High Performance Group Research Articles

An alternative ranking of DMUs performance for the ZSG-DEA model

The Zero-Sum Gains Data Envelopment Analysis (ZSG-DEA) model was developed to evaluate the performance of Decision Making Units (DMUs) under output interdependency, which is evident when the total (over DMUs) observed output is a priori fixed. In this paper, we take a closer look at the derivation and interpretation of the ZSG-DEA efficiency scores and we explain why these are not really comparable across DMUs. Moreover, we verify that DMUs' ranking based on their ZSG-DEA efficiency scores is in fact incompatible with output interdependency, which requires total potential output of DMUs to be equal to their total observed output. Then, we propose an alternative metric of DMUs’ performance that is both consistent with output interdependency and comparable across DMUs. This metric is used for classifying DMUs into three (high, average or low performance) groups and for ranking them within these groups. To illustrate its empirical applicability, we use data from the Olympic Games, where output interdependency is clearly evident since the total number of awarded (gold, silver, and bronze) medals is a priori fixed.

How do students generate ideas together in scientific creativity tasks through computer-based mind mapping?

Creativity is widely described as a key ‘21st Century skill’. Science education in schools has emphasized the development of science inquiry and problem-solving skills with the support of technology, and paid insufficient attention to creative thinking skills for producing innovative ideas or solutions. This paper presents an exploratory study aiming to investigate how secondary school students engage in scientific creativity tasks with the support of technology, in particular how they generate ideas in small groups via applying relevant thinking strategies, engaging in social communication, and constructing a computer-based mind map to facilitate group thinking. The participants were 24 Grade 11 students from a high school, who worked on a set of scientific creativity tasks in 6 groups. Epistemic network analysis of group conversations reveals that constructing a mind map helped students to retain ideas for elaboration and evaluation, stimulate new threads of discussion, and regulate task progression. Compared to low-performing groups, high-performing groups engaged more in divergent thinking, mind mapping, and regulative discussions, in addition to making these activities more closely connected with idea generation. These findings have implications for the design of technology-supported educational interventions intended to promote and improve group creativity in science education.

Knowledge-building and metacognition matter: Detecting differences between high- and low-performance groups in computer-supported collaborative learning

ABSTRACT Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has been widely adopted in the field of education. However, most studies focus on collaborative learning outcomes rather than collaborative learning processes. It is still unclear why some groups fail in CSCL. Therefore, this study extracted four process variables, namely, knowledge-building, metacognitive patterns, emotional status, and participation, to investigate the differences between high- and low-performance groups. In total, 81 undergraduate students participated in this study for one month. The results indicated that there were significant differences in knowledge-building and metacognitive patterns between the high- and low-performance groups. The high-performance groups built more knowledge and engaged in more diverse metacognitive transitions than the low-performance groups. However, no differences in emotional status or participation were found between the two groups. The results and implications are discussed in depth.

Learning Outcomes during Information Search in Digital Archives

AbstractA museum's digital archive system gathers information about cultural heritage and makes it accessible to the public. In this study we clarify the extent to which search behaviors reflect task outcome and foster users’ knowledge of painting and calligraphy. Ten users participated who are special interest museum visitors. They joined in this evaluation of the Digital Archives of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Search System (DA‐PCSS) of the National Palace Museum in Taiwan. Participants’ search activities and interactions with the DA‐PCSS were recorded in two simulated tasks. The results show that the high‐performance (HP) group who received high scores for their essays on the tasks formulated precise and relevant queries. Furthermore, the HP group were able to find information needed inside or outside the system to explore and synthesize the information, which was clearly reflected in their search move patterns, during the search process. Our results suggest that the criteria for learning at various stages of search suggested by Vakkari (2016) seem to validly reflect the quality of the search outcomes. In all, the results elucidate how the evaluated system supports users as they search for target items, as well as how learning occurs during the search process and in turn influences task outcomes.

Effects of Frontal Theta Rhythms in a Prior Resting State on the Subsequent Motor Imagery Brain-Computer Interface Performance.

