Who Believes What? Singers’ Belief in Vocal Health Information and Misinformation

Information about voice care is abundant, provided by a variety of sources, including books, the internet, and word of mouth. Some information may not be factual, which, if followed, may affect the well-being of a singer’s voice. This article reports on a survey of 386 singers, who responded to 50 statements about voice health practices, stating whether they had heard the statement, and whether they agreed/believed, were unsure, or disagreed/disbelieved. The statements were grouped by their factual nature: Generally Accepted Belief, Previously Accepted Belief, Misconception Likely Benign, and Misconception Potentially Consequential. Singers were divided into Performance Statuses (Professional, Semi-Professional, Amateur) and Generation (Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials). Statistical analysis was performed to compare the responses to the various kinds of statements by Performance Status and by Generation. Amateurs were significantly different from Professionals on the Generally Accepted Belief statements, and Millennials were different from some or all of the other generations on the other three kinds of statements. The authors examined the possible reasons for these differences, providing a cautionary tale regarding the information and misinformation available to singers. Suggestions are/were provided for how teachers can optimize the proliferation of factual information on voice care.

The importance of increased processing demands in the design of Elicited Imitation tests

This study is a conceptual replication of Ellis’ ‘Measuring implicit and explicit knowledge of a second language: A psychometric study’, published in Studies in Second Language Acquisition (2005), aiming to establish the importance of including belief statements (hypothesized to increase processing demands) in the design of Elicited Imitation (EI) tests. In a between-groups comparison, 103 participants completed one of two versions of Erlam’s EI test (2006), one which required participants to make a ‘belief’ judgement, and one which did not. Both contained ungrammatical stimuli. Participants were scored for repetition of grammatical stimuli and correction of ungrammatical stimuli. An Exit questionnaire aimed to establish how aware they were of ungrammatical stimuli. Participants also completed a timed grammaticality judgement test (TGJT), an untimed grammaticality judgement test (UGJT), a metalinguistic knowledge test (MKT), and another Elicited Imitation (EI) test designed as a measure of global proficiency. Performance on each EI version was examined in relationship to performance on these measures. There was no variation between performance on either EI test version. The article underscores the need for ongoing research investigating design features of EI tests.

An Exploration of Ethical Decision Making with Intelligence Augmentation

In recent years, the use of Artificial Intelligence agents to augment and enhance the operational decision making of human agents has increased. This has delivered real benefits in terms of improved service quality, delivery of more personalised services, reduction in processing time, and more efficient allocation of resources, amongst others. However, it has also raised issues which have real-world ethical implications such as recommending different credit outcomes for individuals who have an identical financial profile but different characteristics (e.g., gender, race). The popular press has highlighted several high-profile cases of algorithmic discrimination and the issue has gained traction. While both the fields of ethical decision making and Explainable AI (XAI) have been extensively researched, as yet we are not aware of any studies which have examined the process of ethical decision making with Intelligence augmentation (IA). We aim to address that gap with this study. We amalgamate the literature in both fields of research and propose, but not attempt to validate empirically, propositions and belief statements based on the synthesis of the existing literature, observation, logic, and empirical analogy. We aim to test these propositions in future studies.

Barriers and enablers to the implementation of protocol-based imaging in pancreatic cancer: A qualitative study using the theoretical domains framework

Background Accurate pre-operative imaging plays a vital role in patient selection for surgery and in allocating stage-appropriate therapies to patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer (PC). This study aims to: (1) understand the current diagnosis and staging practices for PC; and (2) explore the factors (barriers and enablers) that influence the use of a pancreatic protocol computed tomography (PPCT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to confirm diagnosis and/or accurately stage PC. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with radiologists, surgeons, gastroenterologists, medical and radiation oncologists from the states of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, Australia. Interviews were conducted either in person or via video conferencing. All interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, de-identified and data were thematically coded according to the 12 domains explored within the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Common belief statements were generated to compare the variation between participant responses. Findings In total, 21 clinicians (5 radiologists, 10 surgeons, 2 gastroenterologists, 4 medical and radiation oncologists) were interviewed over a four-month-period. Belief statements relevant to the TDF domains were generated. Across the 11 relevant domains, 20 themes and 30 specific beliefs were identified. All TDF domains, with the exception of social influences were identified by participants as relevant to protocol-based imaging using either a PPCT or MRI, with the domains of knowledge, skills and environmental context and resources being offered by most participants as being relevant in influencing their decisions. Conclusions To maximise outcomes and personalise therapy it is imperative that diagnosis and staging investigations using the most appropriate imaging modalities are conducted in a timely, efficient and effective manner. The results provide an understanding of specialists’ opinion and behaviour in relation to a PPCT or MRI and should be used to inform the design of future interventions to improve compliance with this practice.

