High Level Of Familiarity Research Articles

Influence of sensorineural hearing loss on familiar speaker recognition: A forensic perspective on ageing

The main goal of this research was to discover the influence of high frequency sensorineural hearing loss on familiar speaker recognition during earwitnessing line-ups. The secondary objectives were to estimate the influence of familiarity with voices of the suspects on performance in the auditory speaker recognition test, and to correlate the results with forensically important factors such as a confidence scale from the line-up markings. The recordings from the line-up sessions were low-pass filtered to ensure an equal degree of signal distortion for all subjects and imitate the moderate, severe and profound hearing loss conditions. The results show that the correlation between mimicked hearing impairment and ability to identify a familiar speaker is statistically significant. It was observed that higher degree of signal distortion caused lower accuracy of recognition. Interestingly, it was reported that higher levels of familiarity and exposure to speakers’ voices had a negative effect on speaker identification.

The effect of media multitasking on ad memory: the moderating role of program-induced engagement and brand familiarity

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of program-induced engagement on the amount of media multitasking (MM) and its subsequent impact on ad memory. It explored how brand familiarity attenuates or aggravates the detrimental effects of MM on cognitive evaluation of ads. Two lab-based experiments were conducted. The findings of the experiment were three-fold. First, the findings indicate that when the programs were affectively engaging, programs with a high level of cognitive engagement led to a lower level of overall media multitasking than programs with a low level of cognitive engagement. This occurred not only during the programs, but also during the commercial breaks. Second, the findings indicate that even in the same media multitasking situation, people who watched a program with high cognitive engagement reported a higher level of ad memory than people who watched a program with low cognitive engagement suggesting an attention spillover effect. Third, the findings suggest the possible moderating role of brand familiarity. Brands with a high level of familiarity seem to have reduced the memory deficit effect of media multitasking.

Resident selection for emergency medicine specialty training in Canada: A survey of existing practice with recommendations for programs, applicants, and references.

Little is known about how the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) residency programs are selecting their residents. This creates uncertainty regarding alignment between current selection processes and known best practices. We seek to describe the current selection processes of Canadian RCEM programs. An online survey was distributed to all RCEM program directors and assistant directors. The survey instrument included 22 questions and sought both qualitative and quantitative data from the following six domains: application file, letters of reference, elective selection, interview, rank order, and selection process evaluation. We received responses from 13 of 14 programs for an aggregate response rate of 92.9%. A candidate's letters of reference were identified as the most important criterion from the paper application (38.5%). Having a high level of familiarity with the applicant was the most important characteristic of a reference letter author (46.2%). In determining rank order, 53.8% of programs weighed the interview more heavily than the paper application. Once final candidate scores are established following the interview stage, all program respondents indicated that further adjustment is made to the final rank order list. Only 1 of 13 program respondents reported ever having completed a formal evaluation of their selection process. We have identified elements of the selection process that will inform recommendations for programs, students, and referees. We encourage programs to conduct regular reviews of their selection process going forward to be in alignment with best practices.

LO79: The variable landscape of resident selection: A study of Canadian Royal College emergency medicine training programs

Introduction: Little is known about how Royal College emergency medicine (RCEM) residency programs are selecting their residents. This creates uncertainty regarding alignment between our current selection processes and known best practices and results in a process that is difficult to navigate for prospective candidates. We seek to describe the current selection processes of Canadian RCEM programs. Methods: An online survey was distributed to all RCEM program directors and assistant directors. The survey instrument included 22 questions consisting of both open-ended (free text) and closed-ended (Likert scale) elements. Questions sought qualitative and quantitative data from the following 6 domains; paper application, letters of reference, elective selection, interview, rank order, and selection process evaluation. Descriptive statistics were used. Results: We received responses from 13/14 programs for an aggregate response rate of 92.9%. A candidate's letter of reference was identified as the single most important item from the paper application (38.5%). Having a high level of familiarity with the applicant was considered to be the most important characteristic of a reference letter author (46.2%). Respondents found that providing a percentile rank of the applicant was useful when reviewing candidate reference letters. Once the interview stage is reached, 76.9% of programs stated that the interview was weighted at least as heavily as the paper application; 53.8% weighted the interview more heavily. Once final candidate scores are established for both the paper application and the interview, 100% of programs indicated that further adjustment is made to the rank order list. Only 1/13 programs reported ever having completed a formal evaluation of their selection process. Conclusion: The information gained from this study helps to characterize the landscape of the RCEM residency selection process. We identified significant heterogeneity between programs with respect to which application elements were most valued. Canadian emergency medicine residency programs should re-evaluate their selection processes to achieve improved consistency and better alignment with selection best practices.

