Tanya N Beran

The University of Calgary | HBI · Department of Community Health Sciences

Background: Pediatric patients undergo a variety of painful medical procedures. Purpose: The goal of this quality improvement study was to introduce a humanoid robot (MEDi®) programmed with strategies, such as distraction and deep breathing, at inpatient and outpatient units to determine any preliminary effects on children's pain and fear during...

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are frequent targets of peer victimization (i.e., bullying). Although the frequency and potential impact of such experiences on students with ASD has been examined, the potential coping strategies implemented by such students are relatively unexplored. This qualitative study examined coping strategies fo...

Background: While the online environment may promote important developmental and social benefits, it also enables the serious and rapidly growing issue of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying constitutes an increasing public health problem - victimized children and youth experience a range of health and mental health concerns, including emotional and psyc...

The purpose of this article is to report on a study that explores the linkages among self-perception, perceptions of social support, and bullying involvement among children and youth, with a focus on how bullying victimization mediates the association of social support and self-perception. We employ Harter's multidimensional model of selfesteem (19...

This national study reports the prevalence of cyberbullying among youths in Canada according to demographic characteristics, its impact, and its relationship to six forms of victimization and perpetration. Cross-sectional data were obtained from a national household panel of families living in all Canadian provinces. The sample included 1,001 child...

Background: Although many studies have made efforts to define and assess medical professionalism, few have addressed issues of construct validity. Purposes: The purpose of this article is to explore further construct validity of medical professionalism employing exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Methods: The 32-item instrument by t...

A new non-pharmacological method of distraction was tested with 57 children during their annual flu vaccination. Given children's growing enthusiasm for technological devices, a humanoid robot was programmed to interact with them while a nurse administered the vaccination. Children smiled more often with the robot, as compared to the control condit...

Prompt initiation of appropriate neonatal resuscitation skills is critical for the neonate experiencing difficulty transitioning to extra-uterine life. The use of simulation training is considered to be an indispensable tool to address these challenges. Research has yet to examine the effectiveness of simulation and debriefing for preparation of tr...

Objective: Millions of children in North America receive an annual flu vaccination, many of whom are at risk of experiencing severe distress. Millions of children also use technologically advanced devices such as computers and cell phones. Based on this familiarity, we introduced another sophisticated device - a humanoid robot - to interact with c...

Until recently, researchers have studied forms of bullying separately. For 40 years, research has looked at the traditional forms of bullying, including physical (eg, hitting), verbal (eg, threats), and social (eg, exclusion). Attention focused on cyberbullying in the early 2000s. Although accumulating research suggests that bullying has multiple n...

The purpose of this study was to describe the current scope of practice of chiropractic radiologists by identifying frequent tasks conducted as well as those conditions most often seen and those that present the greatest risk of harm to patients. A mixed-methods approach was used. An online survey was conducted with 91 diplomates listed with the Am...

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of harassment in high school and into university, and the impact of one particular form of harassment: cyber-harassment. Participants were 1,368 students at one US and two Canadian universities (mean age = 21.1 years, 676 female students). They responded on five-point scales to questions about t...

Although the development of collaborative relationships is considered a requirement for medical education, the functioning of these relationships may be impaired by a well-documented social-psychological phenomenon known as group conformity. The authors hypothesized that students would insert a needle into an incorrect location relative to the pate...

The purpose of this study was to examine the career decision-making process of International Medical Graduates (IMGs). There are two main types of IMGs who apply for licensure in Canada. Canadian International Medical Graduates (CIMGs) were Canadian citizens before leaving to study medicine in a foreign country, in comparison to those non-CIMGs who...

Student evaluation of teaching is ubiquitous to teaching in colleges and universities around the world. Since the implementation of student evaluations in the 1970s in the US, considerable research has been devoted to their appropriate use as a means of judging the effectiveness of teaching. The present article aims to (1) examine the evidence for...

To identify and empirically investigate the dimensions of leadership in medical education and healthcare professions. A population-based design with a focus group and a survey were used to identify the perceived competencies for effective leadership in medical education. The focus group, consisting of five experts from three countries (Austria n=1;...

Cervical cancer is an important public health problem worldwide, which comprises approximately 12% of all cancers in women. In Tanzania, the estimated incidence rate is 30 to 40 per 100,000 women, indicating a high disease burden. Cervical cancer screening is acknowledged as currently the most effective approach for cervical cancer control, and it...

This study compares five methods of ranking Likert ratings on frequency and severity scales. Data were drawn from an international online survey conducted as part of a practice analysis with 91 diplomates of the American Chiropractic Board of Radiology. A total of 129 clinical presentations had been rated on two scales. The frequency scale specifie...

The factor structure of the Learning Behaviors Scale (LBS) was examined with a sample of 393 randomly selected Canadian youths in a large western city. An identical four-factor structure was observed for the Canadian sample as was obtained in the standardization sample of U.S. youths and with another American sample. Principal axis exploratory fact...

