THE INVESTIGATION OF EFFECTIVENESS AND PRACTICALITY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN TAIWAN: RETROSPECTIONS AND INTROSPECTIONS

This present follow-up mixed methods research aims to investigate the effectiveness and practicality of the English language teachers’ (ELTs) initial education programs in Taiwan. In terms of effectiveness, the comprehensiveness of the training contents, the trainees’ learning achievement, and the trainees’ satisfaction rate of the training are investigated, whereas the applicability of the trained knowledge and skills in real teaching is examined at an attempt to probe into the practicality of the trainings. To meet the research objectives, a competency framework, consisting the suggested types of knowledge and skills as well as personal traits for contemporary ELTs, termed FRPC, was proposed and then used as the criterion of the investigation. The FRPC was established based on the findings from both the literature reviews and the analysis of the social contexts in Taiwan, and then further consolidated by the results from the Expert’s Opinion Survey. Three groups of trainees, each representing one training channel in Taiwan, were selected. Three types of data were gathered for analysis: the trainees’ opinions at the pre- and the post-training stages, the trainers’ interview data at the post-training stage, and the trainees’ interview data at the post-practicum stages in both 2008 and 2011. In short, the data were products of the trainees’ and trainers’ introspections, in which the transformations of the trainees’ competencies, beliefs and attitudes are centred. The quantitative data reveal four main findings: (1) the trainees value all the professional competencies (PCs) in the FRPC with different degrees, (2) most of the trainings of the suggested PCs are provided in the training programs, (3) positive progressions of the trainees on most of the trained components are indicated, and (4) despite the progressions, most trainees are satisfied with only half of the training contents. This may imply that even though progressions are made in the trainings, the degrees of progressions are generally considered insufficient for dealing with the complexity in teaching and learning. On the whole, the qualitative data reveals the trainees’ positive confirmations of both the importance of the PCs in the FRPC and the practicality of the trained knowledge and skills in their authentic teaching settings. One point, however, is implied in the trainees’ data: though the importance of an ELT’s personal traits are emphasized, since they are neither evaluated nor trained, their emphasis in the FRPC should be reconsidered

Porównawcza analiza korpusowa angielskiego i polskiego specjalistycznego słownictwa jeździeckiego z zakresu ujeżdżania i terningu koni

