Consciousness-raising tasks versus deductive approach : two form-focused instruction types in teaching grammar to Iranian high school EFL learners

Consciousness-raising (CR) task is a new way of teaching grammar developed in communicative contexts although little has been written on the effectiveness of CR tasks in EFL setting. The present study is an attempt to investigate the impact of CR tasks in Iranian EFL setting by comparing them with deductive, grammar lessons common in the Iranian schools. The subjects of this study were 80 EFL pre-university male students who were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control one. The control group received three ordinary teacher-fronted, deductive lessons, a common way of teaching methodology in Iran, on three grammatical structures (adverb placement, indirect object placement and the use of relative clause). The experimental group, however, was treated with three ‘consciousness-raising’ (CR) tasks dealing with the same target structures. The results showed that in the short-run, CR tasks were as effective as deductive approach in promoting the learners’ grammatical knowledge while in the long-run, the CR group maintained their gains more effectively than the deductive group. The conclusion is that CR tasks can function more effectively than deductive approach if the following conditions are met: (a) performing the consciousness-raising tasks in learners’ L1; (b) providing the learners with feedback whenever they encounter a problem in solving the tasks; (c) grouping the learners in such a way that at least one learner in each group would be more proficient than the other members to help the less proficient ones understand and discover the rules more effectively.

Hydrologic landscape regionalisation using deductive classification and random forests

Landscape classification and hydrological regionalisation studies are being increasingly used in ecohydrology to aid in the management and research of aquatic resources. We present a methodology for classifying hydrologic landscapes based on spatial environmental variables by employing non-parametric statistics and hybrid image classification. Our approach differed from previous classifications which have required the use of an a priori spatial unit (e.g. a catchment) which necessarily results in the loss of variability that is known to exist within those units. The use of a simple statistical approach to identify an appropriate number of classes eliminated the need for large amounts of post-hoc testing with different number of groups, or the selection and justification of an arbitrary number. Using statistical clustering, we identified 23 distinct groups within our training dataset. The use of a hybrid classification employing random forests extended this statistical clustering to an area of approximately 228,000 km2 of south-eastern Australia without the need to rely on catchments, landscape units or stream sections. This extension resulted in a highly accurate regionalisation at both 30-m and 2.5-km resolution, and a less-accurate 10-km classification that would be more appropriate for use at a continental scale. A smaller case study, of an area covering 27,000 km2, demonstrated that the method preserved the intra- and inter-catchment variability that is known to exist in local hydrology, based on previous research. Preliminary analysis linking the regionalisation to streamflow indices is promising suggesting that the method could be used to predict streamflow behaviour in ungauged catchments. Our work therefore simplifies current classification frameworks that are becoming more popular in ecohydrology, while better retaining small-scale variability in hydrology, thus enabling future attempts to explain and visualise broad-scale hydrologic trends at the scale of catchments and continents.

Overcoming principles: dialogue in business ethics

Basing itself upon a virtue-ethics approach, this paper questions the value of syllogistic or deductive approaches to teaching business ethics and to the modelling of the kinds of judgments that executives are asked to make in situations of moral complexity. It urges that the teaching of ethical theories, of ethical principles, and of logical methods of moral thinking, and the use of hypothetical or historical scenarios, be augmented by the method of `Real Case Dialogue' which more nearly models the eal and intense existential realities of ethical decision making. A brief description of such a dialogue is offered so aslo provide an example.

Reconsidering the benefits of equitable classification

A deductive system that enables us to derive many legal rules from a few principles makes the law more, rather than less certain, since this approach parallels the actual process by which judicial decisions are reached. Uncertainty as to the meaning of equity in the law is inevitably . .. due to the absence of legal guidance for the standard of moral values to be observed in transactions . .. 1

The relevance of role models to older aged generation Y consumers

This study assesses the relevance of role models, specifically sports role models, and the related concepts of anti-heroes and gender to Generation Y consumers in the older age group of 18-29 year olds. A qualitative study, following a post-positivist inquiry paradigm was conducted. The specific research strategy used was grounded theory, utilising deductive thought processes coupled with the process of constant comparison. A series of semi-structured in-depth interviews were carried out. Results suggest that direct relevance to the subject under investigation is a key determinant of role model choice. Gender is also found to have significant effect, as is media, both in the creation of role models and anti-heroes.