‘It’s Like They Have a Cognitive Map of Relations’: Feeling Strange in a Small Island Community

ABSTRACTLiving with strangers is a feature of modern life, typically conceptualised in urban contexts in terms of anonymity and diversity. Strangers in small places, on the other hand, have received less attention; possibly, because there is an assumption that such places are relatively stable, static or homogenous. In small places, typically characterised by high levels of familiarity and close social networks, strangers may have different experiences. Therefore, we are concerned with immigration to small places and feeling strange in such settings. We employ the concepts of the stranger and place-belongingness to understand the experiences of immigrants to the Faroe Islands. The findings from this interview-based study are structured around three main themes. In the first, strangers in places characterised by high familiarity, we discuss how informants experience and navigate Faroese networks. In the second, negotiating place-belongingness, the discussion focuses on how immigrants negotiate belonging and how relations, security, and time, impact place-belongingness. The third theme, boundaries of belonging, refers to the politics of belonging. In this theme, we discuss how language and identity are key sites of tension in creating boundaries, determining who belongs versus who is rendered a familiar stranger.

Artificial Intelligence in FinTech: understanding robo-advisors adoption among customers

PurposeConsidering the increasing impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on financial technology (FinTech), the purpose of this paper is to propose a research framework to better understand robo-advisor adoption by a wide range of potential customers. It also predicts that personal and sociodemographic variables (familiarity with robots, age, gender and country) moderate the main relationships.Design/methodology/approachData from a web survey of 765 North American, British and Portuguese potential users of robo-advisor services confirm the validity of the measurement scales and provide the input for structural equation modeling and multisample analyses of the hypotheses.FindingsConsumers’ attitudes toward robo-advisors, together with mass media and interpersonal subjective norms, are found to be the key determinants of adoption. The influences of perceived usefulness and attitude are slightly higher for users with a higher level of familiarity with robots; in turn, subjective norms are significantly more relevant for users with a lower familiarity and for customers from Anglo-Saxon countries.Practical implicationsBanks and other firms in the finance industry should design robo-advisors to be used by a wide spectrum of consumers. Marketing tactics applied should consider the customer’s level of familiarity with robots.Originality/valueThis research identifies the key drivers of robo-advisor adoption and the moderating effect of personal and sociodemographic variables. It contributes to understanding consumers’ perceptions regarding the introduction of AI in FinTech.

To insource or outsource the sourcing? A behavioral investigation of the multi-tier sourcing decision

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the behavioral tendencies of supply managers when they are faced with uncertainty in making multi-tier sourcing decisions.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses the literature on multi-tier supply chains and behavioral decision making to develop a theoretical framework for examining factors influencing a supply manager’s decision to retain control over sourcing in the multi-tier context. An experimental vignette methodology is used to gather data from 259 supply managers.FindingsResults suggest that supply managers choose to exert less multi-tier control when they have high levels of interpersonal trust in the tier-1 supplier’s sales representative. This effect is accentuated by a high level of familiarity with potential lower-tier suppliers. Under high levels of familiarity with potential lower-tier suppliers, supply managers will exert greater levels of multi-tier sourcing control as the behavioral uncertainty of the tier-1 supplier increases.Practical implicationsBuying firms can enhance their understanding of supply managers’ multi-tier sourcing decision making and the potential biases associated with it. Suggestions for a more effective use of multi-tier sourcing are provided in the Discussion section.Originality/valueMulti-tier sourcing is an increasingly important area of research, and this paper is the first to examine individual supply managers’ behavioral decision making in the multi-tier context. This paper also contributes to the outsourcing literature by investigating behavioral factors influencing the outsourcing of sourcing activities.

