Quasi-factorial Design Research Articles

The Effect of Scaffolding-Assisted Group Investigation Learning and Self-Efficacy on Social Problem-Solving Ability

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of group investigation learning assisted by scaffolding and self-efficacy on social problem-solving skills. The experimental design used in this study was a quasi-factorial design experiment pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group design with a 2x2 factorial version. Data were analyzed with two-way ANOVA. The research subjects involved 67 students of class 9 SMP Negeri 36 Surabaya. Learning applies two different treatments, the investigation group learning strategy assisted by scaffolding which is applied to 9A students and group investigation learning strategies without scaffolding applied to students in 9B. There are two findings in this research: (1) The group of students who learned by the investigation group learning strategy assisted by scaffolding was better than without scaffolding. (2) The group of students who have high self-efficacy gets better social problem-solving learning outcomes. The originality of this research is the learning of scaffolding-assisted group investigation to improve social problem-solving skills.

317-LB: Optimal Weight Loss Effect of Short-Term Low Carbohydrate Diet with Calorie Restriction on Overweight/Obese Subjects in South China—A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: This study aims to investigate whether there was a collaborative weight-loss effect or other metabolic benefits between low-carbohydrate (LCD) and calorie restriction (CR) on overweight/obese subjects from South China. Methods: We enrolled 290 overweight/overweight adults with similar dietary habits from 13 hospitals in different areas of South China. Participants were randomly assigned into four diets for 12-week intervention, including normal diet, low-carbohydrate diet, calorie-restricted diet and calorie-restricted combined with low-carbohydrate diet. Covariance in quasi-factorial design was used to calculate the major effect as well as collaborative effect between low-carbohydrate and calorie restriction. Results: A total of 259 participants completed the study for 12-week intervention. Participants in CR+LCD group lost weight by 7.99±3.57 kg, which was most significantly among 4 groups (P<0.001). Similarly, the results of body composition analysis showed that the visceral fat area and body fat rate was improved after intervention, especially in the CR+LCD group (P<0.001). Besides, fatty liver also alleviated substantially compared with control group (p=0.018). In addition, Significant effect of different diet intervention was shown on changes of triglycerides (P <0.001), which decreased by 0.73±1.26 mmol/L in the CR+LCD group. Furthermore, the results of covariance analysis showed no collaborative effects between calorie restriction and low carbohydrates (F=0.004, P=0.950). Conclusions: Although our study indicated that low carbohydrate combined with calorie restricted diet have more significant effect on weight loss, it’s the first time to prove that no collaborative weight-loss effect of low carbohydrate diet and calorie restriction, which may possibly due to the carbohydrate based dietary habits in South China. (Registration number, ChiCTR1800015156). Disclosure J. Sun: None. N. Xu: None. N. Lin: None. P. Wu: None. K. Yuan: None. S. An: None. Z. Zhang: None. Y. Ruan: None. Y. Zhang: None. G. Xu: None. W. Ma: None. Z. Lu: None. X. Chen: None. Q. Huang: None. X. Zhang: None. Y. Li: None. S. Li: None. G. Deng: None. Y. Liang: None. L. Liu: None. H. Chen: None.

SYNERGIC TRIAL (SYNchronizing Exercises, Remedies in Gait and Cognition) a multi-Centre randomized controlled double blind trial to improve gait and cognition in mild cognitive impairment

BackgroundPhysical exercise, cognitive training, and vitamin D are low cost interventions that have the potential to enhance cognitive function and mobility in older adults, especially in pre-dementia states such as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Aerobic and progressive resistance exercises have benefits to cognitive performance, though evidence is somewhat inconsistent. We postulate that combined aerobic exercise (AE) and progressive resistance training (RT) (combined exercise) will have a better effect on cognition than a balance and toning control (BAT) intervention in older adults with MCI. We also expect that adding cognitive training and vitamin D supplementation to the combined exercise, as a multimodal intervention, will have synergistic efficacy.MethodsThe SYNERGIC trial (SYNchronizing Exercises, Remedies in GaIt and Cognition) is a multi-site, double-blinded, five-arm, controlled trial that assesses the potential synergic effect of combined AE and RT on cognition and mobility, with and without cognitive training and vitamin D supplementation in older adults with MCI. Two-hundred participants with MCI aged 60 to 85 years old will be randomized to one of five arms, four of which include combined exercise plus combinations of dual-task cognitive training (real vs. sham) and vitamin D supplementation (3 × 10,000 IU/wk. vs. placebo) in a quasi-factorial design, and one arm which receives all control interventions. The primary outcome measure is the ADAS-Cog (13 and plus modalities) measured at baseline and at 6 months of follow-up. Secondary outcomes include neuroimaging, neuro-cognitive performance, gait and mobility performance, and serum biomarkers of inflammation (C reactive protein and interleukin 6), neuroplasticity (brain-derived neurotropic factor), endothelial markers (vascular endothelial growth factor 1), and vitamin D serum levels.DiscussionThe SYNERGIC Trial will establish the efficacy and feasibility of a multimodal intervention to improve cognitive performance and mobility outcomes in MCI. These interventions may contribute to new approaches to stabilize and reverse cognitive-mobility decline in older individuals with MCI.Trial RegistrationIdentifier: NCT02808676. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02808676.

