Likert-type Ratings Research Articles

Designing a skills training pathway for the agricultural workforce from the employer perspective: skills micro-credentials from seasonal worker to supervisor

ABSTRACT Purpose To identify a skilled micro-credentialled training pathway for agricultural careers. Design/Methodology/Approach A survey consisting of open ended and Likert-type ratings questions regarding workforce skills requirements, training priorities and training delivery preferences was administered with 17 agricultural business managers and employers. Data were analysed to understand current workforce structures, compliance and training skills needs for workforce segments including: (a) seasonal workers, (b) entry level workers, and (c) supervisors. Findings Seventeen compliance and technical skills were identified as training priorities, and preferred approaches to training delivery included blended and on-the-job training, with formal accredited training preferred across all skills domains. Practical Implications Findings suggest that micro-credentials for these skills domains are of use for industry, with a skills development pathway for different workforce segments identified. Theoretical Implications It has been argued that micro-credentials may be a mechanism to improve the career motivations of workforce segments that traditionally do not engage in certificate or diploma level courses. The current research reports on an employer-identified need for this type of system, with further research required to explore employee perspectives. Originality/Value This research contributes a skills map that can be used to inform the design a micro-credentialled training pathway for the agricultural workforce.

Initial development of the chest pain conception questionnaire

BackgroundEven though “chest pain” is often highlighted as a key heart attack symptom for which individuals should seek care, little is known about the ways that the lay public conceives of chest pain related to acute coronary syndrome (ACS). ObjectivesThe purpose of this four-step process was to develop an instrument to measure the lay public's conceptions of chest pain related to ACS. MethodsThe Chest Pain Conception Questionnaire (CPCQ) was drafted based on the Theory of Unpleasant Symptoms and findings from the published literature. We then leveraged two rounds of expert feedback to calculate item-level and scale-level content validity indices. Two rounds of pilot testing (N = 51 and N = 300) were conducted with members of the target population. Psychometric testing was also conducted, including exploratory factor analysis. ResultsThe multi-step development process resulted in an instrument that is comprised of 23 items (2 open-ended questions, 13 short scenarios with Likert-type ratings, and 8 multiple-choice questions) and written at a 7th grade level. The scale-level content validity index was 0.99. Exploratory factor analysis findings also supported construct validity. ConclusionsThis paper provides preliminary evidence of the CPCQ's validity.

Assessment of foot alignment and function for ambulatory children with cerebral palsy: Results of a modified Delphi technique consensus study.

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to establish consensus for the assessment of foot alignment and function in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy, using expert surgeon’s opinion through a modified Delphi technique.Methods:The panel used a five-level Likert-type scale to record agreement or disagreement with 33 statements regarding the assessment of foot alignment and function. Consensus was defined as at least 80% of responses being in the highest or lowest of two of the five Likert-type ratings. General agreement was defined as 60%–79% falling into the highest or lowest two ratings. There was no agreement if neither threshold was reached.Results:Consensus was achieved for 25 (76%) statements, general agreement for 4 (12%) statements, and lack of consensus for 4 (12%) of the statements. There was consensus that the functional anatomy of the foot is best understood by dividing the foot into three segments and two columns. Consensus was achieved concerning descriptors of foot segmental alignment for both static and dynamic assessment. There was consensus that radiographs of the foot should be weight-bearing. There was general agreement that foot deformity in children with cerebral palsy can be classified into three levels based on soft tissue imbalance and skeletal malalignment.Conclusion:The practices identified in this study can be used to establish best care guidelines, and the format used will be a template for future Delphi technique studies on clinical decision-making for the management of specific foot segmental malalignment patterns commonly seen in children with cerebral palsy.Level of Evidence:V

Finding consensus for hamstring surgery in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy using the Delphi method.