Barriers and enablers to the implementation of multidisciplinary team meetings: a qualitative study using the theoretical domains framework

BackgroundEvidence-based clinical practice guidelines recommend discussion by a multidisciplinary team (MDT) to review and plan the management of patients for a variety of cancers. However, not all patients diagnosed with cancer are presented at an MDT.Objectives(1) To identify the factors (barriers and enablers) influencing presentation of all patients to, and the perceived value of, MDT meetings in the management of patients with pancreatic cancer and; (2) to identify potential interventions that could overcome modifiable barriers and enhance enablers using the theoretical domains framework (TDF).MethodsSemistructured interviews were conducted with radiologists, surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, gastroenterologists, palliative care specialists and nurse specialists based in New South Wales and Victoria, Australia. Interviews were conducted either in person or via videoconferencing. All interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, deidentified and data were thematically coded according to the 12 domains explored within the TDF. Common belief statements were generated to compare the variation between participant responses.ResultsIn total, 29 specialists were interviewed over a 4-month period. Twenty-two themes and 40 belief statements relevant to all the TDF domains were generated. Key enablers influencing MDT practices included a strong organisational focus (social/professional role and identity), beliefs about the benefits of an MDT discussion (beliefs about consequences), the use of technology, for example, videoconferencing (environmental context and resources), the motivation to provide good quality care (motivation and goals) and collegiality (social influences). Barriers included: absence of palliative care representation (skills), the number of MDT meetings (environmental context and resources), the cumulative cost of staff time (beliefs about consequences), the lack of capacity to discuss all patients within the allotted time (beliefs about capabilities) and reduced confidence to participate in discussions (social influences).ConclusionsThe internal and external organisational structures surrounding MDT meetings ideally need to be strengthened with the development of agreed evidence-based protocols and referral pathways, a focus on resource allocation and capabilities, and a culture that fosters widespread collaboration for all stages of pancreatic cancer.

Sustainability Effort Acceleration as Measured by Increased Propensity of Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the foundational bedrock for sustainability efforts. Corporate Social Responsibility is also becoming the norm rather than the exception due to social awareness created by curricula that highlights areas of both social and environmental inequality and has recently emerged as a bona fide strategic option globally. Howe and Straus predicted the growth of Corporate Social Responsibility in their seminal work, Millennials Rising. This paper extends and validates that earlier work through the illumination of recent causal factors and changes in society. The combination of proactive equality initiatives resulting in changes in leadership and value anchoring by college major illustrates that millennials’ ethos more strongly align with both social and environmental sustainability philosophies. The forthcoming millennial upheaval, as posited by Howe and Strauss, is evidenced by “strong belief statements” as interpreted by the raters in this study.

Teachers’ Beliefs About Classroom-Based Assessment

In this paper, we report on the early stages of the development of the Classroom-Based Assessment Self-Efficacy Scale (CBA-SES), an instrument designed to examine how Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs) feel about classroom-based assessment. The questionnaire (31 items) consists of three sections: (a) teachers’ beliefs, (b) teachers’ self-efficacy, and (c) their own teaching practice. We pilot tested this instrument with 30 JTEs in order to assess its appropriateness and to get a better understanding of the tendencies and characteristics of JTEs. We found that the belief statements are suitable, but revision along with additional statements will be needed for self-efficacy and practice for the next version of the instrument. The participants believed language tests should resemble real-life language use. Notably, they were able to make such tests and were doing so in their teaching contexts. They also felt that effective feedback and the use of clear learning targets were important. 教室内評価の重要性が増しつつある中、日本人英語教師がそのような評価に対してどのように感じ、また実践しているのかを探るため、本研究では教師の自己評価を測る実験的な質問紙を作成し、現役の英語教師に回答を依頼した。質問紙は、信条（Belief）、自己効力感（Self-efficacy）、実践（Practice）の３セクションから成り、それぞれ、「評価はこうあるべき」、「このような評価を行うことができる」、「このような評価を実際に行っている」という側面の自己評価を測定した。その結果、信条に関する項目は適切であったが、自己効力感と実践に関するものについては次の本格的な実施に向けて修正や追加が必要であることが判明した。殆どの回答者が現実の言語使用を反映したテストの作成が重要と考え実践しようとしていること、また、明確な指導目標の設定と効果的なフィードバックの重要性を感じていることは注目すべきであった。

Pre-service Teachers’ Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) on Bilingualism: Getting Insights to Developing Knowledge

The goal of pre-service teacher (PST) programs is to provide students with pragmatic working experience and pedagogy that they need for becoming eligible teachers. In a bilingual classroom, however, some perspectives about second language learning (SLL) held by PSTs are too arbitrary. To assist PSTs in developing concepts of second language acquisition as related to educational settings and to cultivate PSTs’ burgeoning educational beliefs, this study was conducted using the Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI). Seventeen PSTs who were enrolled in a university located along the southern U.S. border provided data for the present study. Three of the 27 belief statements included in the BALLI survey were critically analyzed. This critical analysis explored why certain PSTs’ beliefs about second language learning diverged from social reality at schools. Based on the analysis and results from our findings, suggestions about how to improve the bilingual education for PSTs are provided.

Assessing Teacher Beliefs Regarding Research-Based Practices to Improve Services for GT Students

This study examined teacher beliefs regarding research-based practices in gifted education and how these beliefs or other barriers influenced the implementation of practices in their classroom. An online survey was sent to gifted education teachers in a large suburban district. The teacher belief statements were developed based on the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Programming Standards. Although a majority of the teachers agreed with the research-based belief statements, fewer implemented the practice in their classrooms frequently. If they did implement the practice, they perceived positive student outcomes. Teachers did identify these obstacles related to implementation: limited resources, training, skill level, and the school system curriculum.