The Effect of the Behavioral Analysis Feedback Model on Improving Performance of Nursing Students During Clinical Rotations

This study explored the effects the Behavioral Analysis Feedback (BAF) Model had on improving nursing student’s performance. Research studies surrounding feedback primarily centered on frameworks designed as models for delivering feedback as well as the timing for delivering feedback. In addition, past research has also focused on individual elements that affect performance with little regard to environmental elements. The BAF Model was conceptualized based on the importance of providing feedback to nursing students while emphasizing three individual and three environmental elements that have the potential to influence behavior. This multiple measure, single-case study utilized a quasi-experimental pre-post intervention study design. This research study also utilized a prescriptive script for nursing educators to deliver behavior-specific feedback with an emphasis on individual and environmental elements known to affect performance. It incorporated qualitative survey instruments to track feedback and assess nursing student performance. A follow-on interview was conducted with nursing educators to gain further insight into the nursing educator’s feelings and experiences with using the BAF Model. Ultimately, the objective of this study was to provide some evidence that suggests whether performance is affected with feedback utilizing the BAF Model. Nursing educator perceptions for delivering feedback, nursing student’s attitudes for receiving feedback, and alignment of performer skillsets and organizational resources after utilizing the BAF Model were also explored. Results indicated using the BAF Model to deliver behavior-specific feedback using a list of performance standards led to the overall improvement of performance among nursing students. Results also indicated using the prescriptive script to deliver feedback served as one reason nursing student’s performance might have increased. In addition, results indicated the nursing student’s receptivity towards receiving feedback did not improve or deteriorate after being exposed to the BAF Model. The lack of improvement or deterioration could be a direct result of the sample size being too small (n=14) to consider results statistically significant. Additionally, results indicated nursing educators developed the skills needed to deliver behavior-specific feedback and motivated them to do so; however, perception towards delivering feedback improved, deteriorated, and remained the same for different elements after being exposed to the BAF Model. The lack of improvement or deterioration could be a direct result of the sample size being too small (n=5) to consider results statistically significant. Last, results indicated there was a close alignment of the information, instrumentation, and motivation between the individual and environmental level after exposure to the BAF Model

Becoming warm demanders: Perspectives and practices of first-year teachers

In the literature on culturally responsive pedagogy warm demanders are teachers who embrace values and enact practices that are central to their students’ success. Few scholars have examined the experience of novice teachers who attempt to enact this stance. In this study of two first-year, female, European American teachers who attempted to be warm demanders for their predominantly African American elementary school students, the authors answer the question, “How do the teachers think about and enact warm demanding?” The teachers’ contrasting experiences have implications for administrators and teacher educators

Elementary Preservice Teachers as Warm Demanders in an African American School

The literature related to warm demanding describes teachers who balance care and authority to create a learning environment that supports a culture of achievement for African American students. Embedded in this stance is sociopolitical consciousness that explicitly links teachers’ care and authority with a larger social justice agenda. Drawing on interviews and online course assignments, we describe two preservice teachers’ conceptions and enactments of warm demanding in full-time elementary school internships in an African American elementary school. Findings reveal that although the preservice teachers communicated similar commitments to warm demanding, they enacted the stance differently, suggesting that while warm demanders share similar commitments, their practice may vary. The two cases highlight the promise of teacher education courses and field experiences to be structured in ways that promote the development of teacher aptitudes for strengthening equity and excellence in the education of an historically marginalized population of students

Experimental evidence that browsing for activewear lowers explicit body image attitudes and implicit self-esteem in women

Online apparel shopping is popular amongst women and offers salient visual information for making body image and self-worth judgements. Apparel segments which emphasize the value of women\u27s bodies are particularly effective for eliciting low body image and self-worth. Across two studies, we investigated the association between self-reported and experimental online activewear exposure on women\u27s self-worth, body image, appearance attitudes, mood and gaze behavior. In Study 1, participants (N = 399) completed a survey collecting their online apparel shopping habits, body appreciation, self-esteem, appearance comparison tendencies and self-objectification attitudes. Activewear was the second-most popular apparel segment amongst women (after casualwear) and weekly activewear browse time was positively correlated with appearance comparison tendencies, desires to be muscular/athletic and body shame. In Study 2, participants (N = 126) were randomly allocated to browse an activewear, casualwear or homewares website and completed pre and post measures of mood, body image, implicit self-esteem and body gaze behavior. In the activewear condition, there was a significant reduction in positive body image and implicit self-esteem scores. There were no experimental effects for body gaze behavior. These findings illustrate that apparel choices have value for understanding the aetiology of maladaptive body image attitudes and low self-esteem in women

Sexual health education for behavior change: How much is enough?

