Gatekeeper Function Research Articles

Fear and learning in student teaching: Accountability as gatekeeper in social studies

Today’s pre-service teachers grew up attending schools where high stakes testing and teacher accountability were the norm. Despite a substantial body of research focused on the influence high-stakes testing on the practices of novice social studies teachers, a gap exists regarding the accountability movement's influence on novice social studies teachers. This study focused explicitly on the influence high-stakes testing and the culture of accountability had on two pre-service social studies teachers during their student teaching experience. Our findings highlight the ways the accountability culture of public schools served a narrow gatekeeping function, limiting what participants learned during student teaching. Rethinking gatekeeping during student teaching within the current era of accountability and oversight positions teacher educators to confront the constricting nature of student teaching today. Student teachers must learn to recognize the gatekeeping aspects of the accountability culture and to make sense of the contradictions embedded in the student teaching experience.

New models of care for allergy

New models of care for allergy

Meningeal Mast Cells as Key Effectors of Stroke Pathology.

Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability in the United States. Because post-stroke inflammation is a critical determinant of damage and recovery after stroke, understanding the interplay between the immune system and the brain after stroke holds much promise for therapeutic intervention. An understudied, but important aspect of this interplay is the role of meninges that surround the brain. All blood vessels travel through the meningeal space before entering the brain parenchyma, making the meninges ideally located to act as an immune gatekeeper for the underlying parenchyma. Emerging evidence suggests that the actions of immune cells resident in the meninges are essential for executing this gatekeeper function. Mast cells (MCs), best known as proinflammatory effector cells, are one of the long-term resident immune cells in the meninges. Here, we discuss recent findings in the literature regarding the role of MCs located in the meningeal space and stroke pathology. We review the latest advances in mouse models to investigate the roles of MCs and MC-derived products in vivo, and the importance of using these mouse models. We examine the concept of the meninges playing a critical role in brain and immune interactions, reevaluate the perspectives on the key effectors of stroke pathology, and discuss the opportunities and challenges for therapeutic development.

Influence of Low Protein Diet-Induced Fetal Growth Restriction on the Neuroplacental Corticosterone Axis in the Rat.

Objectives: Placental steroid metabolism is linked to the fetal hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) might alter this cross-talk and lead to maternal stress, in turn contributing to the pathogenesis of anxiety-related disorders of the offspring, which might be mediated by fetal overexposure to, or a reduced local enzymatic protection against maternal glucocorticoids. So far, direct evidence of altered levels of circulating/local glucocorticoids is scarce. Liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) allows quantitative endocrine assessment of blood and tissue. Using a rat model of maternal protein restriction (low protein [LP] vs. normal protein [NP]) to induce IUGR, we analyzed fetal and maternal steroid levels via LC-MS/MS along with the local expression of 11beta-hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenase (Hsd11b).Methods: Pregnant Wistar dams were fed a low protein (8%, LP; IUGR) or an isocaloric normal protein diet (17%, NP; controls). At E18.5, the expression of Hsd11b1 and 2 was determined by RT-PCR in fetal placenta and brain. Steroid profiling of maternal and fetal whole blood, fetal brain, and placenta was performed via LC-MS/MS.Results: In animals with LP-induced reduced body (p < 0.001) and placental weights (p < 0.05) we did not observe any difference in the expressional Hsd11b1/2-ratio in brain or placenta. Moreover, LP diet did not alter corticosterone (Cort) or 11-dehydrocorticosterone (DH-Cort) levels in dams, while fetal whole blood levels of Cort were significantly lower in the LP group (p < 0.001) and concomitantly in LP brain (p = 0.003) and LP placenta (p = 0.002). Maternal and fetal progesterone levels (whole blood and tissue) were not influenced by LP diet.Conclusion: Various rat models of intrauterine stress show profound alterations in placental Hsd11b2 gatekeeper function and fetal overexposure to corticosterone. In contrast, LP diet in our model induced IUGR without altering maternal steroid levels or placental enzymatic glucocorticoid barrier function. In fact, IUGR offspring showed significantly reduced levels of circulating and local corticosterone. Thus, our LP model might not represent a genuine model of intrauterine stress. Hypothetically, the observed changes might reflect a fetal attempt to maintain anabolic conditions in the light of protein restriction to sustain regular brain development. This may contribute to fetal origins of later neurodevelopmental sequelae.

