The Effect of Proximity, Explicitness, and Representation of Basic Science Information on Student Clinical Problem-Solving

Problem: Medical and veterinary students memorize facts but then have difficulty applying those facts in clinical problem solving. Cognitive engineering research suggests that the inability of medical and veterinary students to infer concepts from facts may be due in part to specific features of how information is represented and organized in educational materials. First, physical separation of pieces of information may increase the cognitive load on the student. Second, information that is necessary but not explicitly stated may also contribute to the student’s cognitive load. Finally, the types of representations – textual or graphical – may also support or hinder the student’s learning process. This may explain why students have difficulty applying biomedical facts in clinical problem solving. Purpose: To test the hypothesis that three specific aspects of expository text – the patial distance between the facts needed to infer a rule, the explicitness of information, and the format of representation – affected the ability of students to solve clinical problems. Setting: The study was conducted in the parasitology laboratory of a college of veterinary medicine in Texas. Sample: The study subjects were a convenience sample consisting of 132 second-year veterinary students who matriculated in 2007. The age of this class upon admission ranged from 20-52, and the gender makeup of this class consisted of approximately 75% females and 25% males. Results: No statistically significant difference in student ability to solve clinical problems was found when relevant facts were placed in proximity, nor when an explicit rule was stated. Further, no statistically significant difference in student ability to solve clinical problems was found when students were given different representations of material, including tables and concept maps. Findings: The findings from this study indicate that the three properties investigated – proximity, explicitness, and representation – had no statistically significant effect on student learning as it relates to clinical problem-solving ability. However, ad hoc observations as well as findings from other researchers suggest that the subjects were probably using rote learning techniques such as memorization, and therefore were not attempting to infer relationships from the factual material in the interventions, unless they were specifically prompted to look for patterns. A serendipitous finding unrelated to the study hypothesis was that those subjects who correctly answered questions regarding functional (non-morphologic) properties, such as mode of transmission and intermediate host, at the family taxonomic level were significantly more likely to correctly answer clinical case scenarios than were subjects who did not correctly answer questions regarding functional properties. These findings suggest a strong relationship (p < .001) between well-organized knowledge of taxonomic functional properties and clinical problem solving ability. Recommendations: Further study should be undertaken investigating the relationship between knowledge of functional taxonomic properties and clinical problem solving ability. In addition, the effect of prompting students to look for patterns in instructional material, followed by the effect of factors that affect cognitive load such as proximity, explicitness, and representation, should be explored.

Translating knowledge into action: Information needs of decision-makers in healthcare

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the healthcare information needs of decision-makers in a local US healthcare setting in efforts to promote the translation of knowledge into action. The focus was on the perceptions and preferences of decision-makers regarding usable information in making decisions as to identify strategies to maximize the contribution of healthcare findings to policy and practice. Methods: This study utilized a qualitative data collection and analysis strategy. Data was collected via open-ended key-informant interviews from a sample of 37 public and private-sector healthcare decision-makers in the Houston/Harris County safety net. The sample was comprised of high-level decision-makers, including legislators, executive managers, service providers, and healthcare funders. Decision-makers were asked to identify the types of information, the level of collaboration with outside agencies, useful attributes of information, and the sources, formats/styles, and modes of information preferred in making important decisions and the basis for their preferences. Results: Decision-makers report acquiring information, categorizing information as usable knowledge, and selecting information for use based on the application of four cross-cutting thought processes or cognitive frameworks. In order of apparent preference, these are time orientation, followed by information seeking directionality, selection of validation processes, and centrality of credibility/reliability. In applying the frameworks, decision-makers are influenced by numerous factors associated with their perceptions of the utility of information and the importance of collaboration with outside agencies in making decisions as well as professional and organizational characteristics. Conclusion: An approach based on the elucidated cognitive framework may be valuable in identifying the reported contextual determinants of information use by decision-makers in US healthcare settings. Such an approach can facilitate active producer/user collaborations and promote the production of mutually valued, comprehensible, and usable findings leading to sustainable knowledge translation efforts long-term.^

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

Analysis and visualization of the dynamics of research groups in terms of projects and co-authored publications : A case study of library and information science in Argentina

Objective: The present study offers a novel methodological contribution to the study of the configuration and dynamics of research groups, through a comparative perspective of the projects funded (inputs) and publication co-authorships (output). Method: A combination of bibliometric techniques and social network analysis was applied to a case study: the Departmento de Bibliotecología (DHUBI), Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina, for the period 2000-2009. The results were interpreted statistically and staff members of the department, were interviewed. Results: The method makes it possible to distinguish groups, identify their members and reflect group make-up through an analytical strategy that involves the categorization of actors and the interdisciplinary and national or international projection of the networks that they configure. The integration of these two aspects (input and output) at different points in time over the analyzed period leads to inferences about group profiles and the roles of actors. Conclusions: The methodology presented is conducive to micro-level interpretations in a given area of study, regarding individual researchers or research groups. Because the comparative input-output analysis broadens the base of information and makes it possible to follow up, over time, individual and group trends, it may prove very useful for the management, promotion and evaluation of science

