psychological and social support rendering are described. The value references system of students with health limitations and disabilities has been found out, and grounds have been provided for having to include the subjects that form a tolerant attitude to special needs people into the student-training content. It has also been proven that qualified professional training has to be ensured for the academic teaching staff, infrastructure has to be provided, and an integrated program has to be developed that would allow personifying the academic process adjusted for the development particularities of students with health limitations. The materials of the paper are of practical importance for educational activity subjects involved into the higher-school inclusive educational practice.

Vocational Orientation of the Deaf Pupils

OpenAIRE

Sobolevská, Šárka

2017-01-01

The main goal of the bachelor thesis is to learn about vocational orientation of deaf pupils in their last years of study at selected elementary schools for the Deaf and to compare the results to results of similar studies done with pupils without hearing impairment. Based on relevant scientific sources, the paper introduces general aspects that shape vocational orientation, also describes vocational development on D. E. Super's Career Development Theory. The thesis continues with characteriz...

Vocabulary Acquisition through Written Input: Effects of Form-Focused, Message-Oriented, and Comprehension Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Tajeddin, Zia; Daraee, Dina

2013-01-01

The present study investigated the effect of form-focused and non-form-focused tasks on EFL learners' vocabulary learning through written input. The form-focused task aimed to draw students' attention to the word itself through word recognition activities. Non-form-focused tasks were divided into (a) the comprehension question task, which required…

Task relevance modulates the cortical representation of feature conjunctions in the target template.

Science.gov (United States)

Reeder, Reshanne R; Hanke, Michael; Pollmann, Stefan

2017-07-03

Little is known about the cortical regions involved in representing task-related content in preparation for visual task performance. Here we used representational similarity analysis (RSA) to investigate the BOLD response pattern similarity between task relevant and task irrelevant feature dimensions during conjunction viewing and target template maintenance prior to visual search. Subjects were cued to search for a spatial frequency (SF) or orientation of a Gabor grating and we measured BOLD signal during cue and delay periods before the onset of a search display. RSA of delay period activity revealed that widespread regions in frontal, posterior parietal, and occipitotemporal cortices showed general representational differences between task relevant and task irrelevant dimensions (e.g., orientation vs. SF). In contrast, RSA of cue period activity revealed sensory-related representational differences between cue images (regardless of task) at the occipital pole and additionally in the frontal pole. Our data show that task and sensory information are represented differently during viewing and during target template maintenance, and that task relevance modulates the representation of visual information across the cortex.

Audit to Target Food-Service Corporations

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Nirvi

2011-01-01

The author reports on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's plan to look closely at whether the food-service-management companies running many school cafeterias are passing along all the discounts and rebates they receive from their suppliers to the districts that hire them. The plan to probe companies will begin in August, said Alison Decker, a…

Obligatory encoding of task-irrelevant features depletes working memory resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Louise; Bays, Paul M

2013-02-18

Selective attention is often considered the "gateway" to visual working memory (VWM). However, the extent to which we can voluntarily control which of an object's features enter memory remains subject to debate. Recent research has converged on the concept of VWM as a limited commodity distributed between elements of a visual scene. Consequently, as memory load increases, the fidelity with which each visual feature is stored decreases. Here we used changes in recall precision to probe whether task-irrelevant features were encoded into VWM when individuals were asked to store specific feature dimensions. Recall precision for both color and orientation was significantly enhanced when task-irrelevant features were removed, but knowledge of which features would be probed provided no advantage over having to memorize both features of all items. Next, we assessed the effect an interpolated orientation-or color-matching task had on the resolution with which orientations in a memory array were stored. We found that the presence of orientation information in the second array disrupted memory of the first array. The cost to recall precision was identical whether the interfering features had to be remembered, attended to, or could be ignored. Therefore, it appears that storing, or merely attending to, one feature of an object is sufficient to promote automatic encoding of all its features, depleting VWM resources. However, the precision cost was abolished when the match task preceded the memory array. So, while encoding is automatic, maintenance is voluntary, allowing resources to be reallocated to store new visual information.

Neural correlates of the spatial and expectancy components of endogenous and stimulus-driven orienting of attention in the Posner task.