Decision-making models used by `graduate nurses` managing patients` medications

Background. Nurses in a graduate programme in Australia are those who are in the first year of clinical practice following completion of a 3-year undergraduate nursing degree. When working in an acute care setting, they need to make complex and ever-changing decisions about patients' medications in a clinical environment affected by multifaceted, contextual issues. It is important that comprehensive information about graduate nurses' decision-making processes and the contextual influences affecting these processes are obtained in order to prepare them to meet patients' needs.
Aim. The purpose of this paper is to report a study that sought to answer the following questions: What are the barriers that impede graduate nurses' clinical judgement in their medication management activities? How do contextual issues impact on graduate nurses' medication management activities? The decision-making models considered were: hypothetico-deductive reasoning, pattern recognition and intuition.
Methods. Twelve graduate nurses who were involved in direct patient care in medical and surgical wards of a metropolitan teaching hospital located in Melbourne, Australia participated in the study. Participant observations were conducted with the graduate nurses during a 2-hour period during the times when medications were being administered to patients. Graduate nurses were also interviewed to elicit further information about how they made decisions about patients' medications.
Results. The most common model used was hypothetico-deductive reasoning, followed by pattern recognition and then intuition. The study showed that graduate nurses had a good understanding of how physical assessment affected whether medications should be administered or not. When negotiating treatment options, graduate nurses readily consulted with more experienced nursing colleagues and doctors.
Study limitations. It is possible that graduate nurses demonstrated a raised awareness of managing patients' medications as a consequence of being observed.
Conclusions. The complexity of the clinical practice setting means that graduate nurses need to adapt rapidly to make sound and appropriate decisions about patient care.

Exploring low-income women's welfare stigma through rich point analysis

The project described in this presentation was the final component of my PhD thesis which explored how Centrelink policies mediated social citizenship for low-income women. I first analysed the Centrelink Information Handbook, and then collected ethnographic data through observations and interviews. The first two of my research questions were quite deductive in nature, as I applied Levitas' (1998) conceptual framework of social exclusion to the Centrelink Information Handbook and low-income women's experiences. This third research question, to explore how low-income women's social citizenship was socially and politically mediated, however, required a more unstructured approach.

Reliability assessments in qualitative health promotion research

This article contributes to the debate about the use of reliability assessments in qualitative research in general, and health promotion research in particular. In this article, I examine the use of reliability assessments in qualitative health promotion research in response to health promotion researchers’ commonly held misconception that reliability assessments improve the rigor of qualitative research. All qualitative articles published in the journal Health Promotion International from 2003 to 2009 employing reliability assessments were examined. In total, 31.3% (20/64) articles employed some form of reliability assessment. The use of reliability assessments increased over the study period, ranging from ,20% in 2003/2004 to 50% and above in 2008/2009, while at the same time the total number of qualitative articles decreased. The articles were then classified into four types of reliability assessments, including the verification of thematic codes, the use of inter-rater reliability statistics, congruence in team coding and congruence in coding across sites. The merits of each type were discussed, with the subsequent discussion focusing on the deductive nature of reliable thematic coding, the limited depth of immediately verifiable data and the usefulness of such studies to health promotion and the advancement of the qualitative paradigm.

Using formative research to develop CHANGE! : a curriculum-based physical activity promoting intervention

Background : Low childhood physical activity levels are currently one of the most pressing public health concerns. Numerous school-based physical activity interventions have been conducted with varied success. Identifying effective child-based physical activity interventions are warranted. The purpose of this formative study was to elicit subjective views of children, their parents, and teachers about physical activity to inform the design of the CHANGE! (Children's Health, Activity, and Nutrition: Get Educated!) intervention programme.