Assessing the influence of multiple stressors on stream diatom metrics in the upper Midwest, USA

Water resource managers face increasing challenges in identifying what physical and chemical stressors are responsible for the alteration of biological conditions in streams. The objective of this study was to assess the comparative influence of multiple stressors on benthic diatoms at 98 sites that spanned a range of stressors in an agriculturally dominated region in the upper Midwest, USA. The primary stressors of interest included: nutrients, herbicides and fungicides, sediment, and streamflow; although the influence of physical habitat was incorporated in the assessment. Boosted Regression Tree was used to examine both the sensitivity of various diatom metrics and the relative importance of the primary stressors. Percent Sensitive Taxa, percent Highly Motile Taxa, and percent High Phosphorus Taxa had the strongest response to stressors. Habitat and total phosphorous were the most common discriminators of diatom metrics, with herbicides as secondary factors. A Classification and Regression Tree (CART) model was used to examine conditional relations among stressors and indicated that fine-grain streams had a lower percentage of Sensitive Taxa than coarse-grain streams, with Sensitive Taxa decreasing further with increased water temperature (>30°C) and triazine concentrations (>1500ng/L). In contrast, streams dominated by coarse-grain substrate contained a higher percentage of Sensitive Taxa, with relative abundance increasing with lower water temperatures (<29°C) and shallower water depth (<0.3m). Quantile regression indicated that maximum water temperature appears to be a major limiting factor in Midwest streams; whereas both total phosphorus and percent fines showed a slight subsidy-stress response. While using benthic algae for assessing stream quality can be challenging, field-based studies can elucidate stressor effects and interactions when the response variables are appropriate, sufficient stressor resolution is achieved, and the number and type of sites represent a gradient of stressor conditions and at least a quasi-factorial design.

CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK AND WRITING ACCURACY OF STUDENTS ACROSS DIFFERENT LEVELS OF GRAMMATICAL SENSITIVITY

&lt;span&gt;This study investigates whether indirect corrective feedback is effective o&lt;span&gt;n students’ writing &lt;span&gt;accuracy and whether there is any interaction between corrective feedback and students’ levels of &lt;span&gt;grammatical sensitivity. A quasi-factorial design was adopted for this research. The subjects of the &lt;span&gt;study were fourth-semester students of English Department, at a State University in Malang, selected &lt;span&gt;randomly. The experimental group was treated with indirect corrective feedback and the control &lt;span&gt;group with direct corrective feedback. A parametric statistical test, ANCOVA, was used to test the &lt;span&gt;hypotheses. The findings show that there was no statistical difference on writing accuracy between &lt;span&gt;the experimental and control groups. Yet, among students with a high level of grammatical &lt;span&gt;sensitivity, there was significant difference in writing accuracy between those given indirect and &lt;span&gt;direct corrective feedback. Further, there was no interaction between corrective feedback on writing &lt;span&gt;accuracy and students’ levels of grammatical sensitivity. However, indirect corrective feedback &lt;span&gt;improved students’ writi&lt;span&gt;ng accuracy better than direct corrective feedback.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;

Matching-to-sample performance is better analyzed in terms of a four-term contingency than in terms of a three-term contingency

Four pigeons performed a simultaneous matching-to-sample (MTS) task involving two samples and two comparisons that differed in their pixel density and luminance. After a long history of reinforcers for correct responses after both samples, 15 conditions arranged either continuous reinforcement of correct responses after Sample 1 and extinction for all responses after Sample 2, or vice versa. The sample after which correct responses were reinforced alternated across successive conditions. The disparity between the samples and the disparity between the comparisons were varied independently across conditions in a quasifactorial design. Contrary to predictions of extant quantitative models, which assume that MTS tasks involve two 3-term contingencies of reinforcement, matching accuracies were not at chance levels in these conditions, comparison-selection ratios differed after the two samples, and effects on matching accuracies of both sample disparity and comparison disparity were observed. These results were, however, consistent with ordinal and sometimes quantitative predictions of Jones' (2003) theory of stimulus and reinforcement effects in MTS tasks. This theory asserts that MTS tasks involve four-term contingencies of reinforcement and that any tendency to select one comparison more often than the other over a set of trials reflects meaningful differences between comparison-discrimination accuracies after the two samples.

