Predictors of healthcare professionals' attitudes towards family involvement in safety-relevant behaviours: a cross-sectional factorial survey study.

OBJECTIVES To investigate predictors of healthcare professionals' (HCPs) attitudes towards family involvement in safety-relevant behaviours. DESIGN A cross-sectional fractional factorial survey that assessed HCPs' attitudes towards family involvement in two error scenarios relating to hand hygiene and medication safety. Each survey comprised two randomised vignettes that described the potential error, how the family member communicated with the HCP about the error and how the HCP responded to the family member's question. SETTING 5 teaching hospitals in London, the Midlands and York. HCPs were approached on a range of medical and surgical wards. PARTICIPANTS 160 HCPs (73 doctors; 87 nurses) aged between 21 and 65 years (mean 37) 102 were female. OUTCOME MEASURES HCP approval of family member's behaviour; HCP reaction to the family member; anticipated effects on the family member-HCP relationship; HCP support for being questioned about hand hygiene/medication; affective rating responses. RESULTS HCPs supported family member's intervening (88%) but only 41% agreed this would have positive effects on the family member/HCP relationship. Across vignettes and error scenarios the strongest predictors of attitudes were how the HCP (in the scenario) responded to the family member and whether an error actually occurred. Doctors (vs nurses) provided systematically more positive affective ratings to the vignettes. CONCLUSIONS Important predictors of HCPs' attitudes towards family members' involvement in patient safety have been highlighted. In particular, a discouraging response from HCP's decreased support for family members being involved and had strong perceived negative effects on the family member/HCP relationship.

The impact of the position effect on the factorial structure of the Culture Fair Test (CFT)

The Culture Fair Test (CFT) is a psychometric test of fluid intelligence consisting of four subtests; Series, Classification, Matrices, and Topographies. The four subtests are only moderately intercorrelated, doubting the notion that they assess the same construct (i.e., fluid intelligence). As an explanation of these low correlations, we investigated the position effect. This effect is assumed to reflect implicit learning during testing. By applying fixed-links modeling to analyze the CFT data of 206 participants, we identified position effects as latent variables in the subtests; Classification, Matrices, and Topographies. These position effects were disentangled from a second set of latent variables representing fluid intelligence inherent in the four subtests. After this separation of position effect and basic fluid intelligence, the latent variables representing basic fluid intelligence in the subtests Series, Matrices, and Topographies could be combined to one common latent variable which was highly correlated with fluid intelligence derived from the subtest Classification (r=.72). Correlations between the three latent variables representing the position effects in the Classification, Matrices, and Topographies subtests ranged from r=.38 to r=.59. The results indicate that all four CFT subtests measure the same construct (i.e., fluid intelligence) but that the position effect confounds the factorial structure

Adolescent tobacco use: Studies of prevalence, factorial validity, and factorial invariance between African Americans and Whites

In the last thirty years, increasing efforts have been made to reduce the prevalence of adolescent tobacco use in the United States. Although the prevalence has declined dramatically over the past decade, there are still sharp differences in adolescent smoking-initiation rates across racial/ethnic groups. Large-scale surveys frequently assess smoking-related attitudes, self-efficacy, and intentions to explain the differences in smoking rates between African Americans and Whites. However, there is little agreement about which constructs are significant. Moreover, the psychometric properties of smoking-related attitude, self-efficacy, and intention constructs have not been fully examined. More studies are needed to understand existing patterns of tobacco use and to validate and fully exploit the constructs' relationship to adolescent smoking initiation across racial/ethnic groups. ^ This dissertation reports on a secondary analysis of data from a large multi-ethnic convenience sample of sixth- through eighth-grade students in 22 schools in East Texas and the city of Houston. The specific aims of this dissertation were to (1) describe smoking and alternate tobacco product use rates by race/ethnicity, gender, age, and grade level (Article 1); (2) test the factorial validity of smoking-related attitudes, self-efficacy, and intentions using confirmatory factor analysis techniques (Article 2); and (3) test the factorial invariance of smoking-related attitudes, self-efficacy, and intentions between African Americans and Whites (Article 3). ^ The prevalence findings confirm the disparities in tobacco use among African American, Hispanic, and White adolescents that other surveys have reported (Article 1). This study also demonstrates the usefulness of examining use patterns of not only cigarettes but also alternative tobacco products in younger multiethnic populations, as well as of providing epidemiological data estimates about different phases of smoking. The confirmatory factor analysis provides evidence of construct validity of attitude, self-efficacy, and intention scales for the multiethnic sample (Article 2). Finally, the factorial invariance analyses indicates that some measures representing smoking-related attitudes, self-efficacy, and intentions may not be appropriate for use among both African Americans and Whites (Article 3). Additional research is needed to further our understanding of the patterns and predictors of youth tobacco use initiation. ^

