Specific Training Objectives Research Articles

The Italian national telemedicine programme.

The Italian national telemedicine programme included a broad range of research projects, but they all served the common purpose of bringing about improvements in health-care management and performance. The programme consisted of seven projects, each of which had specific research and training objectives, and a three-year duration. The systems developed in the course of the programme were not experimental prototypes:they were intended to be pre-commercial systems. The functional and clinical merits of the products and systems developed were evaluated, and their costs and benefits measured with reference to those already in use. The seven projects were completed in 1999. The Italian Ministry of Universities, Research and Technology granted research funds totalling 50,000,000 Euros for the whole programme. While the results of the research were promising, successful projects alone are not sufficient to reduce costs in health-care. Indeed, far more money can be saved simply by encouraging the uptake on a larger scale of many technologies and practices that already exist.

A proposed model for examining the interference phenomenon between concurrent aerobic and strength training.

A review of the current research on the interference phenomenon between concurrent aerobic and strength training indicates modest support for the model proposed in this article. However, it is clear that without a systematic approach to the investigation of the phenomenon there is lack of control and manipulation of the independent variables, which makes it difficult to test the validity of the model. To enhance the understanding of the interference phenomenon, it is important that researchers are precise and deliberate in their choice of training protocols. Clear definition of the specific training objectives for strength (muscle hypertrophy or neural adaptation) and aerobic power (maximal aerobic power or anaerobic threshold) are required. In addition, researchers should equate training volumes as much as possible for all groups. Care needs to be exercised to avoid overtraining individuals. There should be adequate recovery and regeneration between the concurrent training sessions as well as during the training cycle. The model should be initially tested by maintaining the same protocols throughout the duration of the study. However, it is becoming common practice to use a periodised approach in a training mesocycle in which there is a shift from high volume and moderate intensity training to tower volume and higher intensity. The model should be evaluated in the context of a periodised mesocycle provided the investigators are sensitive to the potential impact of the loading parameters on the interference phenomenon. It may be that the periodised approach is one way of maintaining the training stimulus and minimising the amount of interference. The effects of gender, training status, duration and frequency of training, and the mode of training need to be regarded as potential factors effecting the training response when investigating the interference phenomenon. Other experimental design factors such as unilateral limb training or training the upper body for one attribute and the lower body for another attribute, may help establish the validity of the model.

Personal growth and personal development: Concepts clarified

A distinction can be drawn between personal development and personal growth. Despite their similarities, linguistic analysis shows the two concepts to convey different ideas. Personal development is a process concerned with specific aspects of the individual: the development of ‘what’, and the ways this can be planned, achieved and evaluated. Personal growth, on the other hand, is a more generic process having to do with the totality of the individual; it is always judged in terms of values. This difference is vital in counsellor training, where the emphasis should necessarily be on those aspects of personal development that are relevant to specific training objectives and client needs, rather than on personal growth per se.

Personal growth and personal development: concepts clarified

Abstract A distinction can be drawn between personal development and personal growth. Despite their similarities, linguistic analysis shows the two concepts to convey different ideas. Personal development is a process concerned with specific aspects of the individual: the development of ‘what’, and the ways this can be planned, achieved and evaluated. Personal growth, on the other hand, is a more generic process having to do with the totality of the individual; it is always judged in terms of values. This difference is vital in counsellor training, where the emphasis should necessarily be on those aspects of personal development that are relevant to specific training objectives and client needs, rather than on personal growth per se.

Shortcomings of sales training programs

An investigation was conducted that examined the extent to which sales training objectives are used in conducting sales training programs. Findings suggest that specific training objectives are utilized by a proportion of companies to plan and manage sales training activities. However, the systematic setting of training objectives is not practiced by many firms. These firms allow one individual or functional area to set goals, fail to seek input from experienced sales people, set general objectives, and possess differing perceptions regarding what should be taught. Implications of these findings are discussed.

A specification methodology for intelligent training systems

This paper describes the basis of a specification methodology for building Intelligent Training Systems in Industrial Environments (ESPRIT project 2615, ITSIE). The specification methodology determines the mapping of specific training requirements onto tools and techniques for implementation based upon an analysis of the training requirements and of the nature of the domain knowledge. A task analysis is carried out on the training requirements to determine a number of specific training objectives. These objectives are described in terms of the required level of behaviour and knowledge necessary to achieve the objective. This description leads to the determination of a primitive mode of instruction, which promotes: rote, inductive or deductive learning. This decomposition is used to identify relevant tools and techniques for domain knowledge representations and for didactics and diagnosis within the tutor of the training system.

Direct Contract Public Health Training between an Asian Government and a U.S. University: 1984–1988

A one-semester, non-degree public health training program for staff of various levels of health agencies in Taiwan conducted at the School of Public Health, University of Massachusetts, Amherst during 1984-88 is described. The project's evolvement, organization, specific training objectives and methodology, operation, cost, and evaluation are reviewed. Attention is paid to training feasibility and the advantages of avoiding third-party sponsoring agencies in international projects.

