Assessing professional skills development at a third year level

Employers, professional bodies, instructors and students themselves recognise the need for graduates to leave university with a good understanding of both disciplinary content as well as a range of highly developed professional skills. Many universities have responded to this need by encouraging the development of such skills in their programs of study. Curtin Business School has implemented the Professional Skills Project that aims to integrate the teaching and assessing of professional skills into the units of the Bachelor of Commerce degree program.As part of this initiative, the first author successfully won a grant to implement a project that focussed on supporting students' development of their presentation and written communication skills in his third year management unit. These skills were specifically selected based on the lecturer's previous experiences of teaching the unit which showed that while students in CBS are given opportunities to develop their of professional skills throughout the course, there seemed to be a significant variation in students' skill levels. The variation in skill development was particularly apparent in the assessment of group presentations and written assignments in semester one 2001. Thus, opportunities for students to develop these skills were integrated into the unit and data on students' perceptions of their skill development were obtained by them completing a questionnaire at the beginning and end of the unit.In this paper, we outline how the skills were taught and assessed, present the data on the changes in students' perceptions of their skill levels, and discuss the implications for teaching and assessing presentation and written communication skills in the context of the discipline

Patient-Reported Disability Measures Do Not Correlate with Electrodiagnostic Severity in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Electrophysiologic studies including electromyography and nerve conduction studies play a role in the evaluation of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), despite evidence that these studies do not correlate with CTS-specific symptom scores. There is a lack of evidence comparing electrophysiologic data with general measures of function. METHODS: Fifty patients presenting for CTS treatment over an 8-month period were analyzed retrospectively. All patients completed surveys including the Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand questionnaire (DASH) and the Medical Outcomes Study 12-Item Short-Form Survey [(physical component summary 12, mental component summary (MCS-12)]. Electromyography and nerve conduction studies were performed on all patients and compared with outcome scores. RESULTS: Analysis demonstrated no relationship between DASH or MCS-12 and electrodiagnostic severity. No significant correlations were noted between DASH or MCS-12 and median motor or sensory latency. There was a moderate-weak correlation (rho = 0.34) between more severe electrophysiologic grade and better function based on physical component summary 12. CONCLUSIONS: Electrodiagnostic severity grades do not correlate with patient-reported disability, including the DASH and MCS-12 surveys. There is a counterintuitive correlation between more-severe electrodiagnostic findings and decreased physical disability. These findings indicate that disability may not correlate with electrodiagnostic severity of median neuropathy in CTS

Usefulness of the Social and Communication Disorders Checklist (SCDC) for the assessment of social cognition in preschoolers

This study provides data on the usefulness of the Spanish version of the Social and Communication Disorders Checklist (SCDC; Skuse et al., 1997), in terms of the validity and reliability of derived scores. Data were obtained from parents' interviews and parents' and teachers' questionnaires that measured different psychological variables from a community sample of 579 (291 boys and 288 girls), 5-year-old children. These children were tested to assess their intellectual capacity. Confirmatory factor analyses yield a one-dimensional structure invariant across sex within each informant (parents or teachers), with negligible latent mean differences between boys and girls for both informants (parents-teachers). The internal consistency was satisfactory (alpha values ≥ .85 for teacher version and ≥ .75 for parent version). SCDC scores correlated with specific scales related to developmental problems, aggressive behavior, executive functioning, and uncaring behavior toward others. SCDC scores were unrelated to intelligence quotient, whereas SCDC scores were associated with the presence of disruptive disorders, measured with diagnostic interview. Results provide evidence on reliability and validity of SCDC scores, which is potentially a useful measure for the study of social cognition and its relationship with preschool adjustmen

