Manual para la Batería de Exámenes de Aptitud General [BEAG] /

Manual for the Spanish translation of the General aptitude test battery (GATB), developed by the California State Employment Service.

Higher-level language deficits resulting from left primary cerebellar lesions

Background: Contemporary neuropsychological studies suggest that cerebellar lesions may impact upon higher-level cognitive functioning via mechanisms of crossed cerebello-cerebral diaschisis. Accordingly, right cerebellar lesions have been previously associated with linguistic impairments such as reduced word fluency and agrammatic output. Recently, however, neuroimaging investigations have also identified ipsilateral cerebral hypoperfusion as a consequence of cerebellar lesions, implicating a potential role for the left cerebellum in the mediation of language processes. Aims: The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of left cerebellar lesions of vascular origin, on general as well as high-level language skills. Methods & Procedures: Linguistic profiles were compiled for five individuals with left primary cerebellar lesions utilising a comprehensive language test battery. Individual scores relevant to each subtest were compared to a group of non-neurologically impaired controls. The criterion for anomalous performance was established as greater than or equal to 1.5 SD below the mean of the control group. Outcomes & Results: The findings of this research suggest that higher-level language deficits may result from left primary cerebellar lesions. All participants demonstrated deficits on measures of word fluency, sentence construction within a set context, producing word definitions, and producing multiple definitions for the same word. Deficits were also noted for several participants on measures of understanding figurative language, forming word associations, identifying and correcting semantic absurdities, and producing synonyms and antonyms. Conclusions: The results presented challenge the notion of a lateralised linguistic cerebellum, supporting a potential role for the left as well as right cerebellar hemispheres in the regulation of language processes, presumably via cerebellar-basal ganglia/thalamo-cortical pathways.

Appetitive motivation predicts the majority of personality and an ability measure: a comparison of BAS measures and a re-evaluation of the importance of RST

Our first study develops a measure of appetitive motivation and our second study compares several measures of Gray's (1987) behaviour activation system (BAS) in the prediction of the surface scales of personality. In particular, we were interested in determining the utility of the new appetitive motivation scale and Dickman's functional impulsivity scale. In comparison to other well-known measures, both scales were generally good predictors. We conclude that the appetitive motivation scale is a promising measure of BAS based upon construct validation. Contrary to previous studies which have suggested that BAS is a generally poor predictor of the surface scales of personality, we discovered appetitive motivation to be an important predictor of personality in general. Interestingly, the scale was also predictive of scores on the Baddeley reasoning test. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The acute effects of mild traumatic brain injury on finger tapping with and without word repetition

This study aimed to investigate the acute effects of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) on the performance of a finger tapping and word repetition dual task in order to determine working memory impairment in mTBI Sixty-four (50 male, 14 female) right-handed cases of mTBI and 26 (18 male and 8 female) right-handed cases of orthopaedic injuries were tested within 24 hours of injury. Patients with mTBI completed fewer correct taps in 10 seconds than patients with orthopaedic injuries, and female mTBI cases repeated fewer words. The size of the dual task decrement did not vary between groups. When added to a test battery including the Rapid Screen of Concussion (RSC; Comerford, Geffen, May, Medland T Geffen, 2002) and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test,finger tapping speed accounted for 1% of between groups variance and did not improve classification rates of male participants. While the addition of tapping rate did not improve the sensitivity and specificity of the RSC and DSST to mTBI in males, univariate analysis of motor performance in females indicated. that dual task performance might be diagnostic. An increase in female sample Size is warranted. These results confirm the view that there is a generalized slowing of processing ability following mTBI.

