Computerised ACER advanced test BL : analysis of equivalency, test anxiety, and the effects of input device using New Zealand university participants : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University

Study I examined the effects of the computerised format of the ACER Advanced Test BL (ACER-BL) on the test scores and anxiety of undergraduate participants, compared with the traditional paper-and-pencil format. Forty-one students were assigned to either a computer or paper-and-pencil treatment group using a stratified random design. Participants sequentially completed a general background questionnaire, the ACER-BL, an anxiety questionnaire, the ACER-BL, and a final anxiety questionnaire, with a 10 minute test-retest period between the ACER-BL administrations. There were no significant differences in ACER-BL score, and subsection scores, between the 2 treatment groups on either administration. The internal consistency reliability of each formats was moderate to high, and there was a high test-retest reliability for each format. While the mean scores for each treatment group were higher for the second test administration compared with the first, this result only reached significance for the computerised group. Gender, Undergraduate Year, and Typing Ability significantly influenced test score, although these failed to remain significant when treatment group was included in each analysis. These results suggest that the computerised version of the ACER-BL is equivalent to the paper-and-pencil version. Generally, there was no significant difference in reported test anxiety measures between the treatment groups, with mean reported anxiety indicating "slight anxiety." These anxiety results suggest little influence of test format on test anxiety. Study 2 examined the influence of input device (keyboard, numeric pad, and mouse) on ACER-BL scores and test anxiety of undergraduate participants. Using stratified random assignment, 90 subjects were tested on all three input devices using a one factor repeated measures design. Each participant sequentially completed a general background questionnaire, the ACER-BL, an anxiety questionnaire, the ACER-BL, an anxiety questionnaire, the ACER-BL, and a final anxiety questionnaire, with a 10 minute delay between each ACER-BL administration. There was no significant main effect of input device on test score, and there was no significant order effect for input device. Between- subjects analyses indicated a significant increase in mean test score across administrations for the keyboard and numeric pad, but no significant change in mean scores with the mouse. These results were also reflected in the analyses of mean input response time. While there was no significant effect of any measured participant characteristic on input device scores, mathematical ability and undergraduate year each had a significant influence on mean scores in the first ACER-BL administration. Participants with higher mathematical ability or more years at university had significantly higher mean test scores than participants with less mathematical ability or first year undergraduates respectively. While mean reported anxiety on all test anxiety measures decreased over the ACER-BL administrations, all mean reported anxiety indicated "slight anxiety." These anxiety results suggest little influence of input device on test anxiety. The lack of test-retest comparisons between the computerised and paper-and-pencil formats of a test was discussed along with the need for future computerised testing research to use participants from the general population

Personalized feedback based on a drink-pouring exercise may improve knowledge of, and adherence to, government guidelines for alcohol consumption

Background Although most people are aware of government guidelines for alcohol consumption, few have accurate knowledge of these and fewer still use these guidelines to monitor their drinking. Most people also lack accurate knowledge of the alcohol content of the drinks they consume. The aim of the study reported here was to examine whether or not personalized feedback on alcohol consumption based on performance in a drink-pouring task and self-reported alcohol intake would improve university students’ knowledge of alcohol consumption guidelines and reduce their alcohol intake. Methods A quasi-randomized control trial with a 2-month follow-up was conducted with 200 students aged 18 to 37 in the south of England. Participants were allocated to a “pour + feedback” group that completed a drink-pouring task and received personalized feedback, a “pour only” group that completed the drink-pouring task but did not receive feedback, and a control group. Results At follow-up, participants in the “pour + feedback” group had significantly better knowledge of government guidelines, and significantly lower weekly alcohol intake when compared to the “control” and “pour only” groups. Conclusions Further refinement of the drink-pouring intervention and feedback is reported in this paper, and assessment of their impact in various populations may lead to better understanding of which elements of personalized feedback have the greatest influence on young people's alcohol use

Sliding-mode control of a flexure based mechanism using piezoelectric actuators

The position control of designed 3 PRR flexure based mechanism is examined in this paper. The aims of the work are to eliminate the parasitic motions of the stage, misalignments of the actuators, errors of manufacturing and hysteresis of the system by having a redundant mechanism with the implementation of a sliding mode control and a disturbance observe. x-y motion of the end-effector is measured by using a laser position sensor and the necessary references for the piezoelectric actuators are calculated using the pseudo inverse of the transformation matrix coming from the experimentally determined kinematics of the mechanism. The effect of the observer and closed loop control is presented by comparing the results with open loop control. The system is designed to be redundant to enhance the position control. In order to see the effects of the redundant system firstly the closed loop control for active 2 piezoelectric actuators experiments then for active 3 piezoelectric actuators experiments are presented. As a result, our redundant mechanism tracks the desired trajectory accurately and its workspace is bigger

ANALISIS EFEKTIVITAS BIAYA TERAPI KOMBINASI ANTIHIPERTENSI PADA PASIEN HIPERTENSI KOMPLIKASI DIABETES MELLITUS TIPE 2 PASIEN RAWAT INAP DI RSI AISYIYAH KOTA MALANG

Background: Hypertension and diabetes mellitus are interrelated diseases that affect an individual to be atherosclerotic disease. Hypertension is also associated with 30% mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus. Ineffective use of drugs an result in therapy failure and increase financing. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis in order to assist in making decisions on the selection of drugs that are effective in terms of benefits and costs. Objective: To find out the cost-effectiveness value of therapy used by hypertensive patients with complications of type 2 DM who undergo hospitalization at RSI Aisyiyah Malang. Method: This type of research is conducted observationally. Based on the time of data collection respectively, namely through secondary data tracing (patient medical record data). The design of this study is descriptive non-experimental with cross-sectional studies, namely by taking medical record data at a certain time. Sampling uses a non-probability method, namely purposive sampling. Results and conclusions: The cost-effectiveness of drugs based on the most cost-effective ACER value is a combination of CCB + ARB drugs with ACER Rp. 44,364. The cost-effectiveness of drugs based on the most cost-effective ICER value is a combination of CCB + Diuretic drugs with an ICER value of Rp. 2,100

