Limitations of the randomized controlled trial in evaluating population-based health interventions.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of learner-learner interactions on students' perceived learning, achievement, and satisfaction in an online undergraduate course. A quasi-experimental research design was conducted with 77 students registered into an online course. Two sections of the course were randomly assigned to control and treatment conditions. While students in the control group completed course assignments individually, students in the treatment group completed the assignments in small groups. The results of the study revealed that learner-learner interaction has a significant effect on students' achievement in an online course. Students working collaboratively achieved significantly higher than those working individually. Furthermore, students perceptions of online collaboration increased after being involved in online group activities. Learner-learner interaction does not impact student satisfaction in an online course.Interaction among learners significantly impacts student achievement in an online course.Peer contribution in group activities and students' satisfaction in an online course are significantly correlated.Students perceptions of online collaboration improved after being involved in online group activities.

Examining the effects of learner-learner interactions on satisfaction and learning in an online undergraduate course

Purpose of the Study:This study evaluates a nursing home Fall Management program to see if residents' mobility increased and injurious falls decreased. DESIGN AND METHODS: Administrative health care use and fall occurrence report data were analyzed from 2 rural health regions in Manitoba, Canada, from June 1, 2003 to March 31, 2008. A quasiexperimental, pre-post, comparison group design was used to compare rates of three outcomes, falls, injurious falls, and falls resulting in hospitalization, by RHA (program vs nonprogram nursing homes) and period (preprogram vs postprogram). Data collectors entered occurrence report information into spreadsheets. This was supplemented with administrative health care use data. RESULTS: The program appears to have benefitted residents-falls trended upward, injurious falls remained stable, and hospitalized falls decreased significantly (0.036-0.021 per person-year [ppy]; p = .043). Compared with nonprogram residents in the postperiod, both groups had the same fall rate, but program residents had significantly fewer injurious falls (0.596-0.746 ppy; p = .02) and hospitalized falls (0.02-0.041 ppy; p = .023). IMPLICATIONS: These results are among a small body of literature showing that Fall Management was associated with improved outcomes in program nursing homes from pre- to postperiod and compared with nonprogram nursing homes. This research provides some support for the benefits of being proactive and implementing injury prevention strategies universally and pre-emptively before a resident falls, helping to minimize injuries while keeping residents mobile and active. Larger scale research is needed to identify the true effectiveness of the Fall Management program and generalizability of results. Language: en

The Evaluation of a Fall Management Program in a Nursing Home Population

x Chapter 1: Globalization’s consequences for organizational communication study

/pdf/the-invisible-handshake-interpreting-the-job-seeking-1ce0zj18bp.pdf

The Invisible Handshake: Interpreting the Job-Seeking Communication of Foreign-Born Chinese in the U.S.

/pdf/impacts-of-tie-characteristics-on-online-viral-diffusion-1842kqpdai.pdf

Impacts of Tie Characteristics on Online Viral Diffusion

Quasi-experimental designs

/pdf/work-behavior-of-low-income-rural-nonfarm-wage-earners-3iz156d0x1.pdf

Work behavior of low-income, rural nonfarm wage earners

There are presently three public assistance cash programs-Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) for one-parent families, and, in about half the states, Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Unemployed Parent (AFDC-UP) for certain low income, twoparent families. These programs are categorical in nature in that a family cannot qualify on the basis of low income alone, but must meet other eligibility requirements. Among the poor, the least adequately covered by these three programs is the so-called working poor-two-parent families in which the head is able-bodied and of working age. About half of the nation's poor live in such families, yet less than 10% of those families receive any public assistance (Blechman, Gramlich, and Hartman, p. 180). Nor does Unemployment Insurance (UI) do much to fill the gap. Almost half of the male heads of these families work full-time the entire year. Many others receive no UI benefits because they are not covered, because they have been unemployed too long, or because they have had short but frequent periods of joblessness. 1 The only transfer program to which the working poor are universally entitled is the Food Stamp Program. The Food Stamp Program, now offered in all states, is available to all lo income families, but benefits are conditioned upon income. Because of the relative ewness of the program and because of limited outreach efforts, participation in the Food Stamp Program among eligible families is quite low--estimates range from 30% to 60%. Participation among eligible families headed by a nonaged, able-bodied male, however, is even lower-around 15%.

D. Lee Bawden

Papers

Quasi-experimental designs

Work behavior of low-income, rural nonfarm wage earners

The Impact of a Universal Income Maintenance Program on Income and Employment

Poverty: A People, Not a Place Problem