Mixed-group Design Research Articles

Cortical reorganization following auditory spatial training in listeners with sensorineural hearing impairment: A high-density electroencephalography study

The present study is intervention-based research aimed at remediation of spatial deficits in listeners with sensorineural hearing impairment (SNHI), through the use of virtual acoustic technology. A mixed group design comprising both within (pre-test, post-test control group design) and across the groups (standard group) comparisons were performed. The study included 37 participants, who were divided into three groups. Groups I and II consisted of SNHI listeners, while group III comprised normal hearing (NH) listeners. The study was conducted in three phases. At the pre-training phase, electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings were acquired from all the three groups using spatial deviants presented in P300 paradigm. Following this, group I listeners underwent virtual acoustic space training (VAST), and post-training EEG recordings were obtained. EEG recordings were also acquired from group II listeners in second evaluation without subjecting them to any formal spatial training. Results of unpaired t-tests, grand average waveforms and scalp topographies of offline processed waveforms revealed significant differences between SNHI and NH listeners. Furthermore, spatio-temporal analyses showed the emergence of new scalp maps in post-training phase in trained listeners and no topographic changes in untrained SNHI group, suggestive of benefit derived from VAST right at the fundamental level (cortical) of spatial processing.

Interpretation of non-verbal cues by people with and without TBI: understanding relationship intentions.

Although long-term social challenges following traumatic brain injury (TBI) are well documented, the challenges of establishing new relationships following TBI are less understood. To examine how the type of non-verbal cues produced by an unfamiliar communication partner impacts feelings of relationship closeness by people with and without TBI. In this quasi-experimental comparative mixed-group design, participants included 12 male heterosexual adults with moderate/severe TBI and 10 typical comparison peers. An adaptation of the Relationship Closeness Induction Task (RCIT), a 29-item questionnaire, was completed by all participants to induce relationship closeness through reciprocal self-disclosure during conversation. Participants completed the RCIT three separate times in counterbalanced order. Conversational partners for the RCIT were three female actors trained to convey similar verbal answers to the RCIT questions, but to produce different non-verbal cues: solicitation (i.e., flirting), neutral and rejecting. Following each conversation, the participants completed a 10-item Likert-type questionnaire about the experience. Between- and within-group non-parametric statistical analysis of Likert questions showed non-significant differences between the two participant groups such that both groups consistently rated the female actor who used flirting non-verbal cues higher than the actor who used rejecting non-verbal cues. These results suggest a small sample of heterosexual males with TBI interpret non-verbal relationship cues in real-time conversations with unfamiliar partners as well as comparison peers. Clinical implications include the need to consider real-time conversation in assessment and treatment planning for social communication goals related to cognitive-communication impairment.

Quality of Life in a mixed ethnic population after myocardial infarction

Background: Although South Asian people are a significant ethnic group at increased risk of coronary heart disease and high mortality rates and experience greater delays with respect to diagnosis, referral and treatment, comparatively little is known about their quality of life during recovery from a myocardial infarction. Objectives: We sought to determine and compare the impact of ethnicity on quality of life after myocardial infarction (MI) in a mixed ethnic population (South Asian and white people) in the UK.Methods: A 2x2 mixed-group design with repeated measures on the second factor. The independent variables were ethnic group (white/South Asian) and time since MI (2 weeks/3 months). The dependent variables were the subscale scores on the Short-Form 36-item health survey (SF-36) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).Results: At 2 weeks, significant differences were observed between groups on 5 of the 8 SF-36 subscale domain scores, with the white group reporting higher quality of life. Significant improvement in reported quality of life occurred in both groups over time on all domains of the SF-36, except bodily pain. There was a significantly greater improvement in favour of the white group for the role-physical domain. There was no significant difference between groups in terms of anxiety or depression at 2 weeks. Both groups showed a significant reduction in anxiety and depression by 3 months, but the degree of reduction was not significantly different between them. At 3 months, there was no significant difference between groups in terms of anxiety scores, but the South Asian group scored significantly higher on the depression scale.Conclusions: South Asian people have significantly poorer quality of life than white people after MI. While both groups showed improvement over time, South Asian people reported significantly less improvement in physical role function and were more depressed at 3 months. Identifying the factors accounting for such differences is important to develop models of care for delivering the most effective and culturally-sensitive interventions to this group.

The Struggle Between the Real and Ideal

Media, in its diverse forms, has become a powerful tool for construction and portrayal of the “shoulds, oughts, and musts” of a woman’s body. As a result of “thinning” of beauty ideals in the media, the real woman finds the representations of ideal woman to be increasingly unattainable. This exploratory study examined the effect of acute media images for a sample of young adult Indian woman ( N = 60). A 2 (intervention group) × 2 (time) mixed-group design was used where half the participants were presented with thin-ideal media images, whereas the other half were presented with control images. The participants were examined on body image dissatisfaction, thin-ideal internalization, and self-esteem. Results of the study indicate a significant increase in thin-ideal internalization and body dissatisfaction and a significant decrease in self-esteem scores as a result of exposure to the thin-ideal media images. The findings of the study indicate that, similar to their counterparts in Europe and North America, young urban Indian women experience body image disturbances when exposed to thin-ideal images. The findings have been examined in light of the spread of global media and homogenization of beauty standards among non-Western countries.

