Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Screening Techniques : Clinicians' Views And Approaches To Assessing Alcohol And Substance Use In Older Adults, Erin M. Conlan

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This qualitative study examined how New York State licensed clinicians approach the initial assessment and ongoing treatment of older adults (55+) identified to be struggling with alcohol or substance misuse issues. The research questions specifically asked: Do clinicians assess for alcohol and substance misuse in the older adult patients they serve? What are the mediating factors within this assessment and treatment process? This study was initiated in an exploratory fashion because of the limited amount of research available which investigates the relationship between clinicians' attitudes and approaches to this work with the rapidly growing older adult populations they serve. Given …

Web-Based Surveys And Assessment, Parviz Doulai, Ray Stace

Dr Parviz Doulai

This paper describes methods of on-line assessment and students’ survey, which utilize the Web interfaces and use them in conjunction with the Internet. To find the most appropriate alternative methods of students’ assessment and survey a variety of commercial and public domain tools was used to implement the following two basic tasks: 1. ‘Student Suggestion Box’ where students evaluate the subject and make comments and suggestions on the subject and its assessment; and 2. a partially AutoMark short assessment task, containing two paragraph questions and three multiple choice questions, that offers final marks to the instructor/students and provides prompt feedback …

Application Essays As An Effective Tool For Assessing Instruction In The Basic Communication Course: A Follow-Up Study, Joseph P. Mazer, Cheri J. Simonds, Stephen K. Hunt

Publications

The assessment of student learning in general education courses is of critical importance in higher education. This study examines the utility of a writing assignment (application essays) in a basic communication course as an effective assessment tool. The authors conducted a content analysis of student portfolios to determine the extent to which application essays provide evidence of student learning in the basic course. The present study extends the findings from recent assessment efforts (Jones, Simonds, & Hunt, 2005) to explore types of mass media events students address in application essays and assess the revisions made to the assignment based on …

Rapid Knowledge Assessment (Rka): Assessing Students Content Knowledge Through Rapid, In Class Assessment Of Expertise, Erin Margaret O'Connell

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding how students go about problem solving in chemistry lends many possible advantages for interventions in teaching strategies for the college classroom. The work presented here is the development of an in-classroom, real-time, formative instrument to assess student expertise in chemistry with the purpose of developing classroom interventions. The development of appropriate interventions requires the understanding of how students go about starting to solve tasks presented to them, what their mental effort (load on working memory) is, and whether or not their performance was accurate. To measure this, the Rapid Knowledge Assessment (RKA) instrument uses clickers (handheld electronic instruments for …

Plan And Assess: The Basics Of Learning Outcomes And Survey Development, Larry D. Long, Angela Baugher, Jess Turuc

Larry D. Long

No abstract provided.

Slides: Routes To Sustainability: Natural Gas Development And Air And Water Resources In The Rocky Mountain Region, Mark Williams

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Mark Williams, University of Colorado Boulder

14 slides

"We Thought It Might Encourage Participation.” Using Lottery Incentives To Improve Libqual+(Tm) Response Rates Among Students, Stefanie Buck, Jennifer E. Nutefall, Laurie M. Bridges

Staff publications, research, and presentations

Libraries deploying the LibQUAL+™ survey can offer a lottery incentive and many do in the hope of increasing response rates. Other libraries may be prohibited from offering one because of Institutional Review Board restrictions, as is the case at [institution name]. We wanted to discover why libraries offer lottery incentives and what kinds and if they believe these incentives have a positive impact on their response rates. The responding libraries hold a general belief that lottery incentives are effective but base this on feeling rather than research. We examine what the literature says about lottery incentives and student populations.

Secret Shoppers In The Library, Jennifer Link Jones

Jennifer L. Jones

Purpose: Like many libraries, Georgia State University (GSU) Library consistently evaluates most of its services and resources, but the provision of high-quality reference service is assumed more than it is measured. As part of its fiscal year 2010-2011 Institutional Effectiveness Assessment Plan, GSU Library committed to investigating the quality of reference services provided by library employees in order to get a better picture of this core, and under-assessed, function of the library.