Niniejsza rozprawa doktorska jest analizą angielskiego i polskiego słownictwa jeździeckiego z zakresu ujeżdżenia i treningu koni przeprowadzoną z zastosowaniem porównawczego korpusu tekstów. Wpisuje się ona w nurt badań języków specjalistycznych, którym dotąd poświęcano niewiele uwagi w językoznawstwie i powiązanych dziedzinach. Specjalistyczny język jeździecki, którego jądro stanowi badane słownictwo, wymaga zarówno teoretycznej (badania), jak i praktycznej (leksykografia) pracy językoznawczej, szczególnie w Polsce, gdzie poświęcono mu jak dotąd pojedyncze artykuły oraz nieaktualny już słownik. Jest to wysoce niewystarczające z uwagi na rosnącą popularność jeździectwa jako sportu i rekreacji w Polsce i na świecie. Niniejsza praca ma stanowić przyczynek do poprawy tego stanu. W opisanej sytuacji wstępne oczekiwania mają charakter ogólny: celem jest formalna i semantyczna charakterystyka dwóch zestawów słownictwa (angielskiego i polskiego) pozyskanych z wiarygodnych źródeł w celu odkrycia zawartego w nim językowego obrazu przedmiotowej dziedziny. Następnie badane jest występowanie terminów w korpusie złożonym odpowiednio z angielskich i polskich tekstów z zakresu ujeżdżenia i treningu koni. Każdy z dwóch podkorpusów podzielony jest dodatkowo na dwie części według rozróżnienia ważnego dla danego języka: podkorpus angielski zawiera część dotyczącą jeździectwa klasycznego (angielskiego) oraz jeździectwa w stylu western (amerykańskiego), zaś podkorpus polski – część oryginalną oraz złożoną z tłumaczeń. Pozwala to na porównanie występowania słownictwa w zależności od obszarów językowo-kulturowych oraz weryfikację jakości i aktualności źródeł słownictwa w kontekście planowanego projektu leksykograficznego, do którego wprowadzeniem teoretycznym ma być niniejsza praca. Rozprawa składa się z czterech rozdziałów teoretycznych oraz dwóch badawczych. Rozdział 1 przedstawia historię badań języków specjalistycznych, a rozdział 2 opisuje współczesne funkcje tych języków. Rozdział 3 przybliża pojęcie języka specjalistycznego, omawiając jego nazwy stosowane w językoznawstwie, jego stosunek do języka ogólnego, powiązane pojęcia wiedzy i specjalisty oraz typologie języków specjalistycznych. Rozdział 4 przedstawia badania języków specjalistycznych podejmowane przez szereg powiązanych dyscyplin: językoznawstwo, terminologię, dydaktykę, leksykografię, translatorykę i planowanie językowe. Rozdział 5 stanowi bezpośrednie wprowadzenie do badań, opisując rozwój przedmiotowej dziedziny specjalistycznej, tj. jeździectwa, oraz jej stan obecny, z naciskiem na grupę użytkowników. Rozdział 6 zawiera właściwe badanie podzielone na etapy: wytyczenie zakresu tematycznego i utworzenie dwóch zestawów słownictwa, ich wstępną formalną i semantyczną charakterystykę, uformowanie korpusu, badanie występowania terminów w korpusie za pomocą oprogramowania WordSmith 5.0 oraz analizę frekwencyjną, formalną i semantyczną wyników. Przeprowadzone badanie wykazuje znaczną zależność występowania słownictwa od obszaru kulturowego, reprezentowanego przez style jeździeckie i języki narodowe. Angielski podkorpus jeździectwa klasycznego zawiera więcej terminów niż podkorpus jeździectwa westernowego, co odzwierciedla pozajęzykową wiedzę o tradycji i charakterze obu tych stylów. Z kolei znaczna część terminów polskich jest nieobecna w tekstach, potwierdzając przewidywane niedostatki jednego z wykorzystanych źródeł słownictwa oraz zasadność planowanego projektu leksykograficznego. Podkorpus polskich tłumaczeń wykazuje wyższe nasycenie słownictwem niż podkorpus oryginalny, sugerując różnicę jakościową między zagranicznym a polskim piśmiennictwem jeździeckim przy jednoczesnej wysokiej jakości przekładów. Niniejsza rozprawa stanowi zatem kolejny dowód na powiązanie języków specjalistycznych z ich dziedzinami, a tym samym na pożyteczność z jednej strony opisowych badań językoznawczych przed praktycznymi pracami terminologiczno-leksykograficznymi, z drugiej zaś uwzględniania wiedzy pozajęzykowej i opisu pojęć w badaniach językoznawczych

Reducing preventable adverse events in obstetrics by improving interprofessional communication skills - Results of an intervention study.

BACKGROUND: Progress in medicine involves the structured analysis and communication of errors. Comparability between the individual disciplines is only possible to a limited extent and obstetrics plays a special role: the expectation of a self-determined and joyful event meets with possibly serious complications in highly complex care situations. This must be managed by an interdisciplinary team with an increasingly condensed workload. Adverse events cannot be completely controlled. However, taking controllable risk factors into account and with a focused communication a reduction of preventable adverse events is possible. In the present study, the effect of interprofessional team training on preventable adverse events in an obstetric department was investigated. METHODS: The training consisted of a 4-h interdisciplinary training session based on psychological theories. Preventable adverse events were defined in six categories according to potential patterns of causation. 2,865 case records of a refence year (2018) and 2,846 case records of the year after the intervention (2020) were retrospectively evaluated. To determine the communication training effect, the identified preventable adverse events of 2018 and 2020 were compared according to categories and analyzed for obstetrically relevant controllable and uncontrollable risk factors. Questionnaires were used to identify improvements in self-reported perceptions and behaviors. RESULTS: The results show that preventable adverse events in obstetrics were significantly reduced after the intervention compared to the reference year before the intervention (13.35% in the year 2018 vs. 8.83% in 2020, p < 0.005). Moreover, obstetrically controllable risk factors show a significant reduction in the year after the communication training. The questionnaires revealed an increase in perceived patient safety (t(28) = 4.09, p < .001), perceived communication behavior (t(30) = -2.95, p = .006), and self-efficacy to cope with difficult situations (t(28) = -2.64, p = .013). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that the communication training was able to reduce preventable adverse events and thus increase patient safety. In the future, regular trainings should be implemented alongside medical emergency trainings in obstetrics to improve patient safety. Additionally, this leads to the strengthening of human factors and ultimately also to the prevention of second victims. Further research should follow up implementing active control groups and a randomized-controlled trail study design. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of University Hospital  (protocol code 114/19-FSt/Sta, date of approval 29 May 2019), study registration: NCT03855735