Dealing with subjects who are unable to attain a proper level of performance, that is, those with brain–computer interface (BCI) illiteracy or BCI inefficients, is still a major issue in human electroencephalography (EEG) BCI systems. The most suitable approach to address this issue is to analyze the EEG signals of individual subjects independently recorded before the main BCI tasks, to evaluate their performance on these tasks. This study mainly focused on non-linear analyses and deep learning techniques to investigate the significant relationship between the intrinsic characteristics of a prior idle resting state and the subsequent BCI performance. To achieve this main objective, a public EEG motor/movement imagery dataset that constituted two individual EEG signals recorded from an idle resting state and a motor imagery BCI task was used in this study. For the EEG processing in the prior resting state, spectral analysis but also non-linear analyses, such as sample entropy, permutation entropy, and recurrent quantification analyses (RQA), were performed to obtain individual groups of EEG features to represent intrinsic EEG characteristics in the subject. For the EEG signals in the BCI tasks, four individual decoding methods, as a filter-bank common spatial pattern-based classifier and three types of convolution neural network-based classifiers, quantified the subsequent BCI performance in the subject. Statistical linear regression and ANOVA with post hoc analyses verified the significant relationship between non-linear EEG features in the prior resting state and three types of BCI performance as low-, intermediate-, and high-performance groups that were statistically discriminated by the subsequent BCI performance. As a result, we found that the frontal theta rhythm ranging from 4 to 8 Hz during the eyes open condition was highly associated with the subsequent BCI performance. The RQA findings that higher determinism and lower mean recurrent time were mainly observed in higher-performance groups indicate that more regular and stable properties in the EEG signals over the frontal regions during the prior resting state would provide a critical clue to assess an individual BCI ability in the following motor imagery task.

Local body skin temperature-driven thermal sensation predictive model for the occupant's optimum productivity

This study aims to understand the comprehensive relationship between indoor temperature, physiological signals, thermal sensation, and cognitive performance and estimate thermal sensation for optimum productivity. A series of human experiments were conducted with 48 participants, and local skin temperatures and thermal sensation data were collected in 6 temperatures. The participants took two cognitive performance tests, OSPAN (Operation Span Task) and Vigilance test, to quantify their productivity.This study found that relatively high skin temperature of specific local body spots (Arm, wrist (back), wrist (In), back, and neck) were correlated negatively with the occupant's cognitive performance. Also, there were significant differences by gender in cognitive performances and physiological signals in the same indoor temperature. The mean skin temperature differences between males and females of most local body spots were more significant in the high-performing group than the low-performing group for the vigilance test. Local skin temperature differences by gender were more significant in the vigilance test (response time) than the OSPAN (working memory). Additionally, gender and two local skin temperatures (wrist (back) and neck) were accountable to estimate thermal sensation for optimum productivity by utilizing the J48 decision tree algorithm.This study provides new insights that the occupant's local body skin temperatures are correlated significantly with the occupant's cognitive performance (response time and working memory) in different indoor temperature conditions, and a single or combined local skin temperatures can be used as a variable to estimate individualized thermal comfort for the occupant's optimum productivity.

Motivational system modulates brain responses during exploratory decision-making

Managers face risk in explorative decision-making and those who are better at such decisions can achieve future viability. To understand what makes a manager effective at explorative decision-making requires an analysis of the manager’s motivational characteristics. The behavioral activation/inhibition system (BAS/BIS), fitting the motivational orientation of “approach” or “avoidance,” can affect individual decision-making. However, very little is known about the neural correlates of BAS/BIS orientation and their interrelationship with the mental activity during explorative decision-making. We conducted an fMRI study on 111 potential managers to investigate how the brain responses of explorative decision-making interact with BAS/BIS. Participants were separated into high- and low-performance groups based on the median exploration-score. The low-performance group showed significantly higher BAS than that of the high-performance group, and its BAS had significant negative association with neural networks related to reward-seeking during explorative decision-making. Moreover, the BIS of the low-performance group was negatively correlated with the activation of cerebral regions responding to risk-choice during explorative decision-making. Our finding showed that BAS/BIS was associated with the brain activation during explorative decision-making only in the low-performance group. This study contributed to the understanding of the micro-foundations of strategically relevant decision-making and has an implication for management development.

