Proving My Competency One Test at a Time: Internationally Educated Nurses and the Canadian English Language Benchmark Assessment for Nurses

Abstract Professional language assessment is a new concept that has great potential to benefit Internationally Educated Professionals and the communities they serve. This thesis reports on a qualitative study that examined the responses of 16 Canadian English Language Benchmark Assessment for Nurses (CELBAN) test-takers on the topic of their perceptions of the CELBAN test-taking experience in Ontario in the winter of 2015. An Ontario organization involved in registering participants distributed an e-mail through their listserv. Thematic analyses of focus group and interview transcripts identified 7 themes from the data. These themes were used to inform conclusions to the following questions: (1) How do IENs characterize their assessment experience? (2) How do IENs describe the testing constructs measured by the CELBAN? (3) What, if any, potential sources of construct irrelevant variance (CIV) do the test-takers describe based on their assessment experience? (4) Do IENs feel that the CELBAN tasks provide a good reflection of the types of communicative tasks required of a nurse? Overall, participants reported positive experiences with the CELBAN as an assessment of their language skills, and noted some instances in which they felt some factors external to the assessment impacted their demonstration of their knowledge and skill. Lastly, some test-takers noted the challenge of completing the CELBAN where the types of communicative nursing tasks included in the assessment differed from nursing tasks typical of an IENs country or origin. The findings are discussed in relation to literature on high-stakes large-scale assessment and IEPs, and a set of recommendations are offered to future CELBAN administration. These recommendations include (1) the provision of a webpage listing all licensure requirements (2) monitoring of CELBAN location and dates in relation to the wider certification timeline for applicants (3) The provision of additional CELBAN preparatory materials (4) Minor changes to the CELBAN administrative protocols. Given that the CELBAN is a relatively new assessment format and its widespread use for high-stakes decisions (a component of nursing certification and licensure), research validating IEN-test-taker responses to construct representation and construct irrelevant variance is critical to our understanding of the role of competency testing for IENs.

Continuation of Benchmark Project - Phase IV, 1999 Calendar Year, 2000

This is the final Report to the Iowa DOT Offices of Construction and the Highway Division for the calendar year 1999 research project entitled - Continuation of Benchmarking Project: Phase IV. This project continues efforts started in 1995 with the development of a performance measurement system. The performance measurements were used to identify areas that required improvement and process improvement teams (PITs) were launched to make recommendations for improvement. This report provides a brief historical background, documents Benchmark Steering Team Activities, describes measurement activities including the employee survey and collection of non-survey data. Then a retrospective of past PIT activities is given, which sets the stage for the substantial increase in PIT activity that occurred during the winter of 1998/9. Finally, the report closes with suggestions for future directions in Benchmarking Activity.

Percepciones de los profesores y estudiantes del colegio salud-coop norte en relación con la implementación del proyecto bilingue

Tesis (Licenciado en Lenguas Castellana, Inglés y Francés).--Universidad de La Salle. Facultad de Ciencias de La Educación. Licenciatura en Lengua Castellana, Inglés y Francés, 2014

Evaluation of the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of benchmark multi-walled carbon nanotubes in relation to their physicochemical properties

To contribute with scientific evidence to the grouping strategy for the safety assessment of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), this work describes the investigation of the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of four benchmark MWCNTs in relation to their physicochemical characteristics, using two types of human respiratory cells. The cytotoxic effects were analysed using the clonogenic assay and replication index determination. A 48h-exposure of cells revealed that NM-401 was the only cytotoxic MWCNT in both cell lines, but after 8-days exposure, the clonogenic assay in A549 cells showed cytotoxic effects for all the tested MWCNTs. Correlation analysis suggested an association between the MWCNTs size in cell culture medium and cytotoxicity. No induction of DNA damage was observed after any MWCNTs in any cell line by the comet assay, while the micronucleus assay revealed that both NM-401 and NM-402 were genotoxic in A549 cells. NM-401 and NM-402 are the two longest MWCNTs analyzed in this work, suggesting that length may be determinant for genotoxicity. No induction of micronuclei was observed in Beas-2B cell line and the different effect in both cell lines is explained in view of the size-distribution of MWCNTs in the cell culture medium, rather than cell's specificities.

Tensiones y oportunidades en las multinacionales coopitalistas de Mondragón: el caso de Fagor Electrodomésticos, sdad. coop.

Las cooperativas de Mondragon, de acuerdo con su misión, reflejan el esfuerzo de combinar los objetivos de las organizaciones empresariales que compiten a nivel internacional con la creación de empleo, la utilización de métodos democráticos de gestión y el compromiso con el entorno. La multinacionalización de las cooperativas trae consigo nuevas contradicciones, paradojas y dilemas al mundo de la democracia económica. En este artículo se analiza el caso de la cooperativa-multinacional “Fagor Electrodomésticos S. Coop.” de la Corporación Mondragon. Tras años de expansión internacional mediante la inversión directa extranjera, debido a la crisis ha tenido que acometer procesos radicales de restructuración del empleo, tanto en las plantas de la matriz de Mondragón, como en sus empresas filiales extranjeras: la empresa francesa Fagor-Brandt y la antigua empresa comunista polaca Fagor Mastercook. El análisis de las medidas adoptadas para reducir el empleo en Fagor nos servirá de base para profundizar en el conocimiento de las características organizativas de las multinacionales de Mondragon y para reflexionar sobre las posibilidades de extender el modelo cooperativo a las filiales.