Matrices commuting with a given normal tropical matrix

Consider the space $M_n^{nor}$ of square normal matrices $X=(x_{ij})$ over $\mathbb{R}\cup\{-\infty\}$, i.e., $-\infty\le x_{ij}\le0$ and $x_{ii}=0$. Endow $M_n^{nor}$ with the tropical sum $\oplus$ and multiplication $\odot$. Fix a real matrix $A\in M_n^{nor}$ and consider the set $\Omega(A)$ of matrices in $M_n^{nor}$ which commute with $A$. We prove that $\Omega(A)$ is a finite union of alcoved polytopes; in particular, $\Omega(A)$ is a finite union of convex sets. The set $\Omega^A(A)$ of $X$ such that $A\odot X=X\odot A=A$ is also a finite union of alcoved polytopes. The same is true for the set $\Omega'(A)$ of $X$ such that $A\odot X=X\odot A=X$. A topology is given to $M_n^{nor}$. Then, the set $\Omega^{A}(A)$ is a neighborhood of the identity matrix $I$. If $A$ is strictly normal, then $\Omega'(A)$ is a neighborhood of the zero matrix. In one case, $\Omega(A)$ is a neighborhood of $A$. We give an upper bound for the dimension of $\Omega'(A)$. We explore the relationship between the polyhedral complexes $span A$, $span X$ and $span (AX)$, when $A$ and $X$ commute. Two matrices, denoted $\underline{A}$ and $\bar{A}$, arise from $A$, in connection with $\Omega(A)$. The geometric meaning of them is given in detail, for one example. We produce examples of matrices which commute, in any dimension.Comment: Journal versio

AcDc - A new code for the NLTE spectral analysis of accretion discs: application to the helium CV AM CVn

We present a recently developed code for detailed NLTE calculations of accretion disc spectra of cataclysmic variables and compact X-ray binaries. Assuming a radial structure of a standard alpha-disc, the disc is divided into concentric rings. For each disc ring the solution of the radiation transfer equation and the structure equations, comprising the hydrostatic and radiative equilibrium, the population of the atomic levels as well as charge and particle conservation, is done self-consistently. Metal-line blanketing and irradiation by the central object are taken into account. As a first application, we show the influence of different disc parameters on the disc spectrum for the helium cataclysmic variable AM CVn.Comment: 7 pages, 11 figures to be published in A&

Anisotropic two-orbital Hubbard model: single-site versus cluster dynamical mean-field theory

The anisotropic two-orbital Hubbard model with different bandwidths and degrees of frustration in each orbital is investigated in the framework of both single-site dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) as well as its cluster extension (DCA) for clusters up to four sites combined with a continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo algorithm. This model shows a rich phase diagram which includes the appearance of orbital selective phase transitions, non-Fermi liquid behavior as well as antiferromagnetic metallic states. We discuss the advantages and drawbacks of employing the single-site DMFT with respect to DCA and the consequences for the physical picture obtained out of these calculations. Finally, we argue that such a minimal model may be of relevance to understand the nature of the antiferromagnetic metallic state in the iron-pnictide superconductors as well as the origin of the small staggered magnetization observed in these systems.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, and accepted in Annalen der Physi