Animated Graphics for Comparing Two Risks: A Cautionary Tale

BackgroundThe increasing use of computer-administered risk communications affords the potential to replace static risk graphics with animations that use motion cues to reinforce key risk messages. Research on the use of animated graphics, however, has yielded mixed findings, and little research exists to identify the specific animations that might improve risk knowledge and patients’ decision making.ObjectiveTo test whether viewing animated forms of standard pictograph (icon array) risk graphics displaying risks of side effects would improve people’s ability to select the treatment with the lowest risk profile, as compared with viewing static images of the same risks.MethodsA total of 4198 members of a demographically diverse Internet panel read a scenario about two hypothetical treatments for thyroid cancer. Each treatment was described as equally effective but varied in side effects (with one option slightly better than the other). Participants were randomly assigned to receive all risk information in 1 of 10 pictograph formats in a quasi-factorial design. We compared a control condition of static grouped icons with a static scattered icon display and with 8 Flash-based animated versions that incorporated different combinations of (1) building the risk 1 icon at a time, (2) having scattered risk icons settle into a group, or (3) having scattered risk icons shuffle themselves (either automatically or by user control). We assessed participants’ ability to choose the better treatment (choice accuracy), their gist knowledge of side effects (knowledge accuracy), and their graph evaluation ratings, controlling for subjective numeracy and need for cognition.ResultsWhen compared against static grouped-icon arrays, no animations significantly improved any outcomes, and most showed significant performance degradations. However, participants who received animations of grouped icons in which at-risk icons appeared 1 at a time performed as well on all outcomes as the static grouped-icon control group. Displays with scattered icons (static or animated) performed particularly poorly unless they included the settle animation that allowed users to view event icons grouped.ConclusionsMany combinations of animation, especially those with scattered icons that shuffle randomly, appear to inhibit knowledge accuracy in this context. Static pictographs that group risk icons, however, perform very well on measures of knowledge and choice accuracy. These findings parallel recent evidence in other data communication contexts that less can be more—that is, that simpler, more focused information presentation can result in improved understanding. Decision aid designers and health educators should proceed with caution when considering the use of animated risk graphics to compare two risks, given that evidence-based, static risk graphics appear optimal.

Studienbesprechung – Auricular Acupuncture, Education, and Smoking Cessation: A Randomized, Sham-Controlled Trial

OjectivesThis study examined the effect of acupuncture alone and in combination with education on smoking cessation and cigarette consumption. MethodWe prospectively studied 141 adults in a quasi-factorial design using acupuncture, sham acupuncture, and education. ResultsAll groups showed significant reductions in smoking and posttreatment cigarette consumption, with the combined acupuncture-education group showing the greatest effect from treatment. The trend continued in follow-up; however, significant differences were not maintained. Greater pack-year history (i.e. the number of years smoking multiplied by baseline number of cigarettes smoked per year, divided by 20 cigarettes per pack) negatively correlated with treatment effect. Trend analysis suggested 20 pack-years as the cutoff point for this correlation. ConclusionsAcupuncture and education, alone and in combination, significantly reduced smoking; however, combined they showed a significantly greater effect, as seen in subjects with a greater pack-year history.

How Similar Are Impression-Formation Processes Among Japanese and Americans?

We offer the first rigorous cross-cultural test of affect control theory using Japanese subjects in Japan. Tests of the impression-formation equations and theory underlying affect control theory involve two stages. First, a Japanese semantic differential dictionary of 403 fundamental identities and 307 fundamental behaviors provides evidence for culturally ideographic connotations. Second, a quasi-factorial design produces a Japanese set of impression-formation equations for predicting transient changes in identities and behaviors. The Japanese equations use a consistent subset of the American predictors with comparable weights, which suggests evidence for the cross-cultural similarity in cognitive processing of impression formation

Relative efficiency of the two-dimensional quasi-factorial design as compared with a randomized-block arrangement when concerned with yields of Irish potatoes

The two-dimensional quasi-factorial design of plot arrangement was generally more efficient than a randomized-block design when the tests contained 36 or more hypothetical varieties or strains of Irish potatoes.