Evaluating the performance of different procedures for constructing confidence intervals for coefficient alpha: A simulation study

Reliability is one of the most important aspects of testing in educational and psychological measurement. The construction of confidence intervals for reliability coefficients has important implications for evaluating the accuracy of the sample estimate of reliability and for comparing different tests, scoring rubrics, or training procedures for raters or observers. The present simulation study evaluated and compared various parametric and non-parametric methods for constructing confidence intervals of coefficient alpha. Six factors were manipulated: number of items, number of subjects, population coefficient alpha, deviation from essentially parallel condition, item response distribution and type. The coverage and width of different confidence intervals were compared across simulation conditions.     

Use of the estimated intraclass correlation for correcting differences in effect size by level

In a meta-analysis of intervention or group comparison studies, researchers often encounter the circumstance in which the standardized mean differences (d-effect sizes) are computed at multiple levels (e.g., individual vs. cluster). Cluster-level d-effect sizes may be inflated and, thus, may need to be corrected using the intraclass correlation (ICC) before being combined with individual-level d-effect sizes. The ICC value, however, is seldom reported in primary studies and, thus, may need to be computed from other sources. This article proposes a method for estimating the ICC value from the reported standard deviations within a particular meta-analysis (i.e., estimated ICC) when an appropriate default ICC value (Hedges, 2009b) is unavailable. A series of simulations provided evidence that the proposed method yields an accurate and precise estimated ICC value, which can then be used for correct estimation of a d-effect size. The effects of other pertinent factors (e.g., number of studies) were also examined, followed by discussion of related limitations and future research in this area.     

The Compromise Effect in Choosing for Others

Most research into the compromise effect focuses on cognitive factors related to choosing for oneself. However, there are daily opportunities to make choices for others, from helping friends to buy merchandise to choosing souvenirs for relatives. Although it is a common practice, choosing for others is rarely discussed in the literature. Hence, this research is directed to determine whether (i) the compromise effect is greater for people choosing for others with whom one has a distant relationship compared to choosing for themselves, (ii) the decision maker's susceptibility to interpersonal relationships, accountability, and anticipated regret moderate the relationship between choosing for others versus choosing for themselves and the compromise effect, and (iii) the confidence of the decision maker mediates the relationship between deciding for others and the compromise effect. Five hypotheses are proposed and they are supported by the results from four experiments. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

循证护理在ICU人工气道患者意外拔管中的应用

探讨循证护理在人工气道患者意外拔管中的应用.通过对123例ICU人工气道患者气管导管进行临床评估,应用循证护理的概念和实施步骤,制定护理干预措施.通过循证护理的干预,患者意外拔管发生率降低.循证护理改变了临床护士以往以经验和感觉为主的习惯和行为,有效地降低了ICU人工气道患者意外拔管的发生率,提高患者生存质量.     

APC及p63在人口腔鳞状细胞癌发生中的表达及病理意义

为了探讨抑癌基因APC及p63在口腔鳞状细胞癌中的蛋白表达水平和病理意义,实验收集46例人口腔鳞癌石蜡包埋组织,采用elivision染色法检测口腔正常黏膜上皮、上皮异常增生和口腔鳞癌组织中的APC及p63的表达变化,最后将各组份的免疫组化结果与各病例的临床病理学资料使用Kruskal- Wallis检验或Spearman相关性检验,进行统计学处理.结果显示APC蛋白胞浆表达水平与口腔鳞癌的分化呈正相关(P＜0.05),p63蛋白胞核表达水平与口腔鳞癌的分化呈负相关(P＜0.05).APC与其淋巴结有否转移无相关性,而p63与其淋巴结转移有否呈负相关(P＜0.05).因此,APC及p63的表达与口腔鳞癌的发生密切相关,而且与口腔鳞癌的分化程度有关,提示APC和p63可作为口腔鳞癌的发生和预后的检测指标.     

