Using AHP and the IPMA Competence Baseline in the project managers selection process

This paper proposes the joint use of the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) and the ICB (IPMA Competence Baseline), as a tool for the decision-making process of selecting the most suitable managers for projects. A hierarchical structure, comprising the IPMA���s ICB 3.0 contextual, behavioural and technical competence elements, is constructed for the selection of project managers. It also describes the AHP implementation, illustrating the whole process with an example using all the 46 ICB competence elements as model criteria. This tool can be of high interest to decision-makers because it allows comparing the candidates for managing a project using a systematic and rigorous process with a rich set of proven criteria.

Medication competence of nursing students in Finland

L����kehoidon turvallinen toteuttaminen edellytt���� sairaanhoitajalta hyv���� l����kehoidon osaamisperustaa. Sairaanhoitajakoulutuksen teht��v��n�� on mahdollistaa t��m��n osaamisen kehittyminen. Kansainv��lisiss�� tutkimuksissa on kuitenkin osoitettu, ett�� l����kehoidon opetuksen laajuudessa, sis��ll��ss�� ja toteutuksessa on vaihtelevuutta. Aikaisemmissa tutkimuksissa on raportoitu my��s puutteita l����kehoidon osaamisessa sek�� sairaanhoitajilla ett�� sairaanhoitajaopiskelijoilla. Koulutuksen ja l����kehoidon osaamisen kehitt��miseksi l����kehoidon opetuksen ja sairaanhoitajaopiskelijoiden l����kehoidon osaamisen monipuolinen arviointi ja osaamista selitt��vien tekij��iden tarkastelu on tarpeen. T��m��n tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli i) arvioida l����kehoidon opetusta suomalaisessa sairaanhoitajakoulutuksessa, ii) arvioida sairaanhoitajaopiskelijoiden l����kehoidon osaamista sek�� iii) tunnistaa sairaanhoitajaopiskelijan l����kehoidon osaamiseen yhteydess�� olevat tekij��t. Tutkimus toteutettiin kolmessa vaiheessa. Ensimm��isess�� vaiheessa kahden integroidun kirjallisuuskatsauksen kautta m����riteltiin tutkimuksen kohteena oleva sairaanhoitajan l����kehoidon osaaminen ja aiemmin tunnistetut sairaanhoitajaopiskelijan l����kehoidon osaamiseen yhteydess�� olevat tekij��t. Toisessa vaiheessa toteutettiin valtakunnallinen l����kehoidon opetukseen liittyv�� kysely hoitoty��n koulutusohjelmasta vastaaville koulutusp����llik��ille (n=22) ja opettajille (n=136). Tutkimuksen kolmannessa vaiheessa opintojensa alku��� (n=328) ja loppuvaiheessa olevien sairaanhoitajaopiskelijoiden (n=338) l����kehoidon osaaminen arvioitiin ja osaamiseen yhteydess�� olevat tekij��t tunnistettiin. Aineistojen analyysiss�� k��ytettiin p����osin tilastollisia menetelmi��. Tulosten perusteella l����kehoidon opetuksen laajuus vaihteli eri ammattikorkeakouluissa, mutta opetuksen sis��lt�� oli kuitenkin monipuolista. Lis���� huomiota tulisi kiinnitt���� l����kehoidon teoreettiseen perustaan ja itsehoitoon sek�� l����kehoidon ohjaukseen liittyviin sis��lt��alueisiin. Opiskelijoiden l����kehoidon osaamista arvioitiin s����nn��llisesti kaikissa ammattikorkeakouluissa. Sairaanhoitajaopiskelijan l����kehoidon osaamista arvioitiin tutkimuksessa tietotestill��, l����kelaskentateht��vill�� ja lyhyiden potilastapausten ratkaisemisen avulla. L����kehoidon osaamiseen yhteydess�� olevia tekij��it�� tarkasteltiin kolmesta n��k��kulmasta: 1) yksil��lliset tekij��t, 2) kliiniseen oppimisymp��rist����n ja 3) ammattikorkeakouluun liittyv��t tekij��t. L����kehoidon teoreettista osaamista arvioivassa tietotestiss�� opiskelijat vastasivat keskim����rin 72 prosenttiin kysymyksist�� t��ysin oikein; l����kelaskuista t��ysin oikein oli 74 % ja potilastapauksissa 57 % valitsi parhaan mahdollisen toimintatavan. Tulosten perusteella sairaanhoitajaopiskelijan osaamista selittiv��t eniten yksil��lliset tekij��t. L����kehoidon osaamiseen yhteydess�� olevien tekij��iden v��lill�� oli eroa opintojen alussa ja lopussa. Opintojen alkuvaiheessa opiskelijan aikaisempi opintomenestys oli yhteydess�� l����kehoidon osaamiseen, kun taas opintojen loppuvaiheessa siihen olivat yhteydess�� opiskelijan kyky itseohjautuvaan oppimiseen sek�� opiskelumotivaatio. Johtop����t��ksen�� voidaan todeta tutkimuksen tulosten olevan samansuuntaisia kuin aikaisemmissa tutkimuksissa. L����kehoidon opetuksen laajuus vaihtelee opetussuunnitelmatasolla, mutta t��sm��llinen arviointi on vaikeaa opetuksen sis��lt��jen integroimisen takia. Sairaanhoitajaopiskelijoiden l����kehoidon osaaminen oli hieman parempaa kuin aikaisemmissa tutkimuksissa, mutta osaamisessa on edelleen puutteita. L����kehoidon opetuksen ja osaamisen kehitt��minen edellytt���� kansallista ja kansainv��list�� tutkimus��� ja kehitt��misyhteisty��t��. Tutkimuksen tulokset tukevat l����kehoidon opetuksen sek�� osaamisen tutkimusta ja kehitt��mist��.

