Outside Sources Of Information Research Articles

Examining Health-Seeking Behaviors of Korean Immigrant Women

ObjectiveTo identify specific factors that potentially influence the willingness of Korean immigrant women to seek preventive health care. DesignA descriptive cross-sectional correlational pilot study examining health-seeking behaviors of Korean immigrant women. SettingParticipants were recruited from multiple sites, including Korean churches, small businesses, e-mail, and social media. ParticipantsA convenience sample of 87 Korean immigrant women (i.e., both parents Korean), 18 years or older, able to read and understand English and/or Korean, and currently living in the United States. Intervention/MeasurementsData were collected using a 62-item bilingual questionnaire, composed of researcher-developed questions and the Risk Behavior Diagnosis Scale. Pearson’s correlations were performed to analyze bivariate relationships between willingness to seek care and outcome variables. ResultsKorean immigrant women were significantly more willing to seek preventive health care when they were prompted by outside sources of information and exhibited greater self-efficacy. Significant positive correlations were found between participant’s age, years lived in the United States, cues to action, and self-efficacy. ConclusionPromoting preventive health information at every opportunity and fostering self-efficacy in culturally sensitive ways are important to increase health care use among Korean immigrant women. Developing cultural-based interventions to improve the health-seeking behaviors of Korean immigrant women was shown to be imperative.

CEO cognitive flexibility, information search, and organizational ambidexterity

AbstractResearch summaryAlthough prior research highlights the organizational and cognitive challenges associated with achieving organizational ambidexterity, there has been comparatively less empirical attention focused on the cognitive characteristics that may differentiate top managers of firms that achieve ambidexterity. We build on emerging research and identify cognitive flexibility as a cognitive characteristic with particular relevance to the challenges associated with ambidexterity and suggest that it works through chief executive officers (CEOs)' information search activities. We find that cognitively flexible CEOs are more likely to engage in effortful and persistent information search and rely to a greater extent on outside sources of information. In turn, effortful and persistent information search activities are associated with higher levels of organizational ambidexterity. Our study pushes forward the research agenda on cognitive micro‐foundations of firm capabilities.Managerial summaryAmbidextrous organizations, or organizations that have the capability to pursue both incremental and discontinuous innovation, enjoy more sustainable competitive advantages. However, the achievement of organizational ambidexterity poses unique demands for top managers, including cognitive challenges. To help managers better understand these challenges, this study focuses attention on the role of the CEO in the achievement of organizational ambidexterity, and on CEO cognitive flexibility as a potential influencing factor. Our results suggest that CEO cognitive flexibility may influence organizational ambidexterity indirectly through its effect on CEO information search activities, in particular where and how intensely CEOs search for information. Our study reinforces the importance of human factors in the executive office for the development of firm dynamic capabilities, and the implementation of an innovation‐based strategy.

Factors That Influence Treatment Decision-Making: Perspectives of 1147 Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) Patients in the United States

Factors That Influence Treatment Decision-Making: Perspectives of 1147 Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) Patients in the United States

MetaSRA: normalized human sample-specific metadata for the Sequence Read Archive.

MotivationThe NCBI’s Sequence Read Archive (SRA) promises great biological insight if one could analyze the data in the aggregate; however, the data remain largely underutilized, in part, due to the poor structure of the metadata associated with each sample. The rules governing submissions to the SRA do not dictate a standardized set of terms that should be used to describe the biological samples from which the sequencing data are derived. As a result, the metadata include many synonyms, spelling variants and references to outside sources of information. Furthermore, manual annotation of the data remains intractable due to the large number of samples in the archive. For these reasons, it has been difficult to perform large-scale analyses that study the relationships between biomolecular processes and phenotype across diverse diseases, tissues and cell types present in the SRA.ResultsWe present MetaSRA, a database of normalized SRA human sample-specific metadata following a schema inspired by the metadata organization of the ENCODE project. This schema involves mapping samples to terms in biomedical ontologies, labeling each sample with a sample-type category, and extracting real-valued properties. We automated these tasks via a novel computational pipeline.Availability and implementationThe MetaSRA is available at metasra.biostat.wisc.edu via both a searchable web interface and bulk downloads. Software implementing our computational pipeline is available at http://github.com/deweylab/metasra-pipelineSupplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Disclosure Readability and the Sensitivity of Investors' Valuation Judgments to Outside Information

ABSTRACT Prior literature suggests that investors react less strongly to information in less readable disclosures. We extend this literature by considering how disclosure readability affects the sensitivity of investors' valuation judgments to the information contained in outside (i.e., non-firm) sources of information. Using an experiment, we present investors with a disclosure containing mixed news about the valence of firm performance, and this disclosure varies in readability. We find that investors who initially view a less readable firm disclosure provide valuation judgments that incorporate the outside information to a greater extent, such that their valuation judgments are more sensitive to whether outside information is relatively more or less supportive of management's positive forward-looking statements. We find evidence that this occurs primarily because investors who view a less readable initial disclosure feel less comfortable evaluating the firm and, in turn, rely more on the outside information. We also find that viewing a less readable firm disclosure indirectly increases the extent to which participants search outside information. Combined, our results suggest that investors' valuation judgments may be more influenced by outside sources of information when managers provide less readable firm disclosures, potentially limiting the extent to which managers can benefit from strategically issuing less readable disclosures to obfuscate poor performance. These findings also imply that investors might over-rely on more readable disclosures while discounting outside sources of information about the firm. Data Availability: Contact the authors.