Consumer categorization of plant-based dishes: Implications for promoting vegetable consumption

Strategies to increase vegetable consumption that go beyond their health benefits and the recommendation to consume a specific number of portions a day are necessary. In this sense, a more in-depth understanding of what consumers consider as “vegetables” is of interest, as it can highlight possible mismatches between guidelines and everyday experiences and contribute to the design of public campaigns and interventions. In this context, the aim of the study were: to explore how the plant-based dish category is represented for consumers, to evaluate differences among consumers with different familiarity towards vegetables, to identify the sensory properties that drive typicality and expected liking, and to investigate the relationship between typicality of the dishes and their expected liking and sensory characteristics. One hundred and twenty three consumers were considered for the study. Consumers were characterized for their level of familiarity toward vegetables and pulses and through two psycho-attitudinal questionnaires: Food Neophobia Scale and Health and Taste Attitudes Questionnaire. A total of 80 pictures of plant-based dishes were evaluated to assess the expected liking, healthiness and preparation level of each dish. Consumers were asked to rate and the typicality of the dishes by rating their agreement with the sentence “This is a plant-based dish”. In addition, the sensory properties characterizing each dish were evaluated using Check-All-That-Apply question. Results indicated a graded structure of the plant-based dish category, with some category members more typical than others. Specific recipe typologies, such as salads and boiled vegetables, were perceived as more typical than others, such as soups and fried vegetables. Expected sensory attributes were found to influence the typicality of a dish. The attributes Bitter, Green, Not very intense flavor, Orange, Sour and Watery positively influenced typicality, while Brown and Creamy negatively influenced it. Typicality affected expected liking for the dishes but its influence depended on consumers’ level of familiarity toward vegetables and pulses. In fact, among consumers with a low level of familiarity, the lower the typicality, the higher the expected liking. A less strong association was found among consumers with a high level of familiarity. These results stress that promotion of vegetable consumption targeted to vegetables dislikers should therefore consider their representation of the category, in order to limit the exposure to features with a negative hedonic value.

Teachers’ ethos today: expectations and opinions

The type of qualification and the extent of professional practice are important elements in the appraisal of a professional. However, these categories are too narrow to characterise a particular teacher. That is why this paper presents a study on teachers’ ethos carried out in 2014. It was conducted among the group of 132 teachers and 123 parents with the use of questionnaires on paper or online. The main purpose of the study was to determine if ethos is still present on the list of social requirements for teachers, and whether its perception has changed in the course of time. The results revealed high levels of familiarity with the term among the respondents as well as the gradual decline of the value of ethos in the work of teachers.

Junior High School Pre-service Science Teachers’ Familiarity, Conceptual Understanding and Interest in Electrochemistry

This study in Zambia examined 66 junior high school pre-service science teachers’ familiarity with, conceptual understanding of and levels of interest in learning more about electrochemistry concepts. Data were collected using the Familiarity with Electrochemistry Questionnaire, the Conceptual Understanding of Electrochemistry Test and the Interest in Electrochemistry Questionnaire. Statistical tests were used to analyse data. Pre-service teachers reported high levels of familiarity with the electrochemistry concepts surveyed. They were more familiar with basic than advanced electrochemistry concepts. On average, participants demonstrated moderate conceptual understanding of electrochemistry concepts. Although there was a significant difference between males’ and females’ familiarity with electrochemistry concepts, there was no significant difference between the two gender groups in their understanding of and interest in electrochemistry. There were no significant correlations between participants’ familiarity with, understanding of and interest in electrochemistry. Overall, pre-service science teachers’ self-reported high levels of familiarity with electrochemistry concepts was at variance with their actual conceptual understanding of the concepts. However, pre-service science teachers expressed high levels of interest in learning more about electrochemistry concepts they did not understand. In particular, pre-service teachers were interested in learning more about advanced electrochemistry concepts. The implications for teacher education and chemistry teaching and learning are discussed.

