Self-evaluation Tool Research Articles

Assessing the Development of Collaborative Knowledge Work Competence: Scales for Higher Education Course Contexts

ABSTRACT The necessity to learn competence for collaborative knowledge work during higher education (HE) is accepted widely, but continued work is required to explicate how to define and assess such competence. In this article, the development and validation of a questionnaire for assessing the development of collaborative knowledge work competence is based on object-bound collaborative knowledge creation practices. In total, 546 students responded to a questionnaire on Collaborative Knowledge Practices (CKP). The data were analysed for measurement invariance for two groups of HE students in media engineering and life sciences. Seven scales of the CKP were found to measure course-related learning of collaboration, integration of personal and collective efforts, development through feedback, persistent development of knowledge objects, understanding of different disciplines and related expertise, interdisciplinary collaboration, and using digital technology. The CKP questionnaire scales can be used as a generic self-evaluation tool for students on course-based learning outcomes.

Quality of Early Childhood Education in Private and Government Preschools of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The present study assesses the quality of preschools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and examines differences in quality between government and private preschools. Thirty-seven preschools (16 government and 21 private) and 37 preschool teachers from Addis Ababa participated in this study. Data were collected using the Global Guidelines Assessment (GGA) Scale which contains 76 items across five areas of practice: Environment and Physical Space, Curriculum Content and Pedagogy, Early Childhood Education Educators and Caregivers, Partnership with Families and Communities, and Young Children with Special Needs. Items are rated on a 5-point scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Specific analyses also considered if preschools were meeting adequate quality standards. Both private and government preschools had less than ‘adequate’ quality. Private preschools had relatively better quality compared with government preschools. The GGA is an important measurement tool to measure quality in ECE services that can inform policy and advocacy efforts to deliver higher quality early childhood education in the Ethiopian context. Preschools in Ethiopia could use the GGA scale, as a self-evaluation tool, to identify how and where to focus their efforts in order to deliver quality early education to children and families.

Holo-BLSD – A Holographic Tool for Self-training and Self-Evaluation of Emergency Response Skills

In case of cardiac arrest, prompt intervention of bystanders can be vital in saving lives. Basic Life Support and Defibrillation (BLSD) is a procedure designed to deliver a proficient emergency first response. Developing skills in BLSD in a large part of the population is a primary educational goal of resuscitation medicine. In this context, novel computer science technologies like Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) can alleviate some of the drawbacks of traditional instructor-led courses, especially concerning time and cost constraints. This paper presents Holo-BLSD, an AR system that allows users to learn and train the different operations involved in BLSD and receive an automatic assessment. The system uses a standard manikin which is “augmented” by an interactive virtual environment that reproduces realistic emergency scenarios. The proposed approach has been validated through a user study. Subjective results confirmed the usability of the devised tool and its capability to stimulate learners’ attention. Objective results indicated no statistical significance in the differences between the examiners’ evaluation of users who underwent traditional and AR training; they also showed a close agreement between expert and automatic assessments, suggesting that Holo-BLSD can be regarded as an effective self-learning method and a reliable self-evaluation tool.

Good governance in Sport: comparative law aspects

Following the major scandals that have recently stained the reputation of the world of professional sports, it has become clear that rules should be set out in order to ensure that sports organisations are governed in a proper and ethical manner. While the Sport Movement engaged in a major reform process, especially at the level of regional and international sports federations, States in Europe also consider it necessary to regulate in the field of sports governance in its micro-sense, namely the organisation and management within sports organisations. As a result, one is witnessing the emergence of a new trend among European States to include sports governance as a topic of Sports Governance in its macro sense, namely the relationship between the State and the Sport Movement. In doing so, States have adopted all kinds of measures. While examining different types of measures, ranging from compulsory codes of conduct or covenants on ethical sports to voluntary codes on good governance and selfevaluation tools, this paper will in particular focus on mandatory codes on sports governance, namely a measure designed to encourage good governance within sports organisations by making public funding conditional upon compliance with a defined set of sports governance requirements.