South Carolina/Common Pleas Court Circuits Meeting Benchmark ... as of July 31, 2016

This is a list of the courts in all the circuits of South Carolina and the percentage of cases disposed of in 365 day or less. None of the courts met the 80% benchmark.

South Carolina/family court circuits meeting benchmark : 80% of pending docket 365 days or less as of July 31, 2016

This is a diagram broken down by circuits of the percentage of family courts meeting the benchmark of 80% of disposing of cases within a year. 15 out of the 16 circuits met the standard.

South Carolina/Common Pleas Court Circuits Meeting Benchmark ... as of June 30, 2016

This is a list of the courts in all the circuits of South Carolina and the percentage of cases disposed of in 365 day or less. All but four of the courts met the 80% benchmark.

South Carolina/Family Court Circuits Meeting Benchmark : 80% of Pending Docket 365 Days or Less as of June 30, 2016

This is a diagram broken down by circuits of the percentage of family courts meeting the benchmark of 80% of disposing of cases within a year. Seven out of the 16 circuits met the standard.

South Carolina/general sessions court circuits meeting benchmark : 80% of pending docket 365 days or less as of September 30, 2016

This document provides statistics on criminal and general sessions courts meeting the benchmark of 80% of pending dockets broken down by circuits and counties.

Person tracking using motion detection and optical flow

Person tracking systems to date have either relied on motion detection or optical flow as a basis for person detection and tracking. As yet, systems have not been developed that utilise both these techniques. We propose a person tracking system that uses both, made possible by a novel hybrid optical flow-motion detection technique that we have developed. This provides the system with two methods of person detection, helping to avoid missed detections and the need to predict position, which can lead to errors in tracking and mistakes when handling occlusion situations. Our results show that our system is able to track people accurately, with an average error less than four pixels, and that our system outperforms the current CAVIAR benchmark system.

Key performance indicators for measuring construction success

The construction industry is dynamic in nature. The concept of project success has remained ambiguously defined in the construction industry. Project success is almost the ultimate goal for every project. However, it means different things to different people. While some writers consider time, cost and quality as predominant criteria, others suggest that success is something more complex. The aim of this paper is to develop a framework for measuring success of construction projects. In this paper, a set of key performance indicators (KPIs), measured both objectively and subjectively are developed through a comprehensive literature review. The validity of the proposed KPIs is also tested by three case studies. Then, the limitations of the suggested KPIs are discussed. With the development of KPIs, a benchmark for measuring the performance of a construction project can be set. It also provides significant insights into developing a general and comprehensive base for further research.

Technology strategy : findings from adoption and adaptation of Japanese manufacturing management (JMM) to ASEAN and Australasian automotive manufacturers

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the appropriateness of “Japanese Manufacturing Management” (JMM) strategies in the Asian, ASEAN and Australasian automotive sectors. Secondly, the study assessed JMM as a prompt, effective and efficient global manufacturing management practice for automotive manufacturing companies to learn; benchmark for best practice; acquire product and process innovation, and enhance their capabilities and capacities. In this study, the philosophies, systems and tools that have been adopted in various automotive manufacturing assembly plants and their tier 1 suppliers in the three Regions were examined. A number of top to middle managers in these companies were located in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Viet Nam, and Australia and were interviewed by using a qualitative methodology. The results confirmed that the six pillars of JMM (culture change, quality at shop floor, consensus, incremental continual improvement, benchmarking, and backward-forward integration) are key enablers to success in adopting JMM in both automotive and other manufacturing sectors in the three Regions. The analysis and on-site interviews identified a number of recommendations that were validated by the automotive manufacturing company’s managers as the most functional JMM strategies.

Australian Indigenous students: addressing equity issues in assessment

This article provides the background and context to the important issue of assessment and equity in relation to Indigenous students in Australia. Questions about the validity and fairness of assessment are raised and ways forward are suggested by attending to assessment questions in relation to equity and culture-fair assessment. Patterns of under-achievement by Indigenous students are reflected in national benchmark data and international testing programmes like the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Sstudy and the Program for International Student Assessment. The argument developed views equity, in relation to assessment, as more of a sociocultural issue than a technical matter. It highlights how teachers need to distinguish the "funds of knowledge" that Indigenous students draw on and how teachers need to adopt culturally responsive pedagogy to open up the curriculum and assessment practice to allow for different ways of knowing and being.