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

Analysis and visualization of the dynamics of research groups in terms of projects and co-authored publications : A case study of library and information science in Argentina

Objective: The present study offers a novel methodological contribution to the study of the configuration and dynamics of research groups, through a comparative perspective of the projects funded (inputs) and publication co-authorships (output). Method: A combination of bibliometric techniques and social network analysis was applied to a case study: the Departmento de Bibliotecología (DHUBI), Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina, for the period 2000-2009. The results were interpreted statistically and staff members of the department, were interviewed. Results: The method makes it possible to distinguish groups, identify their members and reflect group make-up through an analytical strategy that involves the categorization of actors and the interdisciplinary and national or international projection of the networks that they configure. The integration of these two aspects (input and output) at different points in time over the analyzed period leads to inferences about group profiles and the roles of actors. Conclusions: The methodology presented is conducive to micro-level interpretations in a given area of study, regarding individual researchers or research groups. Because the comparative input-output analysis broadens the base of information and makes it possible to follow up, over time, individual and group trends, it may prove very useful for the management, promotion and evaluation of science

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

Analysis and visualization of the dynamics of research groups in terms of projects and co-authored publications : A case study of library and information science in Argentina

Objective: The present study offers a novel methodological contribution to the study of the configuration and dynamics of research groups, through a comparative perspective of the projects funded (inputs) and publication co-authorships (output). Method: A combination of bibliometric techniques and social network analysis was applied to a case study: the Departmento de Bibliotecología (DHUBI), Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina, for the period 2000-2009. The results were interpreted statistically and staff members of the department, were interviewed. Results: The method makes it possible to distinguish groups, identify their members and reflect group make-up through an analytical strategy that involves the categorization of actors and the interdisciplinary and national or international projection of the networks that they configure. The integration of these two aspects (input and output) at different points in time over the analyzed period leads to inferences about group profiles and the roles of actors. Conclusions: The methodology presented is conducive to micro-level interpretations in a given area of study, regarding individual researchers or research groups. Because the comparative input-output analysis broadens the base of information and makes it possible to follow up, over time, individual and group trends, it may prove very useful for the management, promotion and evaluation of science

Imperfect Competition and Costly Screening in the Credit Market under Conditions of Asymmetric Information

This article provides an analysis of how banks determine levels of information production when they are in imperfect competition and there is a condition of information asymmetry between borrowers and banks. Specifically, the study concentrates on information production activities of banks in duopoly where they simultaneously determine intensity of pre-loan screening as well as interest rates. The preliminary model of this paper illustrates that due to strategic complementarities between banks, banking competition can result in inferior equilibrium out of multiple equilibria and insufficient information production. Policymakers must take into account the possible adverse effects of competition-enhancing policies on information production activities.

Metadata Visualization of Cultural Heritage Information within a Collaborative Environment

Cultural content on the Web is available in various domains (cultural objects, datasets, geospatial data, moving images, scholarly texts and visual resources), concerns various topics, is written in different languages, targeted to both laymen and experts, and provided by different communities (libraries, archives museums and information industry) and individuals (Figure 1). The integration of information technologies and cultural heritage content on the Web is expected to have an impact on everyday life from the point of view of institutions, communities and individuals. In particular, collaborative environment scan recreate 3D navigable worlds that can offer new insights into our cultural heritage (Chan 2007). However, the main barrier is to find and relate cultural heritage information by end-users of cultural contents, as well as by organisations and communities managing and producing them. In this paper, we explore several visualisation techniques for supporting cultural interfaces, where the role of metadata is essential for supporting the search and communication among end-users (Figure 2). A conceptual framework was developed to integrate the data, purpose, technology, impact, and form components of a collaborative environment, Our preliminary results show that collaborative environments can help with cultural heritage information sharing and communication tasks because of the way in which they provide a visual context to end-users. They can be regarded as distributed virtual reality systems that offer graphically realised, potentially infinite, digital information landscapes. Moreover, collaborative environments also provide a new way of interaction between an end-user and a cultural heritage data set. Finally, the visualisation of metadata of a dataset plays an important role in helping end-users in their search for heritage contents on the Web.

Information as a Key Tool for Rural Development. 25 Years of Experience in Spain

The lack of useful information has become a major obstacle that hinders the participation of the members of the community in the development process because they can not accurately perceive how their individual and/or collective action can influence their environment, and because of the lack of elements that support the decision-making processes. This article addresses these issues from the work carried out by the Association Instituto de Desarrollo Comunitario de Cuenca (IDC Cuenca) in the rural areas of this province of Spain for 25 years. The results show how the application of methodologies for the transmission of information tailored to each group of recipients in some aspects, enhances the participation of individuals.