Economic competence and financial literacy of young adults. Status and challenges

This book will concentrate on economic competence and financial literacy of young adults in the US, Europe and South America. The subjects of the research are mainly individuals who have begun an apprenticeship or university education. Economic competence and financial literacy are of special interest for this group because they are usually in the unique position of being responsible for managing their own financial affairs autonomously, often for the first time. Furthermore, economic competence is key to social participation and active citizenship. (DIPF/Orig.)

Validity and reliability of a pictorial instrument for assessing perceived motor competence in Portuguese children

It is important to assess young children's perceived Fundamental Movement Skill (FMS) competence in order to examine the role of perceived FMS competence in motivation toward physical activity. Children's perceptions of motor competence may vary according to the culture/country of origin; therefore, it is also important to measure perceptions in different cultural contexts. The purpose was to assess the face validity, internal consistency, test���retest reliability and construct validity of the 12 FMS items in the Pictorial Scale for Perceived Movement Skill Competence for Young Children (PMSC) in a Portuguese sample. Methods Two hundred one Portuguese children (girls, n���=���112), 5 to 10���years of age (7.6��������1.4), participated. All children completed the PMSC once. Ordinal alpha assessed internal consistency. A random subsamples (n���=���47) were reassessed one week later to determine test���retest reliability with Bland���Altman method. Children were asked questions after the second administration to determine face validity. Construct validity was assessed on the whole sample with a Bayesian Structural Equation Modelling (BSEM) approach. The hypothesized theoretical model used the 12 items and two hypothesized factors: object control and locomotor skills. Results The majority of children correctly identified the skills and could understand most of the pictures. Test���retest reliability analysis was good, with an agreement ration between 0.99 and 1.02. Ordinal alpha values ranged from acceptable (object control 0.73, locomotor 0.68) to good (all FMS 0.81). The hypothesized BSEM model had an adequate fit. Conclusions The PMSC can be used to investigate perceptions of children's FMS competence. This instrument can also be satisfactorily used among Portuguese children.

A competence model for environmental education

The goal of environmental education is ultimately to enable a person to strive for and to attain a more ecological way of life. In this article, we begin by distinguishing three forms of environmental knowledge and go on to predict that people's attitude toward nature represents the force that drives their ecological behavioral engagement. Based on data from 1,907 students, we calibrated previously established instruments to measure ecological behavior, environmental knowledge, and attitude toward nature with Rasch-type models. Using path modeling, we corroborated our theoretically anticipated competence structure. While environmental knowledge revealed a modest behavioral effect, attitude toward nature turned out to be, as expected, the stronger determinant of behavior. Overall, we propose a competence model that has the potential to guide us into more evidence-based ways of promoting the overall ecological engagement of individuals. (DIPF/Orig.)

Quality of implementation in an evidence-based family prevention program: the Family Competence Program

Family prevention programs need to be evidence-based in order to guarantee the success of their implementation. The Family Competence Program (FCP), a Spanish cultural adaptation of the Strengthening Families Program (SFP), has developed different measures and processes to gauge the quality of the implementation. This article is dedicated specifically to two of these measures: the evaluation of the facilitators and the assessment of the family engagement techniques. For evaluating the facilitators, a Delphi technique with experts and professionals is undertaken. For assessing the family techniques, both self-evaluation of trainers and evaluation by families are used. Finding underpin that, in the case of facilitators, is important that, after to skills and experience, they need to understand the theory of change of the program. In the case of family engagement techniques, more detailed, comprehensive talks, discussions and group activities lead to better family engagement outcomes.