Design/Methodology/Approach: In 2009, the library evaluated customer service skills of library employees using the secret, or mystery, shopper approach often used in retail establishments in the private sector. …

Ipads As Clipboards: Simple, Portable Assessment, Jennifer Link Jones

Jennifer L. Jones

Purpose: Ongoing, systematic assessment can be a challenge for many libraries. Traditional methods like surveys can be time-consuming for researchers to develop and test and are easy for populations to ignore and delete from their inboxes. Scheduling interviews, focus groups, and usability tests with students and their unpredictable schedules can be a hassle. Georgia State University (GSU) Library sought innovative ways of gauging the perceptions, preferences, and satisfaction of its students, while addressing some of these assessment challenges. After participating in a campus iPad pilot program with Freshman Learning Communities, the library was allowed to keep its assigned iPads in …

“I’Ve Got The Data, Now What?:” Making Sense Of Assessment Data, Larry D. Long

Larry D. Long

How to analyze and interpret qualitative and quantitative assessment data

Assessing The Strategic Credibility Of Special Collections And Archives, Erin Passehl, Rick Stoddart

Erin Passehl Stoddart

In this time of often precarious funding at many colleges and universities, any case that can be made to illustrate how a department strategically fits into the overall university mission is not only worth merit, but an essential survival technique. This “strategic credibility” within the university is a vital form of currency in determining institution-wide resources prioritization, collaboration opportunities between organizational units, and overall direction of departments. This poster provides a case study of academic special collections in the Northwest and examines the methods these departments use to demonstrate value to the university. This poster considers how well do special …

Teaching Tools For Real Life Skills: Information Literacy For The Workplace, Alessia Zanin-Yost, Betsy Clementson

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

See presentation description.

Hunting For Qr Codes: Linking Students To The Music Collection, Veronica A. Wells

University Libraries Librarian and Staff Articles and Papers

Libraries are exploring the use of Quick Response (QR) codes, to market to and connect users with libraries' services. The University of the Pacific has been experimenting with QR codes in an innovative way: to introduce first-year music majors to the physical music library materials via a QR code scavenger hunt. This article discusses the library literature on QR codes and scavenger hunts, as well as the University of the Pacific's QR code scavenger hunt from creation to assessment. Additionally, recommendations are given for designing a similar pedagogical tool at your library.

Assessment Of Co-Occurring Depression And Substance Use In An Ethnically Diverse Patient Sample During Behavioral Health Intake Interviews, Sarah Darghouth, Ora Nakash, Alisa Miller, Margarita Alegría

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

Background: Co-occurring disorders present a challenge for providers who often fail to diagnose them with accuracy. This study explores the assessment process of co-occurring depressive and substance use disorders in community health clinics serving ethnically diverse patients. The goals are to identify how symptoms discussed in intake, as well as patient and provider characteristics, are associated with receiving a diagnosis of co-occurring disorders or not. Methods: Participation in the study consisted of videotaping the intake, conducting a semi-structured interview, and completing demographic and clinical measures. Quantitative analyses were conducted based on information coded from videotapes of intakes with 119 patients …

Tomorrows Workforce: Factors Influencing Nursing Students' Development Of Nursing Assessment & Clinical Skills, Andrew Horne, Patrea Andersen, Roy Brown, Patrick A. Crookes

Professor Patrick Crookes

Research Design - The aim of this research was to: •Describe student nurses experiences undertaking nursing assessments on clients in clinical practice. •Identify factors influencing the students’ ability to perform assessments. •Determine the types of nursing assessments undertaken by students and the frequency of these. •Identify student involvement in completing assessment documentation on nursing assessments.

