Pretest Interviews Research Articles

Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension Through Internet-Sourced Reading Materials As English Teaching Media

<p>The main concern of this research is improving students’ reading comprehension through internet-sourced reading materials as English teaching media. This research was intended to find out whether internet-sourced reading materials as English teaching media could improve students’ reading comprehension significantly in online teaching during COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020. The data were collected through pre-test and post-test results (quantitative) and Interview as well as observation (qualitative). The researcher conducts 7 meetings for pre-test, treatment and then post-test for both of experimental and controlled class. The research methodology was quasi-experimental research design with pre-test and post-test experimental. The subjects of this research were 20 students of 8B and 8C at SMP Gunungjati I Purwokerto. The subject of this research then divided into two classes, experimental and controlled class. The results of this research showed that internet-sourced reading materials for online English teaching could improve students’ reading comprehension, and improve students reading comprehension significantly. It is further proved with the <em>Wilcoxon test</em> result. <em>Wilcoxon test </em>result on experimental class (<em>Asymp.Sig </em>value 0.016, if the <em>Asymp.Sig </em>value was lower than 0.05 then H1 was accepted) which showed that experimental class students’ reading comprehension were improved. Furthermore, the research showed that students’ reading comprehension was improved significantly. It is proved through <em>Mann-Whitney test </em>result of both experimental and controlled class. The result of <em>Mann-Whitney test </em>(<em>Asymp.Sig </em>value 0.046 if the <em>Asymp.Sig </em>value was lower than 0.05 then H2 was accepted) which showed that students from experimental class test has significant improvement of reading comprehension when compared with controlled class. This result also supported by interview with the teacher, as well as through observation of students’ activity.</p><p> </p><p><strong><em>Keywords:</em></strong><em> Reading, Reading Comprehension, English Teaching Media, Internet-sourced Reading Materials</em><em> </em><em></em></p>

The Value of Cognitive Pretesting: Improving Validity and Revealing Blind Spots through the Development of a Newborn Screening Parent Experiences Survey.

Surveys are used to gather a range of data on newborn screening (NBS) processes. We describe the development of a survey about parents’ NBS experiences, in the United States, informed by cognitive pretest interviews among parents with varying NBS test results (true-positive, false-positive, normal). Cognitive pretest interviews were conducted following a semi-structured script and notes were taken to identify problematic survey items. The study team met weekly to discuss pretest feedback, draft changes, and generate revised items. Pretests indicated that parent experiences with NBS are varied and NBS screening procedures are not well understood. Substantial modifications were made to survey questions concerning NBS testing and result communication. Pretesters often associated NBS with other tests/exams/scales—APGAR scores, Ages and Stages questionnaires, and genetic testing during pregnancy. Some pretesters recalled receiving NBS blood spot results during their hospital admission, an uncommon practice, and few recalled knowing results would be provided to them or their pediatrician in the first few weeks of life. Thorough explanations regarding NBS procedures and expectations were embedded within the survey to enhance and improve interpretation of survey questions. Future NBS experience surveys should utilize cognitive pretesting to capture divergent experiences and improve response validity.

The qualitative pretest interview for questionnaire development: outline of programme and practice

Good survey research depends on asking the right questions; it is the only way to ensure that the information collected from respondents is suitable for providing good answers to our research questions. The article discusses and advocates a comprehensive consideration of qualitative-interpretive methodology in open forms of pretesting for the evaluation of draft survey questionnaires. We outline an approach we call Qualitative Pretest Interview (QPI). It transfers the idea of negotiated common understanding in everyday communication to the clarification of meaning in draft survey questions and similar stimuli. The QPI involves ascribing interview partners the role of co-experts in this process and employing methodically integrated communication strategies. This paper focusses on how QPIs are conducted. Using an example interview, we illustrate how the particular way of qualitative pretest interviewing aims at a dialogic clarification of meaning in order to reach intersubjective understanding between participant and interviewer. In the process, we gain detailed insights into how and why a certain questionnaire might not work as intended, and ideally how this might be alleviated. QPIs pursue similar goals as Cognitive Interviews but rely more systematically on qualitative-interpretive methodology.