Trends in laryngeal cancer mortality in Europe

After a steady increase since the 1950s, laryngeal cancer mortality had tended to level off since the early 1980s in men from most European countries. To update trends in laryngeal cancer mortality in Europe, age-standardized (world standard) mortality rates per 100,000 were derived from the WHO mortality database for 33 European countries over the period 1980-2001. Jointpoint analysis was used to identify significant changes in mortality rates. In the European Union (EU) as a whole, male mortality declined by 0.8% per year between 1980 and 1989, by 2.8% between 1989 and 1995, by 5.3% between 1995 and 1998, and by 1.5% thereafter (rates were 5.1/100,000 in 1980-1981 and 3.3/100,000 in 2000-2001). This mainly reflects a decrease in rates in men from western and southern European countries, which had exceedingly high rates in the past. Male laryngeal mortality rose up to the early 1990s, and leveled off thereafter in several countries from central and eastern Europe. In 2000-2001 there was still a 10-15-fold variation in male laryngeal mortality between the highest rates in Croatia (7.9/100,000) and Hungary (7.7/100,000) and the lowest ones in Sweden (0.5/100,000) and Finland (0.8/100,000). Laryngeal cancer mortality was comparatively low in women from most European countries, with stable rates around 0.3/100,000 in the EU as a whole over the last 2 decades. Laryngeal cancer trends should be interpreted in terms of patterns and changes in exposure to alcohol and tobacco. Despite recent declines, the persistence of a wide variability in male laryngeal cancer mortality indicates that there is still ample scope for prevention of laryngeal cancer in Europe. [Ed.]]]> Laryngeal Neoplasms; Mortality eng oai:serval.unil.ch:BIB_E23DFD6660FA 2022-05-07T01:28:48Z openaire documents urnserval <oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd"> https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_E23DFD6660FA Why is there philosophy in India? Johannes, Bronkhorst Johannes, Bronkhorst (ed.) info:eu-repo/semantics/book book 1999 Indian philosophy, Indian history eng https://serval.unil.ch/resource/serval:BIB_E23DFD6660FA.P001/REF.pdf http://nbn-resolving.org/urn/resolver.pl?urn=urn:nbn:ch:serval-BIB_E23DFD6660FA3 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/urn/urn:nbn:ch:serval-BIB_E23DFD6660FA3 info:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersion info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Copying allowed only for non-profit organizations https://serval.unil.ch/disclaimer application/pdf oai:serval.unil.ch:BIB_E23E086D3432 2022-05-07T01:28:48Z <oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd"> https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_E23E086D3432 Compte-rendu : « Gwénola Réto, La bienveillance à l’école » https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-03452642 Camille, Roelens info:eu-repo/semantics/article article 2021 Le Télémaque. Philosophie, Education, Société, no. 60 fre oai:serval.unil.ch:BIB_E23F61C3E477 2022-05-07T01:28:48Z openaire documents urnserval <oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd"> https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_E23F61C3E477 Bioterrorism: myth or reality? info:doi:10.1111/1469-0691.12713 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1111/1469-0691.12713 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pmid/24920295 Greub, G. Grobusch, M.P. info:eu-repo/semantics/article article 2014 Clinical Microbiology and Infection, vol. 20, no. 6, pp. 485-487 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/eissn/1469-0691 urn:issn:1198-743X eng https://serval.unil.ch/resource/serval:BIB_E23F61C3E477.P001/REF.pdf http://nbn-resolving.org/urn/resolver.pl?urn=urn:nbn:ch:serval-BIB_E23F61C3E4776 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/urn/urn:nbn:ch:serval-BIB_E23F61C3E4776 info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Restricted: indefinite embargo Copying allowed only for non-profit organizations https://serval.unil.ch/disclaimer application/pdf oai:serval.unil.ch:BIB_E24085AADE3D 2022-05-07T01:28:48Z openaire documents <oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd"> https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_E24085AADE3D De la communauté à l’utopie : l’impact sociopolitique des théâtres postdramatiques https://www.fabula.org/revue/document12988.php Aurélien, Maignant info:eu-repo/semantics/article article 2020-06-01 Acta Fabula, vol. 6, no. 21 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pissn/1496-9610 fre https://serval.unil.ch/resource/serval:BIB_E24085AADE3D.P001/REF.pdf http://nbn-resolving.org/urn/resolver.pl?urn=urn:nbn:ch:serval-BIB_E24085AADE3D7 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/urn/urn:nbn:ch:serval-BIB_E24085AADE3D7 info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Copying allowed only for non-profit organizations https://serval.unil.ch/disclaimer application/pdf oai:serval.unil.ch:BIB_E24153DBE7DF 2022-05-07T01:28:48Z <oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd"> https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_E24153DBE7DF Assurance maladie et dépenses de santé : présentation Mougeot, Michel info:eu-repo/semantics/article article 2000 Revue d'économie politique, vol. 110, no. 4, pp. 447-456 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pissn/0373-2630 oai:serval.unil.ch:BIB_E241922E4472 2022-05-07T01:28:48Z <oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd"> https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_E241922E4472 Energy expenditure and whole body protein synthesis in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pmid/6580179 Schutz, Y. Catzeflis, C. Gudinchet, F. Micheli, J. Welsch, C. Arnaud, M. J. Jequier, E. info:eu-repo/semantics/article article 1983 Experientia Suppl, vol. 44, pp. 45-56 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pissn/0071-335X <![CDATA[To examine the rates of whole body protein synthesis and energy expenditure during the rapid growing period, premature infants of very low birth weight (VLBW) (less than 1500 g), appropriate for gestational age were kept under standard thermoneutrality conditions and received a formula diet providing 110 kcal/kg.d metabolisable energy (ME) and 3.3 g protein/kg.d. Their energy expenditure was measured by open circuit indirect calorimetry. Nitrogen turnover and whole body protein synthesis and catabolism were determined using repeated oral administration of 15N-glycine for 60-72 h followed by the analysis of 15N-enrichment in urinary urea. These VLBW infants grew at an average rate of 15 g/kg.d. About half of the ME intake (i.e. 50 kcal/kg.d) was invested in weight gain while the remainder (i.e. 60 kcal/kg.d) was oxidised. The energy equivalent of the weight gain (i.e. the amount of energy stored per g weight gain) and the N balance indicated that lean tissue made up approximately 2/3 of the weight gained and fat tissue the remaining 1/3. The plateau value for 15N enrichment reached on the third day of administration allowed us to calculate a rate of protein synthesis of 14 g/kg.d and protein breakdown of 12 g/kg.d in five VLBW fed a formula diet. The elevated energy expenditure of the very low birth weight infant seems to be related to its rapid rate of weight gain which is accompanied by a high rate of body protein synthesis. More than 20% of the total energy expenditure of the VLBW infants was accounted for by whole body protein synthesis

