Ishita Ahmed

All Publications

• Heterogeneity of Item-Treatment Interactions Masks Complexity and Generalizability in Randomized Controlled Trials JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS Ahmed, I., Bertling, M., Zhang, L., Ho, A. D., Loyalka, P., Xue, H., Rozelle, S., Domingue, B. W. 2024

  View details for DOI 10.1080/19345747.2024.2361337

  View details for Web of Science ID 001268996500001

• Principles for Adapting Assessments of Executive Function across Cultural Contexts. Brain sciences Jukes, M. C., Ahmed, I., Baker, S., Draper, C. E., Howard, S. J., McCoy, D. C., Obradović, J., Wolf, S. 2024; 14 (4)

  Abstract

  Direct assessments of executive functions (EFs) are increasingly used in research and clinical settings, with a central assumption that they assess "universal" underlying skills. Their use is spreading globally, raising questions about the cultural appropriateness of assessments devised in Western industrialized countries. We selectively reviewed multidisciplinary evidence and theory to identify sets of cultural preferences that may be at odds with the implicit assumptions of EF assessments. These preferences relate to motivation and compliance; cultural expectations for interpersonal engagement; contextualized vs. academic thinking; cultural notions of speed and time; the willingness to be silly, be incorrect, or do the opposite; and subject-matter familiarity. In each case, we discuss how the cultural preference may be incompatible with the assumptions of assessments, and how future research and practice can address the issue. Many of the cultural preferences discussed differ between interdependent and independent cultures and between schooled and unschooled populations. Adapting testing protocols to these cultural preferences in different contexts will be important for expanding our scientific understanding of EF from the narrow slice of the human population that has participated in the research to date.

  View details for DOI 10.3390/brainsci14040318

  View details for PubMedID 38671970

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC11047958

• Directly assessed and adult-reported executive functions: Associations with academic skills in Ghana JOURNAL OF APPLIED DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY Ahmed, I., Steyer, L., Suntheimer, N. M., Wolf, S., Obradovic, J. 2022; 81

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.appdev.2022.101437

  View details for Web of Science ID 000826743100002

• Behavior change communication activities improve infant and young child nutrition knowledge and practice of neighboring non-participants in a cluster-randomized trial in rural Bangladesh PLOS ONE Hoddinott, J., Ahmed, I., Ahmed, A., Roy, S. 2017; 12 (6): e0179866

  Abstract

  To examine the impact on infant and young child nutrition knowledge and practice of mothers who were neighbors of mothers participating in a nutrition Behavior Change Communication (BCC) intervention in rural Bangladesh.We analyzed data from 300 mothers whose neighbor participated in a nutrition BCC intervention and 600 mothers whose neighbor participated in an intervention that did not include BCC. We constructed measures capturing mothers' knowledge of infant and young child nutrition (IYCN) and measures of food consumption by children 6-24m. The effect on these outcomes of exposure to a neighbor receiving a nutrition BCC intervention was estimated using ordinary least squares and probit regressions. The study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (Study ID: NCT02237144).Having a neighboring mother participate in a nutrition BCC intervention increased non-participant mothers' IYCN knowledge by 0.17 SD (translating to 0.3 more correct answers). They were 14.1 percentage points more likely to feed their 6-24m children legumes and nuts; 11.6 percentage points more likely to feed these children vitamin A rich fruits and vegetables; and 10.0 percentage points more likely to feed these children eggs. Children of non-participant mothers who had a neighboring mother participate in a nutrition BCC intervention were 13.8 percentage points more likely to meet World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for minimum diet diversity, 11.9 percentage points more likely to meet WHO guidelines for minimum acceptable diet, and 10.3 percentage points more likely to meet WHO guidelines for minimum meal frequency for children who continue to be breastfed after age 6m. Children aged 0-6m of non-participant mothers who are neighbors of mothers receiving BCC were 7.1 percentage points less likely to have ever consumed water-based liquids.Studies of nutrition BCC that do not account for information spillovers to non-participants may underestimate its benefits in terms of IYCN knowledge and practice.

  View details for DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0179866

  View details for Web of Science ID 000404118300061

  View details for PubMedID 28636674

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5479588