ESTUDO DA USABILIDADE DE UM PROTÓTIPO DE AUTOTESTE PARA TRIAGEM DO VÍRUS DA IMUNODEFICIÊNCIA HUMANA (HIV)

Globalmente, cerca de um terço dos jovens conhecem o status de HIV, o que está muito abaixo da meta de 95% da Sessão Especial da Assembleia Geral das Nações Unidas. Aumentar o acesso e a aceitação do teste de HIV é fundamental para reduzir a incidência do HIV e para melhorar o acesso ao tratamento e ao suporte para pessoas soropositivas. Pessoas cientes de serem soropositivas são menos propensas a terem um comportamento de risco, assim como as pessoas que recebem tratamento antirretroviral (ART) e aderem a este tratamento, são menos propensas a transmitirem o vírus para outras pessoas. Estas estratégias são formas de ajudar na diminuição da transmissão do vírus e no impacto sobre a epidemia da doença. Com o autoteste para HIV, as pessoas podem usar FO para descobrir se possuem o vírus em um ambiente privado e conveniente, com a vantagem de um resultado rápido dentro de 20 minutos ou menos. Para aqueles que apresentarem resultados positivos, recomenda-se buscar testes confirmatórios nas unidades de saúde, além do encaminhamento, o mais breve possível, para os serviços de cuidado, prevenção e tratamento. Esse tipo de testagem é uma forma de alcançar um maior quantitativo de pessoas sem o diagnóstico de HIV, uma vez que facilita o acesso ao diagnóstico precoce e cria-se demanda para a testagem de HIV, viabilizando o teste às pessoas que enfrentam barreiras no acesso aos serviços de saúde. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo central avaliar a usabilidade de um protótipo de autoteste do HIV desenvolvido a partir do TR DPP® HIV – 1/2 Fluido Oral de Bio-Manguinhos, em 112 participantes de pesquisa, seguindo recomendação da Nota Técnica N° 20/2016/GEVIT/GGTPS/ANVISA. Trata-se de um estudo com abordagem de método misto para avaliação da usabilidade de um protótipo de autoteste do HIV entre usuários leigos. Técnicas de coleta de dados serão feitas a partir de observação através de vídeos de usuários leigos conduzindo a autotestagem sem supervisão, uma lista de checagem qualitativa pela observação do participante, entrevistas pré-teste e pós-teste e ficha de encerramento. Foram identificados e registrados os erros percebidos durante a execução do teste pelos participantes da pesquisa em relação aos procedimentos descritos nas instruções de uso, assim como uma avaliação de risco através da classificação quanto à gravidade dos erros. Desta forma, entre os 107 participantes que finalizaram o autoteste, quatro participantes (3,74%) acertaram todos os passos. 103 participantes (96,26%) cometeram erros em um ou mais passos. 31 participantes (29,0%) interpretaram os resultados do teste de forma errada. Foi concluído que será necessária a utilização de apenas uma instrução de uso, com letras maiores e maior quantidade de ilustrações. Adicionalmente, será necessária a modificação do envelope do suporte para facilitar a abertura, assim como a revisão e alteração do texto, ilustrações e suporte para promover a concordância entre as informações. Tais modificações estão sendo realizadas como medidas de controle para facilitar o manuseio do autoteste e entendimento das instruções de uso pelos usuários e reduzir os riscos (palavras-chave: autoteste HIV, testes rápidos, imunodeficiência).

A Comparative Analysis of Some Multiple Intelligences of IT Students

Information management (IM) is a vital skill set in the area of knowledge and capability that should be possessed by IT professionals. However, the existing educational programs in academic institutions tend to overlook this aspect of training but focus instead on IT capabilities. This study aims at performing a comparative analysis on some multiple intelligences (emotional intelligence, social intelligence and cultural intelligence) of IT/IM students in international scale. The evaluative instrument was reviewed by the scholars in information management research domain and further examined in pre-test interviews prior to the formal administering of the questionnaires to students in the three countries. According to the results of analysis, the differences in emotional intelligence and social intelligence of subjects are significant. However, there is no significant difference in cultural intelligence and emotional intelligence. The findings of this investigation will contribute toward the formulation of future educational programs and selection of IT personnel by corporations when dealing with cross-cultural education and employment.

