BakgrundLäroplanen för förskolan föreskriver att musiken ska användas både som innehåll och metod i verksamheten för att främja barnens lärande och utveckling. Trots läroplanens uppdrag får förskollärarstudenter allt mindre utbildning inom musiken och dess användningsområden. Flera olika forskare lyfter fram musikens positiva betydelse för barnens tidiga utveckling. Pedagogerna behöver dock vara medvetna om syftet med musikstunderna för att kunna rikta barnens uppmärksamhet mot det tänkta lärandet, detta enligt den utvecklingspedagogiska teorin som vi har valt att utgå ifrån.SyfteSyftet med vår undersökning var att ta reda på vad verksamma pedagoger har för syften med musikstunderna i förskolan. Ser pedagogerna ett lärande hos barnen genom musiken och synliggör de i så fall för barnen vilka kunskaper de tagit till sig?MetodVi valde att använda oss av self-report som redskap där pedagogerna gavs möjlighet att i lugn och ro skriftligt beskriva hur de använder sig av musiken i sina verksamheter utifrån några frågeställningar.ResultatI vår undersökning fann vi att pedagogerna oftast hade ett medvetet syfte med sina musikstunder och att det förekom både spontana och planerade musikstunder. Pedagogerna uppgav att de använde sig av musiken som ett redskap för att utveckla andra förmågor hos barnen, till exempel språk, matematik, kroppsuppfattning och även för att stärka gemenskapen i barngruppen eller mellan avdelningarna. De uppgav att de sett att barnen tagit till sig kunskaper genom musiken, men skrev samtidigt att de är dåliga på att synliggöra lärandet för barnen med argumentet att de fann det svårt på grund av barnens låga ålder. / Program: Lärarutbildningen

acase@tulane.edu

Eustress, the positive response to stress, is a relatively understudied concept. Most of the research on eustress has been concentrated in the occupational and management setting. Empirical studies of eustress in adolescents are absent, even though youth experience unique sources and magnitudes of stress. Specifically, Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) students report more stress than their general education peers but excel in their rigorous academic program. Eustress is related to a variety of positive psychological and physiological outcomes among adult samples, which makes it an important concept to explore in adolescent samples. Many constructs such as self-efficacy, hope, meaningfulness, flow, engagement and coping have correlated with eustress among samples of adults. This study investigated different aspects of eustress in a sample of 2379 AP and IB students (grades 9 – 12), and explored if its relationship with positive outcomes (among adults) holds true in this population. First, the psychometric properties of a modified self-report measure of eustress were examined. Results from this study supported a five-item eustress measure that had adequate reliability (α= .85) and construct validity based on a confirmatory factor analysis. Second, differences between the eustress measure in different subgroups, namely gender, grade level, and academic program were explored. Only a significant difference in eustress was found between grade levels, indicating that students in upper grade levels had higher levels of eustress. Third, relationships between eustress scores and a nomological network of theoretically similar constructs (potential correlates) and salient outcomes – indicators of students’ academic and emotional success— were examined. Consistent with previous literature, eustress had a significant positive relationship with task-focused coping, cognitive and affective engagement, self-efficacy, flow, and grit. Eustress had a negative relationship with distress and emotion-focused coping. Related to student outcomes, eustress was a significant predictor of higher levels of positive indicators of success—GPA and life satisfaction— lower levels of indicators of undesirable outcomes—school burnout and psychopathology. Implications for practitioners and future directions for research are discussed.

Family accommodation is a salient construct within the context of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and occurs in a large majority of affected individuals and their families. Accommodating behaviors can manifest in various ways, including participation in the patient's rituals, modifying everyday routines, facilitating compulsive behaviors, or providing reassurance. It has been repeatedly linked to negative outcomes, such as attenuated treatment response, increased obsessive-compulsive symptom severity, higher levels of family distress, and lower levels of functioning. As such, it is of significant clinical importance to have a standardized measure that is able to be used in research and clinical practice. The Family Accommodation Scale for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (FAS) was the initial attempt at a measure to systematically assess for family accommodation in patients with OCD, with different clinician-rated and self-reported versions completed by the relative arising thereafter. However, to date, there is not a patient-reported version of the instrument. Existing measures focus on reports from the relative (e.g., the patient's significant other, parent), overlooking information from the patient themselves. Additionally, adult patients with OCD often present to clinical services alone, frequently making it impractical to obtain information from their relative. As such, it is important to have a standardized patient-reported measure to examine the accommodating behaviors. The present study sought to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Family Accommodation Scale for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - Patient Version (FAS-PV). A large majority of the participants (88.5%) endorsed at least one type of accommodating behavior in the previous week. Provision of reassurance and waiting for completion of compulsions were the most frequently reported behaviors, while helping with personal tasks and making excuses/lying due to OCD-related impairment were the least frequently endorsed. The FAS-PV demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability, as well as good convergent/divergent validity. The FAS-PV did not significantly differ from the relative-reported measure of family accommodation in terms of internal consistency or mean scores. Ultimately, the FAS-PV demonstrated sound psychometric properties and utility in assessing family accommodation from the patient's perspective.