Dependence of Informal Interest Rates and Level of Lenders’ Influence in the Informal Loan Market in Thailand

Informal finance with usurious interest rates seems to be the last resort for the poor in many developing countries. In Thailand, informal credit lenders can freely set up extortionate interest rates and use controversial enforcement actions to pressure borrowers to repay loans, because that legal enforcement is not practical due to the low punishment levels for those lenders. Despite widespread interest in the determinants of the informal interest rates, it remains a largely unexplored area. This study investigates whether level of lenders’ influence over the borrower, and some characteristics of the borrowers, are related to informal interest rates, enabling the rates to be classified into particular categories. Ordered logistic regression is used to analyze the data. The investigation was based on information collected in a survey presented to a sampled population of 694 participants from Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Phathum Thani, and Samut Prakan where the number of informal loans during the last seven years is highest when compared to other regions of the country. The results suggest that the level of lenders’ influence over the borrower in order to obtain a loan correlates with the informal interest rates applied. Moreover, some characteristics of a borrower, i.e., debt-to-income ratio and high level of familiarity between an informal lender and a borrower, also significantly affect the rates.

The strategic nature of individual change behavior: How physicians and their staff implement medical home care.

The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model of care is central to primary care system success and transformation. Less is known about which PCMH activities primary care workers most frequently perform, if or why they might view that work more favorably, and how such work may function strategically to advance individual and organizational adaptation to new demands, as well as deliver good patient care. Understanding better how primary care physicians and staff perceive, experience, and use certain types of PCMH work for adapting to new demands looms a key imperative for gaining insights into PCMH implementation at the workplace level. Using a worker adaptation perspective that emphasizes the role of social learning and individual agency, this study explores the strategic nature of PCMH implementation through 51 in-depth interviews with physicians and staff in six accredited PCMHs. Select medical home activities were identified, in which primary care physicians and staff most engaged on a daily basis, and they fell into five distinct PCMH work domains labeled team care, medical home responsibilities, care management, access, and medication management. These activities had common features such as high levels of familiarity, simplicity, and camaraderie. In addition, through their experiences performing these activities, physicians and staff appeared to gain strategic benefits for themselves and the larger organization including enhanced self-efficacy and readiness for change. The findings show that particular forms of PCMH work not only advance patient care in favorable ways but also enhance individual and organizational capacity for adapting to this innovative model and its demands. This knowledge adds to our understanding of how to implement PCMH care in ways that are good for workers, primary care organizations, and patients and offers practical guidance as to which forms of PCMH work should be encouraged, incented, and rewarded.

Destination familiarity and favorability in a country-image context: examining Taiwanese travelers’ perceptions of China

ABSTRACTBuilding on international marketing research on the country-of-origin image effect, this research examines how people evaluate a culturally familiar country as a tourist destination. Derived from a sample of 710 Taiwanese travelers, research findings showed that when evaluating China as a tourist destination, respondents relied on both their general image of the country (country image) as well as tourism-specific perceptions (destination beliefs), while a few respondents with low familiarity with China relied only on their general image of the country to evaluate the destination. The research also showed that respondents with high levels of familiarity with China had more positive destination beliefs, resulting in more favorable destination evaluations; however, country image was found to be persistent and difficult to be changed by destination promoting materials and/or actual visits. The paper concludes with recommendations for destination marketing in the context of international tourism.

