scholarly journals An Examination of the Relationship between Generation, Gender, Subject Area, and Technology Efficacy among Secondary Teachers in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 589-604
Author(s):  
Kimberly Woods ◽  
Jillian L. Wendt ◽  
Amy Barrios ◽  
Rebecca Lunde

The current study uses a correlation design and multiple linear regression to determine whether generation, gender, and subject area predict teachers’ technology efficacy as measured by the Technology Proficiency Self-Assessment for 21st Century Leaning (TPSA C-21). An online survey was provided to all participants. The survey consisted of demographic questions and a technology self-efficacy instrument. Results demonstrate that gender and generation are statistically significant predictors of technology efficacy, namely on the Total, WWW, Integrated Applications, and Emerging Technologies Skills subscales of the TPSA C-21. The subject area variable, however, did not demonstrate a statistically significant ability to predict teacher technology efficacy scores on any subscale of the TPSA C-21. The findings of the current study add to the existing body of literature by enhancing understanding of the teachers’ perceptions of technology efficacy in one geographic location in the US. These findings are timely, especially given the largely technology dependent nature of education—whether in physical classrooms or in virtual settings and the increasing necessity of using technological tools in education settings.  Implications are discussed, including suggestions for future research. 

2020 ◽  
pp. 003022282097453
Author(s):  
Jacob S. Sawyer

The present study applied several concepts typically included in thanatology research to an atheist sample. Atheists are a growing segment of the population in the United States, though little is known about this group. A sample of 355 adults who self-identify as atheist completed an online survey assessing forms of spirituality, anti-atheist discrimination, and meaning reconstruction in order to examine associations between these variables and bereavement outcomes of complicated grief and psychological distress. Results of a multiple regression analysis suggested that spirituality was not related to bereavement outcomes, anti-atheist discrimination was related to poorer bereavement outcomes, while the relationship between meaning reconstruction and bereavement outcomes was mixed. These results provide a foundation for additional exploration of bereavement processes in atheist individuals, and implications for future research and practice are discussed.


2008 ◽  
Vol 137 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. B. DOWD ◽  
A. E. AIELLO ◽  
D. E. ALLEY

SUMMARYThere is a strong relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and health outcomes in the United States, although the mechanisms are poorly understood. Increasing evidence points to links between lifelong exposure to infectious disease and subsequent chronic disease. Exposure and susceptibility to infections may be one way SES affects long-term health, although little population-based research to date has examined social patterning of infections in the United States. This paper tests the relationship between income, education, race/ethnicity and seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection at different ages in a representative sample of the US population, and tests potential mediators for these relationships. The study finds significant racial and socioeconomic disparities in CMV seroprevalence beginning at early ages and persisting into middle age. Potential exposures do not explain the relationship between SES and CMV positivity. Because reactivation of latent CMV infections may contribute to chronic disease and immune decline later in life, future research should determine the exposure or susceptibility pathways responsible for these disparities in the prevalence of CMV infection.


Author(s):  
Steven Hurst

The United States, Iran and the Bomb provides the first comprehensive analysis of the US-Iranian nuclear relationship from its origins through to the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015. Starting with the Nixon administration in the 1970s, it analyses the policies of successive US administrations toward the Iranian nuclear programme. Emphasizing the centrality of domestic politics to decision-making on both sides, it offers both an explanation of the evolution of the relationship and a critique of successive US administrations' efforts to halt the Iranian nuclear programme, with neither coercive measures nor inducements effectively applied. The book further argues that factional politics inside Iran played a crucial role in Iranian nuclear decision-making and that American policy tended to reinforce the position of Iranian hardliners and undermine that of those who were prepared to compromise on the nuclear issue. In the final chapter it demonstrates how President Obama's alterations to American strategy, accompanied by shifts in Iranian domestic politics, finally brought about the signing of the JCPOA in 2015.


Author(s):  
Terence Young ◽  
Alan MacEachern ◽  
Lary Dilsaver

This essay explores the evolving international relationship of the two national park agencies that in 1968 began to offer joint training classes for protected-area managers from around the world. Within the British settler societies that dominated nineteenth century park-making, the United States’ National Park Service (NPS) and Canada’s National Parks Branch were the most closely linked and most frequently cooperative. Contrary to campfire myths and nationalist narratives, however, the relationship was not a one-way flow of information and motivation from the US to Canada. Indeed, the latter boasted a park bureaucracy before the NPS was established. The relationship of the two nations’ park leaders in the half century leading up to 1968 demonstrates the complexity of defining the influences on park management and its diffusion from one country to another.