Purpose:There is marked variation in indications and techniques for hamstring surgery in children with cerebral palsy. There is particular uncertainty regarding the indications for hamstring transfer compared to traditional hamstring lengthening. The purpose of this study was for an international panel of experts to use the Delphi method to establish consensus indications for hamstring surgery in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy.Methods:The panel used a five-level Likert-type scale to record agreement or disagreement with statements regarding hamstring surgery, including surgical indications and techniques, post-operative care, and outcome measures. Consensus was defined as at least 80% of responses being in the highest or lowest two of the five Likert-type ratings. General agreement was defined as 60%–79% falling into the highest or lowest two ratings. There was no agreement if neither of these thresholds was reached.Results:The panel reached consensus or general agreement for 38 (84%) of 45 statements regarding hamstring surgery. The panel noted the importance of assessing pelvic tilt during gait when considering hamstring surgery, and also that lateral hamstring lengthening is rarely needed, particularly at the index surgery. They noted that repeat hamstring lengthening often has poor outcomes. The panel was divided regarding hamstring transfer surgery, with only half performing such surgery.Conclusion:The results of this study can help pediatric orthopedic surgeons optimize decision-making in their choice and practice of hamstring surgery for ambulatory children with cerebral palsy. This has the potential to reduce practice variation and significantly improve outcomes for ambulatory children with cerebral palsy.Level of evidence:level V.

Anterior distal femoral hemiepiphysiodesis in children with cerebral palsy: Establishing surgical indications and techniques using the modified Delphi method and literature review.

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to develop consensus for the surgical indications of anterior distal femur hemiepiphysiodesis in children with cerebral palsy using expert surgeon opinion through a modified Delphi technique.Methods:The panel used a 5-level Likert-type scale to record agreement or disagreement with 27 statements regarding anterior distal femur hemiepiphysiodesis. Consensus was defined as at least 80% of responses being in the highest or lowest 2 of the Likert-type ratings. General agreement was defined as 60%–79% falling into the highest or lowest 2 ratings.Results:For anterior distal femur hemiepiphysiodesis, 27 statements were surveyed: consensus or general agreement among the panelists was achieved for 22 of 27 statements (22/27, 82%) and 5 statements had no agreement (5/27, 18%). There was general consensus that anterior distal femur hemiepiphysiodesis is indicated for ambulatory children with cerebral palsy, with at least 2 years growth remaining, and smaller (<30 degrees) knee flexion contractures and for minimally ambulatory children to aid in standing/transfers. Consensus was achieved regarding the importance of close radiographic follow-up after screw insertion to identify or prevent secondary deformity. There was general agreement that percutaneous screws are preferred over anterior plates due to the pain and irritation associated with plates. Finally, it was agreed that anterior distal femur hemiepiphysiodesis was not indicated in the absence of a knee flexion contracture.Conclusion:Anterior distal femur hemiepiphysiodesis can be used to treat fixed knee flexion contractures in the setting of crouch gait, but other associated lever arm dysfunctions must be addressed by single-event multilevel surgery.Level of evidence:V

INFORMAL ENGLISH LEARNING WITH ONLINE DIGITAL TOOLS: NON-LINGUIST STUDENTS

The internet has offered numerous opportunities for educational content delivery. The main current delivery models for learning a language online range from more formal structured approaches provided by schools and universities, which typically take place in a VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) or LMS (Learning Management System), to more informal unstructured approaches, including Virtual Worlds like Second Life and MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) like World of Warcraft. The purpose of this study is to analyse the experiences and perceptions of the online digital tools that provide engagement with the English language outside the classroom by the non-linguist students at a Ukrainian public university. The study is based on the quantitative and qualitative data collected employing an online questionnaire including Likert-type ratings, multiple-choice questions, and free-text responses to open questions. The questionnaire inquires about students’ experiences with 17 technologies not related to their classroom activities, how frequently they are used, how helpful the students find them for their language acquisition in general, and how useful they are considered for the development of particular language competencies (writing, reading, speaking, listening, pronunciation, grammar, communicative competence). The results of the survey attest to regular students’ engagement with the English language involving online technologies, which leads to implications for foreign language learners, teachers, and researchers of second language acquisition for incorporating online digital tools for foreign language acquisition beyond the classroom. Being aware of how students engage with technology outside the classroom may facilitate educators in increasing learners’ engagement with the foreign language, provide additional practice, and produce an emotional response, which increases retention of information.

