Academic literature on the topic 'Developmental stages'

Background: Previous research has identified four distinct developmental stages associated with organizational learning in high-performing hospital units: identity and ownership, team and respect, accountability and support, and reliability and sustainability. We designed a research instrument to measure these constructs. The purpose of this thesis was to establish the content and predictive validity of this instrument.Methods: The Organizational Learning Development Instrument (OLDI) consists of a total of 35 items in Likert-scale format. Item-level and instrument-level content validity were assessed using three cycles of cognitive interviewing with 28 nurses, and eight expert ratings. The OLDI was administered to nurses in Magnet® hospitals via a web-based survey. National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) reports were used for comparison of hospital performance. Predictive validity was tested using multiple linear regression. Based on a power analysis for multiple linear regression, reaching 80% power, with a medium effect size of 0.15, an alpha of 0.05, and five predictor variables, the target sample size was 92 hospital units.Results: Results from 63 inpatient units in 11 Magnet® hospitals were used. The scale- level content validity for this instrument was 0.95 and item-level content validity index scores ranged from 0.86 to 1.0, suggesting excellent content validity. No significant relationships were found between OLDI results and NDNQI measures. Significant correlations (P<.05) were found between several OLDI constructs and HCAHPS composites.Discussion: Correlations with HCAHPS scores help validate the OLDI, as well as the theory underlying the instrument. The OLDI may not have predicted NDNQI measures due to a lack of instrument sensitivity or because NDNQI results are strongly influenced by other factors. Nurse managers can use the OLDI to predict unit performance related to patient satisfaction and to determine actions that may improve unit performance. Replicating this study with a larger sample size and more diverse hospital performance and more uniform unit type could further validate this instrument.

Telomeres are specialised nucleoprotein structures present at the ends of each chromatid that function to maintain genome stability. It is well established that a gradual decline in telomere length is associated with the process of cellular ageing, and thereby to the pathobiology of age-related diseases. In addition, the localisation of the telomere at the nuclear periphery plays an important role in the spatio-temporal organisation of the genome and in ensuring faithful segregation of chromosomes during meiosis. The aims of this thesis were to investigate telomere localisation in the nucleus, and telomere length in three hitherto early stages of development, gametogenesis, preimplantation embryogenesis and the neonatal period. Specifically: 1. To test the hypothesis that telomeres localised at the nuclear periphery in sperm cells and that this organisation was altered in sub-fertile men 2. To optimise a means of assessing average telomere length using DNA from small sample sizes and using whole genome amplified DNA from single cells 3. To investigate the role of telomere length in reproductive ageing and aneuploidy generation in women by testing the hypothesis that telomere length is significantly shorter in the first polar bodies and cleavage stage embryos of older women 4. To test the hypothesis that “preterm at term” babies (i.e. premature babies assessed at the time of their due date) displayed genetic signs of premature ageing (as manifested by significantly shorter telomeres than their term born counterparts) alongside the already established clinical signs (characterised by hypertension, diabetes and altered body fat distribution) Results confirmed the peripheral distribution of telomeres in the sperm heads of normally fertile males (using both 2D and 3D imaging) plus the novel finding that telomere distribution patterns are altered in the sperm heads of infertile males. Secondly, a reliable means of measuring telomere length was optimised in order to assess average telomere length using DNA from small sample volumes (down to single cells). Using this technology, average telomere length analysis in polar bodies and embryos found no evidence to support the hypothesis that telomere length is associated with either advanced maternal age or aneuploidy generation. Similarly, results suggest that telomere length is not significantly shorter in “preterm at term” infants compared to term born controls, thus providing no evidence that telomere attrition is involved in the pathobiology of the ‘aged phenotype’ observed in preterm infants. Taken together, results from this thesis provide some novel insights into the function of these highly important features of the genome, but also highlight that a great deal remains to be uncovered in the complex molecular mechanisms that contribute to the regulation of telomere length and nuclear distribution.

BACKGROUND: The primary aim of the current study was to create a new measure of parenting practices, constituted by items from already established measures in order to advance the measurement of parenting practices in clinical and research settings. The current study utilized five stages designed to select only the best parenting items, establish a factor structure consisting of positive and negative dimensions of parenting, meaningfully consider child developmental stage, ensure strong psychometric properties, and provide initial evidence for the validity of the final measure. METHODS: A total of 1,790 parents (44% fathers) were recruited online through Amazon's Mechanical Turk for three cohorts: Stages 1 (N = 611), 2 (N = 615), and 3 (N = 564). Each sample was equally divided by child developmental stage: Young childhood (3 to 7 years old), middle childhood (8 to 12 years old), and adolescence (13 to 17 years old). Parenting items were selected and adapted from several well-established parenting scales. Measure development followed five rigorous stages using separate samples for each set of factor analyses as advocated by methodologists. Advanced statistical methods were employed for determining final factor structure (e.g., exploratory structural equation modeling - ESEM) and reliability (omega coefficient; longitudinal ESEM), as well as providing initial support for validity (e.g., latent curve modeling - LCM). RESULTS: Through a five-stage empirical approach, the Multidimensional Assessment of Parenting Scale (MAPS) was developed, successfully achieving all aims. The MAPS factor structure included both positive and negative dimensions of warmth/hostility and behavioral control that were appropriate for parents of children across the developmental span. Seven out of eight MAPS subscales demonstrated excellent reliability (above .80). LCM analyses provided initial support for the validity of all MAPS subscales. DISCUSSION: Although the stages of the current study embody an empirical approach to scale development, it also has important theoretical aspects. The factor structure of the MAPS updates prior the theoretical conceptualization of parenting practices (Schaefer, 1959) in order to inform new research and applications. Future directions are discussed.

