Current Assessment Practices Research Articles

Age-Related Changes in Objective and Subjective Speech Perception in Complex Listening Environments.

A frequent complaint by older adults is difficulty communicating in challenging acoustic environments. The purpose of this work was to review and summarize information about how speech perception in complex listening situations changes across the adult age range. This article provides a review of age-related changes in speech understanding in complex listening environments and summarizes results from several studies conducted in our laboratory. Both degree of high frequency hearing loss and cognitive test performance limit individuals' ability to understand speech in difficult listening situations as they age. The performance of middle-aged adults is similar to that of younger adults in the presence of noise maskers, but they experience substantially more difficulty when the masker is 1 or 2 competing speech messages. For the most part, middle-aged participants in studies conducted in our laboratory reported as much self-perceived hearing problems as did older adult participants. Research supports the multifactorial nature of listening in real-world environments. Current audiologic assessment practices are often insufficient to identify the true speech understanding struggles that individuals experience in these situations. This points to the importance of giving weight to patients' self-reported difficulties. http://cred.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=2601619.

Differences in posttraumatic stress characteristics by duration of exposure to trauma

Ongoing exposure of civilian populations to war and terror is associated with adverse responses beyond those specified in DSM-5 for PTSD. Current PTSD assessment practices are not fully sensitive to the complex symptomatic picture observed among individuals exposed to ongoing stress and are therefore limited for use in these situations. The current survey aimed to portray the posttraumatic characteristics most salient to ongoing exposure to political conflict.A questionnaire enquiring about various aspects of the posttraumatic consequences of ongoing exposure to political conflict as compared with those associated with a single exposure to trauma was disseminated to therapists throughout the country. Participants were asked to rank 75 posttraumatic characteristics for their relevance to each trauma type (about the symptom frequency and severity) and item mean scores were compared. The sample consisted of 66 responses valid for analysis. Our findings pinpoint some of the posttraumatic characteristics most salient to ongoing exposure to political conflict and highlight the complexity of the posttraumatic picture observed in these situations. Incorporating these in post trauma assessment tools will allow for the development of standardized, reliable definitions, which in turn will allow for more accurate diagnosis and more effective treatment protocols.

Earthquake risk assessment

The assessment of earthquake risk in portfolio, urban or regional scale constitutes an important element in the mitigation of economic and social losses due to earthquakes, planning of immediate post-earthquake actions as well as for the development of earthquake insurance schemes. Earthquake risk assessment methodologies consider and combine three main factors: earthquake hazard, fragility/vulnerability and inventory of assets exposed to hazard. These factors exhibit aleatory and epistemic uncertainties embedded in their various components. Challenges exist in the characterization of the earthquake hazard as well as in the determination of the fragilities/vulnerabilities of the physical and social elements exposed to the hazard. The simulation of the spatially correlated fields of ground motion using empirical models of correlation between intensity measures is an important tool for hazard characterization. Vulnerability relationships for physical elements, derived from empirical, analytical or expert opinion based methods, provide the probability of loss ratio, conditional on a level of intensity measure. The uncertainties involved in these relationships and especially the correlation in these uncertainties are important to obtain the bounds of the expected losses. Rather simplified procedures exist for the rapid post-earthquake assessment of physical, social and economic losses. The reduction of the uncertainties inherent in the basic ingredients of such rapid earthquake loss assessment is an important issue that needs to be tackled in the future for their viability and reliability. The uncertainties inherent in the determination of exposed assets and their fragilities/vulnerabilities needs to be tackled in the future for the viability and reliability of such rapid loss assessments. The commonly used risk metrics in earthquake insurance are the Average Annual Loss and Loss Exceedance Probability curves. A rigorous treatment of uncertainty and correlation are needed for the proper estimation of these metrics and earthquake insurance related decisions. This paper looks at the current practices in regional and urban earthquake risk assessment, discusses current issues and provides illustrative applications.

Point-of-care wound visioning technology: Reproducibility and accuracy of a wound measurement app.

