OBJECTIVE: Theories about within-person (WP) variation are often tested using between-person (BP) research, despite the well-established fact that results may not generalize across levels of analysis. One possible explanation is vague theories that do not specify which level of analysis is of interest. We illustrate such a case using the construct of self-compassion. The factor structure at the BP level has been highly debated, although the theory is actually concerned with relationships at the WP level.
METHODS: Multilevel confirmatory factor analysis was applied to experience-sampling data of self-compassion (N = 213, with n = 4052 measurement occasions).
RESULTS: At both levels of analysis, evidence for a two-factor model was found. However, the factors were moderately related at the WP level (r = 0.37, p < 0.001) but largely independent at the BP level (r = 0.04, p = 0.696). Exploratory analyses revealed considerable heterogeneity in the WP relationship among individuals.
CONCLUSIONS: We discuss how our results provide new impulses to move the debate around self-compassion forward. Lastly, we outline how the WP level-which is of major interest for self-compassion and other constructs in psychology-can guide the conceptualization and assessment to promote advancements of the theory and resulting applications.

Although the assessment of teachers by students has been introduced into tertiary educational development in Nigeria, very limited information exists on students\' expectations of their teachers. We investigated this component among a cohort of newly admitted students at the University of Medical Sciences in Ondo State, South-West Nigeria. This was a descriptive quantitative study consisting of a community-interactive session with students at the 100 and 200 levels of the University. Three hundred (300) students participated in the session. We first explained the purpose of the study. Thereafter, the students individually completed a semi-structured questionnaire that elicited information on their views on the qualities they expected of their lecturers. The results were analyzed quantitatively with SPSS version 21. Of the 300 students, 204 (64.0%) completed the questionnaire. Friendliness and congeniality (46.1%), good classroom management (38.7%), good sense of humor (36.3%), good communication skills (33.3%) and expertise (32.8%) were the five most desirable qualities of good lecturers listed by the students. By contrast, the five qualities which rated lowest in the assessment were equity (4.4%), mentoring capacity (4.9%), enthusiasm (6.9%), encouraging students to succeed (7.8%) and approachability (8.3%). We conclude that students at the University of Medical Sciences look out for personal social relationships with their teachers during curricular delivery. We recommend that approaches to address these concerns should be incorporated into the design of training programs for teachers and in protocols for students\' evaluation of teachers in this university and others in similar circumstances.

Simpson\'s \"early burst\" model of adaptive radiation was intended to explain the early proliferation of morphological and functional variation in diversifying clades. Yet, despite much empirical testing, questions remain regarding its frequency across the tree of life. Here, we evaluate the support for an early burst model of adaptive radiation in 14 ecomorphological traits plus body mass for the extant mammalian order Carnivora and its constituent families. We find strong support for early bursts of dental evolution, suggesting a classic Simpsonian adaptive radiation along dietary resource axes. However, the signal of this early burst is not consistently recovered in analyses at the family level, where support for a variety of different models emerges. Furthermore, we find no evidence for early burst-like dynamics in size-related traits, and Bayesian analyses of evolutionary correlations corroborate a decoupling of size and dental evolution, driven in part by dietary specialization. Our results are consistent with the perspective that trait diversification unfolds hierarchically, with early bursts restricted to traits associated with higher level niches, such as macrohabitat use or dietary strategy, and thus with the origins of higher taxa. The lack of support for early burst adaptive radiation in previous phylogenetic studies may be a consequence of focusing on low-level niche traits (i.e., those associated with microhabitat use) in clades at shallow phylogenetic levels. A richer understanding of early burst adaptive radiation will require a renewed focus on functional traits and their evolution over higher level clades.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare delivery is shifting to team-based care and physicians are increasingly relied upon to lead and participate in healthcare teams. Educational programs to foster the development of leadership qualities in medical students are needed to prepare future physicians for these roles.
OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the development of leadership attributes in medical students during their first 2 years of medical school while participating in leadership training integrated into a problem/case-based learning program utilizing the Leadership Traits Questionnaire assessment tool.
METHODS: Ninety-eight students enrolled at Zucker School of Medicine participated in Patient-Centered Explorations in Active Reasoning, Learning and Synthesis (PEARLS), a hybrid problem/case-based learning program, during the first and second years of medical school. The Leadership Traits Questionnaire, designed to measure 14 distinct leadership traits, was utilized. It was administered to students, peers in students\' PEARLS groups and their faculty facilitators. Participants completed questionnaires at three-time points during the study. Likert scale data obtained from the questionnaire was analyzed using a two-level Hierarchal Linear Model.
RESULTS: Complete data sets were available for 84 students. Four traits, including self-assured, persistent, determined, and outgoing, significantly increased over time by measurements of both peer and facilitator-rated assessments. Six additional traits significantly increased over time by measurement of facilitator-rated assessment. By contrast, a majority of student self-rated assessments trended downward during the study.
CONCLUSIONS: Medical students demonstrated development of several important leadership traits during the first 2 years of medical school. This was accomplished while participating in the PEARLS program and without the addition of curricular time. Future work will examine the impact of third year clerkships on leadership traits.