Dimensions Of Instrument Research Articles

Pork Belly Politics: The Moral and Instrumental Reasons Clients Donate to Patrons in a Rural Colombian Mayoral Election

Why, in the context of a rural Colombian mayoral election, do poor clients donate goods and services to political campaigns? The literature on clientelism describes it as a political order in which politicians exchange resources or favors for political support. In this article, I describe the clientelist relationships and exchanges in a 2019 rural Colombian mayoral election, including what I call pork belly politics, where poor clients also donate scarce resources—most notably crispy fried pork belly—to patrons. Based on eleven months of ethnographic and interview data from before, during, and after the campaign, I show that elections are a crucial time for the rural poor to position themselves vis-a-vis the future mayor. Further, I show that the practices I describe are simultaneously instrumental, calculated to guarantee their access to needed public resources for the four-year term, and moral, rooted in a broader political culture based on norms of reciprocity. I explain the three levels of clientelist relationships that emerge during campaigns, and the practices and expectations at play in each. These findings add new depth to our understanding of rural politics and poverty, client agency, and the moral and instrumental dimensions of clientelist exchanges.

Social support perceived by pregnant and puerperal women with HIV: A cross-sectional study

Objective: To assess whether the social support perceived by pregnant women with HIV is different from that observed by puerperal women also with HIV. Method: The study had a quantitative approach and a cross-sectional design. It was developed from April to November 2014 in southern Brazil with 78 participants. The Social Support Scale for people living with HIV/AIDS was applied. In addition, descriptive analysis, T-test, Fisher’s exact test, and linear logistic regression were performed. Results: There was a significant difference in total and instrumental social support scores, which show that the group of pregnant women report higher social support rates. Puerperal women are 8.8 times more likely to have low total social support (OR: 8.80; IC: 1.01-16.76) and 6.0 times more likely to have low instrumental social support (OR: 6.00; IC: 1.53-10.48). The level of satisfaction with the support from friends in the emotional (p =0.009) and instrumental (p =0.004) dimensions was low. It was evidenced that beingpregnant is a protective factor in comparison with being a puerperal woman. Conclusions: Puerperal women living with HIV are dissatisfied with the social support they perceive, which involves the clinical practice of health professionals. Therefore, health professionals must qualify health care in a way that includes the social dimension of this type of patients.

Compliance with Building Material Specifications among Informal Skilled Construction Workers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Informal construction workers rarely comply with Building Material Specifications (BMSs) due to incompetence emanating from knowledge gaps, cost reduction strategies among clients, poor material use and lack of quality checks and control mechanisms. Based on logistic regression model results on the relationship between compliance and knowledge transfer on BMSs, this study has noted a mismatch between informal knowledge transfer practices and compliance with BMSs during construction. This mismatch is partly attributed to inappropriate knowledge transfer on BMSs. Compliance with BMSs is mainly driven by appropriate knowledge transfer and trainer-trainee agreement for effective knowledge transfer. The "carrots and sticks" approaches to enforcing compliance with BMSs among informal craftsmen have marginal effect on the ultimate compliance behaviour of craftsmen. The conclusion is that although social capital through social network is considered useful for knowledge transfer it does little to induce internalisation of knowledge on BMSs leading to non-compliance. That is, positive attribute of knowledge transfer may not necessary yield positive compliance levels. However, since this argument is strongly tied to compliance as measured along instrumental, normative and constraints dimension, it may slightly change in an environment where habits and routine have a major role to play in construction practices.

URSA-PQ: A Mobile and Flexible Pump-Probe Instrument for Gas Phase Samples at the FLASH Free Electron Laser

We present a highly flexible and portable instrument to perform pump-probe spectroscopy with an optical and an X-ray pulse in the gas phase. The so-called URSA-PQ (German for ‘Ultraschnelle Röntgenspektroskopie zur Abfrage der Photoenergiekonversion an Quantensystemen’, Engl. ‘ultrafast X-ray spectroscopy for probing photoenergy conversion in quantum systems’) instrument is equipped with a magnetic bottle electron spectrometer (MBES) and tools to characterize the spatial and temporal overlap of optical and X-ray laser pulses. Its adherence to the CAMP instrument dimensions allows for a wide range of sample sources as well as other spectrometers to be included in the setup. We present the main design and technical features of the instrument. The MBES performance was evaluated using Kr M4,5NN Auger lines using backfilled Kr gas, with an energy resolution ΔE/E ≅ 1/40 in the integrating operative mode. The time resolution of the setup at FLASH 2 FL 24 has been characterized with the help of an experiment on 2-thiouracil that is inserted via the instruments’ capillary oven. We find a time resolution of 190 fs using the molecular 2p photoline shift and attribute this to different origins in the UV-pump—the X-ray probe setup.