BackgroundCurrent wound assessment practices are lacking on several measures. For example, the most common method for measuring wound size is using a ruler, which has been demonstrated to be crude and inaccurate. An increase in periwound temperature is a classic sign of infection but skin temperature is not always measured during wound assessments. To address this, we have developed a smartphone application that enables non-contact wound surface area and temperature measurements. Here we evaluate the inter-rater reliability and accuracy of this novel point-of-care wound assessment tool.Methods and findingsThe wounds of 87 patients were measured using the Swift Wound app and a ruler. The skin surface temperature of 37 patients was also measured using an infrared FLIR™ camera integrated with the Swift Wound app and using the clinically accepted reference thermometer Exergen DermaTemp 1001. Accuracy measurements were determined by assessing differences in surface area measurements of 15 plastic wounds between a digital planimeter of known accuracy and the Swift Wound app. To evaluate the impact of training on the reproducibility of the Swift Wound app measurements, three novice raters with no wound care training, measured the length, width and area of 12 plastic model wounds using the app. High inter-rater reliabilities (ICC = 0.97–1.00) and high accuracies were obtained using the Swift Wound app across raters of different levels of training in wound care. The ruler method also yielded reliable wound measurements (ICC = 0.92–0.97), albeit lower than that of the Swift Wound app. Furthermore, there was no statistical difference between the temperature differences measured using the infrared camera and the clinically tested reference thermometer.ConclusionsThe Swift Wound app provides highly reliable and accurate wound measurements. The FLIR™ infrared camera integrated into the Swift Wound app provides skin temperature readings equivalent to the clinically tested reference thermometer. Thus, the Swift Wound app has the advantage of being a non-contact, easy-to-use wound measurement tool that allows clinicians to image, measure, and track wound size and temperature from one visit to the next. In addition, this tool may also be used by patients and their caregivers for home monitoring.

Sudden cardiac death in nonischemic cardiomyopathy: Refining risk assessment.

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) risk assessment among patients with nonischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) has been has been less straightforward than for patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy. The common surrogate that has been associated with highest SCD risk for all cardiomyopathies, and which has been universally used to guide implantation of primary-prevention implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), is left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤35%. However, this practice has been called into question, especially in light of recent trials suggesting that ICD treatment may not be of additional survival benefit among those with NICM treated with optimal medical therapy. This Clinical Review attempts to offer refinements to the current practice of SCD risk assessment among patients with NICM, with specific focus on importance of NICM etiology and efforts to identify myocardial scarring and arrhythmogenic substrate, both of which may provide greater information about SCD risk than the LVEF alone. These concepts are illustrated further as they apply to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, and cardiac sarcoidosis, all of which are increasingly recognized NICM substrates associated with SCD and for which refinements for assessing risk are lacking in conventional guidelines.

Japanese as a Second Language Assessment in Japan: Current Issues and Future Directions

ABSTRACTThis article reviews assessment practices of Japanese as a second language as taught in Japan since the 1980s. It begins with an explanation of the social and political conditions that have impacted assessment practices in Japan and then addresses current assessment practices and issues. This analysis first examines large-scale tests developed in Japan and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Oral Proficiency Interview (ACTFL OPI), which was imported from the United States. Next, it describes the use of placement tests with a special emphasis on the Simple Performance Oriented Test (SPOT) and the Japanese Computerized Adaptive Test (J-CAT). These tests were originally developed as placement tests, but their uses have expanded in the years since their creation. Third, this article considers the development and the use of self-assessment tools. In particular, it explains how the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) triggered both the development of a Japanese version of the CEFR (JF Standard) and discussion about Japanese as a second language (JSL) curriculum and instructional methodologies. Finally, this article examines Japanese for Specific Purposes (JSP) tests. Through this review, issues in JSL testing will be identified and suggestions will be made regarding directions for future research.