Methods : Semi-structured mixed-gender interviews (group and individual) were conducted in 11 primary schools, stratified by socioeconomic status, with 60 children aged 9-10 years (24 boys, 36 girls), 33 parents (4 male, 29 female) and 10 teachers (4 male, 6 female). Questions for interviews were structured around the PRECEDE stage of the PRECEDE-PROCEDE model and addressed knowledge, attitudes and beliefs towards physical activity, as well as views on barriers to participation. All data were transcribed verbatim. Pen profiles were constructed from the transcripts in a deductive manner using the Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model framework. The profiles represented analysis outcomes via a diagram of key emergent themes.

Results : Analyses revealed an understanding of the relationship between physical activity and health, although some children had limited understanding of what constitutes physical activity. Views elicited by children and parents were generally consistent. Fun, enjoyment and social support were important predictors of physical activity participation, though several barriers such as lack of parental support were identified across all group interviews. The perception of family invested time was positively linked to physical activity engagement.

Conclusions : Families have a powerful and important role in promoting health-enhancing behaviours. Involvement of parents and the whole family is a strategy that could be significant to increase children's physical activity levels. Addressing various perceived barriers to such behaviours therefore, remains imperative.

Self-service technology complaint channel choice : exploring consumers' motives

Purpose – This study aims to explore consumers' motives for their choice of complaint channel in the context of self-service technology (SST) failure. Traditional and evolving communication channels are considered.

Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative self-report data from consumers who had recently experienced dissatisfaction with SSTs were collected via an open-ended survey question. Three independent coders used a deductive and inductive iterative process to code the data.

Findings – The findings suggest that both consumer complaint behaviour (CCB) theory and media richness theory (MRT) help to explain consumers' motivation for channel choice. However, consumers' choice appears to be motivated to a greater degree by convenience rather than task-medium fit.

Research limitations/implications – This study was set solely in the SST context and explored consumers' hypothetical complaint channel choice, not actual channel use. Future research could examine the actual performance of complaint channels as perceived by consumers. Consumers' motivation to choose other emerging electronic complaint channels, such as complaint blogs and forums, could also be explored.

Practical implications – Understanding consumers' complaint channel choice is important for organisations to enable them to provide effective and efficient ways for consumers to complain. As complaint channels proliferate, it is difficult for organisations to know which channels to offer.

Originality/value – Choosing an appropriate channel for resolving a complaint is an important consumer decision, which the study of CCB needs to be broadened to include. The current study addresses this gap by, for the first time, integrating CCB theory and MRT. This is valuable because it is common for consumers not to voice their complaints to organisations. To facilitate voiced complaints, organisations need to determine which complaint channels will be most effective and efficient and in which situations.

The first stage of developing the adolescent friendship social capital scale

 The purpose of the study was to generate the candidate items for the Adolescent Friendship Social Capital Scale. Both inductive and deductive approaches were used to generate the scale items. Halpern's conceptual map of social capital served as the theoretical basis of this scale, and guided the development of items. Semi-structured interviews with adolescents in Sydney, Melbourne and Beijing generated the initial pool of scale items. Twenty-six items were generated for the Adolescent Friendship Social Capital Scale. The items are organised in four theoretical constructs: Bonding Networks, Bridging Norms, Bridging Sanctions, and Linking Networks. Each item is a short statement followed by a five-point Likert scale anchored by 1= "Strongly disagree" and 5= "Strongly agree". The scale has several advantages over previous measures of adolescent friendship networks and friendship social capital. The scale has a strong and clear theoretical structure, the scale items demonstrate initial construct and content validity, and the format of the scale enables the collection of continuous data. However, in order to ensure the validity and reliability of the scale, another two stages of research need to be conducted in the future: scale development and scale evaluation.