Science.gov (United States)

Doricchi, Fabrizio; Macci, Enrica; Silvetti, Massimo; Macaluso, Emiliano

2010-07-01

Voluntary orienting of visual attention is conventionally measured in tasks with predictive central cues followed by frequent valid targets at the cued location and by infrequent invalid targets at the uncued location. This implies that invalid targets entail both spatial reorienting of attention and breaching of the expected spatial congruency between cues and targets. Here, we used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to separate the neural correlates of the spatial and expectancy components of both endogenous orienting and stimulus-driven reorienting of attention. We found that during endogenous orienting with predictive cues, there was a significant deactivation of the right Temporal-Parietal Junction (TPJ). We also discovered that the lack of an equivalent deactivation with nonpredictive cues was matched to drop in attentional costs and preservation of attentional benefits. The right TPJ showed equivalent responses to invalid targets following predictive and nonpredictive cues. On the contrary, infrequent-unexpected invalid targets following predictive cues specifically activated the right Middle and Inferior Frontal Gyrus (MFG-IFG). Additional comparisons with spatially neutral trials demonstrated that, independently of cue predictiveness, valid targets activate the left TPJ, whereas invalid targets activate both the left and right TPJs. These findings show that the selective right TPJ activation that is found in the comparison between invalid and valid trials results from the reciprocal cancelling of the different activations that in the left TPJ are related to the processing of valid and invalid targets. We propose that left and right TPJs provide "matching and mismatching to attentional template" signals. These signals enable reorienting of attention and play a crucial role in the updating of the statistical contingency between cues and targets.

The impact of interference on short-term memory for visual orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Rademaker, Rosanne L; Bloem, Ilona M; De Weerd, Peter; Sack, Alexander T

2015-12-01

Visual short-term memory serves as an efficient buffer for maintaining no longer directly accessible information. How robust are visual memories against interference? Memory for simple visual features has proven vulnerable to distractors containing conflicting information along the relevant stimulus dimension, leading to the idea that interacting feature-specific channels at an early stage of visual processing support memory for simple visual features. Here we showed that memory for a single randomly orientated grating was susceptible to interference from a to-be-ignored distractor grating presented midway through a 3-s delay period. Memory for the initially presented orientation became noisier when it differed from the distractor orientation, and response distributions were shifted toward the distractor orientation (by ∼3°). Interestingly, when the distractor was rendered task-relevant by making it a second memory target, memory for both retained orientations showed reduced reliability as a function of increased orientation differences between them. However, the degree to which responses to the first grating shifted toward the orientation of the task-relevant second grating was much reduced. Finally, using a dichoptic display, we demonstrated that these systematic biases caused by a consciously perceived distractor disappeared once the distractor was presented outside of participants' awareness. Together, our results show that visual short-term memory for orientation can be systematically biased by interfering information that is consciously perceived. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Child-oriented marketing techniques in snack food packages in Guatemala.

Science.gov (United States)

Chacon, Violeta; Letona, Paola; Barnoya, Joaquin

2013-10-18

Childhood overweight in Guatemala is now becoming a public health concern. Child-oriented marketing contributes to increase children's food preference, purchase and consumption. This study sought to assess the availability of child-oriented snack foods sold in school kiosks and convenience stores near public schools in Guatemala, to identify the marketing techniques used in child-oriented snack food packages and to classify the snacks as "healthy" or "less-healthy". We purchased all child-oriented snacks found in stores inside and within 200 square meters from four schools in an urban community. Snacks were classified as child-oriented if the package had any promotional characters, premium offers, children's television/movie tie-ins, sports references, or the word "child". We used a checklist to assess child-oriented references and price. Snacks were classified as "healthy" or "less-healthy" according to the UK standards for the Nutritional Profiling Model. We analyzed 106 packages found in 55 stores. The most commonly used technique was promotional characters (92.5%) of which 32.7% were brand-specific characters. Premium offers were found in 34% of packages and were mostly collectibles (50%). Most marketing techniques were located on the front and covered nearly 25% of the package surface. Median (interquartile range) price was US$ 0.19 (0.25). Nutrition labels were found in 91 (86%) packages and 41% had a nutrition related health claim. Most snacks (97.1%) were classified as "less-healthy". In Guatemala, the food industry targets children through several marketing techniques promoting inexpensive and unhealthy snacks in the school environment. Evidence-based policies restricting the use of promotional characters in unhealthy snack food packages need to be explored as a contributing strategy to control the obesity epidemic.