Just as human-human behavior and interactions are important to study, human-robot interactions will take more prominence in the near future. These interactions will not only be in one direction, robots helping humans, but they will also be bidirectional with humans helping robots. This study examined the interactions between children and robots by...

The use of checklists is recommended for the assessment of competency in central venous catheterization (CVC) insertion. To explore the use of a global rating scale in the assessment of CVC skills, this study seeks to compare its use with two checklists, within the context of a formative examination using simulation. Video-recorded performances of...

Centuries ago, the existence of life was explained by the presence of a soul (Tylor, 1871). Known as animism, this term was re-defined in the 1970s by Piaget as young children's beliefs that inanimate objects are capable of actions and have life-like qualities. With the development of robots in the 21st century, researchers have begun examining whe...

The researcher then exited and observed the child’s behaviors on the laptop. A similar number of children, who did not hear this introduction, formed the comparison group. As soon as children in each group were alone with the robot arm, it began stacking blocks. A significantly larger number of children in the introduction group (n = 17, 53.1%), th...

Bullying involves a powerful person intentionally harming a less powerful person repeatedly. With advances in technology, students are finding new methods of bullying, including sending harassing emails, instant messages, text messages, and personal pictures to others. Although school bullying has been studied since the 1970s, relatively little is...

As the development of autonomous robots has moved towards creating social robots, children’s interactions with robots will soon become a central focus in research. The purpose of this study was to examine how children think about and attribute features of friendship to a robot after a brief interaction with one. Children visiting a science centre l...

Structural equation modeling (SEM) is a set of statistical techniques used to measure and analyze the relationships of observed and latent variables. Similar but more powerful than regression analyses, it examines linear causal relationships among variables, while simultaneously accounting for measurement error. The purpose of the present paper is...

As the development of autonomous robots has moved towards creating social robots, children’s interactions with robots will soon need to be investigated. This paper examines how children think about and attribute features of friendship to a robot. A total of 184 children between ages 5 to 16 years visiting a science centre were randomly selected to...

Characteristics of university courses and student engagement were examined in relation to student ratings of instruction. The Universal Student Ratings of Instruction instrument was administered to students at the end of every course at a major Canadian university over a three-year period. Using a two-step analytic procedure, a latent variable path...

Centuries ago, the existence of life was explained by the presence of a soul [1]. Known as animism, this term was re-defined in the 1970s by Piaget as young children's beliefs that inanimate objects are capable of actions and have lifelike qualities. With the development of robots in the 21st century, researchers have yet to examine whether animism...

This study examined the interactions between children and robots by observing whether children help a robot complete a task under five conditions to determine which elicited the most help. Each condition had an experimental and control group, with 20-32 children (even number of boys and girls) in each group. Visitors to a science centre located in...

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between students’ quality of attachment to their primary caregivers and the frequency with which they bully others and are the victims of bullying. One hundred and five students in Grades 4, 6, and 8 (46 girls, 59 boys; M = 10.5 years) completed paper and pencil surveys. Results indicated...

This study examined the interactions between children and robots by observing whether children help a robot complete a task under five conditions to determine which elicited the most help. Each condition had an experimental and control group, with 20-32 children (even number of boys and girls) in each group. Visitors to a science centre located in...

Although the validity of students' ratings of instruction has been documented, several student and course characteristics may be related to the ratings students give their instructors. The purpose of this study was to examine student ratings obtained from the Universal Student Ratings of Instruction (USRI) instrument. These responses were compared...

This study investigates instructors' perceptions about strengths and weaknesses of a student ratings instrument employed in their university. The sample consisted of 357 instructors in a major Canadian university where each term students are required to complete an evaluation at the end of every course. Qualitative analyses of their written respons...

The core syndrome factor structure of the Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents (ASCA) was examined with a sample of 375 randomly selected Canadian youths in a large western city. The 6 ASCA core syndrome raw scores produced an identical two-factor solution as observed in samples of American youths. Principal axis exploratory factor analys...

Although measures of student ratings of instruction have been developed and examined empirically, students' attitudes about the utility of these ratings have yet to be meaningfully quantified. Using survey responses from 1229 students at a major Canadian university, we developed a psychometrically sound measure of the usefulness of student ratings....

In this article we review legislation and bylaws that relate to school bullying. This review focuses on the differences in how bullying is defined by researchers and legislators. It further examines how some laws identify bullying specifically, whereas others address more general acts of aggression. Some laws pertain to the school environment, whil...

The purpose of this study was to identify individual and family risk factors that may explain why some students are at risk for academic failure. Students' self-concept, academic motivation, and their parents' involvement in education were reported by both students and teachers. A latent variable path model fit the data well (Comparative Fit Index...

This study investigates peer victimization and achievement. Adolescents aged 12–15 years were drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, which is a stratified random sample of 22,831 households in Canada. Teachers', children's, and parents' reports were combined in a latent variable path analysis, χ2(51) = 348.54, p < .000....