Psychometric assessment of recovery from mild traumatic brain injury

The Rapid Screen of Concussion (RSC) is a brief psychometric test battery, designed to provide a functional criterion to aid clinical diagnosis of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The present research aimed to examine the utility of this instrument for assessing recovery after mTBI. Three studies were conducted. In Study 1, Discriminant Function Analysis was performed to determine how well the RSC differentiated uninjured controls (N¼16), from mTBI patients (N¼22) and moderate to severe TBI patients (N¼14), several months post-injury. As predicted, moderate to severe TBI patients achieved lower scores than the mTBI and control groups. The RSC also successfully differentiated between each of the diagnostic groups, yielding an overall correct classification rate of 75%. Study 2 examined the predictive utility of the RSC in the mTBI sample (N¼22). Acute injury performance on the RSC was correlated with post-injury scores at an average of 5.5 months post-injury. Statistically significant partial correlation coefficients (r¼0.53r¼0.80) were found for each of the subtests, showing that low acute RSC scores were predictive of poor recovery scores on the RSC after mTBI. In the third study, Reliable Change Indices were calculated on the RSC subtests to examine individual patterns of recovery from mTBI. While 17 of the 23 participants made a significant improvement on their acute injury DSST scores (74%), only 13 of 25 made a significant improvement on the Rapid Sentence Judgement Test (52%), highlighting differential recovery of function, and challenging the notion of full recovery from mTBI within 3 months. These overall results offer support for the construct and predictive validity of the RSC and demonstrate that inexpensive tests of brain function may be useful for managing mTBI acutely for prognosis.

Fair testing in employment selection

This project represents the collaboration of Charta Mede Ltd and the Interdisciplinary Higher Degrees Scheme at the University of Aston. The aim of the project was to monitor the effects of the Civil Service's Executive Officer Qualifying Test Battery on minority group applicants. Prior to monitoring the EO Test Battery, however, an ethnic classification had to be developed which was reliable, acceptable to respondents and appropriate for monitoring. Three pilot studies were conducted to examine these issues, during which different classifications and different ways of asking the question were trialled. The results indicated that by providing more precise instructions as to the meanings of categories, it was possible to obtain classifications which were acceptable and reliable. However, there were also certain terms and expressions which should be avoided such as those referring to colour and anthropological racial groups. Two classifications were used in the Executive Officer Study - one derived from an Office of Population Censuses and Surveys classification and one developed for this project - the MultiCultural British Classification. The results indicated that some minority groups (Asians, West Indians and Africans in particular) pass the tests in significantly lower proportions than the majority group and also score significantly less well on the tests. Factors which were significantly related to pass/fail and test scores included educational qualifications and age on entering the UK (the latter being negatively correlated). Using variables in this study, however, it was only possible to account for 5% of the variance in pass/fail rates and 11% of the variance in test scores. Analyses of covariance carried out indicated that the differences in test scores still remained even though the effects of significantly correlated variables were removed. Although indirect discrimination could not be inferred from the data, further research into differential validity and fairer methods of select ion is needed.

Body iron is associated with cognitive executive planning function in college women

Evidence of the relationship between altered cognitive function and depleted Fe status is accumulating in women of reproductive age but the degree of Fe deficiency associated with negative neuropsychological outcomes needs to be delineated. Data are limited regarding this relationship in university women in whom optimal cognitive function is critical to academic success. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between body Fe, in the absence of Fe-deficiency anaemia, and neuropsychological function in young college women. Healthy, non-Anaemic undergraduate women (n 42) provided a blood sample and completed a standardised cognitive test battery consisting of one manual (Tower of London (TOL), a measure of central executive function) and five computerised (Bakan vigilance task, mental rotation, simple reaction time, immediate word recall and two-finger tapping) tasks. Women's body Fe ranged from - 4·2 to 8·1 mg/kg. General linear model ANOVA revealed a significant effect of body Fe on TOL planning time (P= 0.002). Spearman's correlation coefficients showed a significant inverse relationship between body Fe and TOL planning time for move categories 4 (r - 0.39, P= 0.01) and 5 (r - 0.47, P= 0.002). Performance on the computerised cognitive tasks was not affected by body Fe level. These findings suggest that Fe status in the absence of anaemia is positively associated with central executive function in otherwise healthy college women. Copyright © The Authors 2012.

Congenital prosopagnosia in a child:neuropsychological assessment, eye movement recordings and training

Here we report the assessment and treatment of a 6-year-old boy (L.G.) who was referred to us for congenital prosopagnosia (CP). We investigated his performance using a test battery and eye movement recordings pre- and post-training. L.G. showed deficits in recognising relatives and learning new faces, and misrecognition of unfamiliar people. Eye movement recordings showed that L.G. focused on the lower part of stimuli in naming tasks based on familiar or unfamiliar incomplete or complete faces. The training focused on improving his ability to explore internal features of faces, to discriminate specific facial features of familiar and unfamiliar faces, and to provide his family with strategies to use in the future. At the end of the training programme L.G. no longer failed to recognise close and distant relatives and classmates and did not falsely recognise unknown people.