Mental Health Issues and Barriers to Seeking Mental Health Services Amongst College Athletes

In the year 2022, Sarah Shulze, Katie Meyer, Jayden Hill, Robert Martin, and Lauren Bernett all died to suicide, and they were all collegiate athletes. Sarah Shulze attended the University of Wisconsin and was on the track team, she was a part of Division I athletics. Katie Meyer played soccer at Stanford University; a Division I level program. Jayden Hill ran track at Northern Michigan University which is a Division II level program. Robert Martin played lacrosse at Binghamton University; a Division I level program. Finally, Lauren Bernett played softball at James Madison University which is also a Division I level program. To have 5 NCAA athletes commit suicide in just under 2 months reveals a huge issue going on within college athletics. For these athletes and for collegiate athletes across the globe, sports are a huge part of their lives and likely always have been. Sports are supposed to be enjoyable but for these athletes, it was anything but enjoyable

Genetic bases of plant performance in different environmental scenarios using natural variation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Plant performance is the result of many individual processes which are influenced by environmental factors. Flowering time and the production of secondary metabolites such as anthocyanins affect plant performance. These specific and other related traits were quantified on a new recombinant inbred line population of Arabidopsis thaliana derived from a cross between Ler (Poland) and Eri-1 (Sweden). Altogether, 110 recombinant inbred lines were grown under two contrasting environmental scenarios: i) high light intensity and low temperature (HL4 for High Light 4°C) and ii) commonly used light intensity and temperature when growing Arabidopsis thaliana in growth chambers. This allowed us to detect QTL (Quantitative Trait Loci). In addition, Eri-1 accession was sequenced to obtain polymorphisms between the parental accessions. Mapped QTL indicated that Ler/Eri-1 variation in flowering time and/or anthocyanin accumulation is mainly caused by three interacting QTL. One of these QTL is located on chromosome III and is involved in flowering time in both tested conditions. Selected lines were phenotyped for validation and fine mapping of this QTL, which lead to the identification of two closely linked additive QTL. Candidate genes are proposed. Other QTL is located on chromosome V and is involved in both flowering time and anthocyanin accumulation under HL4 conditions. The validation and fine mapping lead to the identification of the gene HUA2, a pre-mRNA processing factor, as being responsible for flowering time variation observed for this QTL. HUA2 has previously been shown to positively regulate a MADS box gene FLC, which is involved in the regulation of flowering time. In addition, expression analyses strongly suggest that HUA2 is also responsible for the variation of anthocyanin accumulation. Finally, in accordance with epistatic interactions and sequence variation between the parental accessions, we propose a model that explains how HUA2 could be involved in the regulation of late anthocyanin biosynthesis genes via the MYB-bHLH-WD40 transcriptional activation complex in HL4 conditions. Sequencing accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana has become more accessible, facilitating the identification of candidate genes for detected QTL, as could be shown in this study. This project reveals a link between flowering time and secondary metabolism, highlighting the power of using natural variation to dissect the genetic architecture of responses of metabolic pathways to environmental scenarios

Is it all about the money? : The effects of low and high cost simulator training scenarios in surgical training