Assessment framework of actor strategies in international river basin management, the case of Deltarhine

The combined effects of socio-economic growth as well as climate change exert increasing pressure on international river basins and require dedicated cooperative efforts to jointly manage international rivers. Cooperative strategies drawn from scientific literature, empirical research and practitioner’s handbooks are explored and clustered into six key dimensions of goals, instruments, structures, actors, leadership and resources to provide an assessment tool of actor strategies for both scientists and practitioners. The exploratory framework is applied to Dutch–German cooperation in the delta of the Rhine catchment, testing its conceptual validity and applicability in international river basin management as well as providing policy recommendations for the study area. The assessment framework can serve as an instrument to inventory, map and evaluate the importance of specific actor strategies and to facilitate dialogue and cross-border cooperation between riparian countries. Alternatively, the framework can be put to use, for example by downstream countries, to assess and coordinate their range of strategies on the national, regional and local level in order to engage and influence their counterparts.

University Students’ Perception of the Usefulness of the Flipped Classroom Methodology

In a digital and interconnected context, where educational processes are in constant change, active methodologies take on a relevant role by making students the protagonists of their learning. Among the different possibilities, the flipped classroom stands out for its time optimization, the incorporation of technological resources, and the personalization of the processes. The aim of this research is to analyze the perception of higher education students about the usefulness of the flipped classroom as a methodology. The information was collected with a validated instrument, which was applied to a sample of 123 students from the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the University of Málaga (Spain). A positive evaluation of the usefulness of the flipped classroom as a learning methodology was reflected in the results, highlighting its instrumental dimension. Significant differences were perceived regarding the usefulness of the flipped classroom for the promotion of autonomous learning, which had a superior valuation according to women. In conclusion, the flipped classroom stands as a methodological alternative to promote learning that has a positive evaluation from the students that made up the sample.

A comparative analysis of the Chilean and Colombian systems of quality assurance in higher education

Over the past 30 years, quality assurance in higher education has rapidly developed on a global scale and become a widely studied research topic. However, a good deal of the research on this issue has been subject to an instrumental bias. The attention given to the technical features and expected results of quality assurance has overshadowed the analysis of its political and symbolic dimensions. This article argues that the political sociology of public policy instrumentation—a conceptual framework that foregrounds the technical and the social nature of public policy instruments, as well as their unexpected effects—can bring the instrumental, political, and symbolic dimensions of quality assurance together. To support this claim, the article presents a comparative analysis of the Chilean and Colombian systems of quality assurance in higher education, two cases that might seem analogous at first glance due to their instrumental commonalities but reflect contrasting approaches to quality: a flexible and an excellence-oriented approach, respectively.

Oxytocin Receptor Gene Polymorphisms and Early Parental Bonding Interact in Shaping Instagram Social Behavior.

Human beings engage in multiple social interactions daily, both in person and online. There are, however, individual differences in the frequency and quality of these interactions. This exploratory study focuses on online interactions and aims to model these differences by looking at potential environmental and genetic factors. The environmental factor is the childhood parental relationship, as reported by the participants in the dimensions of the Parental Bonding Instrument (N = 57, 41 females). At a genetic level, buccal mucosa cell samples were collected to assess participants’ genetic susceptibility, and OXTr regions rs2254298 (G/G homozygotes vs. A-carriers) and rs53576 (A/A homozygotes vs. G-carriers) were analyzed. To capture participants’ online activity, Instagram was probed. The number of people that the individual follows (“followings”), followers, and posts were used as a proxy for the quantity of interaction, and a Social Desirability Index (SDI) was computed as the ratio of followers to followings. An interaction between OXTr groups and parental bonding scores on the number of followings and posts was hypothesized. A gene-environment interaction for OXTr/rs2254298 on the number of Instagram posts was identified. In line with the hypothesis, participants with a genetic risk factor (A-carriers) and a history of low paternal care showed fewer Instagram posts than those without this risk factor (G/G genotype). Moreover, an interaction effect between maternal overprotection and OXTr/rs2254298 on the Instagram SDI was detected. These findings could represent an indirect pathway through which genes and parental behavior interact to shape social interactions on Instagram.