Evaluation of teachers’ information literacy based on information of behavioral data in online learning and teaching platforms: an empirical study of China

PurposeAdvances in information technology now permit the recording of massive and diverse process data, thereby making data-driven evaluations possible. This study discusses whether teachers’ information literacy can be evaluated based on their online information behaviors on online learning and teaching platforms (OLTPs).Design/methodology/approachFirst, to evaluate teachers’ information literacy, the process data were combined from teachers on OLTP to describe nine third-level indicators from the richness, diversity, usefulness and timeliness analysis dimensions. Second, propensity score matching (PSM) and difference tests were used to analyze the differences between the performance groups with reduced selection bias. Third, to effectively predict the information literacy score of each teacher, four sets of input variables were used for prediction using supervised learning models.FindingsThe results show that the high-performance group performs better than the low-performance group in 6 indicators. In addition, information-based teaching and behavioral research data can best reflect the level of information literacy. In the future, greater in-depth explorations are needed with richer online information behavioral data and a more effective evaluation model to increase evaluation accuracy.Originality/valueThe evaluation based on online information behaviors has concrete application scenarios, positively correlated results and prediction interpretability. Therefore, information literacy evaluations based on behaviors have great potential and favorable prospects.

Short Physical Performance Battery: Response to Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Minimal Important Difference Estimates in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

ObjectiveTo determine the response to a pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) program and minimal important differences (MIDs) for the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) subtests and SPPB summary score in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). DesignRetrospective analysis using distribution- and anchor-based methods. SettingPR center in the Netherlands including a comprehensive 40-session 8-week inpatient or 14-week outpatient program. ParticipantsA total of 632 patients with COPD (age, 65±8y; 50% male; forced expiratory volume in the first second=43% [interquartile range, 30%-60%] predicted). InterventionsNot applicable. Main Outcome MeasureBaseline and post-PR results of the SPPB, consisting of 3 balance standing tests, 4-meter gait speed (4MGS), and 5-repetition sit-to-stand (5STS). The chosen anchors were the 6-Minute Walk Test and COPD Assessment Test. Patients were stratified according to their SPPB summary scores into low-performance, moderate-performance, and high-performance groups. Results5STS (∆=−1.14 [−4.20 to −0.93]s) and SPPB summary score (∆=1 [0-2] points) improved after PR in patients with COPD. In patients with a low performance at baseline, balance tandem and 4MGS significantly increased as well. Based on distribution-based calculations, the MID estimates ranged between 2.19 and 6.33 seconds for 5STS and 0.83 to 0.96 points for SPPB summary score. ConclusionsThe 5STS and SPPB summary score are both responsive to PR in patients with COPD. The balance tandem test and 4MGS are only responsive to PR in patients with COPD with a low performance at baseline. Based on distribution-based calculations, an MID estimate of 1 point for the SPPB summary score is recommended in patients with COPD. Future research is needed to confirm MID estimates for SPPB in different centers.

A practical response adaptive block randomization (RABR) design with analytic type I error protection

Response adaptive randomization (RAR) is appealing from methodological, ethical, and pragmatic perspectives in the sense that subjects are more likely to be randomized to better performing treatment groups based on accumulating data. However, applications of RAR in confirmatory drug clinical trials with multiple active arms are limited largely due to its complexity, and lack of control of randomization ratios to different treatment groups. To address the aforementioned issues, we propose a Response Adaptive Block Randomization (RABR) design allowing arbitrarily prespecified randomization ratios for the control and high-performing groups to meet clinical trial objectives. We show the validity of the conventional unweighted test in RABR with a controlled type I error rate based on the weighted combination test for sample size adaptive design invoking no large sample approximation. The advantages of the proposed RABR in terms of robustly reaching target final sample size to meet regulatory requirements and increasing statistical power as compared with the popular Doubly Adaptive Biased Coin Design are demonstrated by statistical simulations and a practical clinical trial design example.

Medicare bundles for arthroplasty : a journey back to fee for service?