Unfit for purpose? Rethinking the language of assessment for Widening Participation students

This article explores learning from a scholarship project which sought to identify principles of best inclusive practice in the language of assessment. Our focus was on an Access Programme, aimed at preparing entry-level learners to succeed in HE. Drawing on assessment principles of fairness and equity (QAA, 2012), the project challenged the 'assimilation' required by non-traditional learners in current assessment practices (Hockings 2010, Williams et al, 2014). An iterative mixed methods approach was conducted to elicit student and tutor perceptions and analyse existing documentation. Findings highlighted important pragmatic and conceptual issues around the language of assessment. In practical terms our Programme Assessment Guides are being redesigned and re-written for greater clarity. More fundamentally, we argue the opportunity to re-think the purpose of assessment on Access to embed more inclusive language could offer the sector a holistic approach to retaining students from groups under-represented in HE, and supporting their success.

The morphing assessment terrain for English learners in US schools

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the public policy reshaping the assessment terrain for English learners (ELs) across the USA and to consider the implications and impact of these practices on sustaining and supporting a diverse student population in today’s schools.Design/methodology/approachThe authors review the literature and publicly available policy documents to trace key policy trends over the past 15 years that have shaped the current educational landscape and assessment practices for ELs in the USA.FindingsIn the USA, the 2015 Common Core State Standards (CCSSs) assessments generated worrisome results for ELs, as significant numbers had failing scores in English language arts and math. These results are juxtaposed to public policies that impact the educational experience of ELs, including No Child Left Behind and the CCSS, and which, despite their stated intentions to ameliorate the achievement gap, are found to be assimilationist in nature. Indeed, a review of the initiatives of developing common EL standards and English language proficiency tests and the recommendations for EL accommodations in state tests suggests several areas of concern. The recently passed Every Student Succeeds Act focuses on this vulnerable population, but there are concerns that the continued focus on accountability and testing will do little to facilitate academic progress for these students.Practical implicationsThe paper recommends a need to reevaluate the support and testing process for ELs to stem widespread failure and ascertain the sustenance of democratic and diversified schools.Originality/valueThe study provides an overview of key policy trends, outlines and critiques recent changes in the assessment of ELs and draws implications for practice.

Comparison of dilution factors for German wastewater treatment plant effluents in receiving streams to the fixed dilution factor from chemical risk assessment

Incomplete removal during wastewater treatment leads to frequent detection of compounds such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products in municipal effluents. A fixed standard dilution factor of 10 for effluents entering receiving water bodies is used during the exposure assessment of several chemical risk assessments. However, the dilution potential of German receiving waters under low flow conditions is largely unknown and information is sparse for other European countries. We calculated dilution factors for two datasets differing in spatial extent and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) size: a national dataset comprising 1225 large WWTPs in Central and Northern Germany and a federal dataset for 678 WWTPs of a single state in Southwest Germany. We found that the fixed factor approach overestimates the dilution potential of 60% and 40% of receiving waters in the national and the federal dataset, with median dilution factors of 5 and 14.5, respectively. Under mean flow conditions, 8% of calculated dilution factors were below 10, with a median dilution factor of 106. We also calculated regional dilution factors that accounted for effluent inputs from upstream WWTPs. For the national and the federal dataset, 70% and 60% of calculated regional dilution factors fell below 10 under mean low flow conditions, respectively. Decrease of regional dilution potential in small receiving streams was mainly driven by the next WWTP upstream with a 2.5 fold drop of median regional dilution factors. Our results show that using the standard dilution factor of 10 would result in the underestimation of environmental concentrations for authorised chemicals by a factor of 3–5 for about 10% of WWTPs, especially during low flow conditions. Consequently, measured environmental concentrations might exceed predicted environmental concentrations and ecological risks posed by effluents could be much higher, suggesting that a revision of current risk assessment practices may be required.

Assessment of current practices for developing "preceptors in training".

All accredited postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) pharmacy residency programs are required to follow the ASHP Accreditation Standard for PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Programs.[1][1] The standard includes a newly defined role of “preceptor in training” (PIT). In section 4.9 of the standard, a PIT is defined

A closer look at bilingual students’ use of multimodality in the context of an area comparison problem from a large-scale assessment

In this article, we use multimodality to examine how bilingual students interact with an area task from the National Assessment of Educational Progress in task-based interviews. Using vignettes, we demonstrate how some of these students manipulate the concrete materials, and use gestures, as a primary form of structuring their explanations and making mathematical meaning. We use our results as a basis to challenge the possible deficit perspective of bilingual students’ mathematical knowledge in current assessment practices. Choosing tasks that afford multiple modes of engagement and recognizing multimodal explanations in assessment practices has the potential to move us towards a better understanding of what bilingual students know and can do mathematically.