Jumping onto the bandwagon of collective gatekeepers: Testing the bandwagon effect of information diffusion on social news website

Based on collaborative information filtering and information aggregation services, the social news website carries out a collective gatekeeping function, supplying an empirical ground to test the bandwagon effect on information diffusion. Modeling the interpersonal effect and bandwagon effect in collective gatekeeping with threshold models, we confirm the bandwagon effect of collective gatekeeping on news diffusion with two novel datasets. The results demonstrate that the bandwagon of collective gatekeepers is the primary driver for online news diffusion. Interestingly, the bandwagon effect of collective gatekeeping is moderated by the strength of interpersonal effects. The theoretical generalizations of this research contribute to our understanding about the impact of collective gatekeeping on information diffusion.

Applying statistics to the gatekeeping of expert evidence: Introducing the Structured Statistical Judgement (SSJ).

Daubert required judges to base their decisions about the admissibility of expert witness testimony in large part on the reliability and validity of empirical observations. Because judges have a wide array of duties and may not be equipped to understand the complexities of statistical analysis, some jurists have recommended that court-appointed experts assist judges in their gatekeeping function. To assist such experts in scrutinizing empirical papers, we propose a Structured Statistical Judgement (SSJ) that takes advantage of advances in the various statistical methods - such as effect sizes that adjust for error - which have allowed researchers to report increasingly more reliable and valid observations. We also include supplementary materials that court-appointed experts can use both as a codebook to operationalize the SSJ and as a quick reference that will aid consultation with judges. An initial application of the SSJ examined all 93 empirical articles published in Psychology, Public Policy, and Law and Law and Human Behavior in 2015 and resulted in excellent interrater reliability (π = 0.83; π = 0.95; π = 0.97), at the same time it indicated that a majority of the articles fail to include the comprehensive and transparent statistical analysis that would be most useful to courts.

Discussing patients\u2019 insurance and out-of-pocket expenses during GPs\u2019 consultations

BackgroundGenerally, a significant portion of healthcare spending consists of out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses. Patients indicate that, in practice, there are often some OOP expenses, incurred when they receive medical care, which are unexpected for them and should have been taken into account when deciding on a course of action. Patients are often reliant on their GP and may, therefore, expect their GP to provide them with information about the costs of treatment options, taking into consideration their individual insurance plan. This also applies to the Netherlands, where OOP expenses increased rapidly over the years. In the current study, we observed the degree to which matters around patients’ insurance and OOP expenses are discussed in the Netherlands, using video recordings of consultations between patients and GPs.MethodsVideo recordings were collected from patient-GP consultations in 2015–2016. In 2015, 20 GPs and 392 patients from the eastern part of the Netherlands participated. In 2016, another eight GPs and 102 patients participated, spread throughout the Netherlands. The consultations were coded by three observers using an observation protocol. We achieved an almost perfect inter-rater agreement (Kappa = .82).ResultsIn total, 475 consultations were analysed. In 9.5% of all the consultations, issues concerning patients’ health insurance and OOP expenses were discussed. The reimbursement of the cost of medication was discussed most often and patients’ current insurance and co-payments least often. In some consultations, the GP brought up the subject, while in others, the patient initiated the discussion.ConclusionsWhile GPs may often be in the position to provide patients with information about treatment alternatives, few patients discuss the financial effects of their referral or prescription with their GP. This result complies with existing literature. Policy makers, GPs and insurers should think about how GPs and patients can be facilitated when considering the OOP expenses of treatment. There are several factors why this study, analysing video recordings of routine GP consultations in the Netherlands, is particularly relevant: Dutch GPs play a gatekeeper function; OOP expenses have increased relatively swiftly; and patients have both the right to decide on their treatment, and to choose a provider.

Quasi-Gatekeeping and Quasi-Gatewatching: The Dual Role of Public Relations Practitioners in the Social Media Domain

Background Existing literature depicts public relations practitioners as gatekeepers. Despite this, limited research exists on how much of a gatekeeping role public relations practitioners play in their organizations’ communication with the publics in the social media domain. Analysis This article bridges the research gap by examining the dual role of quasi-gatekeeping and quasi-gatewatching performed by public relations practitioners in their attempt to communicate, regulate, and manage information in the social media domain and market-space media environment. Conclusion and implications Discussion of these two distinct roles expands the frontiers of gatekeeping studies in public relations practice and communication studies, through the introduction of a new mixed-flow model of the gatekeeping function of public relations practitioners in the digital media landscape.