Investigating Relative and Absolute Methods of Measuring HEXACO Personality Using Self- and Observer Reports

Abstract. Based on the principles of social comparison theory, the relative percentile (RP) method is an alternative approach to the measurement of psychological characteristics. It involves asking raters to explicitly estimate the percentage of a comparison group that they believe is lower than the target on a characteristic. This study explored the RP method for the measurement of personality. Specifically, we investigated the convergence of the RP with traditional (i.e., Likert-type) personality measures and the convergence between self- and observer reports. Both members of 142 Australian well-acquainted dyads rated themselves and their counterpart using the traditional Likert-type HEXACO-100 and a 25-item RP assessment of the HEXACO facets. Two weeks later, 78 participants completed the RP assessment again, allowing the assessment of test-retest reliability. The RP ratings showed mostly moderate reliability, though generally lower reliability than their corresponding traditional scales, and a relatively clear HEXACO factor structure. Furthermore, the RP ratings correlated significantly with the Likert-type ratings from the same rater (e.g., self–self) and with RP ratings from a different rater (i.e., self–observer), although convergence did vary by HEXACO domain. One potential issue with RP ratings, however, is that they mostly yielded Gaussian distributions, instead of the theoretically expected uniform distribution, which may suggest that it is challenging for respondents to estimate percentiles.

What Does It Take to Change an Editor’s Mind? Identifying Minimally Important Difference Thresholds for Peer Reviewer Rating Scores of Scientific Articles

We define a minimally important difference for the Likert-type scores frequently used in scientific peer review (similar to existing minimally important differences for scores in clinical medicine). The magnitude of score change required to change editorial decisions has not been studied, to our knowledge. Experienced editors at a journal in the top 6% by impact factor were asked how large a change of rating in "overall desirability for publication" was required to trigger a change in their initial decision on an article. Minimally important differences were assessed twice for each editor: once assessing the rating change required to shift the editor away from an initial decision to accept, and the other assessing the magnitude required to shift away from an initial rejection decision. Forty-one editors completed the survey (89% response rate). In the acceptance frame, the median minimally important difference was 0.4 points on a scale of 1 to 5. Editors required a greater rating change to shift from an initial rejection decision; in the rejection frame, the median minimally important difference was 1.2 points. Within each frame, there was considerable heterogeneity: in the acceptance frame, 38% of editors did not change their decision within the maximum available range; in the rejection frame, 51% did not. To our knowledge, this is the first study to determine the minimally important difference for Likert-type ratings of research article quality, or in fact any nonclinical scientific assessment variable. Our findings may be useful for future research assessing whether changes to the peer review process produce clinically meaningful differences in editorial decisionmaking.

Anger Self-Management Training for Chronic Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

To test efficacy of 8-session, 1:1 treatment, anger self-management training (ASMT), for chronic moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Three US outpatient treatment facilities. Ninety people with TBI and elevated self-reported anger; 76 significant others (SOs) provided collateral data. Multicenter randomized controlled trial with 2:1 randomization to ASMT or structurally equivalent comparison treatment, personal readjustment and education (PRE). Primary outcome assessment 1 week posttreatment; 8-week follow-up. Response to treatment defined as 1 or more standard deviation change in self-reported anger. SO-rated anger, emotional and behavioral status, satisfaction with life, timing of treatment response, participant and SO-rated global change, and treatment satisfaction. State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-Revised Trait Anger (TA) and Anger Expression-Out (AX-O) subscales; Brief Anger-Aggression Questionnaire (BAAQ); Likert-type ratings of treatment satisfaction, global changes in anger and well-being. After treatment, ASMT response rate (68%) exceeded that of PRE (47%) on TA but not AX-O or BAAQ; this finding persisted at 8-week follow-up. No significant between-group differences in SO-reported response rates, emotional/behavioral status, or life satisfaction. ASMT participants were more satisfied with treatment and rated global change in anger as significantly better; SO ratings of global change in both anger and well-being were superior for ASMT. ASMT was efficacious and persistent for some aspects of problematic anger. More research is needed to determine optimal dose and essential ingredients of behavioral treatment for anger after TBI.