Competency Assessment Using A Standardised Tool Across Nursing Programmes In Australia, Roy A. Brown, Patrick A. Crookes

Professor Patrick Crookes

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Timeframe On The Recall Reliability Of Me/Cfs Symptoms, Meredyth Evans

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

This study served as an investigation of the effects of symptom stability, timeframe length, and momentary symptom severity on the recall reliability of symptoms experienced by individuals with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). ME/CFS symptoms were assessed at four recall timeframes (right now, the past week, the past month, and the past six months) and at two assessment points. Analyses revealed that test-retest reliability was significantly stronger for recall of post-exertlonal malaise (PEM), headaches, and memory problems, when these symptoms were perceived to be stable over time rather than variable. It was also revealed that the optimal timeframe for variable …

Neuropsychological Assessment Of Fitness To Drive Following Acquired Cognitive Impairment, Vida V. Bliokas, Joanne E. Taylor, Judith Leung, Frank P. Deane

Frank Deane

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: The study evaluated a neuropsychological assessment battery used to assess fitness to drive in cognitively impaired individuals and hypothesized that the battery would be associated with on-road outcome measures. A secondary aim was to explore the relationships between individual neuropsychological tests and driving performance. RESEARCH DESIGN: The study used a cross-sectional design in which a sample of individuals with various types of cognitive impairment completed the test battery and an on-road driving test. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Performance on the test battery was compared to on-road driving performance in 104 individuals with acquired cognitive impairment. MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: …

Dominican Resort Tourism, Sustainability, And Millennium Development Goals, Vinod Sasidharan, Marilyn E. Hall

Journal of Tourism Insights

The tourism industry continues to be touted as the main income and employment generator for Caribbean nations. In the Dominican Republic (DR), international tourism has become one of the largest industries and is a major contributor to the country’s economic growth. A recent trend in the DR is the development of luxurious residential resort complexes and private resort cities, mainly designed and created for foreign ownership. The Dominican government support for such projects has been very strong due to the economic propensity of these high-end resorts to assist the country in generating local opportunities for stable employment, creating basic infrastructure, …

A Self-Administered Dietary Assessment Website For Use In Primary Health Care: Usability Testing And Evaluation, Y. C. Probst, Linda C. Tapsell

L. C. Tapsell

A dietary assessment website for use in the primary healthcare setting has been developed. The website allows patients, referred from their GP, to self-report their dietary intake. Data from the website feeds to a dietitian who develops individualised dietary advice for the patient. The aim of this paper is to describe the usability testing of the dietary assessment website with its potential users. Testing was broken into two phases. Forty-two free-living adults with metabolic syndrome volunteered, 17 completed phase one and 10 completed phase two, with a 64% rate of completion. Phase one participants spoke aloud as they progressed through …

Collection Of Online Learning Objects For Research Success (Colors) Pilot Project, Andrea Falcone, Stephanie Wiegand

University Libraries Faculty Publications

The availability of library-related videos is growing; yet it is difficult to justify the impact of such time-consuming projects. In order to investigate the impact of such projects and a possible solution, the researchers asked students to create videos that appeal to their peers. The following research questions were posed:

• Will creation of media projects enable students to learn core research concepts and skills?
• Will a series of peer-created media engage students and help them acclimate to researching in an academic library?

By asking students to create videos, the researchers were able to observe how users interact with and perceive …

Access To Recreation In San Francisco, Ca, Robert Graham

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This research presents an assessment of the equity of access to public recreation facilities among communities of San Francisco, California using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), database programming, and open sources of data. Urban parks and the recreation facilities contained therein are valuable public resources that contribute to healthy and well-adjusted citizenry and have significant positive impacts on the shared urban experience. This project utilizes the network analysis and spatial processing capacities of GIS alongside web technologies and open data sources to delineate pedestrian and transit service areas around each of over 300 documented recreation facilities and community centers in the …

A Comparison Of A Dynamic Preference Assessment And A Brief Multiple-Stimulus Without Replacement Preference Assessment In An Applied Setting, Ashley Warling-Spiegel

Culminating Projects in Community Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy

Preference assessments are used to identify preferred stimuli. The present study was conducted to determine if there was a difference between a brief MS WO and a dynamic assessment in their ability to identify effective reinforcers. Three child-staff member pairs participated in a multi-element design. Three dependent variables were measured during both assessment sessions: percent correct trials, assessment duration, and verbal protests.

The results showed higher percent correct and fewer protests with the dynamic assessment, and shorter assessment duration with the brief MSWO assessment. These results suggest the dynamic assessment might be a more effective preference assessment.