#TLDR: Twitter is Changing Everything

Twitter. What some view as just a social media site to see and share ratings with dogs; politicians and journalists are now finding it a requirement of their daily jobs. Politicians are using Twitter in an attempt to circumvent the gatekeeping that media has performed for generations while journalists are trying to keep up and verify all the news sent through it. No one has relied more on Twitter than President Donald J. Trump who uses his account to not only get around the gatekeeping function of the press, but to change the news cycle all together.

The meaning-making of educational proficiency in academic hiring: a blind spot in the black box

ABSTRACT This article develops knowledge about the meaning and value ascribed to educational proficiency in the recruitment of full professors. Hiring processes reflect standards that organize academia and notions of academic scholarship, its value and quality, and agents involved have an institutional gate-keeping function. The empirical data, external peer review letters, is drawn from an old comprehensive research-intensive university, offering educational programmes within a broad range of scientific domains. Although a large variety of aspects are ascribed to educational proficiency, and variations do occur across scientific domains and reviewers, the main finding is a restricted notion. A special value is assigned to the scope of doctoral supervision and teacher training. Internal individual classroom performance is focused, while scholarly interaction is less emphasized. Reviewers primarily serve as gatekeepers of disciplinary research, not the education thereof, thus educational proficiency is no game changer in the context of academic scholarship.

Back To Burgess: The Impact of the White Burgess Expert Evidence Regime in Alberta Decisions

Historically, the judicial treatment of expert evidence was viewed through the static lens of traditional evidential rules. Expert evidence was an exception to the opinion evidence rule, which deemed inadmissible testimonial evidence that usurped the function of the trier of fact by offering a ready-made conclusion. This exception for admissibility was a recognition that expert evidence may assist the trier in coming to a conclusion in areas of specialized knowledge and expertise. However, the potential prejudicial misuse of this powerful form of opinion evidence was underestimated. A culture of admissibility of expert evidence upon proof of education and knowledge became the norm turning potential prejudice into actual miscarriages of justice as exemplified in the Goudge Inquiry in 2008. Even so, it was not until 2015, when the Supreme Court of Canada released White Burgess Langille Inman v Abbott and Haliburton, that a clear step-by-step approach was developed on the admissibility and assessment of expert evidence. This decision, together with two other Supreme Court decisions on the issue in Sekhon and Bingley, changed the focus of the qualification exercise to ensure the expert understood their duty to assist the court as an independent, unbiased and impartial witness. This changed the role of the expert from an advocate to a non-partisan receptacle of knowledge. To maintain the new status quo, the Supreme Court embedded into the admissibility process a clear and continual gatekeeper function to regulate the scope of the expert’s evidence and to keep the interests of justice firmly in mind throughout the trial process. However, in this task the trial judge is not alone as this heightened vigilance is shared with all parties to an action. Although this newly fashioned test appears to be clearly drawn, the true worth of a legal principle can only be determined through its application. The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact and influence of the test on lower court decisions in criminal and civil matters, through an analysis of Alberta case law since the rendering of White Burgess. As part of this review, the paper will also highlight the future evolution and development of expert evidence issues and the effect these decisions will have in other areas of law.

Lärarna och lämpligheten

Education of teachers and teacher competence has been an important field since the establishment of Pedagogy as science. This article relates to research concerning teacher competence and conditions for admission to teacher education. The purpose is to identify what is characterized as ineligible in connection with admission to teacher education, in assessing becoming teachers’ pedagogical actions, and in professional teachers’ vocational practice. Within a research group at Linnaeus University, we have in two projects studied the gatekeeping function to the teaching profession. The core of the projects consists of the assessment of eligibility that takes place before and during teacher training as well as during teachers’ professional practice. On admission to teacher education, it is mainly on communicative and relational grounds that an applicant may be deemed ineligible to become a teacher. In teacher education a didactical dimension is added as well as an analytical and reflective dimension, which means being able to reflect critically over practice on a scientific ground, or on ethical grounds. In teachers’ professional practice, shortcomings in communicative and relational competence as well as actions that contradict ethical grounds constitute predominant reasons for being considered ineligible. Shortcomings in educational skills are generally handled at school level.

