Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Risk Communication And College Students: The 2009 H1n1 Pandemic Influenza, Francisco Soto Mas

Francisco Soto Mas

Objective The purpose of this study was to assess university students’ self-reported knowledge, behavior, and behavioral intention regarding H1N1 influenza. Method A cross-sectional, causal comparative study with purposive sampling was conducted at a major university in the southwestern U.S. Data were collected in early spring 2010 using a 24-item survey. Analyses included frequencies, descriptive statistics, correlation, linear regression, and multivariate analysis of variance. Results A total of 483 students participated. The majority of participants (69%) indicated taking “specific precautions” to prevent H1N1 influenza, but one-third lacked knowledge about symptoms and treatment. Only 10% had been vaccinated, and approximately half had …

College Students' Study Time: Course Level, Time Of Semester, And Grade Earned, R. Landrum, Rob Turrisi, Jessica Brandel

R. Eric Landrum

The association of total study time, number of events, time per event ratio, study strategies, and course grades across the semester were examined by linking students' study logs to course performance. There were 37 upper-division and 109 lower-division participants. Students earning As and Bs studied more frequently at the end of the semester but for shorter periods of time than students earning lower grades. Results are discussed in terms of providing college students and faculty with recommendations about learning strategies and time spent studying.

Sensitivity Of Implicit Memory To Input Processing And The Zeigarnik Effect, R. Landrum

R. Eric Landrum

Implicit memory is evidenced when a subject benefits from a previous experience without making a conscious effort to recollect that prior experience. In the present study, I examined the sensitivity of implicit memory to two variables: type of input processing and the temporal placement of the implicit memory test. Results indicated that although implicit memory occurred in all conditions, its magnitude was sensitive to both variables. The results are discussed in terms of the underlying nature of implicit memory, including the role of transfer-appropriate processing.

Satisfaction With College By Traditional And Nontraditional College Students, R. Landrum, J Et'aime Hood, Jerry Mcadams

R. Eric Landrum

University students (N=433) were surveyed about their satisfaction with a number of campus services and opportunities. Comparisons between traditional (up to 24 years old) and nontraditional (25 years and up) students indicated the latter valued learning and school opportunities more and appreciated the efforts of their professors in interacting with them and communicating information. A number of similarities were noted. University administrations need to be aware of the important differences between such groups to be able to enhance students' safisfaction.

Identifying Core Concepts In Introductory Psychology, R. Landrum

R. Eric Landrum

Two studies were conducted in an attempt to establish a core of concepts considered fundamental to introductory psychology courses. Six textbooks were analyzed for concepts that could be considered important to instructors. The six textbooks yielded 5,148 terms and after duplications were eliminated, 2,742 unique terms were organized in a chapter-by-chapter format. 45 psychology instructors rated three chapters each, creating a resource listing of the most important concepts in introductory psychology. Limitations to this approach and varied possible uses of this information are discussed.

Departmental Search Committees And The Evaluation Of Faculty Applicants, R. Landrum, Michael Clump

R. Eric Landrum

We surveyed directors of departmental search committees (N = 89) to ascertain which criteria have the most value in the faculty applicant selection process. Respondents used several methodological techniques, including rank order, agreement, and importance scale questions. Results indicated that match or fit with department is the most important criterion in applicant selection, followed by research and teaching experience. Important differences emerged in the evaluation of job applicants depending on the type of institution (public vs. private) or type of department (undergraduate-only vs. undergraduate + graduate program).

Graduate Admissions Criteria In Psychology: An Update, R. Landrum, Jeremy Clark

R. Eric Landrum

Ratings of importance were reviewed for nine graduate admissions criteria for the 573 graduate degree programs listed in American Psychological Association's Graduate Study in Psychology (2003). Overall, the three criteria receiving the highest percentages of importance ratings were letters of recommendation, statement of goals and objectives, and grade point average. Importance ratings varied depending on the degree programs offered. Results are discussed in terms of the advice offered students interested in admission to graduate school and the importance of students tailoring their graduate admissions process to their specific degree program

Production Of Negative Transfer In A Problem Solving Task, R. Landrum

R. Eric Landrum

72 students solved two problems using a source problem designed to inhibit performance on the target problem relative to baseline performance when the target problem was solved alone. Both source and target problems shared surface similarity but were structurally dissimilar. Negative transfer was found for three different source and target combinations. The decreased performance below baseline for three of the source-target programs provides a reliable context to demonstrate negative transfer and facilitate continued investigation of this phenomenon.