Glycerol content within the WHO ethanol-based handrub formulation: balancing tolerability with antimicrobial efficacy

BackgroundThe World Health Organization (WHO) ethanol-based handrub (EBHR) formulation contains 1.45% glycerol as an emollient to protect healthcare workers’ (HCWs) skin against dryness and dermatitis. However, glycerol seems to negatively affect the antimicrobial efficacy of alcohols. In addition, the minimal concentration of glycerol required to protect hands remain unknown. We aim to evaluate the tolerance of HCWs to the WHO EBHR formulation using different concentrations of glycerol in a tropical climate healthcare setting.MethodsWe conducted a cluster-randomized, double-blind, crossover study among 40 HCWs from an intensive care unit of a tertiary-care hospital in Brazil, from June 1st to September 30, 2017. We tested the WHO EBHR original formulation containing 1.45% glycerol against three other concentrations (0, 0.5, and 0.75%). HCWs used one formulation at a time for seven working days during their routine practice and then had their hands evaluated by an external observer using the WHO scale for visual inspection. Participants also used a WHO self-evaluation tool to rate their own skin condition. We used a generalized estimating equations of the logit type to compare differences between the tolerability to different formulations.ResultsAccording to the independent observation, participants had 2.4 times (95%CI: 1.12–5.15) more chance of having a skin condition considered good when they used the 0.5% compared to the 1.45% glycerol formulation. For the self-evaluation scale, participants were likely to have a worst evaluation (OR: 0.23, 95%CI: 0.11–0.49) when they used the preparation without glycerol compared to the WHO standard formulation (1.45%), and there were no differences between the other formulations used.ConclusionIn a tropical climate setting, the WHO-modified EBHR formulation containing 0.5% glycerol led to better ratings of skin tolerance than the original formulation, and, therefore, may offer the best balance between skin tolerance and antimicrobial efficacy.

A population-based approach to integrated healthcare delivery: a scoping review of clinical care and public health collaboration

BackgroundA population-based approach to healthcare goes beyond the traditional biomedical model and addresses the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration in promoting health of communities. By establishing partnerships across primary care (PC) and public health (PH) sectors in particular, healthcare organizations can address local health needs of populations and improve health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to map a series of interventions from the empirical literature that facilitate PC-PH collaboration and develop a resource for healthcare organizations to self-evaluate their clinical practices and identify opportunities for collaboration with PH.MethodsA scoping review was designed and studies from relevant peer-reviewed literature and reports between 1990 and 2017 were included if they met the following criteria: empirical study methodology (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods), based in US, Canada, Western Europe, Australia or New Zealand, describing an intervention involving PC-PH collaboration, and reporting on structures, processes, outcomes or markers of a PC-PH collaboration intervention.ResultsOut of 2962 reviewed articles, 45 studies with interventions leading to collaboration were classified into the following four synergy groups developed by Lasker’s Committee on Medicine and Public Health: Coordinating healthcare services (n = 13); Applying a population perspective to clinical practice (n = 21); Identifying and addressing community health problems (n = 19), and Strengthening health promotion and health protection (n = 21). Furthermore, select empirical examples of interventions and their key features were highlighted to illustrate various approaches to implementing collaboration interventions in the field.ConclusionsThe findings of our review can be utilized by a range of organizations in healthcare settings across the included countries. Furthermore, we developed a self-evaluation tool that can serve as a resource for clinical practices to identify opportunities for cross-sectoral collaboration and develop a range of interventions to address unmet health needs in communities; however, the generalizability of the findings depends on the evaluations conducted in individual studies in our review.From a health equity perspective, our findings also highlight interventions from the empirical literature that address inequities in care by targeting underserved, high-risk populations groups. Further research is needed to develop outcome measures for successful collaboration and determine which interventions are sustainable in the long term.