Exploring physicians\u2019 decision-making in hospital readmission processes - a comparative case study

BackgroundHospital readmissions is an increasingly serious international problem, associated with higher risks of adverse events, especially in elderly patients. There can be many causes and influential factors leading to hospital readmissions, but they are often closely related, making hospital readmissions an overall complex area. In addition, a comprehensive coordination reform was introduced into the Norwegian healthcare system in 2012. The reform changed the premises for readmissions with economic incentives enhancing early transfer from secondary to primary care, making research on readmissions in the municipalities more urgent than ever. General practitioners (GPs) and nursing home physicians, have traditionally held a gatekeepers function in hospital readmissions from the municipal healthcare service, as they are the main decision-makers in questions of hospital readmissions. Still, the GPs’ gatekeeper function is an under-investigated area in hospital readmission research. The aim of the study was to increase knowledge about factors that lead to hospital readmissions among elderly in municipal healthcare, with special attention to GPs’ and nursing home physicians’ decision making.MethodThe study was conducted as a comparative case study. Two municipalities affiliated with the same hospital, but with different readmission rates were recruited. Twenty GPs and nursing home physicians from each municipality were recruited and interviewed. Forty hours of observation were conducted during the huddles in one long-term and one short-term nursing home in each municipality.ResultsSeven themes describing how different factors influence physicians’ decision-making in the hospital readmission process in two municipalities were identified. Poor communication, continuity and information flow account for hospital readmissions in both municipalities. Several factors, including nurse staffing and competence, patients and their families, time constraints and experience affected physicians’ decision-making.ConclusionCommunication, continuity and information flow contributed to hospital readmissions in both municipalities. The cross-case analysis revealed slight differences between municipalities. More research focusing on GPs’ and nursing home physicians’ decision-making, nursing home nurses and home care nurses’ experience of hospital readmissions and discharges is needed.

Legitimizing a Muslim Marriage in Malta: Navigating Legal and Normative Structures

This article explores the strategies adopted by Muslim and Catholic spouses in celebrating and legitimizing unregistered Muslim marriages in Malta. It demonstrates how these couples’ decisions to celebrate such marriages and to introduce various ‘Catholic’ practices into their wedding ceremonies reflect the way they construct their identities and seek to socially ground them as an adaptive response to the overarching social context that also expresses their agency. These choices are contextualized in relation to the evolution of Maltese marriage law from colonial Church/State dualism until the present ‘post-Catholic’ scenario. Despite significant recent changes to marriage laws, Canon law rules continue to shape the way marriage is understood. This is important as marriage also serves a critical gate-keeping function in determining access to Maltese citizenship and residence. The article highlights the way in which the gap between formal (national) and informal (religious) law is managed by spouses and the local Imam so as to facilitate the formation of Muslim marriages.

Gatekeeping function of primary care physicians under Japan's free-access system: a prospective open cohort study involving 14 isolated islands.

BackgroundGatekeeping is important for strong primary care and cost containment. Under Japan’s free-access system, patients can access any medical institution without referral, which makes it difficult to evaluate the gatekeeping function of primary care physicians (PCPs).ObjectivesTo examine the gatekeeping function of PCPs in Japan, we compared the frequencies of visits to primary care clinics, referrals to advanced care and hospitalizations between 14 remote islands and a nationwide survey.MethodsThis study was a prospective, open cohort study involving 14 isolated islands (12 238 inhabitants) in Okinawa, Japan. Participants were all patients who visited the clinics on these islands in 1 year. Main outcome measures were the incidence of on-island clinic visits and referrals to off-island advanced care.ResultsThere were 54 741 visits to the islands’ clinics with 2045 referrals to off-island medical facilities, including 549 visits to emergency departments and 705 hospitalizations. The age- and sex-standardized incidences of healthcare use per 1000 inhabitants per month were: 360.0 (95% confidence interval: 359.9 to 360.1) visits to primary care clinics, 11.6 (11.0 to 12.2) referrals to off-island hospital-based outpatient clinics, 3.3 (2.8 to 5.2) visits to emergency departments and 4.2 (3.1 to 5.2) hospitalizations. Comparison with the nationwide survey revealed a lower incidence of visits to hospital-based outpatient clinics in this study, while more patients had visited PCPs.ConclusionsThe lower incidence of visits to secondary care facilities in this study might suggest that introduction of a gatekeeping system to Japan would reduce the incidence of referral to advanced care.