An Information Course For The Beginning Psychology Major, Ronna Dillinger, R. Landrum

R. Eric Landrum

Introduction to the Psychology Major is a course required for beginning psychology majors. Participants (N = 190) completed a pretest and posttest examining their knowledge and perceptions regarding course goals, such as PsycLIT database familiarity, career options with a bachelor’s degree in psychology,curriculum requirements, and graduate school options. Statistically significant differences emerged for 18 of 21 questions. At posttest, students indicated less commitment to the psychology major. Those students who continue as psychology majors are better informed and more aware of the realities and opportunities in psychology.

University Image: The Benefits Of Assessment And Modeling, R. Landrum, Rob Turrisi, Clayton Harless

R. Eric Landrum

Residents across a state were asked about their opinions about a regional university. Using closed- and open-ended questions in mailed surveys, information about university image was collected. Results indicate that residents have one of two opinions about the university—either they have a general, positive opinion (halo effect) or no opinion. LISREL modeling of the data point to the significant components of university image and how they influence the decision to send a son or daughter to the university, which in turn leads to a better understanding of the impact of university image. More work with varying populations and a variety …

Use Of Pre- And Postcourse Surveys To Predict Student Outcomes, R. Landrum, Stephen Mulcock

R. Eric Landrum

We obtained data from pre- and postcourse questionnaires given in an Introduction to the Psychology Major course taught for 10 semesters and compared these data with institutional outcomes concerning the students' last known major and their graduation status. We found the questionnaire reliably measured (a) vocational identity, (b) knowledge of course content, and (c) students' knowledge of information-finding strategies. Generally, students who entered the course with high commitment to psychology or who demonstrated the greatest growth in commitment tended to remain psychology majors and earned the bachelor's degree in psychology. We discuss factors that affect these predictive outcomes.

Caffeine Consumption Questionnaire: A Standardized Measure For Caffeine Consumption In Undergraduate Students, Kristi Shohet, R. Landrum

R. Eric Landrum

Undergraduate students (N=691) were given the 1992 Caffeine Consumption Questionnaire of Landrum and provided information on age, sex, and year in school. A subset (n=168) of those completing the quesonnaire were also given the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire of Horne and Ostberg. Analysis indicated that the average intake of caffeine was roughly 1,600 mg, i.e., a range from 13 mg to 21,840 mg per week. Older students consumed more caffeine than younger ones, and students with an Evening personality preference consumed more caffeine in the evening and nighttime hours than those with a Morning personality preference. These results are discussed in the …

Assessing Students' Library Skills And Knowledge: The Library Research Strategies Questionnaire, R. Landrum, Diana Muench

R. Eric Landrum

3 studies were conducted to develop a questionnaire on strategies of library research which showed demonstrable psychometric qualities such as validity and reliability, to aid in assessing the effectiveness of bibliographic instruction of psychology students. In Study 1, 31 undergraduate studens were interviewed about their use of the library and the strategies they use when confronted with a paper-writing assignment. In Study 2, the qualitative responses from Study 1 were used to develop a pool of multiple-choice items for testing, to examine whether a psychometrically valid and reliable instrument could be created. 64 students were tested. Using the results from …

The Undergraduate Research Assistantship: An Analysis Of The Benefits, R. Landrum, Lisa Nelsen

R. Eric Landrum

This study documents and quantifies the benefits of serving as an undergraduate research assistant based on the results of a national survey of undergraduate psychology educators (N = 211). The survey consisted of a list of 40 potential benefits, skills, and abilities. Respondents rated each of the items on (a) whether their research assistants attain the benefit, skill, or ability and (b) the importance of each item to an undergraduate education in psychology. Factor analysis revealed 2 major themes: The first factor contained items relating to technical skills, such as math, statistics, writing, and effective communication, whereas items in the …

Fifty-Plus Years As A Student-Centered Teacher: An Interview With Wilbert J. Mckeachie, R. Landrum

R. Eric Landrum

Wilbert J. McKeachie is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and a Research Scientist at the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His long academic career is distinguished by 7 honorary degrees, 27 regional or national honors, membership in 14 professional societies, 32 books, 117 book chapters, 84 research or scholarly articles, and 105 other articles. Additionally, he is the composer of 6 musical compositions and has sung (with his wife) in the First Baptist Church Choir since 1948. During his fast-pitch softball career (from 1933 to 1989), McKeachie pitched 35 …

Introductory Psychology Student Performance: Weekly Quizzes Followed By A Cumulative Final Exam, R. Landrum