Quality of Dutch integrated head and neck cancer care: Measurement and evaluation.

173 Background: Oncologic care is very complex, and delivery of integrated care with optimal alignment and collaboration of several disciplines is crucial. To monitor and effectively improve high-quality integrated oncologic care, a dashboard of valid and reliable quality indicators (QIs) is indispensable. A set of QIs is developed specifically for head and neck cancer (HNC) patients from three perspectives: patients (development of indicators from patient perspective, including the first results, are described in the abstract "PROMs and PREMs in Dutch integrated head and neck cancer care: Measurements and evaluation"), medical specialist and allied health professionals. This presentation concerns the first results from medical and allied health professional perspective. Methods: QIs on process, structure and outcome of care, were developed using an evidence based method: the Rand modified Delphi method. Data was collected in nine Dutch hospitals nearly 1,500 patients (November 2014 - December 2016). Indicators were calculated on national and hospital level and corrected for case-mix using SPSS. Results: The final set contained 5 outcome indicators from both perspectives, 13 and 18 process indicators from the perspective of medical specialists and allied health professionals respectively, and three structure indicators from the perspective of allied health professionals. Besides, 10 case-mix factors were selected. Current practice assessment, in 1263 patients, produced high scores on integrated care indicators, e.g., the percentage of patients discussed in multidisciplinary team meeting before start of the treatment (93%) and availability of a treatment plan (99%). However, involvement of dental teams (range 57 – 100%) and malnutrition screening (range 8-35%) could be improved in most hospitals. In addition, most hospitals did not meet the standard of 80% on patients starting with treatment within 30 days. Conclusions: The quality of integrated multidisciplinary care for patients with head and neck cancer in the Netherlands is already high on some aspects, but varied between hospitals and shows room for improvement. This study can be an example for other oncologic diseases where integrated care is necessary.

Molding the asset management system to PAS 55-1/ISO 55001 in one Scandinavian water and wastewater works

Good practice and standards set strict requirements for optimization and continuous improvement of physical asset management. The new international standard for asset management provides a framework for asset intensive industries to develop and implement sound asset management systems. Unlike the largest and most global industries, there are very few, if any, providers of services in the water sector that have developed and implemented a full set of best practices, in compliance with specifications created by the standard. Oslo Water and Sewerage Works (Oslo VAV) has worked systematically to evolve its asset management system by standardizing work processes and operating procedures in its Business Process Management System, implementing good practice in infrastructure asset management, and by improved management and control of the private contractor that operates the wastewater treatment plant's processes and activities. This paper provides insight into Oslo VAV's asset management system, assessment of current practice vs. best practice for complying with the standard and high priority areas for improvement.

Commercial competence: comparing test results of paper-and-pencil versus computer-based assessments