Design of a resident in-field experience for an emergency medicine residency curriculum

The importance of a resident training in emergency medical services (EMS) is emphasized by the recent development of formal curricula that attempt to prepare the graduating emergency physician for a leadership role in the EMS community. Despite the delineation of specific goals and objectives of such training, actual field exposure and experience in prehospital care have remained voluntary and often sporadic. We designed a resident experience for on-scene attendance at selected incidents and surveyed our residents for their opinion of the curriculum. We also examined field records to determine the nature of field calls and the numbers and types of procedures carried out by second- and third-year residents. During the six-month review period, 158 cardiac arrests were attended, 58 difficult intubations were carried out, 49 central or peripheral lines were started, and 24 severely injured patients were treated on-scene or en route to the hospital. The average response time by the resident to the scene was nine minutes, and the average on-scene time was 20 minutes. Residents completing the survey indicated support for the program and agreed that it has enriched their learning experience. Combined with an air (helicopter and fixed-wing) and ground critical care transport service, the EMS in-field experience has provided opportunities for residents to make rapid decisions, to appreciate the field team's perspective, to report concisely and clearly to colleagues, and to practice required advanced skills. We believe that a formal, planned, and balanced in-field curriculum can afford an opportunity for unique educational experiences that will enrich the graduate program in emergency medicine.

Psychosomatic education: Who teaches what and where at the University of British Columbia

For this enquiry psychosomatic education was defined as education in areas that encompass a psychological as well as biological view of illness. The scope of this activity, undergraduate and postgraduate, was assessed by a review of curriculum content, and by a questionnaire of the clinical faculty that examined their attitudes to psychiatry in Medicine, what they actually taught, and whom they relied on for help. Obstacles to psychosomatic education stemmed from a negative view of Psychiatry as well as the omission of instruction by prestigious role models. The facilitation of psychosomatic education required a greater accessibility of psychiatrists to medical peers, and an expanded role for consultation liaison services into medical student teaching. New programs in holistic and behavioural medicine represented an emerging thrust particularly at the postgraduate level. Psychosomatic education should focus on specific training objectives acceptable to medical colleagues, educators and health planners.

Video aid to rehabilitation of standing balance.

A system is described which utilises video games to encourage rehabilitation of standing balance following traumatic disruption of this ability. By transference of body weight both between the feet and in the fore-and-aft direction, a patient can correspondingly move a cross on a video screen. Specific targets for the cross can be selected by a physiotherapist, these chosen to exercise facets of balance. The video games thus generated provide biofeedback information and raise the motivational level for the patient, enable very specific training objectives to be defined, and provide a monitor of progress for the therapist.

Teaching Family Therapy: A Program Based on Training Objectives

This paper presents a set of specific training objectives which constitute a base for a one‐year clinical training program at the Institute for Juvenile Research in Chicago. The training objectives include three categories of skills: observational, conceptual, and therapeutic. The training objectives and the program in which they are implemented are described.

Development and Application of a Task Taxonomy for Tactical Flying

The data base for this taxonomy was obtained from the task analysis of sixteen basic fighter maneuvers. The next step was the development of nine classification rules designed to process these analyses into usable data for the taxonomic system. The taxonomic system allowed the task and skill information within the structure to be sorted, organized, and compared in a variety of combinations which can be useful to the training specialist. The taxonomic system thus permitted a number of applications. Basic skill comparisons were made across tasks and permitted the identification of skill criticality for specific training objectives. The frequency, complexity, and sequencing of specific skills required for various selected maneuvers were also compared and common elements identified. The system was also used to analyze the skills within a given group of tasks in order to design a single standard task which would contain a high percentage of skills identical to those of a given task group.

The Relationship between Flight Simulator Motion and Training Requirements

Flight simulator motion has been demonstrated to affect performance in the simulator, but recent transfer of training studies have failed to demonstrate an effect upon in-flight performance. However, these transfer studies examined the effects of motion in experimental designs that did not permit a dependency relationship to be established between the characteristics of the motion simulated and the training objectives or the performance measured. Another investigator has suggested that motion cues which occur in flight can be dichotomized as maneuver and disturbance cues, i.e., as resulting from pilot control action or from external forces. This paper examines each type cue and relates it analytically to training requirements. The need to establish such relationships in simulator design is emphasized. Future transfer studies should examine specific training objectives that can be expected to be effected by motion.

Decision-Making Performance Measurement for a Command and Control Training System

A technique has been developed to'provide measurement of tactical decision-making performance. A comprehensibe mathematical model of the system provides an estimate of the system's effectiveness with regard to accomplishing specific interim and ultimate training and tactical objectives. The effectiveness estimate is based on particular system and situation parameters. The relationship between the operator/trainee's behavior and changes in the system parameters enables the system effectiveness values to provide a relative measure of human performance.

Evaluating Programs for Preparing Teachers of Emotionally Disturbed Children

The premises from general education that have important implications for direct evaluation of professional trainees, teachers, and training programs in special education are presented in this article. They include the following: (a) the focus of professional training programs should be on the teaching process; (b) specific training objectives and evaluation procedures are 2 requisites for any training program; (c) direct evaluation of the teaching process is feasible; and (d) specific statements of criteria are prerequisites to research in teacher education.