There is concern that aggressive target pricing in the new Bundled Payment for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI-A) penalizes high-performing groups that had achieved low costs through prior experience in bundled payments. We hypothesize that this methodology incorporates unsustainable downward trends on Target Prices and will lead to groups opting out of BPCI Advanced in favour of a traditional fee for service. Using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data, we compared the Target Price factors for hospitals and physician groups that participated in both BPCI Classic and BPCI Advanced (legacy groups), with groups that only participated in BPCI Advanced (non-legacy). With rebasing of Target Prices in 2020 and opportunity for participants to drop out, we compared retention rates of hospitals and physician groups enrolled at the onset of BPCI Advanced with current enrolment in 2020. At its peak in July 2015, 342 acute care hospitals and physician groups participated in Lower Extremity Joint Replacement (LEJR) in BPCI Classic. At its peak in March 2019, 534 acute care hospitals and physician groups participated in LEJR in BPCI Advanced. In January 2020, only 14.5% of legacy hospitals and physician groups opted to stay in BPCI Advanced for LEJR. Analysis of Target Price factors by legacy hospitals during both programmes demonstrates that participants in BPCI Classic received larger negative adjustments on the Target Price than non-legacy hospitals. BPCI Advanced provides little opportunity for a reduction in cost to offset a reduced Target Price for efficient providers, as made evident by the 85.5% withdrawal rate for BPCI Advanced. Efficient providers in BPCI Advanced are challenged by the programme's application of trend and efficiency factors that presumes their cost reduction can continue to decline at the same rate as non-efficient providers. It remains to be seen if reverting back to Medicare fee for service will support the same level of care and quality achieved in historical bundled payment programmes. Cite this article: Bone Joint J2021;103-B(6 Supple A):119-125.

Audiovisual working memory and association with resting-state regional homogeneity

Multisensory processing is a prevalent research issue. However, multisensory working memory research has received inadequate attention. The present study aimed to investigate the behavioral performance of an audiovisual working memory task and its association with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) regional homogeneity (ReHo). A total of 128 healthy participants were enrolled in this study. The participants completed a modified Sternberg working memory task using complex auditory and visual objects as materials involved in different encoding conditions, including semantically congruent audiovisual, semantically incongruent audiovisual, and single modality of auditory or visual object encoding. Two subgroups received resting-state fMRI scans according to their behavioral performances. The results showed that the semantically congruent audiovisual object encoding sped up the later unisensory memory recognition in this task. Moreover, the high behavioral performance (response time, RT) group showed increased ReHo in the executive control network (ECN) and decreased ReHo in the default mode network (DMN) and saline network (SN). In addition, resting-state ReHo values in the ECN nodes (e.g., middle frontal gyrus and superior frontal gyrus) was correlated with RT. These findings suggested that semantically congruent audiovisual processing in working memory was superior to unisensory memory recognition and may be involved in the different functional networks such as ECN.

Learning Analytics to Reveal Links Between Learning Design and Self-Regulated Learning

The importance of learning design in education is widely acknowledged in the literature. Should learners make effective use of opportunities provided in a learning design, especially in online environments, previous studies have shown that they need to have strong skills for self-regulated learning (SRL). The literature, which reports the use of learning analytics (LA), shows that SRL skills are best exhibited in choices of learning tactics that are reflective of metacognitive control and monitoring. However, in spite of high significance for evaluation of learning experience, the link between learning design and learning tactics has been under-explored. In order to fill this gap, this paper proposes a novel learning analytic method that combines three data analytic techniques, including a cluster analysis, a process mining technique, and an epistemic network analysis. The proposed method was applied to a dataset collected in a massive open online course (MOOC) on teaching in flipped classrooms which was offered on a Chinese MOOC platform to pre- and in-service teachers. The results showed that the application of the approach detected four learning tactics (Search oriented, Content and assessment oriented, Content oriented and Assessment oriented) which were used by MOOC learners. The analysis of tactics’ usage across learning sessions revealed that learners from different performance groups had different priorities. The study also showed that learning tactics shaped by instructional cues were embedded in different units of study in MOOC. The learners from a high-performance group showed a high level of regulation through strong alignment of the choices of learning tactics with tasks provided in the learning design. The paper also provides a discussion about implications of research and practice.

