Boaz Shulruf

Development of a New Measurement Tool for Individualism and Collectivism

A new measurement tool for individualism and collectivism has been developed to address critical methodological issues in this field of social psychology. This new measure, the Auckland Individualism and Collectivism Scale (AICS), defines three dimensions of individualism: (a) responsibility (acknowledging ones responsibility for ones actions), (b) uniqueness (distinction of the self from the other), and (c) competitiveness (striving for personal goals is ones prime interest). The scale also defines two dimensions of collectivism: (a) advice (seeking advice from people close to one, before taking decisions) and (b) harmony (seeking to avoid conflict). The AICS avoids the need for measuring horizontal and vertical dimensions of collectivism and individualism and the confounding effect of familialism on the collectivism—individualism constructs.

The effect of a simulation-based training intervention on the performance of established critical care unit teams

Objective:We evaluated the effectiveness of a simulation-based intervention on improving teamwork in multidisciplinary critical care teams managing airway and cardiac crises and compared simulation-based learning and case-based learning on scores for performance. Design:Self-controlled randomized crossover study design with blinded assessors. Setting:A simulated critical care ward, using a high-fidelity patient simulator, in a university simulation center. Subjects:Forty teams from critical care units within the region comprising one doctor and three nurses. Intervention:At the beginning and end of the 10-hr study day, each team undertook two preintervention and two postintervention assessment simulations (one airway, one cardiac on both occasions). The study day included presentations and discussions on human factors and crisis management, and airway and cardiac skills stations. For the intervention, teams were randomized to case-based learning or simulation-based learning for cardiac or airway scenarios. Measurements and Main Results:Each simulation was recorded and independently rated by three blinded expert assessors using a structured rating tool with technical and behavioral components. Participants were surveyed 3 months later. We demonstrated significant improvements in scores for overall teamwork (p ≤ .002) and the two behavioral factors, “Leadership and Team Coordination” (p ≤ .002) and “Verbalizing Situational Information” (p ≤ .02). Scores for clinical management also improved significantly (p ≤ .003). We found no significant difference between simulation-based learning and case-based learning in the context of this study. Survey data supported the effectiveness of study day with responders reporting retention of learning and changes made to patient management. Conclusions:A simulation-based study day can improve teamwork in multidisciplinary critical care unit teams as measured in pre- and postcourse simulations with some evidence of subsequent changes to patient management. In the context of a full-day course, using a mix of simulation-based learning and case-based learnings seems to be an effective teaching strategy.

Student pathways at the university: patterns and predictors of completion

This article outlines a longitudinal pathway analysis of student performance within educational institutions, so as to identify student profiles which describe those groups of students who are more likely to complete or leave a bachelor degree program, and to identify the predictors for these outcomes. The analyses are based on 7314 undergraduate student enrolment and completion data, covering the period from 2001 to 2005, from a large metropolitan New Zealand university. A prospective approach was used to describe the pathway outcomes of students after every academic year in the program; thus, student pathway outcomes for any particular year were developed based on the student’s status in the following year. The effects of demographic characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, socio‐economic status, age and achievement on university entry examinations on student’s pathways outcomes are minor, once achievement and study‐related factors are controlled. The intensity of study, students’ progress toward completion of total point requirements for the program, grade point average and field of study were the important predictors of different pathway outcomes for students. It is suggested that this study significantly contributes to the existing knowledge by establishing a robust methodology for longitudinal pathway analysis of student performance within educational institutions.

The predictability of enrolment and first‐year university results from secondary school performance: the New Zealand National Certificate of Educational Achievement

This study investigates the predictive correlations between results from the New Zealand National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), a standards‐based qualification, and university grade point averages achieved by first‐year students in one large New Zealand University (and, for comparison purposes, also presents correlations from the Cambridge International Examinations [CIE], an international norm‐referenced system delivered in New Zealand, and university grade point averages achieved by first‐year students who entered with that qualification). The study then evaluates alternative models for university entrance, using different attributes of the qualifications for possible entry criteria, and ascertains the implications of the best of these models for different groups of students. The best alternative model gives greater weight to excellence and merit in NCEA results, and less weight to credit accumulation at minimum pass rates. A combination of this alternative model and the current model provides a merit‐based admissions system which would potentially increase the number of students from groups under‐represented in university education in New Zealand (students from Maori and Pacific ethnicities and from schools in lower socio‐economic communities), who are admitted with no necessary decline in the success rate during first‐year university study.