El lenguaje vectorial en geometr��a. Los pioneros William Rowan Hamilton y Hermann G��nther Grassmann

El c��lculo vectorial apareci�� en el siglo XIX. Hay operaciones entre vectores tales como el producto escalar que se puede ampliar sin dificultad de espacios de dimensi��n dos a espacios de dimensi��n tres y superior. Sin embargo, la ampliaci��n del producto vectorial de vectores de dimensi��n dos a vectores tridimensionales tuvo serias dificultades. El conocimiento de los pasos l��gicos que tuvieron que dar Hamilton y Grassmann para sentar las bases del calculo vectorial en de gran importancia pedag��gica para profundizar en el concepto de operaci��n.

An��lisis vectorial y tensorial. Una aplicaci��n a las ondas planas en sismolog��a

El an��lisis tensorial tiene aplicaciones en el campo de la geometr��a diferencial de curvas y superficies en un espacio ordinario, as�� como la generalizaci��n a espacios de mayor dimensi��n o regularmente llamada geometr��a Rimaniana; otra aplicaci��n es en la f��sica matem��tica, en la cual, el an��lisis tensorial permite la formulaci��n de las leyes naturales en t��rminos de tensores los cuales son independientes de cualquier sistema coordenado en particular. Como los vectores son uno de los muchos tipos de tensores que hay, se dan conceptos b��sicos del an��lisis vectorial tales como: coordenadas cartesianas rectangulares, producto escalar y vectorial, diferenciaci��n con respecto a una variable escalar y diferenciaci��n parcial haciendo un desarrollo suciente del operador nabla. Se dan los principios fundamentales de los tensores los cuales son conceptos matem��ticos o f��sicos que tienen ciertas leyes espec��cas que est��n relacionados con los cambios en el sistema coordenado y se llega hasta la ecuaci��n de movimiento escrita en forma tensorial.

Effects of two teaching interventions on nursing students��� acquisition of competence in ECG interpretation

Purpose: Nurse ability to recognise patient arrhythmias could contribute to preventing in-hospital cardiac arrest. Research suggests that nurses and nursing students lack competence in electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of two training strategies on nursing students��� acquisition of competence in ECG interpretation. Materials and methods: A controlled randomised trial with 98 nursing students. Divided in groups of 12���16, participants were randomly allocated to one of the following 3-h teaching intervention groups: 1) traditional instructor-led (TILG), and 2) flipped classroom (FCG). Participants��� competence in ECG interpretation was measured in terms of knowledge (%), skills (%) and self-efficacy (%) using a specifically designed and previously validated toolkit at pre-test and post-test. Two-way MANOVA explored the interaction effect between ���teaching group��� and ���time of assessment��� and its impact on participants��� competence. Within-group differences at pre-test and post-test were explored by carrying out paired t-tests. Between-group differences at pre- and post-test were examined by performing independent t-test analysis. Results: There was a statistically significant interaction effect between ���teaching group��� and ���time of assessment��� on participants��� competence in ECG interpretation (F(3,190) = 86.541, p = 0.001; Wilks��� �� = 0.423). At pre-test, differences in knowledge (TILG = 35.12 �� 12.07; FCG = 35.66 �� 10.66), skills (TILG = 14.05 �� 10.37; FCG = 14.82 �� 14.14), self-efficacy (TILG = 46.22 �� 23.78; FCG = 40.01 �� 21.77) and all other variables were non-significant (p > 0.05). At post-test, knowledge (TILG = 55.12 �� 14.16; FCG = 94.2 �� 7.31), skills (TILG = 36.90 �� 16.45; FCG = 86.43 �� 14.32) and self-efficacy (TILG = 70.78 �� 14.55; FCG = 79.98 �� 10.35) had significantly improved, regardless of the training received (p < 0.05). Nonetheless, participants in the FCG scored significantly higher than participants in the TILG in knowledge, skills and self-efficacy (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Flipping the classroom for teaching ECG interpretation to nursing students may be more effective than using a traditional instructor-led approach in terms of immediate acquisition of competence in terms of knowledge, skills and self-efficacy. Further research on the effects of both teaching strategies on the retention of the competence will be undertaken.