Eksplorasi Penelaran Spasial pada Konstruk Rotasi Mental dengan Media Google SketchUp

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan cara berpikir spasial siswa pada konstruk rotasi mental sebelum dan sesudah mengeksplorasi media Google SketchUp. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan metode studi kasus. Subjek penelitian dipilih masing-masing dua orang siswa dengan kemampuan matematika tinggi, sedang, dan rendah. Instrumen penelitian adalah tes tertulis penalaran spasial konstruk rotasi mental dan pedoman wawancara. Prosedur penelitian adalah (1) siswa mengerjakan soal pre-test ; (2) wawancara awal; (3) siswa melakukan eksplorasi rotasi dengan media Google SketchUp; (4) siswa mengerjakan soal post-test; (5) wawancara akhir. Hasil pre-test t dan wawancara awal menunjukkan siswa kesulitan melakukan penalaran spasial pada konstruk rotasi mental pada indikator rotasi segala arah dengan objek kubus. Hasil posttest dan wawancara akhir menunjukkan keenam siswa mampu melakukan penalaran spasial konstruk rotasi mental untuk semua indikator. Dengan demikian disimpulkan bahwa penggunaan media Google SketchUp dapat merubah cara berpikir spasial konstruk rotasi mental.

Catering to the patient - development, validation and psychometric properties of an innovative assessment instrument.

Introduction: It has been shown that communication skills acquired during undergraduate medical education are of great importance. Hence, many countries require teaching communication as part of their medical curricula. To assess students’ learning progress, “Catering to the Patient”, as an aspect of showing empathy, should be evaluated. Since there was no description of a validated instrument fitting for this purpose, one had to be developed. To describe its process of development and its psychometric properties were the aims of this study.Methods: Based on the Calgary-Cambridge Observation Guide (CCOG), items describing catering to the patient were selected and modified. Cognitive pretest interviews were conducted to check understandability. Therefore, 7 raters assessed 1 video each (R=7, V=1). In a following pilot study (R=3, V=10) first psychometric properties were evaluated and necessary corrections in the preliminary evaluation form were carried out before the final evaluation form was used to assess students’ ability to cater to the patient and psychometric properties were described in detail (R=2, V=35).Results: The final assessment instrument, “catering to the patient – Marburg evaluation form”, contains 11 checklist items and two global ratings (items 12 and 13). In the final evaluation the inter-rater reliability (IRR) ranged from 0 to 0.562, the median was r=0.305. Concerning item 13 (a global rating), 88.6% of the videos were scored with the maximum difference of one point. The internal consistency was very high (Cronbach’s α: α=0.937 and α=0.962), and the correlation between the checklist items and the global rating was high (Pearson’s r: r=0.856 and r=0.898).Discussion: The assessment instrument “catering to the patient” is suitable for giving feedback and for using it in formative examinations. Its use for summative examinations can be considered. Further examinations should evaluate if a three-point Likert scale could reach higher values and if item 13 can be used as a stand-alone item.

Mandarin version of dementia and driving decision aid (DDDA): Development and stakeholder evaluation in Taiwan

Dementia causes cognitive and memory difficulties which can reduce the driving safety of the individuals. The decision-making process for driving retirement is challenging, and yet limited guidance is available. This article reports the development of the Taiwanese version of dementia and driving decision aid (DDDA) and the evaluation from stakeholders through a dementia and driving education programme. A multi-method approach was adopted using a pre-test, post-test survey and focus group interviews. A total of 154 healthcare professionals, family caregivers and people with dementia participated education programme, and 12 experts attended the focus group discussion. The survey included demographics, knowledge, confidence, competence and awareness of using DDDA. Participants completed a survey prior and immediately after the education programme. We translated a 32-page interactive DDDA booklet from the original English version to Mandarin. The education programme consisted of three-hour dementia and driving education module delivered both face-to-face and online. The majority of participants described the booklet as balanced (91.7%) with the information presented in a 'good' or 'excellent' manner (93.4%). Most participants (85.3%) felt that DDDA helps them in making decisions about driving. Five themes were extracted from the focus group interview: (1) approach targeted to people with dementia, (2) specific content and additional information, (3) culturally appropriate modification, (4) having the right to drive and (5) booklet dissemination. The knowledge, confidence, competence and awareness of using the DDDA increased significantly (p<0.001) after the education programmes. We anticipate that use of the DDDA booklet will raise awareness of this social and health issue among the general public and facilitate collaborations with clinicians, municipalities and related organisations in providing a decision-making resource material for those with people living with dementia and their families. This study was not a clinical trial and the focus of this study was development and evaluation of the DDDA booklet. As mentioned in the methods section, participants were invited to attend the education program and provided their thoughts on the DDDA booklet based on their satisfaction level. Moreover, the education program was a one-day, workshop type program. This study was neither "prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions" nor "to evaluate the effects on health outcomes", according to the definition of clinical trial by WHO. Therefore, we did not consider this study was a clinical trial. There is an urgent need for supporting people with dementia and their families to negotiate the complex decision-making involved in deciding to change their approach to driving. The DDDA booklet can fill an important gap in service delivery to people with dementia who are adjusting to life without driving.