Purpose: Successful implementation of sexual health curricula in school settings is often compromised by competing academic priorities. This study explores the association between exposure to sexual health lessons (time-on-task in hours and lesson content topics) and delayed sexual initiation of middle school students at long term follow-up. Methods: Post hoc data analysis was conducted from a RCT (n=15 middle schools) in the south-central U.S. in which grade 7 students demonstrated delayed sexual initiation (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.54, 95% CI: 1.20 to 1.99) by grade 9 follow-up after using It’s Your Game (IYG), a 24 lesson sexual health curriculum. Logistic regression was conducted on a sub-sample of 314 grade 7 and 8 students who received IYG and who were sexually inexperienced at baseline, adjusting for covariates of age, gender, and race/ethnicity to address the impact of lesson exposure variables (time-on-task in hours and type of sexual health content) on initiation of any sex by grade 9. Results: The greatest impact of exposure on delayed sexual initiation was a duration of 13 or more lesson hours (OR = 8.40; p\u3c0.05) and exposure to lesson content on HIV/STI and pregnancy consequences (OR = 4.93; p\u3c0.05). Conclusions: Results support previous exposure studies and provide guidance on how effective sexual health curricula can meet the challenges of delivery in a reduced and competitive academic environment

Cigarette smoking in young adults: the influence of the HTR2A T102C polymorphism and punishment sensitivity

Background: The C allele of a common polymorphism of the serotonin 2A receptor (HTR2A) gene, T102C, results in reduced synthesis of 5-HT2A receptors and has been associated with current smoking status in adults. The -1438A/G polymorphism, located in the regulatory region of this gene, is in linkage disequilibrium with T102C, and the A allele is associated with increased promoter activity and with smoking in adult males. We investigated the contributions of the HTR2A gene, chronic psychological stress, and impulsivity to the prediction of cigarette smoking status and dependence in young adults. Methods: T102C and -1438A/G genotyping was conducted on 132 healthy Caucasian young adults (47 smokers) who completed self-report measures of chronic stress, depressive symptoms, impulsive personality and cigarette use. Results: A logistic regression analysis of current cigarette smoker user status, after adjusting for gender, depressive symptom severity and chronic stress, indicated that the T102C TT genotype relative to the CC genotype (OR = 7.53), and lower punishment sensitivity (OR = 0.91) were each significant predictive risk factors. However, for number of cigarettes smoked, only lower punishment sensitivity was a significant predictor (OR = 0.81). Conclusions: These data indicate the importance of the T102C polymorphism to tobacco use but not number of cigarettes smoked for Caucasian young adults. Future studies should examine whether this is explained by effects of nicotine on the serotonin system. Lower punishment sensitivity increased risk of both smoking and of greater consumption, perhaps via a reduced sensitivity to cigarette health warnings and negative physiological effects

Computer Learning Behavior: Strategies for Learning and Behavior Improvement

A survey of 124 students in computer applications classes was conducted to determine students’ perceptions of computer learning in the following areas: promptness, listening, computer obsession, computer anxiety, anger, frustration, enjoyment of computers, importance of computer knowledge, and relative importance of computer skills and people skills. Results indicated that there were behavior problems involving promptness, listening, obsession, computer anxiety, anger, and frustration in the classroom. However, a majority of the students enjoyed working with computers. Additionally, they agreed that computer knowledge will be useful to them in the future; and most agreed that people skills and computer skills are equally important

Recommendations for exercise adherence measures in musculoskeletal settings: a systematic review and consensus meeting

Background: Exercise programmes are frequently advocated for the management of musculoskeletal disorders; however, adherence is an important pre-requisite for their success. The assessment of exercise adherence requires the use of relevant and appropriate measures, but guidance for appropriate assessment does not exist. The aim of this study was to recommend outcome measures of exercise adherence that have clinical and research utility in the musculoskeletal field. Methods: There were two key stages to the research. First, a systematic review of the availability, quality and acceptability of measures used to assess exercise adherence in musculoskeletal disorders; second, a consensus meeting. The systematic review was conducted in two phases and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to ensure a robust methodology. Phase one identified all reproducible measures that have been used to assess exercise adherence in a musculoskeletal setting. Phase two identified published and unpublished evidence of the measurement and practical properties of identified measures. Study quality was assessed against the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) guidelines. A shortlist of measures was produced for consideration during stage two: a meeting of relevant stakeholders (n=14) in the United Kingdom. During this meeting consensus on the most relevant and appropriate measures of exercise adherence for application in research and/or clinical practice settings was sought. Key findings: Our systematic review identified numerous measures which had been used as measures of exercise adherence within musculoskeletal research. Of these 36 were deemed reproducible. However, only six had been evaluated as specific measures of exercise adherence for musculoskeletal research: evidence of essential measurement and practical properties was mostly limited or not available. Assessment of relevance and comprehensiveness was largely absent and there was no evidence of patient involvement during the development of any measure. During the consensus process the stakeholders reached agreement that none of the measures were relevant, appropriate or acceptable for use in musculoskeletal clinical or research settings. Conclusions and recommendations: Numerous exercise adherence measures are currently used within musculoskeletal research. However, many of these measures were not originally developed for this purpose; many approaches are not reproducible; and evidence of essential measurement and practical properties was only identified for a limited number of measures. Moreover, substantial methodological and quality issues were identified in the development and evaluation of the six short-listed measures which reduces confidence in the ability of these measures to reliably and validly evaluate adherence to exercise. Furthermore key stakeholders unanimously agreed that these measures were not fit for purpose. Measures of exercise adherence must be clearly conceptualised. Future development and evaluation should seek to involve patients, clinicians and researchers as active collaborators and use credible methods to develop and evaluate an appropriate measure of exercise adherence