Assessing the Sustainable Development and Renewable Energy Sources Relationship in EU Countries

In the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, by adopting the EU Renewable Energy Directive and the European Green Deal, the European Union aims at an extremely ambitious goal to become climate neutral by 2050. This goal involves a massive investment plan to support this initiative, but also to reduce disparities between Member States, in order to transform the Union into a modern, resource-efficient, and competitive economy. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the sustainable development and renewable energy sources relationship in EU countries from a new perspective. Based on Eurostat available data and with the help of hierarchical clustering analysis, the Member States were divided in 2019 into five clusters, highlighting the key characteristics of the selected variables. The results of this research revealed high-performing groups of countries, as well as countries that need increased attention and additional support to become more efficient in achieving their sustainable development goals and renewable energy source targets.

Comparative Transcriptome Profiling of mRNA and lncRNA of Ovaries in High and Low Egg Production Performance in Domestic Pigeons (Columba livia).

Egg production performance is one of the most important economic traits in pigeon industry. However, little is known regarding how egg production performance is regulated by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in pigeons. To evaluate the lncRNAs and mRNAs in ovaries associated with egg production performance in domestic pigeons, high-throughput RNA sequencing of ovaries between high and low egg production performance groups were performed and analyzed in this study. A total of 34,346 mRNAs and 24,601 lncRNAs were identified, including 14,525 known lncRNAs and 10,076 novel lncRNAs, of which 811 mRNAs and 148 lncRNAs (P < 0.05) were significantly differentially expressed (DE) between the groups of high and low egg production performance. GO and KEGG annotation analysis indicated that the target genes of DE lncRNAs and DE mRNAs were related to cell differentiation, ATP binding and methylation. Moreover, we found that FOXK2, a target gene of lncRNA MSTRG.7894.4, was involved in regulating estrogen receptors. Our study provided a catalog of lncRNAs and mRNAs associated with egg production performance, and they deserve further study to deepen the understanding of biological processes in the ovaries of pigeons.

The relationship between group adoption of Knowledge Building Principles and performance in creating artifacts

Knowledge Building is a socio-constructivist approach that aims to engage students in a knowledge-creation environment as early as possible to get them ready for the knowledge society. Rather than following fixed procedures or scripts, the twelve Knowledge Building Principles, such as collective responsibility, real ideas and authentic problems, and improvable ideas, have framed the Knowledge Building approach. These principles support teachers and students to identify and work on their needs to improve the coherence and explanatory power of their community knowledge. We hypothesize that the extent to which students adopt these principles influence their group Knowledge Building. We analyzed the online discourse, design artifacts, and reflection of 39 pre-service teachers. We found that the participants did well in contributing diverse ideas, engaging in Knowledge Building discourse, taking initiatives in their groups, and considering each other as legitimate contributors. However, they needed support to use authoritative sources, assess their discourse and knowledge status, rise above diverse ideas to achieve new syntheses, and make complementary contributions across teams. Principles such as improvable ideas, embedded and transformative assessment, democratizing knowledge and symmetric knowledge advancement tend to distinguish the high-performance groups from the medium- and low-performance groups. This study implies the importance of teachers and researchers to help students engage in productive Knowledge Building using the twelve Knowledge Building Principles.

Kinematic Characteristics of the Standing Long Jump in Young Children Aged 4–5 Years

The authors investigated the kinematic characteristics of the standing long jump in preschool children. Sixty 4-year-old children (boys: 30 and girls: 30) and sixty 5-year-old children (boys: 30 and girls: 30) participated in the present study. The authors focused on three differences in kinematics: between 4- and 5-year-old children, between boys and girls, and between high and low jumping performance groups at the same age. The kinematic data included the maximum flexions of the knee and hip before takeoff, at takeoff, and on landing; angular displacement of the upper body; takeoff speeds in horizontal and vertical directions; and takeoff angle of the greater trochanter. Anthropometric variables and kinematic data were separately analyzed with factors of age, sex, and group. The authors also performed multiple regression analysis to identify predictors of the jump distance. The movement speed of the greater trochanter in a horizontal direction, the maximum flexion angle of the hip before takeoff, and the hip angle on landing were identified as significant predictors of the jump distance among young children. These findings suggest that knowing how to use the hip and awareness of the horizontal direction are key factors to improve the long jump distance in young children.