Retail Loan Under Interest Rate Fluctuation in Nepal: Costumers Interest, Challenges and Managerial Solutions

Globally, interest rates play an important role in banking loans for all types of customers. In the present context, the banking sector is growing in Nepal. Banking sector is being popular for saving and retail loan purposes among the people of Kathmandu valley. Now a days, retail banking loan is being considered as one of the most innovative financial services provided by the various banks and financial institutions. This paper presents dimensional analysis of retail loan under interest rate fluctuation in Nepal. Respondents for the study were chosen using convenience sampling and random sampling methods. Convenience sampling was primarily used to select bank employees, while random sampling was used to select bank customers. The structured questionnaire, expert opinion, and pre-test interview are research instruments used in the study to collect data from bank employees and customers of Karhmandu valley. This paper reveals that youth and highly educated people are more attracted towards the retail banking products. Most of the respondents focus that there is a challenge in retail loan.

GAMIFICATION BASED ON LOCAL STORIES’ EFFECT ON STUDENTS’ LEARNING MOTIVATION

In the 21st century, the use of innovative and digital-based teaching media are required. This research aimed at examining the effect of gamification based on local stories as teaching media on fifth grade elementary school students’ motivation. Quasi experimental with one group pre-test post-test design was implemented. The study was conducted at SD N 1 Penarukan where 25 of fifth grade students in academic year 2019/2020 were involved as the sample of study. Three instruments were administered to collect the data; pre-test post-test, treatment instrument and interview. The result showed that post-test mean score has significantly improved compared to pre-test score (42.29 &gt; 23.35). Hypothesis testing result (paired sample t-test) showed the tobs value was higher than tcv (20.811&gt;1.677) with α = 0.05, which indicated that gamification positively affected students’ motivation. The interview result revealed that the students are highly motivated to learn by using gamification.

Improving Writing Skills in English as a Second Language (ESL) through Feedback, Revising and Multiple Draft Writing: An Action Research

The present study was an action research which attempted to develop writing skills through feedback, revising and multiple draft writing, notions drawn from process approach to teach writing. The sample included ten teacher trainees enrolled in Diploma in Primary Teacher Training Program at a private educational institute. A pre-test and informal interviews were used for need analysis and the take-home writing assignments and students’ reflective journals were used for data collection. The intervention was carried out for ten months which included ten take-home assignments which were to be revised based on peer feedback and teacher feedback which led to the production of at least three drafts before the submission of the final draft. The drafts were quantitatively analyzed using analytic rubrics. The comparison of the marks obtained for the first draft and the final draft of each of the ten assignments, the comparison of the marks obtained for the ten final drafts and the comparison of marks obtained for the pre-test and the post- test were made for the purpose of measuring the effectiveness of the intervention. There was gradual but significant improvement of the writing skill in all the writing learners. Accomplishment of the use of grammar, syntax and vocabulary were clearly shown. The development displayed in content also was satisfactory. The style of writing and organizational skills also recorded, though little, some achievement. The implication of the study is that training the writing learner in the use of revising and multiple draft writing based on feedback could be very effective in improving writing skills in ESL learners which will lead to the subsequent quality production of the students’ take-home assignments.