The relationship between school achievement and peer harassment was examined using individual and peer characteristics as mediating factors. The sample consisted of adolescents age 12ĝ€"15 years (n = 4,111) drawn from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, which is a stratified random sample of 22,831 households in Canada....

This study investigates instructors’ attitudes about student ratings of instruction. The sample consisted of 357 instructors at a major Canadian university, where student evaluation is carried out in all courses at the end of each term. Instructors tend to agree that the student rating practice is an acceptable means of assessing institutional inte...

This paper provides a description of the demographic characteristics as well as the social and academic experiences of a nationally representative sample of Canadian students receiving special education services for an Emo-tional/Behavioural Difficulty (EBD) and a comparison group of students without disabilities (ND). Data summarized in this artic...

The majority of women entering battered women’s shelters bring children with them and those children often require specialized programs that address the ways in which witnessing domestic violence has affected them. Several programs have been developed and implemented; however, few have been empirically evaluated. The current article critically exam...

No longitudinal information about bullying and peer harassment among Canadian children currently exists. In the present study, the author examined the stability of bullying and harassment. The sample consisted of two cohorts of children aged 10-11 years (n=2798) and 12-13 years (n=1946) drawn from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Childr...

Background: Bullying occurs largely at school. Given that the primary purpose of schools is to enhance student learning, it is important to examine the relationship between bullying and academic achievement.Purpose: A model of childhood bullying and school achievement using several family and school characteristics was developed.Sample: The sample...

The authors investigated the relationship between student academic achievement and individual child and family factors. The sample consisted of 10- to 11-year-olds (N = 2,081) from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, which is a stratified random sample of 22,831 households in Canada. From scale and factor analyses, seve...

"Differential Ability Scales," Second Edition (DAS-II; Elliott, 2007), was developed to measure the cognitive abilities of children and adolescents from age 2 years, 6 months to 17 years, 11 months. The test is designed to be individually administered, measuring general conceptual and reasoning ability ("g") as well as specific and diverse abilitie...

This article provides a description of the demographic characteristics as well as the social and academic experiences of a nationally representative sample of Canadian students receiving special education services for a learning disability (LD) and a comparison group without disabilities (NLD). Data summarized in this article were drawn from the Na...

At most Canadian and American community colleges and universities, student ratings have been implemented as a means of evaluating course instruction. Although concerns regarding the validity of student ratings from instructors’ perspectives have been studied quite extensively, issues associated with the use of student ratings information by adminis...

There has been abundant research examining how early life experiences affect achievement. In this article, we investigate the transition from elementary to junior high school at a developmental stage where numerous changes have an impact on students. Using nationally representative survey data, we found no differences in academic achievement betwee...

Many children are likely to experience aggression in their relationships with schoolmates. With the advent of modern forms of communication, children are now able to harass their peers with mobile phones and e-mails, a behaviour known as cyberbullying. To determine the relationship between school bullying and cyberbullying, 432 students from grades...

Several student and course characteristics were examined in relation to student ratings of instruction. Students at a major Canadian university completed the Universal Student Ratings of Instruction instrument at the end of every course over a three‐year period, providing 371,131 student ratings. Analyses of between‐group differences indicate that...

A total of 432 students from grades 7-9 in Canadian schools reported their experiences of cyber-harassment, which is a form of harassment that occurs through the use of electronic communications such as e-mail and cell phones. More than two-thirds of students (69%) have heard of incidents of cyber-harassment, about one quarter (21%) have been haras...

Students, faculty and administrators at a major Canadian university were surveyed to investigate the utility or "consequential validity" of student ratings of instructors. Of the 1,229 (approximately equal number of males and females) students and alumni, about half (52%) indicated that they had never used the ratings, but of those who did use it,...

This research evaluates an anti-bullying program, Dare to Care: Bully Proofing Your School, adapted from a program developed by Garrity, Jens, Porter, Sager, and Short-Camilli (1997) and originated by Olweus (1978). Students in grades 4-6 (N = 197, 77 boys, 120 girls) from four Calgary elementary schools completed the Colorado School Climate Survey...

The authors developed a model of childhood perceived peer harassment, using several personality, peer, and familial characteristics of victims, and tested it with children 10 to 11 years old (N = 3,434) drawn from the Canadian National Survey of Children and Youth, which is a stratified random sample of 22,831 households in Canada. A 3-step analyti...

The purpose of this paper is to explicate the role of validity in psychological measurement for applications in school psychology. The emergence of psychologicaltesting and validity is briefly renriewed. An essential quality of measurement, namely validity, is subsequently examined with a focus on delimitations and limitations of tests. The statist...

The purpose of this research was to determine the frequency of bullying in elementary school children and to examine gender and age differences. Compared to previous research focusing on older elementary school children, the study was unique in that it included children in grades 1 to 3. A total of 472 elementary school students in seven Calgary sc...

"MQ-77001." Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Calgary, Division of Applied Psychology, 2002. Includes bibliographical references. Microfiche.