On heuristic and linear models of judgment: Mapping the demand for knowledge

Research on judgment and decision making presents a confusing picture of human abilities. For example, much research has emphasized the dysfunctional aspects of judgmental heuristics, and yet, other findings suggest that these can be highly effective. A further line of research has modeled judgment as resulting from as if linear models. This paper illuminates the distinctions in these approaches by providing a common analytical framework based on the central theoretical premise that understanding human performance requires specifying how characteristics of the decision rules people use interact with the demands of the tasks they face. Our work synthesizes the analytical tools of lens model research with novel methodology developed to specify the effectiveness of heuristics in different environments and allows direct comparisons between the different approaches. We illustrate with both theoretical analyses and simulations. We further link our results to the empirical literature by a meta-analysis of lens model studies and estimate both human andheuristic performance in the same tasks. Our results highlight the trade-off betweenlinear models and heuristics. Whereas the former are cognitively demanding, the latterare simple to use. However, they require knowledge and thus maps of when andwhich heuristic to employ.

Portal web d'avaluació escolar

Aquest projecte tracta d'establir un canal més de comunicació entre docents i professors per tal de facilitar el seguiment i la progressió dels alumnes en l'àmbit acadèmic. Per aconseguir-ho es proposa dissenyar un portal web on pares i professors puguin consultar les avaluacions i demanar reunions de seguiment.

Feasibility of a knowledge translation CME program: courriels Cochrane.

INTRODUCTION: Systematic literature reviews provide best evidence, but are underused by clinicians. Thus, integrating Cochrane reviews into continuing medical education (CME) is challenging. We designed a pilot CME program where summaries of Cochrane reviews (Courriels Cochrane) were disseminated by e-mail. Program participants automatically received CME credit for each Courriel Cochrane they rated. The feasibility of this program is reported (delivery, participation, and participant evaluation). METHOD: We recruited French-speaking physicians through the Canadian Medical Association. Program delivery and participation were documented. Participants rated the informational value of Courriels Cochrane using the Information Assessment Method (IAM), which documented their reflective learning (relevance, cognitive impact, use for a patient, expected health benefits). IAM responses were aggregated and analyzed. RESULTS: The program was delivered as planned. Thirty Courriels Cochrane were delivered to 985 physicians, and 127 (12.9%) completed at least one IAM questionnaire. Out of 1109 Courriels Cochrane ratings, 973 (87.7%) conta-ined 1 or more types of positive cognitive impact, while 835 (75.3%) were clinically relevant. Participants reported the use of information for a patient and expected health benefits in 595 (53.7%) and 569 (51.3%) ratings, respectively. DISCUSSION: Program delivery required partnering with 5 organizations. Participants valued Courriels Cochrane. IAM ratings documented their reflective learning. The aggregation of IAM ratings documented 3 levels of CME outcomes: participation, learning, and performance. This evaluation study demonstrates the feasibility of the Courriels Cochrane as an approach to further disseminate Cochrane systematic literature reviews to clinicians and document self-reported knowledge translation associated with Cochrane reviews.

AWSum-Combining Classification with Knowledge Aquisition

Many classifiers achieve high levels of accuracy but have limited applicability in real world situations because they do not lead to a greater understanding or insight into the^way features influence the classification. In areas such as health informatics a classifier that clearly identifies the influences on classification can be used to direct research and formulate interventions. This research investigates the practical applications of Automated Weighted Sum, (AWSum), a classifier that provides accuracy comparable to other techniques whilst providing insight into the data. This is achieved by calculating a weight for each feature value that represents its influence on the class value. The merits of this approach in classification and insight are evaluated on a Cystic Fibrosis and Diabetes datasets with positive results.

Projecte d'estudi d'un portal de sol·licituds de permisos i vacances pel cos de mossos d'esquadra

Desenvolupament d'una aplicació de gestió de sol·licituds de permisos i vacances.

Portal web per a dispositius mòbils en PHP

En l'actualitat l'aparició de dispositius mòbils amb navegació per internet fa que, cada cop més, sigui necessària l'adaptació dels portals web per a la visualització en pantalles de dimensions més reduïdes. Aquest projecte estudia les possibilitats d'adaptació d'aquestes pàgines i elavora una pàgina per mostrar‐les.

Integration of genome-wide association studies with biological knowledge identifies six novel genes related to kidney function.