Impact of Wagering Inducements on the Gambling Behaviors, Cognitions, and Emotions of Online Gamblers: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Wagering inducements are part of loyalty/reward programs implemented by online gambling operators to retain or attract consumers. They constitute incentives to bet that are offered to gamblers provided that they perform certain betting-related activities. They are often considered risk factors for gambling problems, but studies exploring the actual impacts of such incentives are scarce. The objective of the present study was to assess the actual impact of wagering inducements on gambling behaviors, cognitions, and emotions of online gamblers. One hundred seventy-one adults (18–65 years old) who gamble on a regular basis on the Internet, including at-risk and recreational gamblers, were recruited through media announcements and in panels from survey institutes. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions, in which a defined amount of money was given to the gambler with a bank e-card system during an experimental gambling session to simulate a wagering inducement (€10, €50, €100, or €200), or the control condition, in which no incentive was given. The experimental gambling session was designed to be as natural as possible (participants gambled with their own gambling account and their own money). Participants completed a pretest interview, took part in the experimental gambling session, and then completed a post-test interview. The impact of wagering inducements was estimated on objective (money wagered and time spent gambling during the gambling session) and subjective (cognitive distortions, enjoyment of gambling, loss of control, and respect of usual gambling habits) gambling endpoints that were compared between conditions. Two-thirds of participants reported having already received wagering inducements at some point of their gambling course. Although no effect was demonstrated on time spent gambling, inducements increased money wagered, gambling-related expectancies and perceived loss of control. In particular, it seems that wagering inducements could lead to extreme expenses, especially for at-risk gamblers. This research suggests that regulating wagering inducements could be helpful for prevention and early intervention. Future research on the impacts of wagering inducements is still needed, especially more ecological studies based on behavioral tracking data and studies assessing the differential impacts of various incentive types.Clinical Trial Registration: NCT01789580 (ClinicalTrials.gov).

Exploring the Role of Training in Promoting Students’ Peer-Feedback Including Critical Peer-Feedback

The question of how critical-thinking skills could be integrated into English as a Foreign Language (EFL) pedagogy has been one of the main concerns in the field of language teaching and learning as they have a great potential to increase the quality of learning and teaching. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether training based on peer feedback, including critical feedback, contributes to participants’ peer feedback and critical feedback performances. The participants, who were undergraduate English Language Teaching (ELT) students (n = 40), were exposed to an 8-week training program in which several feedback criteria, including critical ones, were introduced to them. Data obtained from the participants’ pre-test and post-test peer feedback performances and semi-structured interviews were analyzed by using SPSS and content analysis, respectively. The results revealed that the training improved performance in providing peer feedback, including critical peer feedback. Finally, learners reported satisfaction with the training program, although some challenges were encountered in the process.

Influence of Coffee Pricing on Reviving Coffee Production in Cooperative Societies in Meru County, Kenya

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of coffee pricing on reviving coffee production in cooperatives societies in Meru county, Kenya.Methodology: A descriptive survey research design was used in the study. The respondents were the coffee farmers and managers from coffee cooperative societies. A sample of 30%, that is,42 cooperative societies in Meru county was considered. Coffee farmers were sampled using simple random sampling for those who met inclusion and exclusion criteria, while all managers in all the sampled cooperative societies participated in the study. Data collection was done using closed-ended questionnaires and interviews. To ensure validity and reliability, pre-testing of questionnaires was done on 10 active coffee farmers, while pre-test interviews were administered to 5 managers from Kamuthi housing cooperative society of Murang’ a County. Coded data in SPSS 24.0 computer program was analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics such as mean, percentage, and standard deviation. Univariate regression and multiple regression were used to test the hypothesis of the study. Tables, graphs, and detailed explanations were used to present the final results of the study. Results: Coffee pricing had the highest average mean score of 4.42 and a standard deviation of 0.89. The model summary of coffee pricing indicated that R-value was 0.932 and R-square was 0.869. This confirmed that coffee pricing predicted 86.9 % of the revival of coffee production. While being interviewed managers came out strongly that effective coffee pricing had increased new customers; there were improved sales quantities and there was retainment of old customers; clearance of stocks on time which improved revenue and reduced spoilage of coffee beans. The study therefore found out that coffee pricing significantly influences reviving coffee production in cooperative societies in Meru county Kenya.Unique contribution to theory, policy and practice: The study contributed that coffee pricing significantly influenced reviving coffee production in cooperative societies in Meru county Kenya. Coffee farmers should be encouraged to be interested in different types of coffee pricing to offer innovative suggestions to coffee cooperative societies. Managers should be well versed with different price types and also be innovative enough to suggest new ones based on various locations and different quality of the coffee sold. The marketing department in a cooperative society should do more research on their current market base to see what prices are working and the ones that are not. The government should set up policies that will see to it that local coffee consumption has improved. This is because only 5% of coffee is consumed locally while 95% is exported