The Association between Self-Reported Sensory Impairment and Cognitive Function among Korean Older Adults: Results from the 2017 National Survey of the Living Conditions and Welfare Needs of Older Koreans

본 연구는 한국 노인이 주관적으로 인식하는 감각장애와 인지기능 간의 관계 조사이다. 연구방법은 2017년 노인실태조사 자료를 활용하여 65세 이상 10,082명에 대한 주관적 감각장애에 대한 평가 자료와 MMSE-DS를 통한 인지기능 간 관계를 위계적 다중회귀분석과 로지스틱 회귀분석을 실시하였다. 연구결과 시력, 청력, 구강 기능에 대해 주관적 불편감을 보고할수록 인지기능 감소의 위험이 높게 나타났다. 또한 청력, 구강에 대한 불편감은 치매로 이어질 가능성이 높음을 발견하였다. 특히 다른 감각기능에 비해 청력 불편감이 치매의심 집단의 인지기능과 상관관계가 가장 높은 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구의 결과는 노인의 감각기능을 정부 차원에서 관리할 필요성이 있으며, 노인 스스로 감각기능의 신체적 변화를 지각하고 평가하기 위한 도구를 개발할 필요가 있음을 제안한다. 아울러 노인의 건강 증진을 위한 구체적인 방안을 위한 연구가 필요하다.The present study aims to examine the relationship between self-reported sensory impairment and cognitive function among older adults in Korea. Drawn from the 2017 Survey of Living Conditions and Welfare Needs Korean Older Persons, a total of 10,082 adults aged 65 and over were included in analyses. Results from hierarchial multiple regression analysis show that those who reported greater subjective discomfort about vision, hearing, and oral function were more likely to have poor cognitive function. Results from hierarchial logistic regression analysis show. Results from logistic regression analysis show that having hearing and oral discomfort increased the a risk for dementia. Findings suggest that it is necessary to manage sensory function of the elderly at the government level and to develop self-evaluation tools to monitor changes in sensory function for older adults. Future research should target finding effective ways to improve health of older adults.

P374 Interest of the “starfish”: a self-evaluation tool used by the adapted physical activity (APA) in therapeutic education during rehabilitation stays of cystic fibrosis patients

P374 Interest of the “starfish”: a self-evaluation tool used by the adapted physical activity (APA) in therapeutic education during rehabilitation stays of cystic fibrosis patients

Effects of a patient safety course using a flipped classroom approach among undergraduate nursing students: A quasi-experimental study

BackgroundThe nursing education system has changed with the increased emphasis on patient safety in healthcare settings. Early education in patient safety is crucial to preparing nurses to be competent in patient care. Therefore, providing undergraduate patient safety education courses using an innovative approach is essential to enhancing patient safety and quality in nursing care. ObjectivesThis study aimed to examine the effects of a patient safety course using a flipped classroom approach on patient safety competency among undergraduate nursing students in South Korea. DesignA pre- and post-test quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group was adopted. SettingsThis study was conducted in the college of nursing at a university in Seoul, South Korea. ParticipantsA total of 75 undergraduate nursing students participated. All students enrolled in the patient safety course comprised the experimental group (n = 32); those with similar characteristics to the experimental group (age, gender, and year) but did not take the course comprised the control group (n = 43). MethodsA total of 14 sessions (28 h) addressing the topics from the World Health Organization patient safety curriculum guide were delivered using a flipped classroom approach. The teaching methods included online learning and quizzes, case studies, small and large discussions, incident report tasks, and group projects including the development of strategies for patient safety. A survey including a demographic questionnaire and the Patient Safety Competency Self-Evaluation tool was administered at the beginning and end of the fall semester. ResultsPre- and post-test results demonstrated a significant increase in students' patient safety competency including attitude, skills, and knowledge. Mean scores of patient safety competency in the experimental group were significantly higher than in the control group. ConclusionsThe flipped-classroom patient safety course was shown to be effective in improving patient safety competency in terms of attitude, skills, and knowledge among undergraduate nursing students.