Disclosure Readability and the Sensitivity of Investorss Valuation Judgments to Outside Information

Prior literature suggests that investors react less strongly to information in less readable disclosures. We extend this literature by considering how disclosure readability affects the sensitivity of investors’ valuation judgments to the information contained in outside (i.e., non-firm) sources of information. Using an experiment, we present investors with a disclosure containing mixed news about the valence of firm performance, and this disclosure varies in readability. We find that investors who initially view a less readable firm disclosure provide valuation judgments that incorporate the outside information to a greater extent, such that their valuation judgments are more sensitive to whether outside information is relatively more or less supportive of management’s positive forward-looking statements. We find evidence that this occurs primarily because investors who view a less readable initial disclosure feel less comfortable evaluating the firm and, in turn, rely more on the outside information. We also find that viewing a less readable firm disclosure indirectly increases the extent to which participants search outside information. Combined, our results suggest that investors’ valuation judgments may be more influenced by outside sources of information when managers provide less readable firm disclosures, potentially limiting the extent to which managers can benefit from strategically issuing less readable disclosures to obfuscate poor performance. These findings also imply that investors might over-rely on more readable disclosures while discounting outside sources of information about the firm.

Student Development of Information Literacy Skills during Problem-Based Organic Chemistry Laboratory Experiments

Problem-based learning methods support student learning of content as well as scientific skills. In the course of problem-based learning, students seek outside information related to the problem, and therefore, information literacy skills are practiced when problem-based learning is used. This work describes a mixed-methods approach to investigate the information seeking behavior of students in a problem-based organic chemistry laboratory course, when information literacy is not explicitly taught. Discourse analysis was used to analyze student audio recordings taped during problem solving sessions in order to explore the process by which students’ find and use outside sources of information during a set of problem-based learning activities. Student generated artifacts produced during problem solving were quantitatively transformed and used to evaluate the product of students’ searching processes. Evidence from both aspects of the study suggests that students do not demonstrate development of information l...

The relationship between student success in introductory university chemistry and approaches to learning outside of the classroom

The study reported here examines the learning approaches adopted by students enrolled in introductory chemistry at a public university. To evaluate learning approaches, a group of 61 students enrolled in the course were interviewed at three time-points during the semester, specifically to ascertain how they prepared for the exams. From these interviews, the Learning Approaches Framework for Chemistry was developed. The framework describes four levels of learning approaches that were determined based on the activities reported by students around use of metacognitive skills, reference materials, practice problems, and interactions with others. Students who use approaches referred to as Level 1 (Gathering Facts) and Level 2 (Learning Procedures) rely on outside sources of information for understanding, while those who use Level 3 (Confirming Understanding) and Level 4 (Applying Ideas) approaches evaluate information for themselves and generate explanations in their own words. Analysis using a Hierarchical Linear Model showed that students’ learning approach level is a significant predictor of their exam score (p < 0.05). The coefficient for each learning approach level increases as the level increases from Level 2 to Level 3 (π2 = 0.39, π3 = 0.88) indicating that as the learning approach level increases, so does exam performance. This study demonstrates associations between students’ learning approaches and performance. Analysis also showed that while some students do make the transition from Level 2 to Level 3 learning approaches during the semester, many students remain in Level 2, and rely largely on memorization of procedures and problems. These findings suggest that additional instructional supports should be developed to encourage more students to use Level 3 learning approaches when studying and preparing for exams in self-directed settings. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 52: 790–815, 2015.

Dr. Greene

DrGreene.com offers advice and medical answers for parents concerned with safe and healthy choices for their children. Pediatrician Dr. Alan Greene and his experienced team of pediatric and health experts provide a foundation of knowledge that every parent needs to know about childhood development, diseases, and difficulties. The web site focuses on healthy living in a searchable, interactive library of resources to answer questions regarding the well-being of each child. Links to browse alphabetically or by age simplifies personalizing a search and the site has many resources to guide users to publications and outside sources of information.

Book Reviews

Book Reviews

Maternal Depression and Family Media Use: A Questionnaire and Diary Analysis.

We describe the association between postpartum depression and the quantity and content of infant media use. Households with depressed mothers viewed twice as much television as households with non-depressed mothers did, and depressed mothers appeared to derive comparatively greater pleasure from television viewing. Maternal depression was associated with an increased exposure to child-directed content by 6-9-month-old infants, although it was not associated with an increased exposure to adult-directed programming. Depressed mothers also reported being less likely to sit and talk with their children during television use or to consult outside sources of information about media. This increase in television exposure without corresponding parental involvement could negatively affect developmental outcomes.