Author(s):  
Frédéric Grare

India’s relationship with the United States remains crucial to its own objectives, but is also ambiguous. The asymmetry of power between the two countries is such that the relationship, if potentially useful, is not necessary for the United States while potentially risky for India. Moreover, the shift of the political centre of gravity of Asia — resulting from the growing rivalry between China and the US — is eroding the foundations of India’s policy in Asia, while prospects for greater economic interaction is limited by India’s slow pace of reforms. The future of India-US relations lies in their capacity to evolve a new quid pro quo in which the US will formulate its expectations in more realistic terms while India would assume a larger share of the burden of Asia’ security.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meenakshi Bhilwar ◽  
Suzanne A Boren ◽  
Kunal Bhatia

BACKGROUND Physician rating websites are gaining popularity, however, data on their usability and influence on healthcare quality is limited. OBJECTIVE to provide an overview of physician rating websites in the US and find answers for the following questions: 1. What are the most commonly studied/rated physician rating websites in the US? 2. Which specialty of physicians/providers are most commonly studied/rated? 3. How many physicians were rated on the studied PRWs? 4. What is the average number of ratings on these websites and are they positive or negative? 5. How does the profile of providers influence their rating? 6. How are PRWs associated with healthcare quality? 7. How PRWs are associated with patient-physician relationship? METHODS A systematic literature search was conducted through Medline for peer-reviewed articles in the English language on studies conducted in the US. RESULTS 33 articles published in peer-reviewed journals were included in the final review. Most of the studies were conducted on surgeons. A significant number of studies observed no correlation of online ratings with gender, geographic location, and years of experience. Additionally, no significant correlation was found between PRWs and healthcare quality. CONCLUSIONS It has been observed that with the current structure of these websites, the reliability of information available on them is rather questionable, and hence more research is required to assess the credibility of these websites along with their cost-effectiveness, effect on the patient-physician relationship, and quality of healthcare delivery.


Author(s):  
Diomaris E.S. Jurecska ◽  
Chloe E. Lee ◽  
Kelly B.T. Chang ◽  
Elizabeth Sequeira

Abstract The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between intelligence (IQ) and self-efficacy in children and adolescents living in the United States and Nicaragua. The sample consisted of 90 (46 male, 44 female) students (mean age=11.57 years, SD=3.0 years) referred by school administrators and faculty. United States (US) participants (n=27) resided in rural counties in the Northwest. The other group consisted of 63 students from Central America. A comparison between groups revealed that in the US, sample higher grades and IQ scores are typically associated with higher levels of self-efficacy. However in the Nicaraguan sample, both IQ scores and grades were not associated with self-efficacy, although age was correlated with self-efficacy. Results suggest that the construct of self-efficacy might change depending on whether one belongs to an individualistic or collectivistic society. Additionally, the effects of socioeconomic factors might influence perceived ability even more than intellectual abilities.


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (7) ◽  
pp. 973-989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karie Ruekert Kobiske ◽  
Abir K. Bekhet ◽  
Mauricio Garnier-Villarreal ◽  
Marilyn Frenn

More than 200,000 Americans are currently diagnosed with young-onset dementia (YOD). YOD is dementia diagnosed prior to the age of 65. Most persons of YOD are cared for by their partners. Using the theoretical framework of Resilience Theory, this cross-sectional, correlational study examined the moderating effects of personal and social resourcefulness on the relationship between predeath grief and perceived stress among 104 YOD caregiving partners (life partners/spouses) using an online survey platform. Results indicated a large positive correlation between predeath grief and caregiver perceived stress ( r = .65; p < .001). Together predeath grief, personal resourcefulness and social resourcefulness explained 51.5% of the variance in perceived stress. Personal resourcefulness did not moderate the relationship. Social resourcefulness did positively moderate this relationship between predeath grief and perceived stress. These findings allow for a better understanding of the caregiving experience for a partner with YOD and creates opportunities for future research studies.