Examining a proposed job retention model for adult workers with mental retardation in supported employment

This quantitative study investigated the predictive relationships and interaction between factors such as work-related social behaviors (WRSB), self-determination (SD), person-job congruency (PJC), job performance (JP), job satisfaction (JS), and job retention (JR). A convenience sample of 100 working adults with MR were selected from supported employment agencies. Data were collected using a survey test battery of standardized instruments. The hypotheses were analyzed using three multiple regression analyses to identify significant relationships. Beta weights and hierarchical regression analysis determined the percentage of the predictor variables contribution to the total variance of the criterion variables, JR, JP, and JS. ^ The findings highlight the importance of self-determination skills in predicting job retention, satisfaction, and performance for employees with MR. Consistent with the literature and hypothesized model, there was a predictive relationship between SD, JS and JR. Furthermore, SD and PJC were predictors of JP. SD and JR were predictors of JS. Interestingly, the results indicated no significant relationship between JR and JP, or between JP and JS, or between PJC and JS. This suggests that there is a limited fit between the hypothesized model and the study's findings. However, the theoretical contribution made by this study is that self-determination is a particularly relevant predictor of important work outcomes including JR, JP, and JS. This finding is consistent with Deci's (1992) Self-Determination Theory and Wehmeyer's (1996) argument that SD skills in individuals with disabilities have important consequences for the success in transitioning from school to adult and work life. This study provides job retention strategies that offer rehabilitation and HR professionals a useful structure for understanding and implementing job retention interventions for people with MR. ^ The study concluded that workers with mental retardation who had more self-determination skills were employed longer, more satisfied, and better performers on the job. Also, individuals whose jobs were matched to their interests and abilities (person-job congruency) were better at self-determination skills. ^

Contributions of Dorsal/Ventral Hippocampus and Dorsolateral/Dorsomedial Striatum to Interval Timing

Humans and animals have remarkable capabilities in keeping time and using time as a guide to orient their learning and decision making. Psychophysical models of timing and time perception have been proposed for decades and have received behavioral, anatomical and pharmacological data support. However, despite numerous studies that aimed at delineating the neural underpinnings of interval timing, a complete picture of the neurobiological network of timing in the seconds-to-minutes range remains elusive. Based on classical interval timing protocols and proposing a Timing, Immersive Memory and Emotional Regulation (TIMER) test battery, the author investigates the contributions of the dorsal and ventral hippocampus as well as the dorsolateral and the dorsomedial striatum to interval timing by comparing timing performances in mice after they received cytotoxic lesions in the corresponding brain regions. On the other hand, a timing-based theoretical framework for the emergence of conscious experience that is closely related to the function of the claustrum is proposed so as to serve both biological guidance and the research and evolution of “strong” artificial intelligence. Finally, a new “Double Saturation Model of Interval Timing” that integrates the direct- and indirect- pathways of striatum is proposed to explain the set of empirical findings.