The explanatory structure of unexplainable events: Causal constraints on magical reasoning.

A common intuition, often captured in fiction, is that some impossible events (e.g., levitating a stone) are "more impossible" than others (e.g., levitating a feather). We investigated the source of this intuition, hypothesizing that graded notions of impossibility arise from explanatory considerations logically precluded by the violation at hand but still taken into account. Studies 1-4 involved college undergraduates (n = 357), and Study 5 involved preschool-aged children (n = 32). In Studies 1 and 2, participants saw pairs of magical spells that violated one of 18 causal principles-six physical, six biological, and six psychological-and were asked to indicate which spell would be more difficult to learn. Both spells violated the same causal principle but differed in their relation to a subsidiary principle. Participants' judgments of spell difficulty honored the subsidiary principle, even when participants were given the option of judging the two spells equally difficult. Study 3 replicated those effects with Likert-type ratings; Study 4 replicated them in an open-ended version of the task in which participants generated their own causal violations; and Study 5 replicated them with children. Taken together, these findings suggest that events that defy causal explanation are interpreted in terms of explanatory considerations that hold in the absence of such violations.

An educational board game for learning and teaching burn care: A preliminary evaluation.

Timely and effective assessment, resuscitation and transfer of patients with severe burns has been demonstrated to improve outcome. A dedicated one-day course exists to equip all frontline emergency healthcare workers with the necessary knowledge and skills to manage severe burn injuries. More recently, a board game has been developed which aims to act as a learning and practice development tool for those managing burn injuries. We present the findings of our preliminary evaluation of this game. We played this game with a multidisciplinary group of staff including doctors, nurses and therapists. A proportion of these participants had previously completed the Emergency Management of Severe Burns (EMSB) course. We obtained subjective results from a questionnaire, using both Likert-type ratings and open-ended questions. The styling of the game and ease of instructions was rated from ‘average’ to ‘excellent’. The relevance of questions was rated from ‘good’ to ‘excellent’. The usefulness of the game to increase knowledge and stimulate discussion was rated between ‘good’ and ‘excellent’. All participants stated that they would recommend the game to other healthcare professionals. This is the only burns and plastic surgery-related educational game in the literature. Educational games adhere to principles of adult learning but there is insufficient evidence in the literature to either confirm or refute their utility. Our preliminary evaluation of this game has shown that it achieves its main aims, namely to increase knowledge in burn care and to stimulate discussion. Further work is required to assess the board game.

Issue Salience, Ownership, and Cross-Pressures in the American Electorate: 2016 ANES Pilot Study Technical Report

The purpose of our proposed battery of questions was two-fold. First, we wanted to introduce an alternative measure of issue salience: one based on rankings rather than ratings. The goal here is to identify relative importance of issues to voters, something that can be lost with Likert-type ratings (in which respondents can rate all or most issues are extremely important.) Second, because perceived party competence has a conditioning effect on relationship between salience and vote choice, we wanted to include an ownership question asking respondents which party they believe would be better at handling salient issues. The findings from ANES 2016 Pilot Study are promising. First, salience rankings reveal diversity of issue salience attitudes, and how salience attitudes are split along partisan lines, in American electorate. In addition, economic growth and inequality represent different, and important, conceptions of broad stimulus the economy across parties. Second, competence measures show that Democrats and Republicans are willing to rate either other party or no party as competent handlers of at least one personally salient issue. Finally, both salience and ownership measures are significant predictors of vote choice in both primary and general election matchups. We recommend including both items on regular 2016 ANES Time Series study.