Theme-Based Learning in Teaching Speaking Skill (A Pre-experimental Study of Tenth-Graders in One of Senior High Schools in Garut)

This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of theme-based learning in teaching speaking skill. Specific objectives of this study were to find out: (1) whether theme-based learning is effective in improving students’ speaking skill and (2) students’ responses toward the implementation of this teaching method. This study, that was conducted in one of senior high schools in Garut to 37 students used quantitative method collaborated with pre-experimental design. The data in this study were collected by using speaking test; pre-test and post-test and interview. The speaking tests then analyzed and interpreted by using t-test to find out whether theme-based learning is effective in improving students’ speaking skill or not. Meanwhile, the interview then classified into description to find out students’ responses toward the implementation of theme-based learning. The result of this study showed that theme-based learning is effective in improving students’ speaking skill. The pre-test score indicated mean 9.216 and post-test score indicated mean 15.02 with t-test showed tobserve &gt; tcritical (11.264 &gt; 1.6893). In addition, the result of the interview that was conducted to the 10 students showed 100% positive responses

Challenges in Navigating the Health Care System: Development of an Instrument Measuring Navigation Health Literacy

Due to their rapid expansion and complexity, it is increasingly difficult for patients to orient themselves in health care systems. Therefore, patients require a high degree of health literacy, or more precisely, navigation health literacy (HL-NAV). The actual extent of HL-NAV of patients and citizens is still largely unknown due to the lack of adequate measurement instruments. Thus, within the new international Health Literacy Population Survey 2019 (HLS19), one aim was to develop a suitable instrument for measuring HL-NAV in the HLS19 the HL-NAV-HLS19. The item development was conducted by an international working group within the HLS19 Consortium led by the first and last authors. Methodologically, it is based on a scoping literature review, development of a conceptual framework for HL-NAV, and first item formation, as well as an evaluation by experts, stakeholders, focus groups, pre-test interviews, and continuously feedback from the HLS19 Consortium. HL-NAV was defined as the ability to access, understand, appraise, and apply information on navigational issues, drawing on ten selected publications and the health literacy definition of the HLS-EU Consortium. Main tasks of HL-NAV at the system, organization, and interaction level were identified, to which first related items were assigned. Based on the feedback from experts, the focus group discussions, and the HLS19 Consortium, the instrument was slightly revised. Finally, twelve items proved to be feasible in the pre-test. The instrument will be used for the first time in the HLS19 survey and will provide first data on HL-NAV in general populations for the countries participating in HLS19. It is suited for cross-country comparisons and monitoring, as well as for intervention development. However, the instrument should be translated into and validated in further languages and countries for population samples.

Patient Preferences in the Treatment of Hemophilia A: A Best-Worst Scaling Case 3 Analysis.

To assess patient preferences for benefits and risks in hemophilia A treatment. A systematic literature search and pretest interviews were conducted to determine the most patient-relevant endpoints in terms of effects, risks, and administration of hemophilia A treatments. A Best-Worst Scaling (BWS; Case 3 or multiprofile case) approach was applied in a structured questionnaire. Patients were surveyed by interviewers in a computer-assisted personal interview. Treatments in the choice scenarios comprised bleeding frequency per year, application type, risk of thromboembolic event risk, and inhibitor development. Each respondent answered 13 choice tasks, including 1 dominant task, comparing 3 treatment profiles. Data were analyzed using a mixed logit model (random-parameters logit). Data from 57 patients were used. The attributes "bleeding frequency per year" and "inhibitor development" had the greatest impact on respondents' choice decisions. Patients disliked being at risk of inhibitor development more than being at risk of thromboembolic events. The type of application, whether intravenous or subcutaneous, was of less importance for patients. There was a significant preference variation for all attributes. Patients value low frequency of bleeding per year and low risk of development of inhibitors the most. An increase of risk and frequency would significantly decrease the impact on choice decisions. The type of application does not seem to influence the choice decision very much compared with the other attributes. Regarding preference heterogeneity, further analysis is needed to identify subgroups among patients and their characteristics. This may help to adapt individually patient-tailored treatment alternatives for hemophilia A patients.