BackgroundVocational education and training (VET) aims to enable young adults or trainees to participate in the workplace, and to promote their vocational capacities. In order to examine trainees’ competencies at the end of VET, appropriate instruments are needed. This contribution aims: (1) to give an outline of such an instrument, one that has been designed to evaluate vocational competencies in the field of economics, and (2) to present the results of an empirical comparison of two possible test modes: computer-based assessment (CBA) versus paper-based assessment (PBA). The use of new technologies offers various opportunities for competence measurement: in particular, the computer as an assessment tool presents an authentic work tool drawn from professional life and promises novel ways of designing assessments. However, the current assessment practice in Germany is dominated by the use of traditional PBA, and there is less evidence about the possible effects of CBA. This study addresses the question of whether there are significant differences in the various ways of representing and measuring commercial competence with respect to specific content, item format, and, finally, motivational aspects.MethodsA sample of 387 trainees from the German VET system was used to compare these two kinds of assessment. The analyses were realized using Item Response Theory and, particularly, Differential Item Functioning to detect differences between PBA and CBA at the item level. In addition to the performance data, motivational aspects, such as emotional state and test attractiveness, were also taken into account by a pre-/post-questionnaire.ResultsThe study demonstrates that both test formats (CBA and PBA) can represent commercial competence in a valid and reliable way, but differences were found for certain items in the number of correct responses. The PBA shows a slight advantage in respect of overall item and model fit. Another key finding of our comparative study, at item level, is important from an instructive viewpoint: (domain) specific items are easier to solve in CBA than in PBA, whereas more general items are answered correctly more frequently in the latter. Contrary to expectations, we could not confirm the overall dominance of CBA against PBA on the basis of test takers’ motivation, but values from CBA were more stable over time.ConclusionsThe study facilitated making the strengths and weaknesses of both test formats evident, and this implies the possibility of identifying opportunities for further development in assessment practice and in designing tests. Selected design criteria and aspects of test administration are discussed, with the aim of seeking to optimize test development in order to create the best possible estimates for young adults’ competence and capacity to participate in the world of work.

From piloting e‐submission to electronic management of assessment (EMA): Mapping grading journeys

AbstractThe increasing interest in electronic management of assessment is a sign of a gradual institutionalisation of e‐submission and e‐marking technologies in UK Higher Education. The effective adoption of these technologies requires a managed approach, especially a detailed understanding of current assessment practices within the institution and the development of new or adapted business processes. The findings from close participant observation of assessment processes over a 2‐year period across a large Faculty reveal that three independent variables around (1) initial marking, (2) internal quality assurance and (3) the timing of the return of e‐feedback to students, determine variance in grading journeys. Despite the apparent wide variety of processes, five major grading journeys prevail: three varieties of moderation (moderation of multiple markers and moderation of single markers either before or after grades and feedback are released to students); and two forms of second marking (either blind or open to peers). Within an institution, the identification of major workflows is fundamental to both an effective implementation of assessment technologies and in conducting change. The identification of major workflows across UK Higher Education Institutions remains critical to attain the necessary software development from global vendors.

Peritumoral lymphatic vessel density and invasion detected with immunohistochemical marker D240 is strongly associated with distant metastasis in breast carcinoma

BackgroundDetection of vascular invasion by hematoxylin and eosin staining is the current pathological assessment practice to diagnose breast carcinoma. However, conventional hematoxylin and eosin staining failed to distinguish between blood vessel invasion and lymphatic vessel invasion. Both are important prognostic criteria however with different outcomes. The aim of this study is to distinguish between blood vessel invasion and lymphatic vessel invasion using conventional assessment and immunohistochemical markers. The prognostic significance of both circulatory invasions in invasive breast carcinoma was also investigated.MethodsConsecutive sections of breast carcinoma samples from 58 patients were stained with CD34 and D240 to stain blood and lymphatic vessels respectively. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was carried out on another consecutive section as conventional staining.ResultsAlthough blood vessel density is higher in the sections (median = 10.3 vessels) compared to lymphatic vessel density (median = 0.13), vessel invasion is predominantly lymphatic invasion (69.8 and 55.2% respectively). Interestingly, peritumoral lymphatic vessel density and peritumoral lymphatic invasion was significantly associated with distant metastasis (p = 0.049 and p = 0.05 respectively). The rate of false positive and false negative interpretation by hematoxylin and eosin was 46.7 and 53.3% respectively.ConclusionsLymphatic vessel invasion is a strong prognostic markers of breast carcinoma invasion and the use of immunohistochemical markers increase the rate and accuracy of detection.