Blending technology and face-to-face: Advanced students’ choices

AbstractIt has been suggested that current research in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) should seek to understand the conditions and circumstances that govern students’ use of technology (Steel &amp; Levy, 2013). This paper attempts to identify critical factors accounting for student choices, first, by investigating advanced learners’ reported use as well as their views on the potential of specific technological resources for language learning, and, second, by widening the perspective and surveying students’ ideal learning environments. Learners’ reasons for preferring teacher-fronted classes, blended learning, immersion or technology-mediated settings yield useful information on how students perceive the strengths and weaknesses of interaction/engagement with material (i.e. technological) as well as social (i.e. human) resources, and how the roles of teachers/classes can be conceptualised today.Data was collected via a survey of 175 Austrian university students which included Likert-type ratings and free text responses to open questions. Findings indicate that though the cohort routinely use a wide range of technology tools in their everyday lives and show awareness of the potential of ICT for language learning, a number of barriers exist based on learner beliefs/conceptions and learning aims. Thus the notion that enhancement of communicative competence is intrinsically tied to personal interaction with native speakers means that the potential of communication technologies such as Skype is not fully appreciated. It was further established that though many students are well versed in blending different technological resources in line with the criteria identified, thus displaying the hallmarks of autonomous learners, there was a clear preference for real-life compared to virtual environments.

Predicting the Severity and Prognosis of Trismus after Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy for Oral Cancer Patients by Magnetic Resonance Imaging

To develop magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) indicators to predict trismus outcome for post-operative oral cavity cancer patients who received adjuvant intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), 22 patients with oral cancer treated with IMRT were studied over a two-year period. Signal abnormality scores (SA scores) were computed from Likert-type ratings of the abnormalities of nine masticator structures and compared with the Mann-Whitney U-test and Kruskal–Wallis one-way ANOVA test between groups. Seventeen patients (77.3%) experienced different degrees of trismus during the two-year follow-up period. The SA score correlated with the trismus grade (r = 0.52, p<0.005). Patients having progressive trismus had higher mean doses of radiation to multiple structures, including the masticator and lateral pterygoid muscles, and the parotid gland (p<0.05). In addition, this group also had higher SA-masticator muscle dose product at 6 months and SA scores at 12 months (p<0.05). At the optimum cut-off points of 0.38 for the propensity score, the sensitivity was 100% and the specificity was 93% for predicting the prognosis of the trismus patients. The SA score, as determined using MRI, can reflect the radiation injury and correlate to trismus severity. Together with the radiation dose, it could serve as a useful biomarker to predict the outcome and guide the management of trismus following radiation therapy.

A methodological note on ordered Q-Sort ratings

Patterns of ratings using the Q-Sort method and the Likert-type method are compared. Ordering effects are found in Q-Sort ratings that are not present in Likert-type ratings. Specifically, item order is related to both item variance and item placement, such that items appearing near the end of the Q-Sort have less variance and more central placement. This finding is verified across three measures in several datasets spanning nearly 20 years of research. Such item order effects appear to attenuate average absolute relationships (covariances and correlations) between items appearing near the end of the Q-Sort and other measures. Randomization of items may be (in some situations) a viable course of action to minimize these effects at a sample level.

Effects of Music Therapy on Change Readiness and Craving in Patients on a Detoxification Unit

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a "rockumentary" music therapy intervention on readiness to change and craving in patients on a detoxification unit utilizing psychometric instruments in a randomized three-group design. Participants (N = 141) were randomized by group to a rockumentary music therapy intervention, verbal therapy, or recreational music therapy condition. All interventions were scripted and manualized in a posttest only design. Concerning readiness to change, results indicated there were significant between-group differences in Contemplation and Action subscales, with participants in the rockumentary and recreational music therapy conditions having higher means than participants in the verbal therapy condition. There were no differences between the two music therapy conditions concerning readiness to change variables. Although not significant, participants in both music therapy conditions tended to have lower mean craving scores than participants in the verbal therapy condition. Concerning Likert-type ratings of motivation to change, perception of helpfulness, and perception of enjoyment, participants in both music therapy conditions tended to have slightly higher mean scores than participants in the verbal therapy conditions. Participants' posttest written comments were positive, regardless of condition. Limitations of the study, suggestions for the future inquiry, and implications for clinical practice are provided.