Stigmatization toward irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease in an online cohort

Stigma is associated with many negative health outcomes. Research has examined perceived and internalized stigma in individuals with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but less has been done to evaluate levels of enacted stigma associated with these conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of enacted stigma toward IBS and IBD in the general population compared to an adult-onset asthma (AOA) control group. Participants were recruited via social media and a research-dedicated website and completed all measures online. Participants were randomized to one of six clinical vignettes: (i) IBD male, (ii) IBD female, (iii) IBS male, (iv) IBS female, (v) AOA male, or (vi) AOA female. Participants read the assigned vignette and then completed measures of emotional empathy, level of familiarity, and enacted stigma. Participants reported higher levels of enacted stigma toward IBS compared to both IBD and AOA. No differences in stigma were found between IBD and AOA. Higher levels of familiarity were most strongly correlated with reduced IBD-related stigma, with weaker but still significant correlations between level of familiarity and IBS and AOA. Higher levels of emotional empathy were associated with reduced stigma for IBD, IBS, and AOA. Individuals with IBS experience greater levels of enacted stigma compared to IBD and AOA. This finding is consistent with previous research that has shown greater levels of perceived and internalized stigma in IBS compared to IBD.

Increased N250 amplitudes for other-race faces reflect more effortful processing at the individual level

The N250 and N250r (r for repetition, signaling a difference measure of priming) has been proposed to reflect the activation of perceptual memory representations for individual faces. Increased N250r and N250 amplitudes have been associated with higher levels of familiarity and expertise, respectively. In contrast to these observations, the N250 amplitude has been found to be larger for other-race than own-race faces in recognition memory tasks. This study investigated if these findings were due to increased identity-specific processing demands for other-race relative to own-race faces and whether or not similar results would be obtained for the N250 in a repetition priming paradigm. Only Caucasian participants were available for testing and completed two tasks with Caucasian, African-American, and Chinese faces. In a repetition priming task, participants decided whether or not sequentially presented faces were of the same identity (individuation task) or same race (categorization task). Increased N250 amplitudes were found for African-American and Chinese faces relative to Caucasian faces, replicating previous results in recognition memory tasks. Contrary to the expectation that increased N250 amplitudes for other-race face would be confined to the individuation task, both tasks showed similar results. This could be due to the fact that face identity information needed to be maintained across the sequential presentation of prime and target in both tasks. Increased N250 amplitudes for other-race faces are taken to represent increased neural demands on the identity-specific processing of other-race faces, which are typically processed less holistically and less on the level of the individual.

Assessment of awareness and comprehension of chemical hazard symbols among chemistry students

Background: Laboratory activities must be planned and organized carefully because of the danger they may cause. The purpose of this study was to assess students awareness and comprehension of chemical hazard warning signs at the Departments of Chemistry of Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was carried out to assess students awareness and comprehension of chemical hazard warning signs. Data were collected from 175 students enrolled in Chemistry Laboratory Classes during the second semester of the year 2012-2013. The participants were selected randomly. The collected data was entered into SPSS software and analyzed using descriptive statistical methods. Results: The results of the study revealed that the majority of the respondents (81%; n = 143) were familiar with hazard signs of laboratory chemicals. After obtaining information on their level of awareness about potential hazards of laboratory chemicals, the respondents were also requested to match chemical properties with the corresponding labels or pictograms. Conclusions: The results indicated that the students had a high level of familiarity and understanding of hazard warning signs. The study also surveyed the preferred labeling technique and revealed that the majority favored the use of both colors and signs.