RUNX Poly(ADP-Ribosyl)ation and BLM Interaction Facilitate the Fanconi Anemia Pathway of DNA Repair

The Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway is a pivotal genome maintenance network that orchestrates the repair of DNA interstrand crosslinks (ICLs). The tumor suppressors RUNX1 and RUNX3 were shown to regulate the FA pathway independent of their canonical transcription activities, by controlling the DNA damage-dependent chromatin association of FANCD2. Here, in further biochemical characterization, we demonstrate that RUNX3 is modified by PARP-dependent poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation (PARylation), which in turn allows RUNX binding to DNA repair structures lackingtranscription-related RUNX consensus motifs. SILAC-based mass spectrometric analysis revealed significant association of RUNX3 with core DNA repair complexes, including PARP1, even in unstressed cells. After DNA damage, the increased interaction between RUNX3 and BLM facilitates efficient FANCD2 chromatin localization. RUNX-Walker motif mutations from breast cancers are impaired for DNA damage-inducible PARylation, unveiling a potential mechanism for FA pathway inactivation in cancers. Our results reinforce the emerging paradigm that RUNX proteins are tumor suppressors with genome gatekeeper function.

Abstract 368: B-lymphoid transcriptional repression of the pentose phosphate pathway reveals a unique therapeutic vulnerability of B cell malignancies

Abstract Introduction Activation during normal immune responses and oncogenic transformation impose increased metabolic demands on B-cells and their ability to retain redox homeostasis. While the serine/threonine-protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) was identified as tumor suppressor in multiple types of cancer, our genetic studies revealed an unexpected lineage-specific dependency on PP2A in a broad range of B-cell malignancies. Results PP2A regulates glycolysis rate and balances energy supply against anti-oxidant protection of B-cells through the pentose-phosphate pathway (PPP). In contrast to robust PPP-activity in other hematopoietic lineages, B-lymphoid transcription factors (PAX5, IKZF1) restrict PPP-activity by transcriptional repression of G6PD and other rate-limiting PPP enzymes. Constitutively low PPP-activity and limited capacity to balance redox fluctuations cause a unique dependency on PP2A in B-cell tumors. Pharmacological ablation of PP2A and PPP-activity identify this pathway as a novel lineage-specific therapeutic target in a broad range of B-cell malignancies. Highlights • Conditional deletion of Ppp2r1a, the central scaffold assembling the PP2A holoenzyme, induces acute cell death of early and mature B-cells but does not affect other hematopoietic lineages. • PP2A redirects glucose carbon utilization from glycolysis to the PPP to mitigate oxidative stress. • B-cell malignancies exhibit constitutively low PPP activity, owing to B-cell-specific transcriptional repression of G6PD and other rate-limiting PPP enzymes. • Transcriptional repression of PPP activity in B-cells represents the mechanistic basis for the unique dependency of B-cell malignancies on PP2A. • Small molecule inhibitors of PP2A and G6PD act synergistically and overcome conventional drug-resistance in B-cell tumors. Summary Genetic lesions of PP2A are frequent in solid tumors and myeloid leukemia, but not in B-cell malignancies. Unlike other types of cancer, our genetic studies revealed an essential role of PP2A in B-cell tumors. Thereby, PP2A redirects glucose carbon utilization from glycolysis to PPP to salvage oxidative stress. This unique vulnerability reflects constitutively low PPP activity in B-cells and transcriptional repression of G6PD and other key PPP enzymes by the B-cell transcription factors PAX5 and IKZF1. Reflecting B-cell-specific transcriptional repression of PPP activity, glucose carbon utilization in B-cells is heavily skewed in favor of glycolysis resulting in lack of PPP-dependent antioxidant protection. These findings reveal a novel gatekeeper function of the PPP in a broad range of B-cell malignancies that can be efficiently targeted by small molecule inhibition of PP2A and G6PD. Citation Format: Gang Xiao, Zhengshan Chen, Lai N. Chan, Daniel Braas, Thomas G. Graeber, Huimin Geng, Hassan Jumaa, Xiaoyan Jiang, Markus Müschen. B-lymphoid transcriptional repression of the pentose phosphate pathway reveals a unique therapeutic vulnerability of B cell malignancies [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 368.