Comparing the factorial structure, invariance, and predictive validity of transtheoretical model constructs for alcohol use across restricted and unrestricted settings

With substance abuse treatment expanding in prisons and jails, understanding how behavior change interacts with a restricted setting becomes more essential. The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) has been used to understand intentional behavior change in unrestricted settings, however, evidence indicates restrictive settings can affect the measurement and structure of the TTM constructs. The present study examined data from problem drinkers at baseline and end-of-treatment from three studies: (1) Project CARE (n = 187) recruited inmates from a large county jail; (2) Project Check-In (n = 116) recruited inmates from a state prison; (3) Project MATCH, a large multi-site alcohol study had two recruitment arms, aftercare (n = 724 pre-treatment and 650 post-treatment) and outpatient (n = 912 pre-treatment and 844 post-treatment). The analyses were conducted using cross-sectional data to test for non-invariance of measures of the TTM constructs: readiness, confidence, temptation, and processes of change (Structural Equation Modeling, SEM) across restricted and unrestricted settings. Two restricted (jail and aftercare) and one unrestricted group (outpatient) entering treatment and one restricted (prison) and two unrestricted groups (aftercare and outpatient) at end-of-treatment were contrasted. In addition TTM end-of-treatment profiles were tested as predictors of 12 month drinking outcomes (Profile Analysis). Although SEM did not indicate structural differences in the overall TTM construct model across setting types, there were factor structure differences on the confidence and temptation constructs at pre-treatment and in the factor structure of the behavioral processes at the end-of-treatment. For pre-treatment temptation and confidence, differences were found in the social situations factor loadings and in the variance for the confidence and temptation latent factors. For the end-of-treatment behavioral processes, differences across the restricted and unrestricted settings were identified in the counter-conditioning and stimulus control factor loadings. The TTM end-of-treatment profiles were not predictive of drinking outcomes in the prison sample. Both pre and post-treatment differences in structure across setting types involved constructs operationalized with behaviors that are limited for those in restricted settings. These studies suggest the TTM is a viable model for explicating addictive behavior change in restricted settings but calls for modification of subscale items that refer to specific behaviors and caution in interpreting the mean differences across setting types for problem drinkers. ^

Magister en Antropología Social por la Universidad Nacional de Misiones: Reconocimiento y validez: Resolución n° 1311

Reconocimiento oficial y validez nacional del grado académico de Magister en Antropología Social

Caracterización de poblaciones nativas de maíz mediante Análisis de Procrustes Generalizado y Análisis Factorial Múltiple

El establecimiento de relaciones entre taxones es un paso esencial en el proceso de catalogación y evaluación del material conservado en un Banco de Germoplasma. Existen distintos métodos de evaluación en función del tipo de caracteres estudiados. Cuando el registro de caracteres se repite en el tiempo y en distintos ambientes, se debe separar la variabilidad intrínsecamente genética entre los taxones de aquella que se debe al ambiente, y más aún, de la posible variabilidad debida a la interacción genotipo*ambiente para el posterior establecimiento de relaciones puramente filogenéticas. En el presente trabajo se estudia comparativamente la factibilidad de aplicación de dos estrategias de análisis estadístico para dar solución a este problema. La primera corresponde al análisis tradicional donde se realiza un Análisis de Componentes Principales sobre los caracteres promedios a lo largo de los diferentes ambientes; y la segunda son métodos más complejos en los cuales cada dato es originado por tres modos: individuos, variables y condiciones ambientales, tales como el Análisis Factorial Múltiple y el Análisis de Procrustes Generalizado. Si bien las configuraciones resultantes fueron todas equivalentes, los métodos de tres vías permiten la interpretación de la interacción genotipo*ambiente.