10.28945/4268 ◽  
2019 ◽  

Aim/Purpose: To update a 2010 study that recommended “rules of thumb” for more effective use of PowerPoint in the post-secondary business classroom. The current study expanded the focus to include the business classroom in India as well as the US and examined possible shifts in student perception of the utility of PowerPoint among Generations Y and Z. Background: The study examined students’ perception of the learning utility of PowerPoint in post-secondary business classrooms in the US and India and the relationship of the use of PowerPoint to course ratings. Methodology: Surveys were distributed in post-secondary business classrooms in India and the US in 2018 and early 2019, resulting in 92 completions from India and 127 from the US. Separately 50 student course evaluations from the same US college were compared to the use of slides as well as to their conformance to the “rules of thumb” for effectiveness established earlier and other measures of quality. Contribution: These results show how PowerPoint is viewed by post-secondary business students in India and the US and its perceived utility as a learning tool for Generations Y and Z. Findings: Most post-secondary business students (80%) found PowerPoint an effective learning tool, but only 21% of the business classes examined used it. US students were more positive than Indian ones, who were more likely to say PowerPoint is overused. There was no difference in student course evaluations between those that had slides and those that did not. However, most of the slide decks examined did not follow the “rules of thumb,” exhibiting a much greater number of words per slide. Generations Y and Z gave high ratings to slides that incorporated audiovisuals, mixed media, and special effects and said they learned more when they were the ones who created the slides. However, most students did not rate themselves as competent in creation of PowerPoint slides. Recommendations for Practitioners: (1) Faculty should consider students’ positive reception of PowerPoint, their preference for adaptive, interactive learning that builds on strong multimedia elements while creating instructional materials. (2) Faculty should receive prescriptive design instruction for incorporating PowerPoint best practices to cut back on their self-reported high time spent on slide creation and student-reported low technical competency in faculty instruction. (3) Publishers should concentrate on slide design and innovativeness along with content coverage to serve faculty needs. (4) Business curricula should take into account generational as well as cultural differences in learning preferences. (5) To address the students’ conflation of personal social media prowess with superior technology or communication skills in the professional context, Business curricula should incorporate learning outcomes related to professional use of technology tools such as PowerPoint. Recommendations for Researchers: There is still utility in old-fashioned paper questionnaires to assess what impacts student learning. There is also merit in comparing student course evaluations with various in-classroom treatments. Impact on Society: PowerPoint may be underused in the post-secondary business classroom, but this paper raises questions about the value of unedited use of the very dense slides provided by publishers as effective learning tools in the post-secondary business classroom. Future Research: Future research can be focused on the use of PowerPoint slides in the business classroom in other countries and cultures, as only the US and India were examined. Further examination needs to be made of the relationship between extensive and unedited use of publisher-provided slides and the reporting of the staggering statistics that most students are not now buying textbooks. Finally, this study did not touch on gender or socio-economic differences in the student demographics, which might open further avenues for investigation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. e102-e104
Author(s):  
Emma McCrady ◽  
Julie Strychowsky ◽  
Jessica Woolfson

Abstract Primary Subject area Practice/Office Management Background Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person visits were the standard of care for paediatricians at our centre. With the pandemic onset, virtual care (VC) was adopted at an unprecedented scale and pace. Studies have reported positive patient VC experience; however, few have explored physician experience. This quality improvement (QI) initiative sought to qualify the VC experience of local paediatricians during the pandemic, with the intention of implementing VC clinical practice changes at the department level. Objectives To determine key factors that have supported and challenged the adoption of, and that will support integration of, VC in the future. Design/Methods The Donabedian model for healthcare QI was used to evaluate VC experience through an online survey with a focus on structure, process, and outcome measures. All physicians affiliated with the Department of Paediatrics (generalists and subspecialists in medicine and surgery) were invited to participate via email. Three reminder emails were sent at 2-week intervals. Descriptive statistics were reported. Results The response rate was 32.3% (63 of 195 physicians). The majority of respondents were subspecialists (84.1%), and at academic centres (87.5%) (Table 1). Pre-pandemic, only 30.1% used VC and saw &lt;10% of patients virtually. During March-May 2020, 93.8% transitioned to VC, with &gt; 50% seeing over 75% of patients virtually. By summer 2020, VC use declined, but remained higher than pre-pandemic (53.6% seeing &lt; 25% of patients). OTN and telephone were platforms most used (32.8% and 28.6%, respectively). Most conducted visits from their work location (55.2%) versus home (44.8%). VC experience was considered positive by most physicians (73.6%), and only 18.8% found VC difficult to use despite technical difficulties reported by 41.5% (Figure 1). Physicians with ≤ 5 years in practice were most likely to find VC convenient (93.8%). Challenges with VC included lack of physical exam, diagnostic uncertainty, lower patient volumes, and poor patient VC etiquette. Regardless of practice location, specialty, years in practice, and prior experience, 96% would continue VC to 25% of patients, ideally for patients who live far away (26.4%) and for follow-ups of patients with established diagnoses (21.4%). Conclusion A rapid transition to VC during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with challenges but also positive experiences. Willingness to continue VC was high. VC experience could be improved with greater patient education and focus on select patient populations. Future research is needed to improve practice efficiency and to inform regulatory guidelines for VC at a local level.


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