Situating High-Speed Railway Stations within Local Urban Contexts: Passenger Satisfaction with Intermodal Integration at the Hong Kong HSR Station

With more high-speed railway (HSR) being built worldwide, its be er integration into the 'urban fabric' is imperative. Focusing on the travel experience, this paper presents an analysis of the intermodal integration of HSR with the local public transport system at the newly opened HSR station in Hong Kong. A participatory survey was conducted with arrival passengers making intermodal transfers to local destinations using the metro, bus, and taxis. Participants were asked to recall and rate their travel experience from the exit of HSR station to the public transport stops. This is the first study that integrates both objective and subjective measurements of regional–local intermodal integration holistically from a passenger perspective. In the survey, respondents generally reported a positive experience. However, there were signi ficant diff erences for diff erent interchange modes. At a more theoretical level, ten service a ributes including both instrumental and aff ective dimensions were found to have signi ficant in fluence on the intermodal interchange experience. Furthermore, the importance-satisfaction analysis suggests that three instrumental factors (ticket purchase, time coordination, interchange signage) are in most urgent need of improvement, while good service quality of four aff ective factors (walking environment, cleanliness, congestion-free waiting area, and luggage delivery) should be maintained and strengthened.

The Meaning of Biopolitics in the Age of Numerical Revolution

Marshall McLuhan, in the 1960s, coined the well-known phrase “the world is a global village” at a time when the Internet did not exist, and new communication and media technologies were about to transform the world into a planetary village via interconnection. However, McLuhan may not have anticipated that accelerated technological advances would be made possible by communication without a “physical mediator-factor” and that the utilitarian and instrumental dimension of communication would give way to cultural and social domination and manipulation. In the numerical age, Foucault’s notion of “bio-politics” as a system of complete control and regulation of the body and life by means of science and technology is, at first glance, an outdated term, belonging to the past of modern, biopolitical and repressive societies. The numerical control is today based on a deep urge for individual and narcissistic exhibitionism in the new expository society.

What it means to say "I Don't have any money to buy health insurance" in rural Vietnam: How anticipatory activities shape health insurance enrollment.

Abstract Cost is a well-established barrier to health insurance uptake. Although iterations of the phrase “I don’t have any money to buy health insurance” are pervasive in research on the determinants of health insurance enrollment, its meaning is not universal. Through ethnographic immersion in Vinh Long Province and 34 semi-structured interviews collected from August 2015-September 2016, I show that being uninsured is not merely about the financial cost of an insurance card. Instead, the use of money in this phrase signals “anticipatory activities,” which refer to projects undertaken in the service of a projected future. If participation in insurance is fundamentally about planning for the future, then people weighed the risk management aspect of insurance against other more pressing anticipatory activities. Cash was key as it facilitated one’s ability to adjust to rapidly changing circumstances engendered by Vietnam’s ongoing marketization and global integration. For informal sector workers in this rural district, the value of health insurance was judged against five primary anticipatory activities where cash had instrumental and cultural dimensions: anticipating care responsibilities following the life course, anticipating changing economic and environmental risks, cultivating relationships as a form of anticipation, anticipating uncertain health vulnerabilities, and anticipating the inequalities of the health care system. By bringing attention to how anticipation is articulated in financial and health-seeking practices, I show how my interlocutors view their decision to remain uninsured as morally worthwhile. This study moves beyond utilitarian frameworks for understanding the uninsured. It also advances the anthropological agenda to study the “social life of health insurance” across the globe.

Cultura de Aprendizagem Organizacional e Adoção de Novas Tecnologias Educacionais em uma Instituição de Ensino Superior em Castanhal - Pará, Brasil

The research aims to analyze the relationship between the culture of organizational learning and the adoption of new technologies in higher education institutions - HEI. Specifically, it seeks to identify elements of organizational learning culture, how new technologies are used by professors and what strategies are used by managers in the mobilization of this process. The study was carried out in a private HEI, located in the state of Pará, from May 31 to June 19, 2019. In a qualitative and quantitative approach, an exploratory research was carried out, with the professors of the research unit as subjects. In the methodological procedures, a simplified version of the instrument Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire – DLOQ-A, was used to identify the elements of learning culture. With these elements, a general learning culture index of 4.99 was obtained, on a scale of 1 to 6, which were captured by 7 dimensions, with “Opportunities for continuous learning” being the dimension with the most prominence. As a result of the use of new educational technologies, positive results were obtained as regards the interest of teachers and students, who, despite not having an ideal technological structure, make good use of the available resources. A positive relationship was observed between the dimensions of organizational learning culture and the adoption of new educational technologies by professors in the researched HEI. However, there is still a need for the HEI studied to adapt its technological structure to a more effective use of new technologies in the pedagogical practices of professors.