Alerting and orienting of attention without visual awareness

Two types of the attentional network, alerting and orienting, help organisms respond to environmental events for survival in the temporal and spatial dimensions, respectively. Here, we applied chromatic flicker beyond the critical fusion frequency to address whether awareness was necessary for activation of the two attentional networks. We found that high-frequency chromatic flicker, despite its failure to reach awareness, produced the alerting and orienting effects, supporting the dissociation between attention and awareness. Furthermore, as the flicker frequency increased, the orienting effect attenuated whereas the alerting effect remained unchanged. According to the systematic decline in temporal frequency sensitivity across the visual hierarchy, this finding suggests that unconscious alerting might be associated with activity in earlier visual areas than unconscious orienting. Since high-frequency flicker has been demonstrated to only activate early visual cortex, we suppose that neural activation in early visual areas might be sufficient to activate the two attentional networks.     

儿童推断他人知识状态的知识偏差和无知偏差

采用“看见-知道”任务考察了儿童对他人知识状态推断的特点和可能存在的偏差效应。被试为90名3-5岁儿童。结果表明,3-5岁儿童已经理解他人看见即知道的关系;5岁儿童已经能准确地推断他人的知识状态,不存在偏差;但3、4岁儿童对他人知识状态的推断受到自身知识的影响且表现出自我中心的倾向：既存在知识偏差即因为自己知道而高估他人的知识,也存在无知偏差即因为自己的无知而低估他人的知识。4岁儿童的知识偏差程度与3岁儿童无异,但无知偏差低于3岁儿童,且4岁儿童的知识偏差程度大于其无知偏差,儿童克服无知偏差的时间可能早于克服知识偏差的时间。     

小学儿童英语课堂学习焦虑发展及其与教师教育行为的关系

运用《外语课堂学习焦虑量表》和《教师教育行为问卷》对399名3～6年级小学儿童英语课堂学习焦虑及他们知觉到的英语教师的教育行为进行了考察。结果发现:(1)小学儿童英语课堂学习焦虑随年级升高而逐渐增长,五、六年级儿童在交际畏惧、考试焦虑、否定评价恐惧方面的得分都显著高于三、四年级儿童;(2)交际畏惧和考试焦虑是我国小学阶段儿童的主要焦虑类型;(3)在英语课堂学习焦虑的三个维度上,男女生差异均不显著;(4)教师的消极反应与评价、鼓励与帮助是预测学生英语课堂学习焦虑的重要变量。研究结果表明,学校、教师和家长应重点关注高年级学生的课堂学习焦虑情况,加强情感疏导,并且教师要多给予学生积极的评价,有助于降低学生的课堂焦虑情绪。     

Clarifying the Role of Psychological Pain in the Risks of Suicidal Ideation and Suicidal Acts among Patients with Major Depressive Episodes

The role of psychological pain in the risk of suicide was explored using a three‐dimensional psychological pain model (pain arousal, painful feelings, pain avoidance). The sample consisted of 111 outpatients with major depressive episodes, including 28 individuals with suicidal histories. They completed the Chinese version of the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSI), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Psychache Scale, and the three‐dimensional Psychological Pain Scale (TDPPS). A structured clinical interview was conducted to assess the history of suicidal acts. Significant correlations were found among BDI, BSI, and TDPPS scores (p < .01). Stepwise regression analyses showed that only pain avoidance scores significantly predicted suicide ideation at one's worst point (β = .79, p < .001) and suicidal acts (β = .46, p < .001). Pain avoidance was also a better predictor of current suicidal ideation (β = .37, p = .001) than were BDI scores (β = .31, p < .01). Increased levels of pain avoidance during a major depressive episode may be a dominant component of the motivation for suicide. Future clinical assessments for populations at high risk of suicide should include measures of psychological pain to reduce the incidence of suicide.     

The Relationship Between Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Suicide Ideation Among Child Survivors Following the Wenchuan Earthquake

The association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and suicide ideation was examined in a sample of 2,298 child survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake. Results indicated that intrusion, avoidance, hyperarousal symptom clusters, and PTSD total score were significantly associated with suicide ideation. Except for intrusion, other measures of PTSD remained as statistically significant correlates of suicide ideation even after controlling for age, gender, direct exposure, indirect exposure, and depression. Furthermore, results showed that PTSD symptoms had an indirect influence on suicide ideation that was mediated by depression. The findings suggest that avoidance and hyperarousal symptom clusters of PTSD may be two important indicators of suicide ideation among child survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake. Implications of the results for intervention and prevention of suicide behavior are discussed.