Investigating relative clauses in children with specific language impairment

Background: It is well documented that children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) experience significant grammatical deficits. While much of the focus in the past has been on their morphosyntactic difficulties, less is known about their acquisition of complex syntactic structures such as relative clauses. The role of memory in language performance has also become increasingly prominent in the literature. Aims: This study aims to investigate the control of an important complex syntactic structure, the relative clause, by school age children with SLI in Ireland, using a newly devised sentence recall task. It also aims to explore the role of verbal and short-termworking memory in the performance of children with SLI on the sentence recall task, using a standardized battery of tests based on Baddeley’s model of working memory. Methods and Procedures: Thirty two children with SLI, thirty two age matched typically developing children (AM-TD) between the ages of 6 and 7,11 years and twenty younger typically developing (YTD) children between 4,7 and 5 years, completed the task. The sentence recall (SR) task included 52 complex sentences and 17 fillers. It included relative clauses that are used in natural discourse and that reflect a developmental hierarchy. The relative clauses were also controlled for length and varied in syntactic complexity, representing the full range of syntactic roles. There were seven different relative clause types attached to either the predicate nominal of a copular clause (Pn), or to the direct object of a transitive clause (Do). Responses were recorded, transcribed and entered into a database for analysis. TheWorkingMemory Test Battery for children (WMTB-C—Pickering & Gathercole, 2001) was administered in order to explore the role of short-term memory and working memory on the children’s performance on the SR task. Outcomes and Results: The children with SLI showed significantly greater difficulty than the AM-TD group and the YTD group. With the exception of the genitive subject clauses, the children with SLI scored significantly higher on all sentences containing a Pn main clause than those containing a transitive main clause. Analysis of error types revealed the frequent production of a different type of relative clause than that presented in the task—with a strong word order preference in the NVN direction indicated for the children with SLI. The SR performance for the children with SLI was most highly correlated with expressive language skills and digit recall. Conclusions and Implications: Children with SLI have significantly greater difficulty with relative clauses than YTD children who are on average two years younger—relative clauses are a delay within a delay. Unlike the YTD children they show a tendency to simplify relative clauses in the noun verb noun (NVN) direction. They show a developmental hierarchy in their production of relative clause constructions and are highly influenced by the frequency distribution of the relative clauses in the ambient language.

Language Learning Motivation

This study aimed to measure how authentic material motivates students to perform well and have positive attitudes toward foreign language learning. Participants were 32 eighth grade students at Aquinas College in Nassau the Bahamas. Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (adapted Gardner, 2004), interviews, and open ended discussions were used.

Causatividad y construcciones con verbo soporte en latín: el ejemplo de "poena afficere"

En este trabajo nos proponemos analizar la colocación latina poena afficere, ‘imponer un castigo’, un tipo de colocación con especificidades tanto sintácticas como semánticas que la distinguen de las construcciones verbo-nominales más prototípicas: el sustantivo predicativo funciona no como Objeto Directo sino como tercer argumento del verbo soporte, un esquema sintáctico que, como intentaremos demostrar, resulta ideal para la expresión de predicados causativos. De los ejemplos documentados de poena afficere en un amplio corpus de textos, intentaremos destacar las principales características de este tipo de colocación. Para su descripción y formalización nos serviremos del marco teórico propuesto por la Teoría Sentido-Texto.

Evaluating a School Community Linked Physical Activity Intervention Programme: a Multi-level Analysis.