Pengaruh Customer Relationship Management Dalam Social Media Terhadap Brand Image (Studi Pada Facebook Fan Page Acer Indonesia)

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh CRM dengan dimensi strategi proses informasi, strategi teknologi, strategi personal, dan interaksi dua arah terhadap brand image yang diukur melalui atribut produk, atribut non-produk, dan manfaat dari produk pada Facebook Fan Page Acer Indonesia. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kuantitatif kausal dengan sampel sebanyak 111 fans Facebook Fan Page Acer Indonesia. Uji hipotesis yang digunakan regresi berganda. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian dapat disimpulkan bahwa secara parsial strategi teknologi dan interaksi dua arah memiliki pengaruh terhadap citra merek Acer Indonesia. Sedangkan strategi proses informasi dan strategi personal tidak berpengaruh terhadap brand image. Hal ini dikarenakan indikator-indikator dari strategi proses yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini merupakan bagaimana Acer melakukan proses pengumpulan data konsumen tentang produk Acer yang dibelinya. Strategi personal tidak berpengaruh dikarenakan obyek penelitian merupakan Perusahaan manufacturing teknologi, bukan Perusahaan jasa sehingga pembentukan brand image di benak konsumen tidak dipengaruhi oleh strategi personal dalam CRM ini. Wawancara singkat kepada lima informan dari 111 responden juga menekankan bahwa Acer representative tidak memberikan dampak brand image di benak konsumen. Konsumen lebih suka mencari informasi tentang produk secara langsung tanpa bantuan Acer representative. Secara simultan hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa keempat dimensi CRM berpengaruh terhadap brand image. Penelitian ini menyarankan agar aktivitas Facebook Fan Page Acer harus lebih fokus terhadap kebutuhan konsumen untuk meningkatkan engagement konsumen. Terdapat dua saran utama bagi peneliti selanjutnya, pertama agar menguji variabel lain yang memengaruhi brand image seperti bentuk fisik produk dan pengalaman konsumen; kedua penggunaaan indikator untuk strategi personal pada CRM lebih ditekankan pada pengukuran bagaimana Perusahaan memperlakukan konsumen secara personal untuk memenuhi kebutuhannya yang lebih customized

\u3ci\u3eAnoplophora Glabripennis\u3c/i\u3e Within-Tree Distribution, Seasonal Development, and Host Suitability in China and Chicago

Established populations of the Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), were first reported in the United States in New York in 1996, Illinois in 1998, and New Jersey in 2002. A federal quarantine and an eradication program were implemented in 1997, involving tree surveys and removal of infested trees. We recorded the number of A. glabripennis life stages found at several locations along the main trunk and major branches of naturally infested trees in China (species of Populus, Salix, and Ulmus) and Chicago, Illinois (species of Acer, Fraxinus, and Ulmus) during 1999 to 2002. Typically, A. glabripennis initiated attack near the crown base along both the trunk and main branches. The one exception to this pattern was on Populus trees in China that had branches along the entire trunk, in which case A. glabripennis initiated attack along the lower trunk. Larvae were the dominant overwintering stage in both countries. A host suitability index for A. glabripennis was calculated for each tree with the formula: (number of living life stages + number of exit holes) / number of oviposition pits. The mean host suitability index was higher on Populus and Salix than Ulmus in China, and generally higher on Acer and Ulmus than Fraxinus in Chicago. Eleven genera of trees (N = 1465 trees) were infested by A. glabripennis in Chicago; in decreasing order of tree frequency they included Acer, Ulmus, Fraxinus, Aesculus, Betula, Salix, Celtis, Malus, Pyrus, Sorbus, and Tilia. When the proportion of each genus of infested street trees (N = 958 trees in 7 genera) was compared to its proportion of all Chicago street trees based on a 2003 inventory (N = 539,613 trees in 45 genera), A. glabripennis showed a significant preference to infest the genera Acer and Ulmus. Based on our results, inspectors should focus their efforts on upper trunks and lower branches of Acer and Ulmus trees

Seasonal Patterns of Flight and Attack of Maple Saplings by the Ambrosia Beetle \u3ci\u3eCorthylus Punctatissimus\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) in Central Michigan

Window traps with ethanol were used to observe seasonal flight patterns of Corthylus punctatissimus in central Michigan. Flights peaked in early July with a second peak seven weeks later in late August. Similarly, wilting of attacked maple (Acer) saplings began to appear a week after initial Corthylus flights, and showed twopeaks, one in mid-July and again with another peak, seven weeks later, in early September. The second peak of activity is presumably from reemerged adults, and not a second generation

Leaf Processing in a Slough of an Ozark Stream

Processing of sugar maple (Acer saccharum), black oak (Quercus velutina), and American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) was investigated in a slough of the Illinois River, Benton County, Arkansas, using 5-gram packs in wire baskets. Oak and sycamore showed similar degradation rates, while maple was processed much faster. All processing rates were strongly retarded during a period of siltation. Chironomid larvae were the dominant organisms associated with the packs and their numbers were depressed by the silt influx. Shredders were notably few in number as compared with studies from the northwestern United States