Survey on student motivation and approval of educational environment at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid within the European Higher Education area implementation

A recent study elaborated by Vicerrectorado de Ordenación Académica y Planificación Estratégica of Technical University of Madrid (UPM) defines the satisfaction of the university student body as "the response that the University offers to the expectations and demands of service of the students, considered in a general way ". Besides an indicator of academic and institutional insertion of the student, the assessment of student engagement allows us to adapt the academic offer and the extension services of the University to the real needs of the students. The process of convergence towards the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) raises the need to form in competitions, that is to say, of developing in our students capacities and knowledge beyond the purely theoretical-practical thing. Therefore, the perception and experience of the educational process and environment by the students is an important issue to be addressed to accomplish their expectations and achieve a curriculum accordingly to EHEA expectations. The present study aims to explore the student motivation and approval of the educational environment at the UPM. To this end a total of 97 students enrolled in the undergraduate program of Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering and Agronomic Engineering at UPM were surveyed. The survey consisted of 40 questions divided in three blocks. The first one of 20 questions of personal character in that they were gathering, besides the sex and the age, the degree of fulfilment, implication and dedication with the institution and the academic tasks. In the second block we identify 10 questions related to the perception of the student on the teaching quality, and finally a block of 10 questions regarding the Bologna Process. The students personal motivation was moderately high, with a score of 3.6 (all scores are provided on a 5-point scale), being the most valuable items obtaining a university degree (4,3) and the friendship between students (4,2). Any significant difference was shown between sexes (P=0.23) since the averages for this block of questions were of 3.7±0.3 and 3.5±0.4 for women and men respectively. The students are moderately satisfied with their graduate studies with an average score of 3,2, being the questions that reflect a minor satisfaction the research profile of the teachers (2,8) and the organization of the Schools (2,9). The best valued questions are related to the usefulness and quality of the degrees, with 3,5 and 3,4 respectively, and to the interest of the courses within the degree (3,4). For sexes, the results of this block of questions are similar (3.1±0.3 and 3.2±0.3 for men and women respectively=0.79). Also, there were no differences (P=0.39) between the students who arrange work and studies or do not work (3.1±0.2 and 3.2±0.3 respectively). In conclusion, students at UPM present an acceptable degree of motivation and satisfaction with regard to the studies and services that offer their respective Schools. Both characteristics receive the same value both for men and for women and so much for students who arrange work and studies as for those who devote themselves only to studying. In a significant way, students who are more engaged and are in-class attendants present the major degree of satisfaction.Overall, there is a great lack of information regarding the Bologna Process. In fact to the majority, they would like to know more on what it is, what it means and what changes will involve its implementation.

Exploring the economic value of personal information from firms' financial statements

Currently personal data gathering in online markets is done on a far larger scale and much cheaper and faster than ever before. Within this scenario, a number of highly relevant companies for whom personal data is the key factor of production have emerged. However, up to now, the corresponding economic analysis has been restricted primarily to a qualitative perspective linked to privacy issues. Precisely, this paper seeks to shed light on the quantitative perspective, approximating the value of personal information for those companies that base their business model on this new type of asset. In the absence of any systematic research or methodology on the subject, an ad hoc procedure is developed in this paper. It starts with the examination of the accounts of a number of key players in online markets. This inspection first aims to determine whether the value of personal information databases is somehow reflected in the firms’ books, and second to define performance measures able to capture this value. After discussing the strengths and weaknesses of possible approaches, the method that performs best under several criteria (revenue per data record) is selected. From here, an estimation of the net present value of personal data is derived, as well as a slight digression into regional differences in the economic value of personal information.

Creating a Web-accessible, point-of-care, team-based information system (PoinTIS): the librarian as publisher*

The Internet has created new opportunities for librarians to develop information systems that are readily accessible at the point of care. This paper describes the multiyear process used to justify, fund, design, develop, promote, and evaluate a rehabilitation prototype of a point-of-care, team-based information system (PoinTIS) and train health care providers to use this prototype for their spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury patient care and education activities. PoinTIS is a successful model for librarians in the twenty-first century to serve as publishers of information created or used by their parent organizations and to respond to the opportunities for information dissemination provided by recent technological advances.

Covert attention accelerates the rate of visual information processing

Whenever we open our eyes, we are confronted with an overwhelming amount of visual information. Covert attention allows us to select visual information at a cued location, without eye movements, and to grant such information priority in processing. Covert attention can be voluntarily allocated, to a given location according to goals, or involuntarily allocated, in a reflexive manner, to a cue that appears suddenly in the visual field. Covert attention improves discriminability in a wide variety of visual tasks. An important unresolved issue is whether covert attention can also speed the rate at which information is processed. To address this issue, it is necessary to obtain conjoint measures of the effects of covert attention on discriminability and rate of information processing. We used the response-signal speed-accuracy tradeoff (SAT) procedure to derive measures of how cueing a target location affects speed and accuracy in a visual search task. Here, we show that covert attention not only improves discriminability but also accelerates the rate of information processing.