The painful face – Pain expression recognition using active appearance models

Pain is typically assessed by patient self-report. Self-reported pain, however, is difficult to interpret and may be impaired or in some circumstances (i.e., young children and the severely ill) not even possible. To circumvent these problems behavioral scientists have identified reliable and valid facial indicators of pain. Hitherto, these methods have required manual measurement by highly skilled human observers. In this paper we explore an approach for automatically recognizing acute pain without the need for human observers. Specifically, our study was restricted to automatically detecting pain in adult patients with rotator cuff injuries. The system employed video input of the patients as they moved their affected and unaffected shoulder. Two types of ground truth were considered. Sequence-level ground truth consisted of Likert-type ratings by skilled observers. Frame-level ground truth was calculated from presence/absence and intensity of facial actions previously associated with pain. Active appearance models (AAM) were used to decouple shape and appearance in the digitized face images. Support vector machines (SVM) were compared for several representations from the AAM and of ground truth of varying granularity. We explored two questions pertinent to the construction, design and development of automatic pain detection systems. First, at what level (i.e., sequence- or frame-level) should datasets be labeled in order to obtain satisfactory automatic pain detection performance? Second, how important is it, at both levels of labeling, that we non-rigidly register the face?

The Celebrity Appeal Questionnaire: Sex, Entertainment, or Leadership

The Celebrity Appeal Questionnaire was constructed to operationalize constructs related to why fans are attracted to their favorite celebrities and was developed for use with fan bases for specific celebrities. This revised version asked fans of a specific celebrity to rank order three roles they might see the target celebrity playing in society with an option to not rank them at all. Of 409 respondents attending Josh Groban fan club meetings, 75% said Groban's most important role in society was as a leader and role model in trying to make the world a better place. A factor analysis of correlations of Likert-type scale ratings and an analysis relating those factors back to the rank orderings support the internal reliability and validity of the questionnaire.

Fathering in Infancy:Mutuality and Stability Between 8 and 16 Months

Objective. This longitudinal investigation explores how fathers engage with their infants, how their behaviors matter within and across developmental time, and how demographic and social factors affect the quality of the father - infant relationship. Design. Participants were 74 racially and ethnically diverse, low-income fathers from the Father and Newborn Study (FANS) and their 8- and 16-month-old infants (36 boys, 38 girls). Father - infant interactions were videotaped during semistructured free play in participants' homes. The quality of father - infant interactions was assessed using Likert-type ratings of fathers' and infants' behaviors. Fathers also rated their relationship with their infant's mother. Results. Two factors of father engagement emerged at each age (Responsive - Didactic and Negative - Overbearing), 2 factors of infant behavior at 8 months (Mastery, Social - Communicative), and 3 factors of infant behavior at 16 months (Mastery, Social, and Communicative). Responsive - Didactic fathering was concurrently associated with infant behaviors at both ages, although fathering at 8 months only marginally predicted infant 16-month Social behaviors. Fathers who were older, more educated, married to their partners, and who had higher incomes were more Responsive - Didactic at 8 months. Fathers' age and the quality of the mother - father relationship predicted fathers' Responsive - Didactic behaviors at the 16-month assessment. Conclusions. Fathers' responsiveness is important to infants' social and communicative behaviors, and the mother - father relationship influences fathering during the formative period of infancy.

Typology of Reactions to Intimate Partner Violence Among Men and Women Arrested for Partner Violence

This study examined behavioral and emotional responses to partner-initiated violence reported by men and women court-ordered to domestic violence counseling. Respondents provided Likert-type ratings of behavioral and emotional responses to their partners' initiated violence. Cluster analysis to determine heterogeneity of emotional and behavioral responses resulted in a three-cluster solution. The profile for Cluster 1, predominantly male, showed no specific behavioral or emotional reaction pattern. Cluster 2 respondents, evenly split between males and females, but comprising a high proportion of all of the female participants, reported frequently doing what the partner wanted and attempting to escape. Emotional responses experienced by Cluster 2 respondents were anger, insult, and fear. Cluster 3, predominantly male, reported a frequent tendency to use force in response and escape when their partners initiated physical violence. Emotionally, Cluster 3 participants reported experiencing high levels of anger and insult, and relatively low levels of fear and low levels of amusement. Implications of these findings for development of gender-based intervention strategies will be discussed.