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Revised 2019 Standards of Practice and Standards of Professional Performance for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (Competent, Proficient, and Expert) in Nutrition in Integrative and Functional Medicine

Nutrition in integrative and functional medicine encompasses a patient-/client-centered, healing-oriented approach to health that embraces both conventional and complementary therapies. Registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) practitioners in integrative and functional medicine focus on nutrition care that is both preventative and interventional in addressing the root causes of disease. The Dietitians in Integrative and Functional Medicine Dietetic Practice Group, along with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Quality Management Committee, have updated the Standards of Practice (SOP) and Standards of Professional Performance (SOPP) for RDNs working in nutrition in integrative and functional medicine. The SOP and SOPP for RDNs in Nutrition in Integrative and Functional Medicine provide indicators that describe three levels of practice: competent, proficient, and expert. The SOP uses the Nutrition Care Process and clinical workflow elements for delivering patient/client care. The SOPP describes the following six domains that focus on professional performance: Quality in Practice, Competence and Accountability, Provision of Services, Application of Research, Communication and Application of Knowledge, and Utilization and Management of Resources. Specific indicators outlined in the SOP and SOPP depict how these standards apply to practice. The SOP and SOPP are complementary resources for RDNs and are intended to be used as a self-evaluation tool for assuring competent practice in nutrition in integrative and functional medicine and for determining potential education and training needs for advancement to a higher practice level in a variety of settings.

A Self-Evaluation Tools for the Assessment of Nuclear Forensic Capability

Nuclear forensics is recognized as an important part of maintaining nuclear security in any country, regardless of whether the country utilised nuclear and other radioactive materials or not. It is an effective tool in determining the origin of detected nuclear and other radioactive materials, and in providing evidence for the prosecution of acts of illicit trafficking and malicious use. The objective of this study is to develop a questionnaire to be used as a tool to self-evaluate the existing national capability in nuclear forensics in order to provide analysis of weaknesses or gaps in the overall system that require attention. The questionnaire is developed based on the guideline of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and is reviewed by experts from various countries for its completeness and usability. Although the questionnaire has been reviewed by experts from several Southeast Asia member states and is expected to be used especially by the ASEAN, it contains no country specific part and may be used by any country that needs to know its current capability.

A Novel CAD Tool for Electric Educational Diagrams

Computer-aided design (CAD) is a technological revolution, very powerful and with large applicability to problem solving. It is essential in many different disciplines ranging from architecture to education, medicine, physics, or gaming. In this work, we propose a novel CAD tool, called CADDi, to assist in the design of electric diagrams in the educational context. We are applying the theory of formal languages to create WDLang, an easy-to-use, highly expressive, unequivocal, and correct programming language for designing electric circuits. This programming language is the cornerstone of CADDi, which automatically generates the equivalent ladder diagram (explains the circuit operation) to the programmed circuit, offering additional features that allow analysis of its functionality in an interactive way. It also offers a graphical interface to directly design ladder diagrams, or to modify the automatically generated ones. The existing electrical CAD tools are either very simple, e.g., for creating good-looking diagrams with no functionality, or too complex, for professional systems design. CADDi is extremely useful for learning purposes. It assists users on how to generate ladder diagrams, and on understanding the behavior of electrical circuits. Additionally, it serves as an assessment tool for self-evaluation in the translation from wiring diagrams to ladder ones. In order to make CADDi highly accessible, it was implemented as a web page.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Eportfolio Implementation in Primary Education

The research presented in this article attempts to capture the views of teachers of elementary education about the advantages, disadvantages, difficulties and obstacles in the application of the portal as a rating and self-evaluation tool by the students. The survey, which constitutes the second part of a major research within the context of master thesis, was conducted in the second semester of 2016-2017 school year using anonymous written and electronic questionnaires, filled in by 215 elementary education teachers of all specialties from the first educational area of Athens. Most respondents are cautious about the benefits of using eportfolio, drawing attention to caution, lack of culture as barriers to its implementation, as well as basic problems such as lack of appropriate classroom infrastructure and the absense of eportfolio-related training.