Assessment and Rehabilitation of Social Cognition Impairment after Brain Injury: Surveying Practices of Clinicians

Objectives: This study examined the current assessment practices of clinicians working with people with social cognition impairment following traumatic brain injury.Method: Two hundred and sixty clinicians completed an on-line survey that was disseminated through professional brain injury organisations. Of respondents around 90% were allied health clinicians, with the remainder comprising medical, nursing and academia.Main outcomes: The four areas of social cognition that were routinely assessed across the disciplines were insight, disinhibition, anger and social adjustment. The least routinely assessed areas were theory of mind and alexithymia. The test suggested most likely to identify social cognition impairments was The Awareness of Social Inference Test, although only 8% of clinicians responded to this question. Clinicians preferred informal assessment methods over standardised assessment methods for identifying social cognition rehabilitation goals. Higher levels of education were associated with greater use of standardised assessment modalities. Whilst there was paucity of responses overall, TBI Express was most commonly used for social cognition rehabilitation.Conclusions: Considering the high prevalence of social cognition impairments in this population, formal assessment is extremely limited. The under-utilisation of assessment tools is problematic for the assessment and rehabilitation initiatives offered to people with TBI. These results have implications for the training of clinicians working in brain injury rehabilitation.

Methodological Study to Develop Standard Operational Protocol on Oral Drug Administration for Children.

To develop standard operational protocol (SOP) on oral drug administration and checklist to assess the implementation of the developed SOP. In this prospective methodological study, SOPs were developed in five phases. In the first phase, the preliminary draft of SOPs and checklists were prepared based on literature review, assessment of current practices and focus group discussion (FGD) with bedside working nurses. In the second phase, content validity was checked with the help of Delphi technique (12 experts). Total four drafts were prepared in stages and necessary modifications were made as per suggestions after each Delphi round. Fourth Delphi round was performed after conducting a pilot study. In the fourth phase, all bedside nurses were trained as per SOPs and asked to practice accordingly and observation of thirty oral drug administrations in children was done to check reliability of checklists for implementation of SOPs. In Phase-V, 7 FGDs were conducted with bedside nurses to assess the effectiveness of SOPs. The Content Validity Index (CVI) of SOP and checklists was 99.77%. Overall standardized Cronbach's alpha was calculated as 0.94. All the nurses felt that the SOP is useful. Valid and feasible SOP for drug administration to children through oral route along with valid and reliable checklist were developed. It is recommended to use this document for drug administration to children.

Surface Rupture Effects on Earthquake Moment-Area Scaling Relations

Empirical earthquake scaling relations play a central role in fundamental studies of earthquake physics and in current practice of earthquake hazard assessment, and are being refined by advances in earthquake source analysis. A scaling relation between seismic moment (M0) and rupture area (A) currently in use for ground motion prediction in Japan features a transition regime of the form M0–A2, between the well-recognized small (self-similar) and very large (W-model) earthquake regimes, which has counterintuitive attributes and uncertain theoretical underpinnings. Here, we investigate the mechanical origin of this transition regime via earthquake cycle simulations, analytical dislocation models and numerical crack models on strike-slip faults. We find that, even if stress drop is assumed constant, the properties of the transition regime are controlled by surface rupture effects, comprising an effective rupture elongation along-dip due to a mirror effect and systematic changes of the shape factor relating slip to stress drop. Based on this physical insight, we propose a simplified formula to account for these effects in M0–A scaling relations for strike-slip earthquakes.

Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Hanoi, Vietnam

For individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), early and accurate diagnosis enables early intervention, which leads to improved quality of life. The diagnostic label of ASD has only been recognized in Vietnam since 2000 and the number of children who have been diagnosed has increased dramatically. However, there is limited understanding about the condition. This article aims to describe the current assessment and diagnostic practices in Hanoi, Vietnam, a low resource setting. Data for this article came from in-depth interviews with parents of children with ASD and service providers, and observation at health clinics and early intervention centers that provide ASD assessment during field work from July 2011 to May 2012. This study reveals that although there is some improvement in assessment services, parents still face a number of challenges in accessing quality assessment and diagnosis of ASD in Vietnam. These include rushed and perfunctory assessment; a lack of clinical guidelines for assessment; limited communication among health professionals in assessment teams, and between professionals and parents of children with ASD. Public awareness-raising of the signs of autism, capacity building for professionals, development of practical and contextual appropriate assessment protocols are needed to enhance the accessibility and quality of assessment services.