Exotic complex Hadamard matrices, and their equivalence

In this paper we use a design theoretical approach to construct new, previously unknown complex Hadamard matrices. Our methods generalize and extend the earlier results of de la Harpe--Jones and Munemasa--Watatani and offer a theoretical explanation for the existence of some sporadic examples of complex Hadamard matrices in the existing literature. As it is increasingly difficult to distinguish inequivalent matrices from each other, we propose a new invariant, the fingerprint of complex Hadamard matrices. As a side result, we refute a conjecture of Koukouvinos et al. on (n-8)x(n-8) minors of real Hadamard matrices.Comment: 10 pages. To appear in Cryptography and Communications: Discrete Structures, Boolean Functions and Sequence

Prevalence, comorbidity, functioning and long-term effects of subthreshold oppositional defiant disorder in a community sample of preschoolers

To study the prevalence of subthreshold oppositional defiant disorder (ST ODD)-less than 4 symptoms, but nonetheless an impairing form of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)-its coexistence with other homotypic externalizing and heterotypical internalizing problems in children and associated impairment, as well as the long-term effect of this condition. A population-based sample of 622 preschoolers (5.0% boys) was followed up from preschool to preadolescence. Parents were interviewed when the children were 3, 6 and 9 years old with the Diagnostic Interview for Preschoolers/Children and Adolescents versions following DSM-5 and the children's functioning was assessed by trained clinicians. ST ODD diagnosis is highly prevalent (19.4-25.5%), highly comorbid [homo- (1.9-18.4%) and heterotypical (5.8-23.7%)], resulting in functional impairment across child development in a similar way for both genders. ST is also a risk factor condition that predicts the presence of psychological problems and impairment in childhood and preadolescence from preschool age. A broader clinical assessment and intervention similar to that provided full syndrome cases is needed for children presenting subthreshold forms of OD

Psychometric properties of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire - Preschool revision (APQ-Pr) in 3 year-old Spanish preschoolers

Parenting practices should be assessed and taken into account at an early age, since it is well documented that they are strongly related to children's development. This study provides data on the psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire for Preschool children (APQ-Pr). A community sample of 622 (310 boys and 312 girls) 3 year-old children and their parents, participated in the study. Data were obtained from parents' reports and correspond to a semi-structured diagnostic interview and self-report questionnaires evaluating parenting and children's psychological states. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor solution: positive parenting, inconsistent parenting and punitive parenting. These scales scores showed moderate to good internal consistence (omega values ranged from .54 to .86). Inconsistent parenting scores achieved the strongest associations with external measures of psychopathology, especially for externalizing and conduct problems, as well as for functional impairment, the poorest associations being for the positive parenting scores. Results support the validity of the Spanish APQ-Pr, which is potentially a useful measure for the study of parenting practices regarding preschool children and their relation to conduct problems