SUMMARY Review date: 1969 to 2003, 34 years. Background and context: Simulations are now in widespread use in medical education and medical personnel evaluation. Outcomes research on the use and effectiveness of simulation technology in medical education is scattered, inconsistent and varies widely in methodological rigor and substantive focus. Objectives: Review and synthesize existing evidence in educational science that addresses the question, ‘What are the features and uses of high-fidelity medical simulations that lead to most effective learning?’. Search strategy: The search covered five literature databases (ERIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Timelit) and employed 91 single search terms and concepts and their Boolean combinations. Hand searching, Internet searches and attention to the ‘grey literature’ were also used. The aim was to perform the most thorough literature search possible of peer-reviewed publications and reports in the unpublished literature that have been judged for academic quality. Inclusion and exclusion criteria: Four screening criteria were used to reduce the initial pool of 670 journal articles to a focused set of 109 studies: (a) elimination of review articles in favor of empirical studies; (b) use of a simulator as an educational assessment or intervention with learner outcomes measured quantitatively; (c) comparative research, either experimental or quasi-experimental; and (d) research that involves simulation as an educational intervention. Data extraction: Data were extracted systematically from the 109 eligible journal articles by independent coders. Each coder used a standardized data extraction protocol. Data synthesis: Qualitative data synthesis and tabular presentation of research methods and outcomes were used. Heterogeneity of research designs, educational interventions, outcome measures and timeframe precluded data synthesis using meta-analysis. Headline results: Coding accuracy for features of the journal articles is high. The extant quality of the published research is generally weak. The weight of the best available evidence suggests that high-fidelity medical simulations facilitate learning under the right conditions. These include the following:

/pdf/features-and-uses-of-high-fidelity-medical-simulations-that-51wb8k5opy.pdf

Features and uses of high-fidelity medical simulations that lead to effective learning: a BEME systematic review

This essay draws from the emerging positive psychology movement and the author's recent articles on the need for and meaning of a positive approach to organizational behavior Specifically, the argument is made that at this time, the OB field needs a proactive, positive approach emphasizing strengths, rather than continuing in the downward spiral of negativity trying to fix weaknesses However, to avoid the surface positivity represented by the non-sustainable best-sellers, the case is made for positive organizational behavior (POB) to take advantage of the OB field's strength of being theory and research driven Additional criteria for this version of POB are to identify unique, state-like psychological capacities that can not only be validly measured, but also be open to development and performance management Confidence, hope, and resiliency are offered as meeting such POB inclusion criteria The overall intent of the essay is to generate some positive thinking and excitement for the OB field and ‘hopefully’ stimulate some new theory building, research, and effective application Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

/pdf/the-need-for-and-meaning-of-positive-organizational-behavior-1o9kchhnpx.pdf

The need for and meaning of positive organizational behavior

The role of personality traits in the decision to start a business and to maintain it successfully is discussed controversially in entrepreneurship research. Our meta-analysis builds upon and extends earlier meta-analyses by doing a full analysis of personality traits that includes a comparison of different traits from a theoretical perspective and by analysing a full set of personality predictors for both start-up activities as well as success. Theoretically, our article adds to the literature by matching traits to the tasks of entrepreneurs. The results indicate that traits matched to the task of running a business produced higher effect sizes with business creation than traits that were not matched to the task of running an enterprise, corrected r = .247, K = 47, N = 13,280, and corrected r = .124, K = 20, N = 3975, respectively. Moreover, traits matched to the task produced higher correlations with success, corrected r = .250, K = 42, N = 5607, than traits not matched to the task of running a business...

/pdf/let-s-put-the-person-back-into-entrepreneurship-research-a-2flx5zqiro.pdf

Let's put the person back into entrepreneurship research: A meta-analysis on the relationship between business owners' personality traits, business creation, and success

In the prevalent rationalistic approaches, human competence at work is seen as constituted by a specific set of attributes, such as the knowledge and skills used in performing particular work. As a...

Understanding Human Competence at Work: An Interpretative Approach

Modern global managers are required to possess a set of competencies or multiple intelligences in order to meet pressing business challenges. Hence, expanding global managers’ competencies is becoming an important issue. Many scholars and specialists have proposed various competency models containing a list of required competencies. But it is hard for someone to master a broad set of competencies at the same time. Here arises an imperative issue on how to enrich global managers’ competencies by way of segmenting a set of competencies into some portions in order to facilitate competency development with a stepwise mode. To solve this issue involving the vagueness of human judgments, we have proposed an effective method combining fuzzy logic and Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) to segment required competencies for better promoting the competency development of global managers. Additionally, an empirical study is presented to illustrate the application of the proposed method.

Developing global managers’ competencies using the fuzzy DEMATEL method

Partial table of contents: THE CONCEPT OF COMPETENCE. Definition of a "Competency". A COMPETENCY DICTIONARY. Achievement and Action. Managerial. Cognitive. DEVELOPING A MODEL. Designing Competency Studies. Conducting the Behavioral Event Interview. FINDINGS: GENERIC COMPETENCY MODELS. Salespeople. Helping and Human Service Workers. Entrepreneurs. COMPETENCY-BASED APPLICATIONS. Performance Management. Pay. Societal Applications. Competency-Based Human Resource Management in the Future. Bibliography. Index.

Signe M. Spencer

Papers

Competence at Work: Models for Superior Performance