Clinical Routine FDG-PET Imaging of Suspected Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and Corticobasal Degeneration: A Gatekeeper for Subsequent Tau-PET Imaging?

Background: F-18-fluordeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) is widely used for discriminative diagnosis of tau-positive atypical parkinsonian syndromes (T+APS). This approach now stands to be augmented with more specific tau tracers. Therefore, we retrospectively analyzed a large clinical routine dataset of FDG-PET images for evaluation of the strengths and limitations of stand-alone FDG-PET.Methods: A total of 117 patients (age 68.4 ± 11.1 y) underwent an FDG-PET exam. Patients were followed clinically for a minimum of one year and their final clinical diagnosis was recorded. FDG-PET was rated visually (positive/negative) and categorized as high, moderate or low likelihood of T+APS and other neurodegenerative disorders. We then calculated positive and negative predictive values (PPV/NPV) of FDG-PET readings for the different subgroups relative to their final clinical diagnosis.Results: Suspected diagnoses were confirmed by clinical follow-up (≥1 y) for 62 out of 117 (53%) patients. PPV was excellent when FDG-PET indicated a high likelihood of T+APS in combination with low to moderate likelihood of another neurodegenerative disorder. PPV was distinctly lower when FDG-PET indicated only a moderate likelihood of T+APS or when there was deemed equal likelihood of other neurodegenerative disorder. NPV of FDG-PET with a low likelihood for T+APS was high.Conclusions: FDG-PET has high value in clinical routine evaluation of suspected T+APS, gaining satisfactory differential diagnosis in two thirds of the patients. One third of patients would potentially profit from further evaluation by more specific radioligands, with FDG-PET serving gatekeeper function for the more expensive methods.

Goblet cells: multifaceted players in immunity at mucosal surfaces.

Goblet cells (GCs) are specialized epithelial cells that line multiple mucosal surfaces and have a well-appreciated role in barrier maintenance through the secretion of mucus. Moreover, GCs secrete anti-microbial proteins, chemokines, and cytokines demonstrating functions in innate immunity beyond barrier maintenance. Recently it was appreciated that GCs can form goblet cell-associated antigen passages (GAPs) and deliver luminal substances to underlying lamina propria (LP) antigen-presenting cells (APCs) in a manner capable of inducing adaptive immune responses. GCs at other mucosal surfaces share characteristics with the GAP forming intestinal GCs, suggesting that GAP formation may not be restricted to the gut, and that GCs may perform this gatekeeper function at other mucosal surfaces. Here we review observations of how GCs contribute to immunity at mucosal surfaces through barrier maintenance, the delivery of luminal substances to APCs, interactions with APCs, and secretion of factors modulating immune responses.

Cognitive Influences on Complex Performance Assessment: Lessons from the Interplay between Medicine and Psychology

The assessment of healthcare professionals is a critical determinant of patient safety and healthcare quality, playing both a gatekeeping function and a path toward performance improvement. Given the complexity of physician–patient interactions and the inadequacy of self-assessment for judging one's own strengths and weaknesses, medicine exemplifies a domain in which adequate assessment is dependent on the perceptions and perspectives of observers. Such perspectives are susceptible to influences that range well beyond the performance itself, offering an opportunity to consider how cognitive psychology can guide improved practices and how examination of psychological processes in real-world environments can inform thinking about cognition. In this target article I will provide an overview of the challenges facing health professional educators, the insights that have been gained from the application of cognitive psychology toward deriving solutions, and some reflections on the current state of the science and ongoing needs. These efforts lead to the conclusion that performance assessment protocols stand a better chance of success when they are designed to accommodate limitations of attentional capacity, working memory, and the idiosyncratic influence of prior experience rather than striving to change these fundamental aspects of human cognition through rater training or response form alterations.