Assessing Value From The Digital Collection End-User: The Western Writers Series Digital Editions Experience, Thomas Hillard, Rick A. Stoddart

Rick A Stoddart

How end-users and stakeholders value a digital collection is one of the most compelling questions in library assessment.This presentation reports on a series of interviews with stakeholders and potential end-users of the digital collection “Western Writers Series Digital Editions.” These interviews were undertaken to determine in what ways these digital humanities materials might be used by scholars and incorporated into their research process. Interview participants were identified through scholarly citations and works cited lists. The outcomes of these interviews are supplemented by additional interviews with the editors of the original print editions of the Western Writers Series, as well as …

Assessing Value From The Digital Collection End-User: The Western Writers Series Digital Editions Experience, Thomas Hillard, Rick A. Stoddart

Tom J. Hillard

How end-users and stakeholders value a digital collection is one of the most compelling questions in library assessment.This presentation reports on a series of interviews with stakeholders and potential end-users of the digital collection “Western Writers Series Digital Editions.” These interviews were undertaken to determine in what ways these digital humanities materials might be used by scholars and incorporated into their research process. Interview participants were identified through scholarly citations and works cited lists. The outcomes of these interviews are supplemented by additional interviews with the editors of the original print editions of the Western Writers Series, as well as …

Ruqual: A System For Assessing Post-Editing, Jason K. Housley

Theses and Dissertations

Post-editing machine translation has become more common in recent years due to the increase in materials requiring translation and the effectiveness of machine translation systems. This project presents a system for formalizing structured translation specifications that facilitates the assessment of the performance of a post-editor. This report provides details concerning two software applications: the Ruqual Specifications Writer, which aids in the authoring of post-editing project specifications, and the Ruqual Rubric Viewer which provides a graphical user interface for filling out a machine readable rubric file. The project as a whole relies on a definition of translation quality based on the …

The Development Of The Well-Being Interview, Craig Alexander Asselin

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Although psychologists and psychotherapists have long been concerned with the construct of well-being, currently there exist only self-report measures of the construct. This is potentially problematic because, as a number of researchers have pointed out, there are many different kinds of biases that can undermine the validity of data obtained from self-report measures. The purpose of this project was to develop a comprehensive, user-friendly, clinician administered interview to assess well-being. In order to accomplish this, the Well-Being Interview (WBI) was developed, based on recent developments in positive psychology (e.g., Diener (2000), Ryff (1995) and Seligman (2011) and theoretical unification (Henriques, …

Perceived Responsibility For Learning In College Students: A Construct Validity Study, Matthew S. Swain

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Responsibility for learning is an important, foundational construct for students in higher education. Because of its importance, higher education officials often design programs to inform students of their academic responsibilities. In order to assess these programs, a valid measure of responsibility for learning must be selected. In order to assess program effectiveness, measurement specialists collect validity evidence to support score interpretations. The current study focuses on the validity evidence of the Perceived Responsibility for Learning (PRL) scale. Benson’s (1998) framework for construct validation was used to examine current validity evidence and direct the study. Competing factor structures of the PRL …

Measuring Employability Among College Students: A Validity Study, Megan Rodgers

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The practice of assessment in higher education is often focused on measuring outcomes of student success. However, the potential for a student to obtain a job (i.e., their employability) after graduation is often not directly measured. This reality is unfortunate given the competitive job market and rising cost of an education. One scale, the Employability Skills Inventory (ESI) has been identified as a potential assessment instrument that purports to measure skills necessary for employment in most occupations. Before deciding to use any scale for a particular purpose, one must establish that the scale is both reliable and valid. The focus …

The Impact Of Incentives On Neuropsychological Test Performance: An Analog Study, Laura Marie Spenceley

Psychology - Dissertations

Concussion, also known as mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), represents a common injury in children, young adults, and athletes in particular. High rates of malingering have been demonstrated in individuals with MTBI when faced with monetary incentives, but research is yet to explore the impact of other incentives on test performance. The present study sought to examine the rate of effort test failure, symptom report, and neuropsychological test performance in college students assigned to one of three conditions: Fake Good, Fake Bad, and No Incentive conditions. All groups were asked to simulate concussion and provided a description of the injury …