R. Eric Landrum

Students in an introductory psychology course took a quiz a week over each textbook chapter, followed by a cumulative final exam. Students missing a quiz in class could make up a quiz at any time during the semester, and answers to quiz items were available to students prior to the cumulative final exam. The cumulative final exam consisted of half the items previously presented on quizzes; half of those items had the response options scrambled. The performance on similar items on the cumulative final was slightly higher than on the original quiz, and scrambling the response options had little effect. …

Core Terms In Undergraduate Statistics, R. Landrum

R. Eric Landrum

I analyzed 3 introductory statistics textbooks to generate a listing of key terms and concepts. After removing duplications, 374 unique terms formed the master list. A national sample of introductory statistics instructors (N = 190) evaluated portions of the master list, rating each item on a scale ranging from 1 (not at all important) to 3 (extremely important). I list the Top 100 items and offer recommendations about the usefulness of the importance listing in facilitating statistics instruction.

Psychology Seminar: Careers And Graduate Study In Psychology, Jerry Dodson, Garvin Chastain, R. Landrum

R. Eric Landrum

This article describes an upper division course designed to familiarize majors with career opportunities in psychology and related fields. In addition, the course provides information about choosing a graduate school, applying to schools,financing a graduate education, and preparing for the Graduate Record Exam (GRE).

College Student's Thoughts About Leaving The University: The Impact Of Faculty Attitudes And Behaviors, Cara Lundquist, Rebecca Spalding, R. Landrum

R. Eric Landrum

College students at a large Western university (N = 729) were surveyed about 19 potential faculty attitude and behavior items and the items relative impact on student's thoughts about leaving the university. Three issues have a significant impact on predicting student thoughts about leaving the university: faculty members being supportive of student needs, returning telephone calls and e-mails in a timely fashion, and being approachable. The magnitude of the impact of these items on student retention also varies as a function of gender and year in school. Faculty members need to be aware of the impact their attitudes and behaviors …

Scaling Issues In Faculty Evaluations, R. Landrum

R. Eric Landrum

148 students were asked to evaluate particular survey questions with scales that varied in number of scale points, type of labeling and labeling of achors only vs all scale points. No significant difference was found between variations on 4- and 5-point scales, so these data were collapsed. Analysis indicated that students generated scale-point exemplars significantly better for 4-point scales (96.7%) than for 5-point (87.8%) and 10-point (79.3%) scales. These results are discussed with respect to the administration of student evaluations and the care required in selecting a scale type and interpreting the subesequent outcomes.

Important Topics In An Introduction To The Psychology Major Course, R. Landrum, Cynthia Shoemaker, Stephen Davis

R. Eric Landrum

We surveyed psychology departments nationwide to determine the most important issues in undergraduate psychology education via an Introduction to the Psychology Major course. This type of course is becoming popular, with 34.2% of reporting departments offering such a course. Respondents rated 33 undergraduate education issues with respect to importance. We discuss these results in the context of increasing popularity of the psychology major and the course-based method of communicating academic and career advising information to students.

Characterisation Of Amyloid Fibril Formation By Small Heat-Shock Proteins, Human Alphaa-, Alphab- And R120g Alphab-Crystallins, Sarah Meehan, Tuomas Knowles, Andrew Baldwin, Jeffrey Smith, Adam Squires, Phillip Clements, Teresa Treweek, Heath Ecroyd, Gian Tartaglia, Michele Vendruscolo, Cait Macphee, Christopher Dobson, John Carver

Heath Ecroyd

AlphaB-Crystallin is a ubiquitous small heat-shock protein (sHsp) renowned for its chaperone ability to prevent target protein aggregation. It is stress-inducible and its up-regulation is associated with a number of disorders, including those linked to the deposition of misfolded proteins, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. We have characterised the formation of amyloid fibrils by human alphaB-crystallin in detail, and also that of alphaA-crystallin and the disease-related mutant R120G alphaB-crystallin. We find that the last 12 amino acid residues of the C-terminal region of alphaB-crystallin are predicted from their physico-chemical properties to have a very low propensity to aggregate. (1)H …

Adjusting Medicare Capitation Payments Using Prior Hospitalization Data, Arlene Ash, Frank Porell, Leonard Gruenberg, Eric Sawitz, Alexa Beiser

Frank Porell

The diagnostic cost group approach to a reimbursement model for health maintenance organizations is presented. Diagnostic information about previous hospitalizations is used to create empirically determined risk groups, using only diagnoses involving little or no discretion in the decision to hospitalize. Diagnostic cost group and other models (including Medicare's current formula and other prior-use models) are tested for their ability to predict future costs, using R2 values and new measures of predictive performance. The diagnostic cost group models perform relatively well with respect to a range of criteria, including administrative feasibility, resistance to provider manipulation, and statistical accuracy.