Neustonic distribution of decapod planktonic stages and competence of brachyuran megalopae in coastal waters

Settlement rate may not reflect larval supply to coastal waters in different marine invertebrates and demersal fishes. The importance of near-shore oceanography and behaviour of late larval stages may be underestimated. The present study conducted neustonic sampling over station grids and along full-length transects at two embayments in south-eastern Brazil to (1) compare diurnal and nocturnal occurrence of most frequent decapod stages to assess their vertical movements, (2) describe the formation of larval patches and (3) measure competence of crab megalopae according to their distance to recruitment grounds. Several shrimp species apparently undergo a diel vertical migration, swimming crab megalopae showed no vertical movements and megalopae of the intertidal crab Pachygrapsus transversus revealed a reversed vertical migration. During the day, crab megalopae aggregated in convergence zones just below surface slicks. These larvae consisted of advanced, pre-moult stages, at both mid-bay and near-shore patches. Competence, measured as the time to metamorphosis in captivity, was similar between larval patches within each taxon. Yet, subtidal portunids moulted faster to juveniles than intertidal grapsids, possibly because they were closer to settlement grounds. Megalopae of Pachygrapsus from benthic collectors moulted faster than those from bay areas. These results suggest that alternative vertical migration patterns of late megalopae favour onshore transport, and actual competence takes place very close to suitable substrates, where larvae may remain for days before settlement. Lack of correlation between larval supply and settlement for Pachygrapsus suggests that biological processes, besides onshore transport, may play an important role in determining settlement success of coastal crabs.

STORYTELLING, EMOTION UNDERSTANDING, AND KINDERGARTNERS��� SOCIAL COMPETENCE

Interpreting others��� emotions is theoretically foundational for children���s social competence, yet little research contrasts Emotion Understanding (EU) types against their theoretical correlates. This study investigated kindergartners��� situationistic EU (attributing emotions based on external events) and mentalistic EU (attributing emotions from others��� mental states) in relation to Theory of Mind (ToM) and social skills, as rated by parents and teachers. The EU measures were expected to have low associations with one another and to relate differently to ToM and select social skills. Mentalistic EU was expected to be an important predictor of teacher-rated social skills. Results supported the hypothesis that mentalistic EU and situationistic EU are distinct constructs. However, both relate to ToM. Furthermore, while ToM and situationistic EU variables were included in the regression model, only vocabulary and mentalistic EU were significant predictors for teacher-rated social skills. Results indicate the importance of mentalistic EU in aspects of kindergartners��� social competence.

Development of motor competence in childhood and adolescence

This dissertation aimed to investigate the development of motor competence in childhood and adolescence. As a starting point, a systematic review was conducted to investigate the instruments used for the evaluation of motor competence. This review identified a gap in the literature regarding the existence of an instrument to assess motor competence based on the three theoretical constructs (stability, locomotor, manipulative). In an attempt to fill this gap, a valid quantitative instrument was proposed. To meet this purpose, 584 children, between 6 and 14 years of age, were evaluated in nine motor tasks, three for each construct. The final instrument comprised two motor tasks for each construct (stability, locomotor, manipulative) and presented very good fit indexes. This instrument was used to analyse the motor competence behaviour by gender in different age groups, indicating that generally boys outperformed girls and both genders increased their performance across age groups. However, different motor competence growth rates appear in both genders across age groups. In addition, children with high and low motor competence were compared regarding some of their health related fitness variables. We found that, regardless of age and gender, the group with better motor proficiency always showed better results in health related fitness. We found positive moderate to high correlations between motor competence and the variables of cardiovascular fitness and muscular fitness, and an inverse correlation with body composition across the four age groups. We also found that motor competence explained 75% of the variance of the health related fitness for the total sample, with locomotion as the primary predictor. However, when analysing the four age groups, stability skills seem to play an important role in health related fitness in the transition from childhood to adolescence. In conclusion, educational and health policies should consider the development of motor competence as an essential strategy to promote healthy development throughout life.

Los modos de pensamiento anal��tico y sint��tico en el estudio del concepto de espacio vectorial

Ante el inter��s creciente por ��lgebra lineal y las dificultades que a��n contin��an presentando los estudiantes en el aprendizaje de los objetos abstractos de esta disciplina, el presente trabajo pretende apoyarse en el marco de la geometr��a sint��tica para introducir los espacios anal��ticos R1, R2 y R3 y poder s��lo despu��s realizar las generalizaciones pertinentes a Rn. Un an��lisis hist��rico permite comprender ciertas dificultades de los estudiantes y a la vez proporciona elementos para construir secuencias de actividades con miras a introducir los conceptos de ��lgebra lineal de tal manera que los estudiantes perciban la necesidad del formalismo, presentando todos los sentidos posibles de los conceptos en sus diferentes modos de representaci��n, en particular conectarlo con sus conocimientos anteriores sobre los sistemas de ecuaciones lineales y la geometr��a. Esta investigaci��n se desarrollar�� con estudiantes de primer a��o universitario, cuando llevan por primera vez ��lgebra lineal y el concepto de espacio vectorial es ense��ado formalmente como una definici��n muy amplia que involucra varios conceptos previos.