The Norway spruce Picea abies is an economically important export to the Swedish economy. There are a number of environmental and endogenous factors that impact the generation time of this species meaning that it can take 20-25 years for a tree to mature. The long generation time creates a challenge for plant breeding programs in terms of how genetic mechanisms are able to be studied as well as how quickly trees can be produced for lumber. The characterization of gene expression patterns in the context of special tissue domains is essential to understanding the underlying functions behind complex biological systems and in the case of P. abies may prove more crucial to determining the activation of genes at specific reproductive growth points. There are several techniques available for the analysis of spatial expression profiles, however, the unique high throughput nature coupled to the morphological information provided by Spatial Transcriptomics creates new opportunities for exploratory analysis. Spatial Transcriptomics offers a distinct approach to answering fundamental questions about the genetic mechanisms that regulate reproductive phase change and cone-setting in conifers. This study focuses on spatial gene expression analysis and the integration of de novo transcriptome assembly contigs to confirm the spatial context of putatively discovered genes such as DAL1, DAL2, DAL3, and DAL10 from previous studies and to potentially localize transcripts that could not previously be identified due to the inability to obtain complete transcripts. The aim is to create a workflow to identify genes that contribute to the growth patterns in the naturally occurring acrocona mutant that could prove useful to improving tree breeding programs.

The primary and secondary objectives of the Early Developmental Stages of Substance Abuse Study (EDSP) are described along with a detailed description of the overall design, special design features and instruments used. The EDSP is a 5-year prospective study with three waves of assessments. Special design features are the linkages with family genetic investigations as well as neuroendocrinological stress tests in high-risk subjects. Overall, 3,021 adolescents and young adults aged 14–24 years are included. The response rate for the baseline investigation was 71%. Diagnostic assessments were made by using a modified lifetime (baseline) and 12-month change version of the WHO-CIDI, adjusted for DSM-IV. Modifications refer to a more detailed quantitative assessment of symptoms and substance use variables as well as the inclusion of questions to assess course of disorders and subthreshold diagnostic conditions.

The primary and secondary objectives of the Early Developmental Stages of Substance Abuse Study (EDSP) are described along with a detailed description of the overall design, special design features and instruments used. The EDSP is a 5-year prospective study with three waves of assessments. Special design features are the linkages with family genetic investigations as well as neuroendocrinological stress tests in high-risk subjects. Overall, 3,021 adolescents and young adults aged 14–24 years are included. The response rate for the baseline investigation was 71%. Diagnostic assessments were made by using a modified lifetime (baseline) and 12-month change version of the WHO-CIDI, adjusted for DSM-IV. Modifications refer to a more detailed quantitative assessment of symptoms and substance use variables as well as the inclusion of questions to assess course of disorders and subthreshold diagnostic conditions.

本文データは平成22年度国立国会図書館の学位論文(博士)のデジタル化実施により作成された画像ファイルを基にpdf変換したものである<br>Kyoto University (京都大学)<br>0048<br>新制・課程博士<br>博士(農学)<br>甲第7896号<br>農博第1054号<br>新制||農||779(附属図書館)<br>学位論文||H11||N3259(農学部図書室)<br>UT51-99-G490<br>京都大学大学院農学研究科応用生物科学専攻<br>(主査)教授 田中 克, 教授 坂口 守彦, 教授 宮本 元<br>学位規則第4条第1項該当

The current study focused on examining the developmental stages of preschool teachers in the Arab Gulf region. Specifically, the needs and concerns of teachers were investigated using a pretest/posttest (12-month interval) design. Participants included two greoups of preschool teachers, trained (n= 35) and untrained (n=122) Contrary to expectations, the sequential nature of development stages of teachers did not emerge. Instead, the results showed that teachers become less concerned about teaching as they progress in their careers. When data from the present study were factor-analyzed they yielded only two areas of concerns that seemed applicable cross-cultrally. When data were subjected to analysis of variance, results revealed that training had a significant main effect on teaching concerns while teaching experience did not. Further exploration of the category experience showed that, for Factor II, the trained group of teachers had a larger drop in their level of teaching concerns than the untrained group. This was especially evident with two subgroups, low (1 to 3) years of teaching experience and high (8 to 16) years of teaching experience. The trained group with medium (4 to 7) years of teaching experience maintained a consistently low score on both pretest and posttest. Teaching experience for Factor II appears to have a main effect in reducing the level of concerns of teachers over their teaching. This was especially evident between pretest and posttest for the low-and high-experience trained teachers.