HIV PREVALENCE AMONG INJECTION DRUG USERS IN SAINT PETERSBURG Part 2. KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HIV AND ABASEMENT OF HELP

Study objective: Interviewing and testing of 500 IDUs in Saint-Petersburg using saliva express tests for HIV 1/2. Results. In the course of anonymous cross-sectional study for assessing HIV prevalence among IDUs, HIV diagnosis was established in 501 subjects aged above 18 years. The gender and social characterization of the patients was given in the first part of this report. The second part is concerned with estimating the familiarity of the respondents about HIV infection and the regularity of their addressing for medical attention. Currently, HIV prevalence among IDUs is as high as 65,7%. Interviewing suggests a high level of familiarity with HIV transmission risks and routes and enough objectivity in self-estimating concerning these issues. Almost all respondents but a few exceptions are well informed about the results of their tests. The rate of detection of new HIV cases in the course of this study was 4,7%. All newly found HIV cases among IDUs were tested for HIV antibodies less than one year earlier on average. An association is found between the rates of injection drug use and of HIV detection. Two groups of IDUs are the most vulnerable to HIV infection: one with an extremely high and the other with a low rate of drug injection

Social Work Field Instructors’ Views and Implementation of Evidence-Based Practice

This article presents the results of a cross-sectional study of social work field instructors’ views of and implementation of the evidence-based practice (EBP) process and compares their responses with non-field instructors. A total of 688 National Association of Social Workers/Texas members (107 of which were field instructors) anonymously responded to an online administration of the Evidence-Based Practice Process Assessment Scale–Short. The results suggest generally positive attitudes among field instructors and high levels of familiarity but lower levels of perceived feasibility and engagement in the EBP process. In addition, field instructors and non-field instructors did not differ significantly across the 4 subscales or overall orientation toward the EBP process. Implications and future steps for social work education are discussed.

Spatiotemporal changes in neural response patterns to faces varying in visual familiarity

Increasing experience with a previously unfamiliar face improves human ability to recognize it in challenging and novel viewing conditions. Differential neural responses to familiar versus unfamiliar faces in multiple regions of the ventral-temporal and parietal cortex have been reported in previous work, but with limited attention to how behavioral and neural measures change with increasing familiarity. We examined changes in the spatial and temporal characteristics of neural response patterns elicited by faces that vary in their degree of visual familiarity. First, we developed a behavioral paradigm to familiarize participants to low-, medium-, and high-levels of familiarity with faces. Recognition of novel, naturalistic images of the learned individuals improved with increasing familiarity with faces. Next, a new set of participants learned faces using the behavioral paradigm, outside the fMRI scanner, and subsequently viewed blocks of whole-body images of the learned and novel people, inside the scanner. We found that the face-selective FFA and OFA, and a combination of the ventral-temporal areas (e.g., fusiform gyrus) and parietal areas (e.g., precuneus) contained patterns useful for classifying highly familiar versus unfamiliar faces. Classification along the temporal-sequence of the face blocks revealed an early separation of neural patterns elicited in response to highly familiar versus unfamiliar faces in the FFA and OFA, but not in other regions of interest. This indicates the potential for a rapid assessment of the “known versus unknown” status of faces in core face-selective regions of the brain. The present study provides a first look at the perceptual and neural correlates underlying experience gains with faces as they become familiar.

Elementary School Teachers' Familiarity, Conceptual Knowledge, and Interest in Light

This study explored elementary school teachers' familiarity, conceptual knowledge, and interest in learning more about light and its related concepts. This study also sought to establish the relationship between elementary school teachers' familiarity, conceptual knowledge, and interest in learning light concepts. Sixty-six lower and upper elementary school teachers in Midwest of the USA participated in this study. Data were collected using 3 instruments namely Familiarity with Light Concepts Questionnaire, Conceptual Knowledge of Light Test, and Interest in Learning about Light Concepts Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using statistical tests. Most teachers expressed high levels of familiarity with light concepts surveyed. The upper elementary grade teachers expressed more familiarity with advanced light concepts than lower elementary grade teachers. However, most teachers exhibited low conceptual knowledge of light concepts. There was no significant difference in conceptual knowledge of light concepts between lower and upper elementary grade teachers, and between more experienced and less experienced teachers. As such, teachers' self-reported familiarity with light concepts was not consistent with their actual knowledge of the concepts. However, most teachers expressed high interest in learning more about the light concepts. Thus, teachers showed willingness to learn more about light concepts they did not understand. These findings have implications on teacher education, and science teaching and learning.