How do Social Networks Affect Intergenerational Income Flow

China’s income gap and intergenerational income flow are of great concern. This paper empirically studies the influence of social networks on intergenerational income flow. Using the correlation of intergenerational income percentile ranks between fathers’ and sons’ income to measure intergenerational income flow, and measuring social networks from three dimensions of scale, intensity and instrumentality, the study finds that social networks significantly promote intergenerational income flow, and the conclusion still holds after using fathers’ family composition as a tool variable to eliminate endogeneity in 1966−1976. This kind of influence is more obvious in the areas with low marketization, woman and low-income families. Further research shows that social networks promote intergenerational income flow by strengthening information sharing, reducing credit constraints and improving children’s employment, and the three dimensions of social networks play different roles in different channels.

Mechanical Tests, Metallurgical Characterization, and Shaping Ability of Nickel-Titanium Rotary Instruments: A Multimethod Research

IntroductionThis study aimed to compare the mechanical and metallurgical properties and shaping ability of different rotary systems using a multimethod approach. MethodsNew NeoNiti A1 (Neolix SAS, Châtres-La-Forêt, France), HyFlex EDM One File (Coltène/Whaledent, Altstätten, Switzerland), ProTaper Gold F2 (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland), and ProTaper Universal F2 (Dentsply Maillefer) rotary instruments were tested regarding cyclic fatigue, torsional resistance, design, and morphologic characteristics using scanning electron microscopy, metal alloy characterization using differential scanning calorimetry, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Additionally, their shaping ability on the preparation of 48 canals of maxillary molars was evaluated using micro–computed tomographic technology. Mechanical and metallurgical analyses were compared using analysis of variance post hoc Tukey tests, whereas the independent Student t test was used to compare the shaping ability of the ProTaper systems or the thermomechanically treated instruments. The significance level was set at 5%. ResultsThe highest cyclic fatigue was observed with the NeoNiti and HyFlex EDM instruments (P > .05), whereas HyFlex EDM had the highest angular rotation to fracture (P < .05). Scanning electron microscopic/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopic analyses confirmed similarities in the instruments’ design and an almost equiatomic composition of the systems. Differential scanning calorimetry showed that ProTaper Gold had higher transformation temperatures than ProTaper Universal, whereas a similar transformation was observed between NeoNiti and HyFlex. Micro–computed tomographic analysis revealed that, despite the fact that none of the systems was able to prepare all root canal walls, no statistical differences were observed in either ProTaper systems (P > .05) or the thermomechanically treated instruments (P > .05). ConclusionsApart from differences in the mechanical tests and metallurgical characterization, systems with comparable instrument dimensions and preparation protocols showed a similar percentage of untouched surface areas in the root canal preparation of maxillary molars.

Determination of the Point Spread Function of a Computer-Generated Lens Formed by a Phase Light Modulator

In various fields of photonics, there is a tendency to pass from elements of physical optics to elements of flat optics, primarily, due to a decrease in the dimensions of instruments and devices. Most frequently, spatial light modulators are used to efficiently and immediately simulate flat phase elements. In this work, we investigate the possibility of replacing a lens optical system with a computer-generated lens. The novelty of the work is a comparative analysis of the point spread functions of the lens optical system and the computer-generated lens. Numerous experiments confirm the obtained result.

The role of diagnostic characteristics and imposed restrictions in determining aggression motivation in forensic patients

ABSTRACT Aggression is a key issue in a forensic unit. To be able to prevent or manage aggression, we need to understand its underlying dynamics. The present study explores how psychosis, personality disorders (PD) and psychopathy may differ in the motivational dimensions of aggression, and how motivation is affected by a limit-setting situation. Staff assessments of aggression motivation were collected between 2006 and 2015 and comprised 2100 incidents, involving 47 patients. Multilevel analysis was used to predict instrumental, defensive and irritable motivational dimensions of aggression at individual and incident level. Levels of motivational dimensions of aggression varied across diagnoses and psychopathy traits. A limit-setting situation was associated with an increased level of all motivations for aggression. Diagnostic characteristics also affected the impact of limit-setting situations differently; psychosis was associated with an additional increase in instrumental aggression, while higher levels of the antisocial factor of psychopathy were associated with an increase in irritable aggression. To help increase the understanding and management of aggression, attention should be directed towards factors such as diagnostic traits, motivational dimensions for aggression and the patient’s own perspective.