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) assessment has emerged as a vital health outcome measure in clinical trials, healthcare services and evaluation, and population health outcomes research. Reliability, validity, and parent-child agreement of the PedsQL™ 4.0 Generic Core Scales were examined using child self-report and parent proxy-report age subgroup data on over 8,000 children ages 5-16 years from the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales DatabaseSM. The PedsQL™ 4.0 Generic Core Scales demonstrated good internal consistency reliability for children as young as 5 years; healthy children across the age subgroups demonstrated a statistically significant difference in HRQOL (better HRQOL) than children with a known chronic health condition. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that a 5-factor model fit almost identically across the age subgroups, providing further evidence that children as young as 5 years are reliable and valid self-reporters of their HRQOL. Parent-child agreement was in the moderate-to-good range, with parents reporting significantly higher PedsQL™ 4.0 scores across the age subgroups. In conclusion, the analyses support the reliability and validity of child self-report in children as young as 5 years old.

Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the most commonly isolated multi-drug resistant organism in the hospital setting. MRSA can result in death among people who have no identified risk factors for infection. One-third of MRSA infections are cross-transmitted as Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs). It is well known that the single most effective means for decreasing the risk of HAIs is hand hygiene (HH), yet poor performance among registered nurses persists. The theoretical framework used to guide the study was the Health Belief Model (HBM). The purposes of the study were to: explore the RNs’ self-reported HH performance rate; explore the RNs’ knowledge related to MRSA; identify relationships between MRSA knowledge and HBM constructs; explore the RNs’ barriers to HH performance; identify relationships between barriers and self-reported HH performance; explore relationships among HH behaviors and constructs in the HBM; explore predictors of ‘overall HH’ performance; and identify if certain demographic characteristics are related to MRSA knowledge, self-reported HH, and HBM constructs. A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted with a sample of RNs who were randomly selected. The questionnaire mailing, which included the survey, consent, and the return-stamped envelope were distributed to 684 RNs. Completed surveys (n=120) from RNs who met the sample inclusion criteria were returned within four weeks. Self-reported HH were highest during times of increased perceived susceptibility for infection. In addition, nurses were more likely to overcome barriers to HH during ‘moments’ associated with the highest perceived susceptibility. Although MRSA knowledge did not correlate with ‘overall HH’ performance, there was a significant relationship identified with self-efficacy (r=.27, p<.01), which may influence HH behaviors. The most commonly identified barriers to HH performance were system factors (e.g. ‘a high workload’). Self-efficacy and barriers represented 26% of the variability in the regression model when applying significant correlations among HBM constructs and ‘overall HH.’ The phenomenon of the RN’s HH decision making is not completely understood. More research is needed to explain predictors for HH among registered nurses. This understanding will allow researchers to plan interventions aimed at increasing knowledge and understanding about perceived susceptibility, which may in turn improve self-efficacy behaviors for HH, which could decrease HAI rates. / text

When selecting applicants for professions with job descriptions involving complex human interaction, identifying suitable candidates is essential. This strongly applies in police selection, because police officers must act appropriately at all times, deal with difficult and sometimes dangerous work situations, and come into contact with people who are in highly emotional states, such as anxiety, fear, excitement, and shock. However, suitability is a broad and vague concept that cannot be even defined without understanding the value of various personal skills and qualities for specific duties, ways that such skills are manifested during life as an officer (potentially both on- and off-duty), and appropriate ways to assess them. The overall aim of this thesis was to explore the personal skills and qualities that are relevant to suitability for the police profession with a special focus on the concept of empathy, and to investigate how it can be conceptualized and measured in the context of selection. Two of the four studies focused on different perspectives regarding the personal skills and qualities of a good police officer, while the other two focused on theoretical aspects and practical measurement of empathy. Mixed methods were used, in acknowledgement of the value of using different forms of data collection, material, and analytical methods to achieve valid information. The results and findings support several of the personal skills and qualities that have been identified in previous research and also can be found as criteria in police selection. Empathy should be considered in the selection process, but it is also important to ensure that there is an alignment between the definition of the concept and practical outcomes in police work. The findings indicate that empathy could be conceptualized in a relevant way using a social cognitive neuroscience (SCN) approach. In particular, a modified, Swedish 4-factor version of the Empathy Assessment Index (based on recent theoretical advances in SCN) appears to have considerable potential for further development. Future studies will focus on areas identified as requiring further research, such as the development of this instrument by adding complementary measures focusing on manifestations of empathy and other relevant qualities in actual work-related situations. Other aspects that require further attention include the definition, assessment, and impact of social desirability in selection contexts.

No description available.

This study examined if levels of self-reported mindfulness and experiential avoidance were associated with subjective and physiological outcomes following exposure to distressing film clips. Participants consisted of 108 college-aged young adults who completed self-report measures assessing levels of mindfulness, experiential avoidance, and negative affect. Several devices designed to monitor physiological activity, specifically sympathetic nervous activation, were also attached to participants. Participants were shown four brief film clips of neutral and unpleasant stimuli while these devices were attached. After each film, subjective distress ratings were gathered every 20 seconds for a period of two minutes to determine extent of emotional recovery. Results showed that, contrary to predictions, self-reported mindfulness was positively correlated with subjective distress following particular emotional film clips. Furthermore, self-reported mindfulness was largely unrelated to changes in physiological activity during the film clips, in addition to subjective and physiological recovery from the films. Although most findings were nonsignificant, this investigation contributes to the existing literature by being the first to include a measure of self-report mindfulness in combination with an array of subjective and physiological instruments to evaluate responses to aversive stimuli.

Thesis (M. S.)--Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. / Committee Chair: Lawrence R. James; Committee Member: Jack Feldman; Committee Member: Richard Catrambone. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.