Does chess training affect conceptual development of six-year-old children in Turkey?

Many studies propose that chess is a game requiring cognitive skills and has positive effects on mental development. In recent years, chess training has also been emphasised as important during the early childhood period. However, no studies have been done with six-year-old children. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not chess training for six-year-old children would affect the development of spatial concepts such as forward–backward, between–next to, in front–behind, diagonal, far–near, corner, pattern and symmetry and whether or not there are differences according to child gender. Subjects were 50 children who had previously taken chess courses and 50 children who had not taken chess courses. A group of 100 six-year-old children was given a concept test. A test containing the concepts used in chess instruction and a chess board to be used in applying the test were developed by the researcher. After the obtained data were analysed, K-R 20?=?0.92 was found for the concept test. The Mann–Whitney U test, based on the children's scores t from the concept test, revealed a statistically meaningful difference in all concepts in favour of the children who took chess courses, but showed no meaningful gender differences for any of the concepts.     

Occupational therapy students' perspectives regarding international cross-cultural experiences

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perspectives of occupational therapy students who have engaged in international, cross‐cultural learning and service experiences. Methods: This study utilized a qualitative, phenomenological design. Nine semi‐structured interviews were conducted with students who engaged in international learning opportunities. The interviews were coded and analyzed using a constant comparative analysis approach. Results: Three central themes emerged from the data anlysis. Connectedness is the process of forming relationships with others while engaging in cross‐cultural experiences. Students formed relationships with faculty, other students, and people within the community. Cultural awareness is the recognition and understanding of a different culture and responding to those differences. Students attempted to understand the new culture in comparison to their own lived experiences. Complexity portrays cross‐cultural opportunities as dynamic, multi‐faceted and intricate. This was demonstrated as the students raised additional questions about the conflict between their own culture and the new culture they entered. Students also identified limited orientation, support and structure with such experiences and the conflicting roles between volunteer, student, and team member. Conclusions: The ability to connect with others when building relationships in diverse cultural contexts held meaning for the students; however, the students also expressed conflict in trying to make sense of the new culture as it often challenged personal beliefs and constructs. The complexity and challenges of engaging in these opportunities needs to be recognized and further explored to assess how curricula and faculty best supports culturally responsive care.     

Building consensus in defining and conceptualizing acceptability of healthcare: A Delphi study

Background

The concept of healthcare acceptability is important for nursing staff spending most of their time with patients. Nevertheless, acceptability remains confusing without a collective definition in existing literature.

Objective

This study aimed to create a consensus among experts on definition and conceptual framework of healthcare acceptability.

Methods

We conducted two rounds of Delphi surveys to collect opinions from experts on definition and conceptual framework of healthcare acceptability proposed following thematic content analysis. We calculated the consensus among experts using the modified Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation II (AGREE II) instrument and followed the guidance on conducting and reporting Delphi studies (CREDES) best practices.

Results

A total of 34 experts completed two rounds of Delphi survey. The definition was validated through consensus as: “a multi-construct concept describing the nonlinear cumulative combination in parts or in whole of experienced or anticipated specific healthcare from the relevant patients/participants, communities, providers/researchers or healthcare systems' managers and policy makers' perspectives in a given context.” The overall quality rating was 92.6% and 95.1% for the proposed definition and conceptual framework respectively.

Conclusion

Opinions collected from experts provided significant insights to build a consensus on healthcare acceptability advancing public health nursing.     

健康素养概念结构和主题趋势的多视角分析

目的利用多视角分析方法揭示健康素养的概念结构和主题趋势。方法基于WoS的作者共被引、关键词共现和PubMed的作者合作,利用CiteSpace软件,从被引文献和引证文献2个角度分别对共被引聚类进行标识,确定健康素养领域研究的概念结构和主题趋势(1995-2010)。结果精神健康素养和功能性健康素养是健康素养的2个独立的研究领域。同时发现公共卫生视角的健康素养和健康素养测量工具研究是近年来2个最活跃的研究领域。结论应用不同来源的信息,对共引聚类分析后可能会得到不同的结论。     

Conceptual frameworks for health systems performance: a quest for effectiveness, quality, and improvement.

ISSUES: Countries and international organizations have recently renewed their interest in how health systems perform. This has led to the development of performance indicators for monitoring, assessing, and managing health systems to achieve effectiveness, equity, efficiency, and quality. Although the indicators populate conceptual frameworks, it is often not very clear just what the underlying concepts might be or how effectiveness is conceptualized and measured. Furthermore, there is a gap in the knowledge of how the resultant performance data are used to stimulate improvement and to ensure health care quality. ADDRESSING THE ISSUES: This paper therefore explores, individually, the conceptual bases, effectiveness and its indicators, as well as the quality improvement dynamics of the performance frameworks of the UK, Canada, Australia, US, World Health Organization, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. RESULTS: We see that they all conceive health and health system performance in one or more supportive frameworks, but differ in concepts and operations. Effectiveness often implies, nationally, the achievement of high quality outcomes of care, or internationally, the efficient achievement of system objectives, or both. Its indicators are therefore mainly outcome and, less so, process measures. The frameworks are linked to a combination of tools and initiatives to stimulate and manage performance and quality improvement. CONCLUSIONS: These dynamics may ensure the proper environment for these conceptual frameworks where, alongside objectives such as equity and efficiency, effectiveness (therefore, quality) becomes the core of health systems performance.     

Evidence for practice, epistemology, and critical reflection

Abstract  Evidence-based practice (EBP) has become a critical concept for ethical, accountable professional nursing practice. However, critical analysis of the concept suggests that EBP overemphasizes the value of scientific evidence while underplaying the role of clinical judgement and individual nursing expertise. This paper explores the empiricist position that valid evidence is the basis for all knowledge claims. We argue against the positivist idea that science should be regarded as the only credible means for generating evidence on which to base knowledge claims. We propose that the process of critically reflecting on evidence is a fundamental feature of empirical epistemology. We suggest that critical reflection on evidence derived from science, arts and humanities and, in particular, nursing practice experience can provide a sound basis for knowledge claims. While we do not attempt to define what counts as evidence, it is argued that there is much to be gained by making the processes of critical reflection explicit, and that it can make a valid contribution to expert nursing practice, without recourse to irreducible concepts such as intuition.