Background: The learning process is complex and dependent on several factors such as for instance, the environment to learn, prior knowledge and distinct abilities, motivation, goal-orientation as well as the effects of instructor feedback. Medical education, in particular within surgical domains is imperative due to its influence on patient safety. The demand for training surgeons has shifted from the “master-apprentice/practice on patients”, towards a safer modality, involving simulators. The positive effects laparoscopic simulator training has on laparoscopic performance is extensive, as well as its impact on operating room performance. Nonetheless, the difference in learning effect using either low-cost or high-fidelity laparoscopic simulators were not totally clear prior to study start. Aims 1. To examine whether laparoscopic surgical training may be offered at a lower cost, with maintained equivalent level of training and effect in knowledge/learning using a low-cost laparoscopic Blackbox (Paper I). 2. To study the impact of PC-gaming experience, visuospatial ability and gender on the various parameters of the MIST-VR simulator and its effect on the score (Paper II). 3. To further investigate the Blackbox, and if different adjuncts (video analysis) could provide more information regarding the effects of training (Paper III). 4. To study the effects on time to learn laparoscopic knot- and suturing skills in novices using two different laparoscopic needle holders in a more advanced Blackbox, evaluate outcomes regarding performance, ergonomic discomfort and time to perform laparoscopic knot- and suturing skills, as well as to evaluate an objective video evaluation scoring table (OVEST) (Paper IV). Materials and Methods: The participants were medical students from the surgical semester at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm (Studies I-III) and medical students at Athens University Medical School in Athens, Athens, Greece (Study IV). The studies were conducted at CAMST (Center for Advanced Medical Simulation and Training), Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm (Studies I-III), and at MPLSC (Medical Physics-Lab Simulation Center), Athens University Medical School, Athens, Greece (Study IV). In conjunction with inclusion, the students (Studies I-II) performed a test (MRT-A; Mental Rotation Test – A) for the assessment of their visuospatial ability, and questionnaires including baseline questions (Studies I-IV). The simulator training/tests were done using different laparoscopic simulators; Blackbox (Studies I and III); LapMentor (Study I); MIST-VR (Studies I-III); Simball box (Study IV). The participants’ simulator performance analyzed; time to completion and economy of movement (Studies I-IV); optical flow metrics (path-length and total number of particles) as displayed by the automated video analysis software (Study III); knot- and suturing skills (Study IV). Results: Studies I and II showed, as previous studies, that the visuospatial ability correlated with the initial simulator training sessions. Study I showed no significant difference in performance between laparoscopic basic skills training regardless of simulator used; low-cost or high-fidelity laparoscopy simulator. Studies I, II and III showed discrepancies between prior PC-gaming experience and the simulator performance, as well as some gender-specific differences. Study III also showed that the use of a low-cost automated video analysis software may be feasibly comparable to the build-in software of the MIST-VR simulator. Study IV presented a shortened time to learn for novices performing laparoscopic knot- and suturing tasks in a simulated environment when using the newly designed laparoscopic needle holder compared to a conventional market needle holder. Conclusions: Laparoscopic simulator training clearly facilitates laparoscopic skills performance. Improved prerequisites of training opportunities for surgeons could potentiate patient safety, especially since enhanced surgical performance improves patient safety. Subsequently, as depicted in this thesis, there is not one single truth or solution, rather different angles and several factors that affect learning in general and surgical performance in particular. Therefore, considerations of for instance individual differences, gender, and motivation, should all be included when producing laparoscopic skills training curriculum for future surgical trainees

AN EVALUATION OF A NEW HIRE TRAINING PROGRAM FOR MENTAL HEALTH STAFF IN A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION

Thesis (Ed.D.) – Indiana University, Department of Instructional Systems Technology, 2021In nonprofit organizations, direct support staff members offering direct services to clients are essential to the day-to-day operations and continuity of client services and care. Despite this critical role, there has been limited research conducted to determine today’s direct support staff's essential training needs. Hence, the primary purpose of this evaluative case study was to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the new hire on-the-job training offered to a group of direct support staff, residential and group home teacher counselors, across two southern states in a U.S. nonprofit organization serving children with mental, behavioral, and emotional disorders. This study’s secondary purpose was to provide recommended areas for improvement of the training. This evaluative case study used the Questionnaire for Professional Training Evaluation (Q4TE), semi-structured interviews, and a document review to answer two research questions. The study findings indicate that direct support staff members have an affinity for workshop-style training and de-escalation approaches such as Collaborative Problem Solving, which enable them to better manage challenging client behaviors in the field of mental health care. The study findings also indicate that direct support staff in nonprofits can be inundated with text-based content in online training modules due to federal and state laws requiring that specific topics be covered. In addition, direct support staff can experience a significant level of discomfort with physical restraints, and thus, special attention should be given to restraints training and development. This study identified opportunities via web-conferencing and videos as having benefits for enhancing the on–the-job training experience of teacher counselors

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 127, April 1974

This special bibliography lists 279 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in March 1974