Promoting Adherence And Retention To Clinical Trials In Special Populations: A Women's Health Initiative Workshop, Sara Wilcox, Sally Shumaker, Deborah Bowen, Michelle Naughton, Milagros Rosal, Shari Ludlam, Elizabeth Dugan, Julie Hunt, Stephanie Stevens

Elizabeth Dugan

This paper describes a Women's Health Initiative workshop on promoting adherence and retention in randomized clinical trials among ethnic minority women, participants of lower socioeconomic status, and older women. Workshop objectives were: (1) to increase knowledge of demographic and cultural characteristics of diverse groups, (2) to increase awareness of how diversity can affect interactions in clinical research, (3) to explore how research staff behavior can influence adherence and retention, and (4) to increase knowledge of strategies to enhance adherence and retention in special populations. The workshop emphasized the importance of understanding beliefs, values, and experiences that are common in diverse …

Development Of Abbreviated Measures To Assess Patient Trust In A Physician, A Health Insurer, And The Medical Profession, Elizabeth Dugan, Felicia Trachtenberg, Mark Hall

Elizabeth Dugan

BACKGROUND: Despite the recent proliferation in research on patient trust, it is seldom a primary outcome, and is often a peripheral area of interest. The length of our original scales to measure trust may limit their use because of the practical needs to minimize both respondent burden and research cost. The objective of this study was to develop three abbreviated scales to measure trust in: (1) a physician, (2) a health insurer, and (3) the medical profession. METHODS: Data from two samples were used. The first was a telephone survey of English-speaking adults in the United States (N = 1117) …

Patient Education About Anticoagulant Medication: Is Narrative Evidence Or Statistical Evidence More Effective?, Kathleen Mazor, Joann Baril, Elizabeth Dugan, Frederick Spencer, Pamela Burgwinkle, Jerry Gurwitz

Elizabeth Dugan

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relative impact of incorporating narrative evidence, statistical evidence or both into patient education about warfarin, a widely used oral anticoagulant medication.

METHODS: 600 patients receiving anticoagulant therapy were randomly assigned to view one of three versions of a video depicting a physician-patient encounter where anticoagulation treatment was discussed, or usual care (no video). The videos differed in whether the physician used narrative evidence (patient anecdotes), statistical evidence, or both to highlight key information. 317 patients completed both the baseline and post-test questionnaires. Questions assessed knowledge, beliefs and adherence to medication and laboratory monitoring regimens.

RESULTS: All …

Assessing Stakeholder Opinions Of Medical Review Of Impaired Drivers And Fitness To Drive: Recommendations For Massachusetts, Nina Silverstein, Kelli Barton

Nina Silverstein

Driving is the main mode of travel for Americans age 65 and older, and although older adults are generally found to be safe drivers, aging often brings about functional limitations and an increase in medications that can impede safe driving and fitness to drive (Rosenbloom, 2003; Kissinger, 2008; Adler & Silverstein, 2008). Effective licensing policies and Medical Advisory Board practices are critical components in identifying medically at-risk drivers and may even have a role in the transition to alternative transportation options; yet, states vary greatly in their approach to licensing and renewal practices and in the utilization, composition, and function …

Faculty Empowerment Of Students To Foster Civility In Nursing Education: A Merging Of Two Conceptual Models, Cynthia Clark, Bonnie Kenaley

Bonnie Kenaley

Academic incivility negatively impacts faculty and student well-being, weakens professional relationships, and impedes effective teaching and learning. This article addresses the prevalent concern of student incivility and provides useful strategies for faculty to empower students. Two conceptual models, Fostering Civility in Nursing Education and an Empowerment Model, were merged to illustrate how the concepts of civility and empowerment can be combined to foster civility in nursing education. Empowerment domains of motivation, psychic comfort, problem-solving, and self-direction are explored as influential factors promoting constructive reciprocal engagement and civility and, ultimately, enhancing professionalism in a complex and ever-changing health system.

Ethical Minefields In Medical Tourism, Katrina Bramstedt

Katrina A. Bramstedt

Extract: Crystal blue waves lapping on the beach and glimmering shopping malls with bargains galore. Would you like a little sun, surf and safari with your surgery, all for a price much less than the surgery alone would cost in the United States? It only takes a few clicks of a computer mouse to find enticing lures bundled with cardiac bypass surgery, vision correction, bariatric surgery, organ transplants, dental implants, and total hip arthroplasty.

A Regional Academic Partnership For The Early Identification And Retention Of At-Risk Nursing Students, Melinda Hermanns

Melinda Hermanns