Communicative Language Tasks to Enhance Young Learners’ Communicative Competence

The Malaysian curriculum reform in 2011 for English as a Second Language (ESL) was designed with the intent to set a national curriculum system that is on par with international standards by adopting CEFR into the ESL classroom. However, challenges arose when rural primary school learners were found to have lower proficiency level. Therefore, this study investigated the impact of communicative language tasks on rural primary school learners’ communicative competence in Julau, Sarawak, Malaysia. This study also explored the learners’ perspective towards the communicative language tasks in developing their communicative competence. Informed by the qualitative approach of data collection, this study employed pre-test, post-test and individual interviews with ten research participants selected through purposive sampling. Findings from this study disclosed that the CEFR-aligned communicative language tasks enhanced the learners’ grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic communicative competence. The findings also revealed that the learners have developed intrinsic motivation and interest to learn English using the communicative language tasks.

Is it Worth Flipping? The Impact of Flipped Classroom on EFL Students’ Grammar

In light of contemporary pedagogical methods, the flipped classroom has been recognised as an effective pedagogy in English as a Foreign Language (EFL). This study employed a quasi-experimental one-group research design to investigate the impact of flipped learning on Omani EFL learners&amp;rsquo; grammar and to examine students&amp;rsquo; perceptions on the flipped classroom. An intact group of students (n=28) enrolled at the foundation programme in Arab Open University-Oman was randomly selected. Seven videos on English grammar were developed and shared with the students prior to the class. A varaiety of activities were conducted in the class following task-based language teaching. Students met for 8 lessons over the period of 8 weeks. Pre-test, post-test and semi-structured interviews were used in the study. The findings indicated that flipped learning had a positive impact on students&amp;rsquo; understanding and usage of English grammar. Students&amp;rsquo; perceptions on the flipped approach were positive. The study also provided pedagogical insights for the flipped classroom and recommendations for future research.&amp;nbsp;

PND99 A STUDY OF PREFERENCES FOR DISEASE-MODIFYING TREATMENTS FOR ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

To address challenges affecting preference studies of people within the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) spectrum regarding disease-modifying treatments: (1) selecting screening criteria and processes to identify adults within the AD spectrum who can accurately self-report and answer preference questions; (2) identifying meaningful treatment benefits; (3) developing a preference survey that is not too cognitively burdensome. In-depth interviews were conducted with 28 adults aged 50-85 years within the AD spectrum. Trained qualitative researchers conducted 14 interviews with concept elicitation to identify key preference factors and meaningful treatment benefits; cognitive debriefing to optimize instructions and questions for a preference survey; and a best-worst scaling exercise. Fourteen additional survey pretest interviews used “think aloud” to test and refine the screening criteria and process, descriptions of meaningful treatment benefits, and stated-preference questions. Considering both sets of interviews: Screening: Participants with mild dementia, and some with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or subjective cognitive complaints (SCC), had difficulty following preference question instructions and many relied on interviewer support. Within-subject variation was observed in responses to repeated screening questions. Meaningful treatment benefits: Treatment benefit concepts that were meaningful to patients and different from clinical endpoints were identified and refined in the interviews. Survey design: Complex preference questions involving tradeoffs or ranking of multiple benefits and risks were cognitively burdensome, whereas most participants could answer questions involving pair-wise tradeoffs. Based on the two-stage interview process:•Screening criteria, including a validated cognitive assessment (Fillit et al., 2003), were selected to ensure that self-reported SCC or MCI are not in more advanced stages of the AD spectrum precluding informed consent or survey completion. A two-stage screening process should be used to ensure data are reliable.•Elicit patient input on identifying and describing meaningful treatment benefits.•Use simple preference questions and interviewer-assisted survey modes to maximize data quality.