Past its expiry date? The SILL in modern mixed-methods strategy research

Has the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) passed its expiry date? The SILL (Oxford, 1990) was designed as a self-evaluation tool to measure the frequency of language learning strategies used by foreign and second language (L2) learners. With simple mathematics, learners can analyze their strategy preferences overall and in six categories (i.e., memory, cognitive, compensation, metacognitive, affective, and social strategies). Diverging from its original purpose, the SILL became the most popular instrument in LLS research, which brought widespread acclaim but also criticism. This article explains what makes the SILL an extraordinary tool for learners, teachers, and researchers and how it can be adapted to suit specific contexts and the demands of a modern world. An example of how the SILL can be integrated into mixed-methods research demonstrates how the instrument can fulfil additional purposes to those originally intended. Despite its naturally quantitative orientation, the SILL contributed to the acquisition of rich qualitative information, which enabled a holistic view of five individual L2 learners. In addition to new insights about strategic L2 learning, the study attests that the SILL has not expired yet, but perhaps needs a modern touch, for instance, in the form of adaptation or combination with other research methods and the inclusion of strategies for learning language with technology.

Patient Safety Culture Associated With Patient Safety Competencies Among Registered Nurses.

To investigate the relationships between registered nurses' (RNs') perceptions of the culture of patient safety in their workplace and their patient safety competency-attitudes, skills, and knowledge. A cross-sectional study design was used. Data were collected by using a self-reported survey from 343 RNs working in a university hospital in Seoul, South Korea. Patient safety culture was measured using the Korean version of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (Hospital SOPSTM). Patient safety competency was measured using the Patient Safety Competency Self-Evaluation tool. Multiple regression analysis was performed using Stata version 14 to examine the relationships between patient safety culture and RNs' patient safety competency, while adjusting for the RNs nested in their units. Of the 10 specific aspects of patient safety culture, only teamwork within units was significantly related to overall safety competency. In relation to each of the three patient safety competencies, teamwork within and across units and supervisor or manager expectations were significantly related to attitudes, while teamwork within units and learning were significantly related to skills. Only organizational learning was significantly related to knowledge. Although teamwork, leadership, and continuous learning in the nursing unit were major factors influencing RNs' safety competency, the relationships of these factors to patient safety attitudes, skills, and knowledge among RNs were varied. Creating a unit-specific patient safety culture that is tailored to the competencies of the unit's RNs in patient safety practice would be essential to enhance and maintain high levels of patient safety attitudes, skills, and knowledge among the unit's RNs, which would ultimately affect patient safety.

Student Self-evaluation After Nursing Examinations: That's a Wrap.

Examination wrappers are a self-evaluation tool that uses metacognition to help students reflect on test performance. After examinations, rather than focus on points earned, students learn to self-identify study strategies and recognize methods of test preparation. The purpose of the study was to determine if the use of an examination wrapper after each test would encourage students to self-evaluate performance and adjust study strategies. A total of 120 undergraduate nursing students completed self-evaluations after each examination, which were analyzed using content analysis. Three general patterns emerged from student self-evaluation: effective and ineffective study strategies, understanding versus memorization of content, and nurse educator assistance.

Resilience Performance Scorecard: Measuring urban disaster resilience at multiple levels of geography with case study application to Lalitpur, Nepal

Making a city disaster-resilient means understanding the capacity of communities and decision-makers to actively adapt to, cope with, and transform in view of potential threats. Urban resilience needs to be considered a multi-dimensional concept, visible at multiple levels, and highly dynamic. Various indicator frameworks rely on pre-arranged indicator sets and beneficiaries to measure resilience neglecting the need to dynamically adjust indicators to the context of specific places or sub-city levels of geography. The purpose of this paper is to introduce an approach for measuring and monitoring resilience within cities. The Resilience Performance Scorecard (RPS) is a multilevel and multi-scale self-evaluation tool that empowers stakeholders to quantitatively assess resilience parameters based on primary source information. This scorecard approach will lead to a highly contextualized resilience appraisal reflecting the goals and objectives of the local actors and cannot be substituted by a ready-to-go, generic questionnaire. To demonstrate the RPS approach as a tool to guide and enable local policy makers and communities to establish priorities for more in-depth analysis, to allocate funds, and to develop emergency and disaster management programs more effectively, we implemented the RPS with city officials and community stakeholders of Lalitpur before and after the 2015 Nepal Earthquakes.