In conducting genome-wide association studies (GWAS), analytical approaches leveraging biological information may further understanding of the pathophysiology of clinical traits. To discover novel associations with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), a measure of kidney function, we developed a strategy for integrating prior biological knowledge into the existing GWAS data for eGFR from the CKDGen Consortium. Our strategy focuses on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) in genes that are connected by functional evidence, determined by literature mining and gene ontology (GO) hierarchies, to genes near previously validated eGFR associations. It then requires association thresholds consistent with multiple testing, and finally evaluates novel candidates by independent replication. Among the samples of European ancestry, we identified a genome-wide significant SNP in FBXL20 (P = 5.6 × 10(-9)) in meta-analysis of all available data, and additional SNPs at the INHBC, LRP2, PLEKHA1, SLC3A2 and SLC7A6 genes meeting multiple-testing corrected significance for replication and overall P-values of 4.5 × 10(-4)-2.2 × 10(-7). Neither the novel PLEKHA1 nor FBXL20 associations, both further supported by association with eGFR among African Americans and with transcript abundance, would have been implicated by eGFR candidate gene approaches. LRP2, encoding the megalin receptor, was identified through connection with the previously known eGFR gene DAB2 and extends understanding of the megalin system in kidney function. These findings highlight integration of existing genome-wide association data with independent biological knowledge to uncover novel candidate eGFR associations, including candidates lacking known connections to kidney-specific pathways. The strategy may also be applicable to other clinical phenotypes, although more testing will be needed to assess its potential for discovery in general.

Bringing Funds of Family Knowledge to school. The Living Morocco Project (“برغملا شيعلا”)

The purpose of the study, grounded in sociocultural theory, is to describe the funds of knowledge of a Moroccan family living in Catalonia (Spain) in order to document how teachers can use these funds of knowledge to make direct links between students' lives and classroom teaching. The funds of knowledge approach is based on a simple premise: regardless of any socio-economical and sociocultural "deficit" that people may or may not have all families accumulate bodies of beliefs, ideas, skills and abilities based on their experiences (in areas such as their occupation or their religion). The challenge consists in connecting these bodies of educational resources with teaching practice in order to connect the curriculum with students' lives. In doing so, qualitative research can be carried out using several techniques such as self portraits, self-definition tasks, assessment of family artefacts, documenting routines through photographs, or the analysis of a person's significant circle. The results in terms of teaching practices illustrate the variety of ways teachers can make connections between home and school in ways that assist learners in their academic development. In this article, we propose using the term funds of identity to complement the concept of funds of knowledge

Lengua familiar y conocimiento de la lengua escolar en Cataluña al finalizar la Educación Infantil = Home Language and Knowledge of the School Language in Catalonia at the end of Nursery School

La infancia extranjera se escolariza en Cataluña en un programa de cambio de lengua del hogar a la escuela. Las investigaciones afirman que este alumnado tarda un mínimo de seis años en equiparar sus habilidades lingüístico-cognitivas con sus pares autóctonos, no así las habilidades conversacionales, las cuales se adquieren antes de los dos años de residencia. Sin embargo, no existen estudios sobre los efectos de la escolarización en el parvulario del alumnado alófono, así como de su lengua familiar, en relación con la adquisición de la lengua escolar. El artículo es un estudio comparativo de la adquisición del catalán de 567 autóctonos y 434 alófonos, al final del parvulario, en 50 escuelas de Cataluña que escolarizan a alumnado de origen extranjero. Las lenguas del alumnado autóctono son el catalán, el castellano y el bilingüismo catalán-castellano y las lenguas del alumnado alófono son el árabe, el soninké y el castellano. Los factores utilizados más relevantes han sido el nivel socioprofesional y educativo de las familias, el tiempo de residencia y el momento de escolarización del alumnado, el porcentaje de alumnado catalanohablante y de alumnado alófono en el aula y el contexto sociolingüístico del centro escolar. Los resultados muestran que el alumnado autóctono sabe más catalán que el alumnado alófono, pero las diferencias desaparecen respecto a algunos factores, de los cuales los más relevantes son los relacionados con las características del alumnado de las aulas. La lengua familiar del alumnado alófono no incide en sus resultados

Benchmarking for routines and organizational knowledge

We use best practice benchmarking rationales to propose a dynamic research design that accounts for the endogenous components of across-firms heterogeneous routines to study changes in performance and their link to organizational knowledge investments. We thus contribute to the operationalization of management theoretical frameworks based on resources and routines. The research design employs frontier measures that provide industry-level benchmarking in organizational settings, and proposes some new indicators for firm-level strategic benchmarking. A profit-oriented analysis of the U.S. technology industry during 2000-2011 illustrates the usefulness of our design. Findings reveal that industry revival following economic distress comes along with wider gaps between best and worst performers. Second stage analyses show that increasing intangibles stocks is positively associated with fixed target benchmarking, while enhancing R&D spending is linked to local frontier progress. The discussion develops managerial interpretations of the benchmarking measures that are suitable for control mechanisms and reward systems.

Multiples hyperplasies nodulaires focales hépatiques associées à une agénésie congénitale de la veine porte [Multiple focal nodular hyperplasia of the liver associated with congenital absence of the portal vein]

We report the 32nd case of congenital absence of portal vein in an 18-year-old female adult associated with multiple focal nodular hyperplasia of the liver. The association of various hepatic tumors has been observed in half of the publications about congenital absence of portal vein. Hepatic tumors seem to result from systemic diversion of portal vein flow with a resultant increase of arterial flow causing important vascular and nutritif changes the liver and consequent parenchymal transformation.