Validez constitucional del aborto terapéutico en el ordenamiento jurídico peruano

Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. International

Factorial structure and reliability of a perceived influence on selection of a specialized plan of studies, IPEP, in secondary school students of Chillan, Chile

To evaluate these factors, the scale of perceived influences on the election of a specialized plan of studies, IPEP, was built and in this study its factorial structure and reliability were evaluated. The instrument was applied to 115 students, chosen by quote sampling. They were students of a subsidized private secondary school from the city of Chillan, Chile. An exploratory factorial analysis identified eight factors in the scale IPEP: Academic projection, Personal development, Maintenance of the social environment, Academic requirements, Satisfaction of others' expectations, Vocational information, Image of the plan and Family pressure. The results present an initial factorial structure, that empirically and theoretically adequate, whose factors were reliable and conceptually useful. These factors distinguish psychogenic and sociogenic aspects of the vocational process, and allow to initiate diagnostic and investigative actions in relation to this early vocational election that is established in secondary schools of the Chilean educational system

Estructura factorial y confiabilidad de la escala de influencias percibidas en la elección de un plan diferenciado, IPEP, en estudiantes de enseñanza media de Chillán, Chile

Los procesos de elección vocacional son influidos por factores individuales y externos al sujeto, no obstante no existe evidencia de cuál es su influencia en la elección del plan diferenciado de estudios al que, en el sistema educacional chileno, se debe ingresar en tercero medio. Para evaluar estos factores, se construyó la escala de Influencias Percibidas en la Elección de un Plan Diferenciado, IPEP, y en esta investigación se evaluó su estructura factorial y confiabilidad. El instrumento fue aplicado a 115 alumnos, elegidos mediante muestreo por cuotas, que cursaban tercer año medio en un colegio particular subvencionado de la cuidad de Chillán, Chile. A partir de un análisis factorial exploratorio se identificó ocho factores en la escala IPEP: Proyección académica, Desarrollo personal, Mantención del entorno social, Exigencia académica, Satisfacción de expectativas de otros, Información vocacional, Imagen del plan y Presión Familiar. Los resultados presentan evidencia inicial de una estructura factorial empírica y teóricamente adecuada, cuyos factores son internamente consistentes y conceptualmente útiles, ya que distinguen aspectos psicogénicos y sociogénicos de la toma de decisiones vocacionales, permitiendo iniciar acciones diagnósticas e investigativas en torno a esta decisión vocacional que el sistema educativo establece en medio de la educación secundaria

Los conceptos de validez en la investigación social y su abordaje pedagógico

Desde su génesis, las ciencias sociales han intentado legitimar sus criterios internos de cientificidad, que garanticen que el conocimiento generado por la investigación social sea científicamente válido y confiable. Con este objetivo se han elaborado una serie de técnicas, normas, procesos, reglas y procedimientos para lograr resultados de excelencia y calidad, que certifiquen que la investigación social ha sido concebida y ejecutada con la rigurosidad necesaria para definir sus resultados principales como ciencia. El concepto fundamental para responder a la necesidad de criterios científicos es la validez. El presente trabajo busca explorar las principales acepciones que presenta este concepto en la literatura científica social. En un primer momento se busca identificar las diversas adjetivaciones del concepto de validez en la bibliografía comúnmente utilizada para enseñar metodología en nuestras universidades (por ejemplo, validez predictiva, de criterio, etc.). En un segundo momento se examinarán las definiciones para cada uno de los conceptos identificados. Finalmente, en un tercer momento, se buscará sintetizar y/u organizar estos diversos conceptos de una forma que sea lógica y pedagógicamente coherente

Factorial structure and reliability of a perceived influence on selection of a specialized plan of studies, IPEP, in secondary school students of Chillan, Chile