Previous research has highlighted the importance of positive physical activity (PA) behaviors during childhood to promote sustained active lifestyles throughout the lifespan (Telama et al. 2005; 2014). It is in this context that the role of schools and teachers in facilitating PA education is promoted. Research suggests that teachers play an important role in the attitudes of children towards PA (Figley 1985) and schools may be an efficient vehicle for PA provision and promotion (McGinnis, Kanner and DeGraw, 1991; Wechsler, Deveraux, Davis and Collins, 2000). Yet despite consensus that schools represent an ideal setting from which to ‘reach’ young people (Department of Health and Human Services, UK, 2012) there remains conceptual (e.g. multi-component intervention) and methodological (e.g. duration, intensity, family involvement) ambiguity regarding the mechanisms of change claimed by PA intervention programmes. This may, in part, contribute to research findings that suggest that PA interventions have had limited impact on children’s overall activity levels and thereby limited impact in reducing children’s metabolic health (Metcalf, Henley & Wilkin, 2012). A marked criticism of the health promotion field has been the focus on behavioural change while failing to acknowledge the impact of context in influencing health outcomes (Golden & Earp, 2011). For years, the trans-theoretical model of behaviour change has been ‘the dominant model for health behaviour change’ (Armitage, 2009); this model focusses primarily on the individual and the psychology of the change process. Arguably, this model is limited by the individual’s decision-making ability and degree of self-efficacy in order to achieve sustained behavioural change and does not take account of external factors that may hinder their ability to realise change. Similar to the trans-theoretical model, socio-ecological models identify the individual at the focal point of change but also emphasises the importance of connecting multiple impacting variables, in particular, the connections between the social environment, the physical environment and public policy in facilitating behavioural change (REF). In this research, a social-ecological framework was used to connect the ways a PA intervention programme had an impact (or not) on participants, and to make explicit the foundational features of the programme that facilitated positive change. In this study, we examined the evaluation of a multi-agency approach to a PA intervention programme which aimed to increase physical activity, and awareness of the importance of physical activity to key stage 2 (age 7-12) pupils in three UK primary schools. The agencies involved were the local health authority, a community based charitable organisation, a local health administrative agency, and the city school district. In examining the impact of the intervention, we adopted a process evaluation model in order to better understand the mechanisms and context that facilitated change. Therefore, the aim of this evaluation was to describe the provision, process and impact of the intervention by 1) assessing changes in physical activity levels 2) assessing changes in the student’s attitudes towards physical activity, 3) examining student’s perceptions of the child size fitness equipment in school and their likelihood of using the equipment outside of school and 4) exploring staff perceptions, specifically the challenges and benefits, of facilitating equipment based exercise sessions in the school environment. Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used Evaluation of the intervention was designed as a matched-control study and was undertaken over a seven-month period. The school-based intervention involved 3 intervention schools (n =436; 224 boys) and one control school (n=123; 70 boys) in a low socioeconomic and multicultural urban setting. The PA intervention was separated into two phases: a motivation DVD and 10 days of circuit based exercise sessions (Phase 1) followed by a maintenance phase (Phase 2) that incorporated a PA reward program and the use of specialist kid’s gym equipment located at each school for a period of 4 wk. Outcome measures were measured at baseline (January) and endpoint (July; end of academic school year) using reliable and valid self-report measures. The children’s attitudes towards PA were assessed using the Children’s Attitudes towards Physical Activity (CATPA) questionnaire. The Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C), a 7-day recall questionnaire, was used to assess PA levels over a school week. A standardised test battery (Fitnessgram®) was used to assess cardiovascular fitness, body composition, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility. After the 4 wk period, similar kid’s equipment was available for general access at local community facilities. The control school did not receive any of the interventions. All physical fitness tests and PA questionnaires were administered and collected prior to the start of the intervention (January) and following the intervention period (July) by an independent evaluation team. Evaluation testing took place at the individual schools over 2-3 consecutive days (depending on the number of children to be tested at the school). Staff (n=19) and student perceptions (n = 436) of the child sized fitness equipment were assessed via questionnaires post-intervention. Students completed a questionnaire to assess enjoyment, usage, ease of use and equipment assess and usage in the community. A questionnaire assessed staff perceptions on the delivery of the exercise sessions, classroom engagement and student perceptions. Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings Findings showed that both the intervention (16.4%) and control groups increased their PAQ-C score by post-intervention (p < 0.05); with the intervention (17.8%) and control (21.3%) boys showing the greatest increase in physical activity levels. At post-intervention, there was a 5.5% decline in the intervention girls’ attitudes toward PA in the aesthetic subdomains (p = 0.009); whereas the control boys had an increase in positive attitudes in the health domain (p = 0.003). No significant differences in attitudes towards physical activity were observed in any other domain for either group at post-intervention (p > 0.05). The results of the equipment questionnaire, 96% of the children stated they enjoyed using the equipment and would like to use the equipment again in the future; however at post-intervention only 27% reported using the equipment outside of school in the last 7 days. Students identified the ski walker (34%) and cycle (32%) as their favorite pieces of equipment; with the single joint exercises such as leg extension and bicep/tricep machine (<3%) as their least favorite. Key themes from staff were that the equipment sessions were enjoyable, a novel activity, children felt very grown-up, and the activity was linked to a real fitness experience. They also expressed the need for more support to deliver the sessions and more time required for each session. Findings from this study suggest that a more integrated approach within the various agencies is required, particularly more support to increase teachers pedagogical content knowledge in physical activity instruction which is age appropriate. Future recommendations for successful implementation include sufficient time period for all students to access and engage with the equipment; increased access and marketing of facilities to parents within the local community, and professional teacher support strategies to facilitate the exercise sessions.

Efeitos de um programa de exercício físico na capacidade funcional de idosos institucionalizados no Lar da 3ª idade Beiral: projeto de intervenção

Mestrado em Fisioterapia