The content validity of the behaviour support plan quality evaluation tool (BSP-QEII) and its potential application in accommodation and day-support services for adults with intellectual disability

Background The quality of support provided to people with disability who show challenging behaviour could be influenced by the quality of the behaviour support plans (BSPs) on which staff rely for direction. This study investigated the content validity of the Behaviour Support Plan Quality Evaluation tool (BSP-QEII), originally developed to guide the development of BSPs for children in school settings, and evaluated its application for use in accommodation and day-support services for adults with intellectual disability.

Method A three-round Delphi study involving a purposive sample of experienced behaviour support practitioners (n = 30) was conducted over an 8-week period. The analyses included deductive content analysis and descriptive statistics.

Results The 12 quality domains of the BSP-QEII were affirmed as valid for application in adult accommodation and day-support service settings. Two additional quality domains were suggested, relating to the provision of detailed background on the client and the need for plans to reflect contemporary service philosophy. Furthermore, the results suggest that some issues previously identified in the literature as being important for inclusion in BSPs might not currently be a priority for practitioners. These included: the importance of specifying replacement or alternative behaviours to be taught, descriptions of teaching strategies to be used, reinforcers, and the specification of objective goals against which to evaluate the success of the intervention programme.

Conclusions The BSP-QEII provides a potentially useful framework to guide and evaluate the development of BSPs in services for adults with intellectual disability. Further research is warranted to investigate why practitioners are potentially giving greater attention to some areas of intervention practice than others, even where research has demonstrated these others areas of practice could be important to achieving quality outcomes.

Robotic object grasping in context of human grasping and manipulation

This paper presents experimental and deductive findings that shed new light on grasp force estimation, which improves robot’s chances to grasp and manipulate the object close to optimum conditions on the first attempt, which in turn improves robot’s object manipulation dexterity.
This paper proposes that object slippage detection in the human hand is not detected based purely on microvibrations sensed by the human skin during incipient slippage but also on load sensing at each finger and movement of fingers relative to each other while holding an object.

Family strategies to support and develop resilience in early childhood

Early childhood is an important time for the development of resilience. A recently completed study has followed three cohorts of resilient children and young people living in disadvantaged areas in Victoria, Australia, through different transitions in their educational careers. This paper focuses on the early childhood cohort, where we have followed children from kindergarten/preschool into primary school. Using data gathered primarily through interviews with parents (mothers in each case), this paper presents a qualitative naturalistic sub-study that used deductive thematic analysis to explore the different strategies used by families to support their child's resilience. Our findings highlight that resilience was a salient concept for all of the mothers in the study and each mother articulated a range of strategies they used within the family to try and support their child's development and resilience. These strategies were constrained by the settings in which the families lived. © 2014 © 2014 TACTYC.

Interprofessional interactions influence nurses' adoption of handover improvement

Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore clinician experiences of adopting quality improvement tools to standardise interprofessional (anaesthetist-to-nurse) handover communication when patients arrive in the post-anaesthetic care unit (PACU). Method: In this study, factors that impacted PACU nurses' adoption of the quality improvement tools were explored using pre- and postimplementation, semi-structured focus group interviews. Interview data was analysed using the PARiHS¹ (context, evidence and facilitation) framework as a deductive analysis tool. Results: PACU nurses recognised that PACU handover from anaesthetists to PACU nurses was suboptimal and described the tools as useful for their practice. However, PACU nurses frequently cited fear of anaesthetists' reactions as reasons not to insist on the use of the handover improvement tools. PACU nurses at Hospital 2 identified lacking "authority" (Hospital 2 FG 2) in the OR as hindering their willingness to use the tools against these behaviours. In comparison, visible support from leadership at Hospital 1 was described as encouraging nurses to be "assertive" (Hospital 1 FG 2) and take charge of their patients' care. Conclusion: PACU nurses perceived the handover tools were useful and helped them identify gaps in handover practice; however, PACU nurses described difficult relationships as hindering communication effectiveness and discouraging their adoption of the tools. However, strong leadership and organisational support of change emerged as essential to mitigate the effects of these difficult relationships.