Employer branding at armed forces: current and potential employees’ perspective

PurposeDrawing from the instrumental and symbolic framework for employer branding, this study aims to explore the perception of the current and potential employees for the Indian armed forces’ employer brand.Design/methodology/approachThe study is conducted as a mixed-method approach in the form of qualitative and quantitative phases. In the qualitative phase, online reviews of current employees were collected from glassdoor.com and analysis was conducted. While in the quantitative phase, data were collected through questionnaire from 200 potential candidates who were interested in joining the armed forces.[AQ1] Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for instrument validity and regression analysis, for finding significant factors, were used for data analysis.FindingsThe qualitative results indicate that the current employee's perception fits the instrumental and symbolic framework. Additionally, variables such as discrimination in positions, risk, stress, confidence and personality development were also identified. The CFA and regression analysis results were found to be significant on the instrumental dimensions – job security and task diversity and symbolic dimensions – competence.Originality/valueThe study emphasizes the important instrumental and symbolic attributes for both current and potential employees. Thus, the armed forces can use these as a base for strategy formulation regarding employer branding.

Use of Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) Survey to Evaluate Effectiveness of Teaching in a Leadership Course among Dental Students over Three Years.

Leadership courses are being increasingly integrated into dental curricula. The study aimed to assess the validity and reliability of student evaluation of teaching (SET) instrument among dental students and to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching in a new leadership course over a period of three years. This cross-sectional study was conducted on fourth-year undergraduate dental students (N = 260) who took a practice management course over three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016. A 29-item SET questionnaire was administered among students who were willing to participate in the study. Out of 260 students, 185 returned completed surveys and the response rate was 71.15%. Factor analysis (principal component analysis) showed the validity of four dimensions of the SET instrument. Total variance explained by four dimensions was 62.80%. Cronbach's alpha for the instrument was 0.95 and each dimension had fairly high internal consistency (>0.80). Treating students with respect (94%), accepting different viewpoints of students (94.1%), being flexible/open-minded (92.5%), and preparedness in the course (91.9%) were the most common effective teaching traits. Over the period of three years, 16 items showed improvement in teaching and there was a significant improvement in four items (P < 0.05). In conclusion, it was found that SET is a valid instrument to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching in nonclinical courses in dentistry. This instrument should be used longitudinally to compare the effectiveness of teaching.

Analysis of Well-Being and Anxiety among University Students.

This article aims to interrelate dimensions of the well-being validation instruments proposed by Watson, Clark and Tellegen (PANAS) with generalized anxiety dimensions proposed by Spitzer et al. (GAD-7) and state-trait anxiety inventories proposed by Biaggio and Natalício (IDATE), using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), in the case of individual university students in southern Brazil and the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. We conducted a behavioral study, characterized as exploratory-descriptive, by applying a questionnaire survey to collect data though face-to face interviews to a group of 460 university students from June to August 2019. A non-probabilistic sampling method for convenience was used, justified by the heterogeneous incidence of the participants. Our results support most of the proposed hypotheses. Only one hypothesis was rejected, i.e., that the Positive Affection Scale (WBS) is not related to the State Anxiety Inventory (IAE)—when a person is feeling in full activity, this situation does not affect the momentary state, characterized by tension, apprehension and by increased activity in the autonomic nervous system. In terms of the subjective well-being of students, 14.13% were found to have a low rating. 86.74% were found to have generalized anxiety; 75% had trait anxiety, and 80.22% had state anxiety. Our results indicate the need for preventive measures to minimize anxiety and help maintain necessary levels of well-being during this phase of academic development and when forging a professional career. It is expected that new studies will contribute to the advancement of such themes, particularly with university students.

Embargoing ‘heretics' in fifteenth-century Central Europe: the case of Hussite Bohemia

ABSTRACT This article deals with the embargo imposed by the papacy and the Catholic lay powers on all trade and commerce with the Czech Hussites. It posits that this anti-Hussite embargo was simultaneously a means of economic warfare and an expression of the longer tradition of the papal embargo. Based on this twofold understanding, a set of sources is interrogated both from the perspectives of economic and cultural history. To this end a research methodology is employed that differentiates between the instrumental and symbolic dimensions of agency. This allows for a new, holistic view of the anti-Hussite embargo, both as an instrumental means of warfare and as a communicative process. The article thus contributes to political, economic and cultural history as much as to the history of everyday life in fifteenth-century Central Europe. Above all, however, it offers a transferable research methodology for the study of medieval embargoes in general.