Comparison of UMAT scores and GPA in prediction of performance in medical school: a national study

Medical Education 2012: 46 : 163–171

Risk and preventive factors for fatalities in All-terrain Vehicle Accidents in New Zealand

All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) have been used in agriculture for a few decades now. Yet despite their invaluable contribution to the productivity of the agricultural industry they are associated with a large number of accidents, many of which result in a severe or fatal outcome. The main objective of this study was to identify the risk factors for ATV-related fatal injuries in order to support the design of effective interventions. Using data held by the Department of Labour, the current study analysed 355 cases of serious harm accidents associated with ATVs including 45 fatalities. The findings suggest that injuries are more likely to occur when accidents involve any of the following: children under the age of 10; four-wheel drive ATVs; driving downhill; driving on a sealed road; driving backwards; or if the ATV rolls sideways. A fatal outcome is more likely to occur when ATV accidents end up with the vehicle rolling over and pinning the driver underneath. Fatalities were also associated with injuries to the head, neck and chest. Being employed; and/or having formal training; and/or having brakes and tyres well maintained on the ATV; and/or having no fluid load on the ATV reduced the risk for fatality. Since the likelihood of a fatal outcome was found to be related to human behaviour and ATV rollover, it is suggested that interventions should mainly address these two issues.

Academic dishonesty and ethical reasoning: Pharmacy and medical school students in New Zealand

Background: There is ample evidence to suggest that academic dishonesty remains an area of concern and interest for academic and professional bodies. There is also burgeoning research in the area of moral reasoning and its relevance to the teaching of pharmacy and medicine. Aims: To explore the associations between self-reported incidence of academic dishonesty and ethical reasoning in a professional student body. Methods: Responses were elicited from 433 pharmacy and medicine students. A questionnaire eliciting responses about academic dishonesty (copying, cheating, and collusion) and their decisions regarding an ethical dilemma was distributed. Multivariate analysis procedures were conducted. Results: The findings suggested that copying and collusion may be linked to the way students make ethical decisions. Students more likely to suggest unlawful solutions to the ethical dilemma were more likely to disclose engagement in copying information and colluding with other students. Conclusions: These findings imply that students engaging in academic dishonesty may be using different ethical frameworks. Therefore, employing ethical dilemmas would likely create a useful learning framework for identifying students employing dishonest strategies when coping with their studies. Increasing understanding through dialog about engagement in academic honesty will likely construct positive learning outcomes in the university with implications for future practice.

Changing the learning environment: the medical student voice.

Background:  Students’ perceptions of their learning environment influence both how they learn and the quality of their learning outcomes. The clinical component of undergraduate medical courses takes place in an environment designed for clinical service and not teaching. Tension results when these two activities compete for resources. An impending increase in medical student numbers led us to assess the learning environment with a view to planning for the future.

Building the evidence on simulation validity: comparison of anesthesiologists' communication patterns in real and simulated cases.

Background:Effective teamwork is important for patient safety, and verbal communication underpins many dimensions of teamwork. The validity of the simulated environment would be supported if it elicited similar verbal communications to the real setting. The authors hypothesized that anesthesiologists would exhibit similar verbal communication patterns in routine operating room (OR) cases and routine simulated cases. The authors further hypothesized that anesthesiologists would exhibit different communication patterns in routine cases (real or simulated) and simulated cases involving a crisis. Methods:Key communications relevant to teamwork were coded from video recordings of anesthesiologists in the OR, routine simulation and crisis simulation and percentages were compared. Results:The authors recorded comparable videos of 20 anesthesiologists in the two simulations, and 17 of these anesthesiologists in the OR, generating 400 coded events in the OR, 683 in the routine simulation, and 1,419 in the crisis simulation. The authors found no significant differences in communication patterns in the OR and the routine simulations. The authors did find significant differences in communication patterns between the crisis simulation and both the OR and the routine simulations. Participants rated team communication as realistic and considered their communications occurred with a similar frequency in the simulations as in comparable cases in the OR. Conclusion:The similarity of teamwork-related communications elicited from anesthesiologists in simulated cases and the real setting lends support for the ecological validity of the simulation environment and its value in teamwork training. Different communication patterns and frequencies under the challenge of a crisis support the use of simulation to assess crisis management skills.

Who Benefits from Cooperative Learning with Movement Activity

The goal of this study is to identify learners who are most likely to benefit from a small group cooperative learning strategy, which includes tasks involving movement activities. The study comprised 158 learners from five second and third grade classes learning about angles. The research tools included structured observation of each learner and pre- and post-tests. The analysis identified three behavioural clusters: ‘active’, ‘social’ and ‘passive’. The results suggest that students who are physically active while seeking knowledge and/or solutions are more successful than their peers who are more socially active, even if initially they were lower achievers. Passive students demonstrated the lowest academic achievements. This study points to a possible solution for the problems that cooperative group learning, based mainly on verbal interaction, often encounter at the primary education level.