Child-oriented marketing techniques in snack food packages in Guatemala

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Childhood overweight in Guatemala is now becoming a public health concern. Child-oriented marketing contributes to increase children’s food preference, purchase and consumption. This study sought to assess the availability of child-oriented snack foods sold in school kiosks and convenience stores near public schools in Guatemala, to identify the marketing techniques used in child-oriented snack food packages and to classify the snacks as “healthy” or “less-healthy”. Methods We purchased all child-oriented snacks found in stores inside and within 200 square meters from four schools in an urban community. Snacks were classified as child-oriented if the package had any promotional characters, premium offers, children′s television/movie tie-ins, sports references, or the word “child”. We used a checklist to assess child-oriented references and price. Snacks were classified as “healthy” or “less-healthy” according to the UK standards for the Nutritional Profiling Model. Results We analyzed 106 packages found in 55 stores. The most commonly used technique was promotional characters (92.5%) of which 32.7% were brand-specific characters. Premium offers were found in 34% of packages and were mostly collectibles (50%). Most marketing techniques were located on the front and covered nearly 25% of the package surface. Median (interquartile range) price was US$ 0.19 (0.25). Nutrition labels were found in 91 (86%) packages and 41% had a nutrition related health claim. Most snacks (97.1%) were classified as “less-healthy”. Conclusion In Guatemala, the food industry targets children through several marketing techniques promoting inexpensive and unhealthy snacks in the school environment. Evidence-based policies restricting the use of promotional characters in unhealthy snack food packages need to be explored as a contributing strategy to control the obesity epidemic. PMID:24139325

Machine Shop I. Learning Activity Packets (LAPs). Section A--Orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Oklahoma State Board of Vocational and Technical Education, Stillwater. Curriculum and Instructional Materials Center.

This document contains two learning activity packets (LAPs) for the "orientation and safety" instructional area of a Machine Shop I course. The two LAPs cover the following topics: orientation and general shop safety. Each LAP contains a cover sheet that describes its purpose, an introduction, and the tasks included in the LAP; learning…

The health Oriented pedagogical project (HOPP) - a controlled longitudinal school-based physical activity intervention program.

Science.gov (United States)

Fredriksen, Per Morten; Hjelle, Ole Petter; Mamen, Asgeir; Meza, Trine J; Westerberg, Ane C

2017-04-28

The prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is increasing worldwide, also among children. Information about primary prevention of NCD's is increasing; however, convincing strategies among children is needed. The present paper describes the design and methods in the Health Oriented Pedagogical Project (HOPP) study. The main objective is to evaluate the effects of a school-based physical activity intervention program on cardio-metabolic risk factors. Secondary objectives include assessment of physical, psychological and academic performance variables. The HOPP study is a 7 years longitudinal large-scale controlled intervention in seven elementary schools (n = 1545) with two control schools (n = 752); all aged 6-11 years at baseline. The school-based physical activity intervention program includes an increase in physical activity (PA) of 225 min/week as an integrated part of theoretical learning, in addition to the curriculum based 90 min/week of ordinary PA. Primary outcomes include cardio-metabolic risk factors measured as PA level, BMI status, waist circumference, muscle mass, percent fat, endurance test performance, total serum cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), non-HDL, micro C-reactive protein (mCRP) and long-term blood sugar (HbA1c). In addition, secondary outcomes include anthropometric growth measures, physical fitness, quality of life (QoL), mental health, executive functions, diet and academic performance. HOPP will provide evidence of effects on cardio-metabolic risk factors after a long-term PA intervention program in elementary schoolchildren. School-based PA intervention programs may be an effective arena for health promotion and disease prevention. The study is registered in Clinical trials (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02495714 ) as of June 20 th - 2015, retrospectively registered. The collection of baseline values was initiated in mid-January 2015.

The health Oriented pedagogical project (HOPP - a controlled longitudinal school-based physical activity intervention program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Per Morten Fredriksen

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs is increasing worldwide, also among children. Information about primary prevention of NCD’s is increasing; however, convincing strategies among children is needed. The present paper describes the design and methods in the Health Oriented Pedagogical Project (HOPP study. The main objective is to evaluate the effects of a school-based physical activity intervention program on cardio-metabolic risk factors. Secondary objectives include assessment of physical, psychological and academic performance variables. Methods The HOPP study is a 7 years longitudinal large-scale controlled intervention in seven elementary schools (n = 1545 with two control schools (n = 752; all aged 6–11 years at baseline. The school-based physical activity intervention program includes an increase in physical activity (PA of 225 min/week as an integrated part of theoretical learning, in addition to the curriculum based 90 min/week of ordinary PA. Primary outcomes include cardio-metabolic risk factors measured as PA level, BMI status, waist circumference, muscle mass, percent fat, endurance test performance, total serum cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL, non-HDL, micro C-reactive protein (mCRP and long-term blood sugar (HbA1c. In addition, secondary outcomes include anthropometric growth measures, physical fitness, quality of life (QoL, mental health, executive functions, diet and academic performance. Discussion HOPP will provide evidence of effects on cardio-metabolic risk factors after a long-term PA intervention program in elementary schoolchildren. School-based PA intervention programs may be an effective arena for health promotion and disease prevention. Trial registration The study is registered in Clinical trials (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02495714 as of June 20th – 2015, retrospectively registered. The collection of baseline values was initiated in mid-January 2015.