To evaluate these factors, the scale of perceived influences on the election of a specialized plan of studies, IPEP, was built and in this study its factorial structure and reliability were evaluated. The instrument was applied to 115 students, chosen by quote sampling. They were students of a subsidized private secondary school from the city of Chillan, Chile. An exploratory factorial analysis identified eight factors in the scale IPEP: Academic projection, Personal development, Maintenance of the social environment, Academic requirements, Satisfaction of others' expectations, Vocational information, Image of the plan and Family pressure. The results present an initial factorial structure, that empirically and theoretically adequate, whose factors were reliable and conceptually useful. These factors distinguish psychogenic and sociogenic aspects of the vocational process, and allow to initiate diagnostic and investigative actions in relation to this early vocational election that is established in secondary schools of the Chilean educational system

Estructura factorial y confiabilidad de la escala de influencias percibidas en la elección de un plan diferenciado, IPEP, en estudiantes de enseñanza media de Chillán, Chile

Los procesos de elección vocacional son influidos por factores individuales y externos al sujeto, no obstante no existe evidencia de cuál es su influencia en la elección del plan diferenciado de estudios al que, en el sistema educacional chileno, se debe ingresar en tercero medio. Para evaluar estos factores, se construyó la escala de Influencias Percibidas en la Elección de un Plan Diferenciado, IPEP, y en esta investigación se evaluó su estructura factorial y confiabilidad. El instrumento fue aplicado a 115 alumnos, elegidos mediante muestreo por cuotas, que cursaban tercer año medio en un colegio particular subvencionado de la cuidad de Chillán, Chile. A partir de un análisis factorial exploratorio se identificó ocho factores en la escala IPEP: Proyección académica, Desarrollo personal, Mantención del entorno social, Exigencia académica, Satisfacción de expectativas de otros, Información vocacional, Imagen del plan y Presión Familiar. Los resultados presentan evidencia inicial de una estructura factorial empírica y teóricamente adecuada, cuyos factores son internamente consistentes y conceptualmente útiles, ya que distinguen aspectos psicogénicos y sociogénicos de la toma de decisiones vocacionales, permitiendo iniciar acciones diagnósticas e investigativas en torno a esta decisión vocacional que el sistema educativo establece en medio de la educación secundaria

Los conceptos de validez en la investigación social y su abordaje pedagógico

Desde su génesis, las ciencias sociales han intentado legitimar sus criterios internos de cientificidad, que garanticen que el conocimiento generado por la investigación social sea científicamente válido y confiable. Con este objetivo se han elaborado una serie de técnicas, normas, procesos, reglas y procedimientos para lograr resultados de excelencia y calidad, que certifiquen que la investigación social ha sido concebida y ejecutada con la rigurosidad necesaria para definir sus resultados principales como ciencia. El concepto fundamental para responder a la necesidad de criterios científicos es la validez. El presente trabajo busca explorar las principales acepciones que presenta este concepto en la literatura científica social. En un primer momento se busca identificar las diversas adjetivaciones del concepto de validez en la bibliografía comúnmente utilizada para enseñar metodología en nuestras universidades (por ejemplo, validez predictiva, de criterio, etc.). En un segundo momento se examinarán las definiciones para cada uno de los conceptos identificados. Finalmente, en un tercer momento, se buscará sintetizar y/u organizar estos diversos conceptos de una forma que sea lógica y pedagógicamente coherente

Las condiciones de validez de las leyes de la mecánica newtoniana : Incomprensiones de estudiantes universitarios

En este trabajo, que forma parte de una Tesis de Maestría en Enseñanza de la Física ya defendida, presentamos limitaciones e incomprensiones, de estudiantes de cursos básicos universitarios de carreras científico tecnológicas, en torno al establecimiento y reconocimiento de las condiciones de validez de leyes fundamentales de la Mecánica Newtoniana. Los resultados parecerían mostrar vínculos importantes entre la comprensión de aspectos epistemológicos y conceptuales de la Física cuyo reconocimiento y caracterización pueden contribuir a la formulación fundamentada de estrategias educativas más eficientes.