Gestão das fontes externas de informação: uma análise dos fatores que influenciam o desempenho inovador

O estudo propõe-se a compreender o processo de gestão de fontes externas de informação tecnológica, focalizando as práticas adotadas pelas empresas, visando construir um referencial teórico-prático para o desenvolvimento de um processo de inovação tecnológica sustentável. A gestão de fontes de informação não ajuda somente a organização a combinar as fontes de informação internas e externas a serem consideradas, mas também a ampliar as suas atividades de inovação. As empresas estão incrementando as alianças para o uso de fontes externas de informação para inovação, porém ainda carecem de uma estratégia explícita de gestão. A pesquisa survey foi realizada em empresas industriais brasileiras com características inovadoras visando contribuir para as inferências sobre a relação da gestão de fontes externas de informação tecnológica e o desempenho inovador das empresas. A hipótese formulada buscou verificar a existência de associação entre a gestão de fontes externas de informação tecnológica e o desempenho inovador. Para a comprovação da hipótese, foram realizadas análises bivariadas e univariadas por meio da utilização das técnicas estatísticas de análise fatorial, correlação de Spearman e regressão logística. As análises bivariadas e multivariadas das variáveis independentes e dependentes sugerem a existência de associação entre a gestão de fontes externas de informação tecnológica e o desempenho inovador destacando-se a influência do tipo de fonte de informação nos indicadores relativos à inovação em produtos e do tipo de modalidade de acesso à tecnologia nos indicadores relacionados à inovação em processos.

Infant Feeding Practices in Barbados Predict Later Growth

This longitudinal study was designed to examine reciprocal relationships between feeding practices and infant growth over the first 6 mo of life. The following three hypotheses were tested: 1) early feeding practices predict later infant growth; 2) early infant growth predicts later feeding practices; and 3) these relationships occur after controlling for related background variables. The sample included 226 healthy, well-nourished infants born at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Bridgetown, Barbados. Assessments were made at birth, 7 wk, and 3 and 6 mo of age. Factor analysis of a feeding practices questionnaire for those mothers who attended all three postnatal visits yielded five uncorrelated factors. Three of these factors, preference for breast-feeding, feeding intensity and feeding difficulty, declined with infant age. Two of these factors, father helps and relatives help, increased with infant age. Several background variables, including maternal age, anthropometry and reproductive history, and reliance on outside sources of information were correlated with infant growth. Multivariate analyses confirmed all three hypotheses. The group of feeding practices (particularly the preference for breast-feeding) at 7 wk predicted increases in infant lengths at subsequent ages. Conversely, infant weights at 3 and 6 mo predicted subsequent feeding practices, especially feeding intensity. These reciprocal relationships remained even after statistically controlling for the influence of the background variables. Implications for public policy include the need for comprehensive programs advocating breast-feeding and supporting the general health of mothers and infants.

Emergency Psychiatric Consultation to Medical-Surgical Services

A series of 465 consecutive psychiatric consultations to medical-surgical services was examined to compare consultations designated as emergencies with those requested on a routine basis. Twenty-three percent of the consultation requests were designated as emergencies, and psychotic thinking and suicidality were noted more frequently in this group. Emergencies, however, were invoked less frequently in patients 60 years of age or older. The consultant's approach to emergency consultations demonstrates a more active role, with more recommendations for initiation of psychotropic drugs, more follow-up visits, greater numbers of recommendations for disposition, and greater numbers of contacts with outside sources of information effected. Notably, concordance with diagnostic and psychotropic drug recommendations and representation of psychiatric diagnosis in discharge summaries did not differ significantly between the two groups. The results underscore the usefulness of closely monitoring consultation outcomes and the need to explore and implement interventions that will enhance consultee responses in situations requiring acute psychiatric interventions.

Bilan sur l'état actuel de l'information économique des agriculteurs

Information should give an answer to the present problms of the farmers in a form that is within their comprehension. A preliminary study is essential: that of the agricultural sector, of its psychological and, mental reactions to all the inside or outside sources of information.

Royal Commissions of Inquiry in Canada

W HEN it is not abused for partisan purposes of witch-hunting or whitewashing, investigation can advance the objectives of good government in at least three ways. Responsive, responsible, and pure administration may be fostered by independent probes; executive-legislative formulation of policy may be based on wider knowledge and information uncovered by investigators; and investigative agencies may bring the public into closer relations with the government. Canada early borrowed from Great Britain the technique of investigation by royal commission1 and, while the record of their use shows debits as well as credits, it is clear that royal commissions have contributed to the three objectives of good investigative technique. As a means of stirring up the administrative branch or of locating political corruption, royal commissions, with their higher prestige and greater independence, have often been more successful than committees of the legislature. On the other hand, their operations in such stormy partisan waters have often undermined the usefulness of the technique for other purposes. Partly because of the slow growth of an efficient civil service, the Canadian executive has had to lean fairly heavily on such outside sources of information as royal commissions in formulating policies.2 In Great Britain, the