A higher illuminance induces alertness even during office hours: Findings on subjective measures, task performance and heart rate measures

Nocturnal white light exposure has shown marked results on subjective and objective indicators of alertness, vitality and mood, yet effects of white light during daytime and under usual office work conditions have not been investigated extensively. The current study employed a mixed-group design (N=32), testing effects of two illuminance levels (200lx or 1000lx at eye level, 4000K) during one hour of morning versus afternoon exposure. In four repeated blocks, subjective reports, objective performance and physiological arousal were measured. Results showed effects of illuminance on subjective alertness and vitality, sustained attention in tasks, and heart rate and heart rate variability. Participants felt less sleepy and more energetic in the high versus the low lighting condition, had shorter reaction times on the psychomotor vigilance task and increased physiological arousal. Effects of illuminance on the subjective measures, as well as those on heart rate were not dependent on time of day or duration of exposure. Performance effects were most pronounced in the morning sessions and towards the end of the one-hour exposure period. The effect on heart rate variability was also most pronounced at the end of the one-hour exposure. The results demonstrate that even under normal, i.e., neither sleep nor light deprived conditions, more intense light can improve feelings of alertness and vitality, as well as objective performance and physiological arousal.

The Effects of Animated Feedback on Locating Verbs in a Dynamic Contextual Scene Display on an Augmentative and Alternative Communication Device

Purpose: Technological advances in augmenta- tive and alternative communication (AAC) offer the poten- tial to enhance the communication needs of individuals with severe communication disorders. However, using AAC to express concepts that cannot be easily represented in static line drawings is a significant challenge. Animation of line-drawn action verbs represents a means to enhance the transparency of previous static representations and poten- tially make the representations easier for children to use. Method: A mixed group design with repeated measures was used to test the effect of animation used as feedback in locating and selecting action verbs in a visual scene on a dynamic AAC display. Twenty 3-year-old children without disabilities (10 boys and 10 girls) were quasirandomly as- signed to an animation or no-animation group. Participants' M

Animation of Graphic Symbols Representing Verbs and Prepositions: Effects on Transparency, Name Agreement, and Identification

The effects of animation on transparency, name agreement, and identification of graphic symbols for verbs and prepositions were evaluated in preschoolers of 3 age groups. Methods A mixed-group design was used; in each age group, half of the children were randomly allocated to 1 of 2 orders of symbol formats. The 52 children were asked to guess the meaning of symbols and to identify a target symbol among foils given the spoken label. Animated symbols were more transparent than static symbols, although this was more pronounced for verbs. Animated verbs were named more accurately than static verbs, but there was no difference between animated and static prepositions. Verbs were identified more accurately compared with prepositions, but there was no difference between symbol formats. Older children guessed, named, and identified symbols more effectively than younger children. Animation enhances transparency and name agreement, especially for verbs, which reduces the instructional burden that comes with nontransparent symbols. Animation does not enhance identification accuracy. Verbs are easier to identify than prepositions. A developmental effect was observed for each measure. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

Gender differences in self-esteem in Chinese acute coronary syndrome patients

Summary Objective Self-esteem is an intrinsic psychological domain to recovery following an acute coronary event. However, little research has explored gender differences in self-esteem in the recovery of cardiac patients. The current investigation sought to determine if gender differences in self-esteem were present in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients following hospitalization. Design A mixed-group design was used with gender and observation point (within one week of onset of ACS and at six month follow-up) as independent variables. Setting Patients were recruited from one general university teaching hospital in Hong Kong, with a confirmed diagnosis of myocardial infarction or unstable angina. Main outcome measure The 10-item Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; [Society and the Adolescent Self-image, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1965]). Results Analysis of covariance revealed a highly significant effect on RSES scores with male patients having greater RSES-rated self-esteem compared to females. No significant improvement in RSES scores were observed at six month follow-up. Conclusions Health professionals need to be aware that gender is an important factor in the self-esteem needs of this clinical group. Given the importance of self-esteem to cardiac rehabilitation practice, the finding of no improvement in self-esteem at follow-up highlights the need to assess this important psychological domain.

Position-matching in the upper limb: professional ballet dancers perform with outstanding accuracy.

To investigate the accuracy in position-matching in the upper limb in two groups of subjects who were physically fit and movement aware. A mixed-group design was used. Objective measurement of the accuracy in position-matching at the shoulder and elbow in both dominant and nondominant arms consisted of photographic record of the position-matching test, with goniometric measurement. Physiotherapy department at the Birmingham Royal Ballet and School of Health Science, University of Birmingham. Two subject groups: physiotherapy students (n = 10), professional ballet dancers (n = 10). A mixed design analysis of variance found significant differences between the accuracy in position-matching at both the shoulder and elbow joints in the two groups (p < 0.05), with the ballet dancers having greater accuracy then the physiotherapy students. A significant difference in the joint positions tested were demonstrated (p < 0.05) with the positions of abduction at the shoulder and extension of the elbow showing greatest accuracy in matching. There was no significant difference found between the dominant and nondominant upper limb in position-matching. Professional ballet dancers demonstrated greater accuracy in position-matching the upper limb, implying that mass and continuing practice can improve a motor sensory skill.