Headteachers' managerial behaviour and teachers' task ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The result of the study revealed that head teachers' decision-making strategy and head teachers' leadership style have significant influence on teachers' task performance in the sampled schools. And that head teachers' communication skills significantly relates to teachers' task performance in the area. Based on this result, ...

Software protocol design: Communication and control in a multi-task robot machine for ITER vacuum vessel assembly and maintenance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Ming; Wu, Huapeng; Handroos, Heikki; Yang, Guangyou; Wang, Yongbo

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A high-level protocol is proposed for the data inter-transmission. • The protocol design is task-oriented for the robot control in the software system. • The protocol functions as a role of middleware in the software. • The protocol running stand-alone as an independent process in the software provides greater security. • Providing a reference design protocol for the multi-task robot machine in the industry. - Abstract: A specific communication and control protocol for software design of a multi-task robot machine is proposed. In order to fulfill the requirements on the complicated multi machining functions and the high performance motion control, the software design of robot is divided into two main parts accordingly, which consists of the user-oriented HMI part and robot control-oriented real-time control system. The two parts of software are deployed in the different hardware for the consideration of run-time performance, which forms a client–server-control architecture. Therefore a high-level task-oriented protocol is designed for the data inter-communication between the HMI part and the control system part, in which all the transmitting data related to a machining task is divided into three categories: trajectory-oriented data, task control-oriented data and status monitoring-oriented data. The protocol consists of three sub-protocols accordingly – a trajectory protocol, task control protocol and status protocol – which are deployed over the Ethernet and run as independent processes in both the client and server computers. The protocols are able to manage the vast amounts of data streaming due to the multi machining functions in a more efficient way. Since the protocol is functioning in the software as a role of middleware, and providing the data interface standards for the developing groups of two parts of software, it also permits greater focus of both software parts developers on their own requirements-oriented design. By

Software protocol design: Communication and control in a multi-task robot machine for ITER vacuum vessel assembly and maintenance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Ming, E-mail: ming.li@lut.fi [Laboratory of Intelligent Machines, Lappeenranta University of Technology (Finland); Wu, Huapeng; Handroos, Heikki [Laboratory of Intelligent Machines, Lappeenranta University of Technology (Finland); Yang, Guangyou [School of Mechanical Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan (China); Wang, Yongbo [Laboratory of Intelligent Machines, Lappeenranta University of Technology (Finland)

2015-10-15

Highlights: • A high-level protocol is proposed for the data inter-transmission. • The protocol design is task-oriented for the robot control in the software system. • The protocol functions as a role of middleware in the software. • The protocol running stand-alone as an independent process in the software provides greater security. • Providing a reference design protocol for the multi-task robot machine in the industry. - Abstract: A specific communication and control protocol for software design of a multi-task robot machine is proposed. In order to fulfill the requirements on the complicated multi machining functions and the high performance motion control, the software design of robot is divided into two main parts accordingly, which consists of the user-oriented HMI part and robot control-oriented real-time control system. The two parts of software are deployed in the different hardware for the consideration of run-time performance, which forms a client–server-control architecture. Therefore a high-level task-oriented protocol is designed for the data inter-communication between the HMI part and the control system part, in which all the transmitting data related to a machining task is divided into three categories: trajectory-oriented data, task control-oriented data and status monitoring-oriented data. The protocol consists of three sub-protocols accordingly – a trajectory protocol, task control protocol and status protocol – which are deployed over the Ethernet and run as independent processes in both the client and server computers. The protocols are able to manage the vast amounts of data streaming due to the multi machining functions in a more efficient way. Since the protocol is functioning in the software as a role of middleware, and providing the data interface standards for the developing groups of two parts of software, it also permits greater focus of both software parts developers on their own requirements-oriented design. By

Two Approaches to Measuring Task Interdependence in Elementary Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Charters, W. W., Jr.

This report compares two approaches to measuring task interdependence, a theoretically fruitful concept for analyzing an organization's technical system. Task interdependence exists among operating personnel in the degree that task performance of one operative constrains, augments, or otherwise poses contingencies for the performance of another.…

Egocentric and allocentric alignment tasks are affected by otolith input.