SETTING UP BLENDED LEARNING AT SCHOOL: LEADERSHIP PERSPECTIVE

Effective, meaningful and balanced use of information communication technologies (ICT) for teaching and learning is essential for meeting challenges of 21st century; however, practices of blended learning (a combination of face-to-face and online instruction) in Latvia are rather developed by particular teachers than organized as evidence-based policies of ICT integration in teaching and learning at schools. The research is aimed to explore the issues related to setting up blended learning as school policy from leadership perspective, and is designed as the case study by combining: 1) piloting results of the program “Curriculum design for Blended Learning” for leadership teams (5 secondary schools in Latvia); 2) developing the self-evaluation tool for school readiness for blended learning; 3) analysis of the main leadership challenges for setting up blended learning in schools. The study results contribute ongoing processes of introducing blended learning at schools by linking both leadership, management and pedagogical perspectives.

The position of grammar in Finnish, Dutch, and global course books for German as a foreign language

Communicative language teaching and language teaching research suggest forms for desirable and effective grammar teaching. This study investigates to what extent these suggestions are integrated into teaching materials. On the basis of prior studies, we developed a list of both qualitative and quantitative criteria to determine the position of grammar in foreign language course books. This list was then applied to course books for German as a foreign language that are used in Finland and the Netherlands to examine the role grammar plays in these materials. Our results show that many similarities exist between the Dutch, Finnish, and global course books with regard to the location and integration of grammar, and the instructional approach adopted. However, a striking difference was found in the Finnish materials: they provide more grammar exercises and generally a lower progression rate than the Dutch and global materials. We relate this to the typological distance between German and Finnish. In general, even though the analysed teaching materials all follow the rationale behind communicative language teaching, they are traditional in the sense that grammar inhabits a prominent position in the course books. On the other hand, we have observed pedagogical innovations with respect to grammar teaching, such as inductive grammar presentation, a spread of the learning load as well as self-evaluation tools for learners.

A new tool for self-evaluation of adherence to antimuscarinic drugs treatment in patients with urinary incontinence

Abstract objectiveTo evaluate the validity of the Medication Adherence Self-Report Inventory (MASRI) questionnaire in determining antimuscarinic drugs adherence in patients with urinary incontinence (UI). Patients and methodsIn all, 629 patients [355 (56.4%) women and 274 (43.6%) men], aged 18–65 years, were included. All patients were prescribed antimuscarinic drugs and treatment adherence was tested at the start, and after 4, 8 and 12 weeks using the MASRI. The standard of external monitoring was the Brief Medication Questionnaire (BMQ) and visual count of the remaining pills. The functional status of the lower urinary tract was tested using voiding diaries and uroflowmetry. ResultsThe correlation between indicators of adherence according to the MASRI and screen mode of the BMQ was r = 0.84 (P ≤ 0.01), r = 0.72 (P ≤ 0.01), r = 0.7 (P ≤ 0.05) at 4, 8 and 12 weeks of follow-up, respectively, which indicated a satisfactory competitive validity. In the study of the discriminant validity, we found that non-adherent patients were correctly identified according to the MASRI in 96.2%, 96.9% and 96.2% of cases at 4, 8 and 12 weeks of follow-up, respectively. The values of the positive likelihood ratio (7.92, 10.81, and 12.8 at 4, 8 and 12 weeks of follow-up, respectively) were quite acceptable for the adherence forecast. The receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed a failure of the null hypothesis of the excess/insufficient discrimination power of the MASRI. The correlation between the percentage of non-adherent patients and the percentage of patients with impaired lower urinary tract function according to uroflowmetry data was r = 0.55 (P ≤ 0.05) at 4 weeks; r = 0.59 (P ≤ 0.05) at 8 weeks; and r = 0.62 (P ≤ 0.01) at 12 weeks. ConclusionThe MASRI questionnaire is highly constructive, competitive, has discriminant validity, and is suitable for self-assessment of treatment adherence in patients with UI taking antimuscarinics. Using the MASRI is less costly and faster compared with other assessment tools.