Home assessment of visual working memory in pre-schoolers reveals associations between behaviour, brain activation and parent reports of life stress.

Visual working memory (VWM) is reliably predictive of fluid intelligence and academic achievements. The objective of the current study was to investigate individual differences in pre-schoolers' VWM processing by examining the association between behaviour, brain function and parent-reported measures related to the child's environment. We used a portable functional near-infrared spectroscopy system to record from the frontal and parietal cortices of 4.5-year-old children (N=74) as they completed a colour change-detection VWM task in their homes. Parents were asked to fill in questionnaires on temperament, academic aspirations, home environment and life stress. Children were median-split into a low-performing (LP) and a high-performing (HP) group based on the number of items they could successfully remember during the task. LPs increasingly activated channels in the left frontal and bilateral parietal cortices with increasing load, whereas HPs showed no difference in activation. Our findings suggest that LPs recruited more neural resources than HPs when their VWM capacity was challenged. We employed mediation analyses to examine the association between the difference in activation between the highest and lowest loads and variables from the questionnaires. The difference in activation between loads in the left parietal cortex partially mediated the association between parent-reported stressful life events and VWM performance. Critically, our findings show that the association between VWM capacity, left parietal activation and indicators of life stress is important to understand the nature of individual differences in VWM in pre-school children.

Higher Masticatory Performance and Higher Number of Chewing Strokes Increase Retronasal Aroma.

Mastication is a physiological process whereby food is comminuted and mixed with saliva to form a swallowable bolus; it is also the initial process for retronasal aroma that is released from foods to receptors in the nose. However, the influence of mastication state on retronasal aroma is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between aroma concentration and factors related to mastication state. The study design was an analytical observational study. Twelve male volunteers (age, 26.5 ± 2.7 years) were recruited and divided into five and seven participants in the low and high masticatory performance groups, respectively. The stimulated salivary flow rate was measured while participants chewed paraffin wax. First, an odor sensor was placed in the nostril, and the aroma concentration was measured over time as participants chewed an orange-flavored gummy jelly standardized for masticatory performance assessment until swallowing; chewing strokes were counted to determine swallowing thresholds. Next, participants were instructed to chew the gummy jelly for a certain number of strokes (i.e., 50 or 100% of swallowing thresholds, as well as 30 strokes) and expectorate the jelly without swallowing. The surface area of comminuted jelly at 30 chewing strokes was defined as masticatory performance. Maximum and slope of aroma concentration, surface area, number of chewing strokes, and stimulated salivary flow rate were compared between low and high masticatory performance groups. Statistical significance was set at α = 0.05. At 30 chewing strokes, the maximum aroma concentration and the slope were significantly greater in the high masticatory performance group than in the low masticatory performance group. There was a positive correlation between the maximum aroma concentration and the number of chewing strokes with aroma release in both groups. No significant correlation was found between the maximum aroma concentration and the stimulated salivary flow rate. However, multiple regression analysis (with aroma concentration as a dependent variable) showed that the increase in surface area, the number of chewing strokes, and the stimulated salivary flow rate were significant explanatory variables. The results suggested that retronasal aroma was influenced by mastication state and salivary flow rate during chewing.

Higher Cognitive Reserve Is Associated with Better Working Memory Performance and Working-Memory-Related P300 Modulation.

This study aims to examine how two levels of cognitive reserve, as evidenced by reading syntactic skill, modify performance and neural activity in a two-load-level (high vs. low) working memory (WM) task. Two groups of participants with different reading skills, high and low, were obtained from clustering analysis. We collected the P300 event-related potential component during the performance of the WM Sternberg task. The high reading performance (HRP) group showed a higher percentage of correct answers than the low reading performance (LRP) group in the negative probes of the WM task, which were probe stimuli not included in the memory set presented immediately before. Both groups showed P300 amplitude modulations, that is, larger WM-related P300 amplitudes for low than for high WM loads. Following the behavioral results, the HRP group displayed smaller WM-related amplitude modulations than the LRP group in the negative probes. The findings together suggest that higher levels of reading skill are associated with improved neural efficiency, which reflects in a better working memory performance.