Personal Survey Research Articles

SERVED BY SYSTEMS: AGING WITH INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES AND INEQUITIES IN HEALTHCARE

Abstract Adults and older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) often experience medical complexity, accelerated aging, and shortened life expectancy. This project explores health service utilization (HSU) of adults with I/DD receiving state services in the U.S. over the adult lifespan before and after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Three waves of cross-sectional data (2008–2019) from the National Core Indicators-In Person Survey were analyzed using multilevel mixed effects logistic regression (n=46,284). Older adults with I/DD were more likely to receive a physical exam, flu vaccine, eye exam, hearing test, and a dental exam compared to younger individuals, although these differences were small. Compared to non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks were less likely to receive physical exams, flu vaccines, and dental exams; non-Hispanic other were less likely to receive eye exams and dental exams; and Hispanic persons were less likely to receive eye exams, flu vaccines, and dental exams. Individuals with I/DD living in states that expanded Medicaid were at 68% greater odds of receiving a physical exam than those who did not. Our research indicates that overall adults with I/DD are not yet reaching HSU of pre-ACA times, perhaps due to the oversaturation of existing providers. National and state policies, along with individual case management each play a role in ensuring healthy aging of individuals with I/DD. A call to action to better understand and integrate these three entities may help improve the potential for healthy aging of this group.

POLYETHYLENE FILTER FOR THE TNF2 THERMAL NEUTRON FACILITY.

The Standard Thermal Neutron Flux Unit, TNF2, in (LNMRI/IRD)(1, 2), was built for neutron detector and survey meter calibrations. The facility's fluence is achieved by moderation of four 241Am-Be with a graphite core and paraffin/graphite blocks surrounding it. Due to the small channel dimensions, it is impossible to calibrate personal dosemeters and survey meters for thermal neutrons. A polyethylene filter construction was carried out to allow the external irradiation of personal dosemeters and neutron survey meters. The polyethylene filter was constructed with 29 stacked discs with diameters ranging from 5 to 34cm. Different thicknesses were simulated to provide the desired effect. This new irradiation configuration was also experimentally tested and compared with simulation results with MCNPX(3).

Results of Surveying Cardiologists and Clinical Pharmacologists on the Selection and the Efficacy and Safety Evaluation of Pharmacotherapy for Cardiovascular Diseases

The state policy for the safety of medicinal products involves analysis of specialists' competence in identifying adverse drug reactions (ADRs) during the use of medicinal products. It is of particular importance for the group of essential medicines, including those used in cardiology.The aim of the study was to assess ADR-reporting skills of doctors managing cardiology patients, with anti-arrhythmics as a case study.Materials and methods: from October 2019 to June 2021, the authors surveyed a sample of 223 practitioners that treated cardiology patients in Moscow and the Moscow region (36 of the respondents took the survey in person, and 187 participated on-line). The questionnaire inquired about selection criteria for the medicinal products, their assessment in terms of efficacy and safety in real-life clinical practice, and the competence and active involvement of the doctors in reporting identified ADRs.Results: most of the survey participants were high-level professionals (60.99% had 10 and more years of experience). Most of the doctors (90.13%) admitted having encountered ADRs in their practice, placing substandard quality of cardiovascular medicinal products among the causes. Moreover, 1.79% of the respondents faced such quality problems on a regular basis. Only 52.91% were familiar with the current documents regulating pharmacovigilance. A total of 61.88% applied information from Russian and foreign ADR databases in their practice. In 2021, 80.72% of the surveyed did not report data on the identified ADRs. According to the respondents, the main reasons for low reporting activity were high workload and lack of evidence for causality between a product and an ADR.Conclusion: the study demonstrated the need to intensify the work with practitioners on the safety of medicinal products and ADR identification, particularly, to train them in pharmacovigilance. According to the study results, it is feasible to develop and implement simple and user-friendly risk-oriented information systems for analysis and systematisation of ADR case reports.

Consumer Formation of CSR Image: Role of Altruistic Values

The purpose of this study is to examine how the consumer constructs the CSR image of their banking company in their mind. This study is quantitative in nature. Data were collected using a personal survey of bank customers through a structured questionnaire. The current study employed structural equation modeling (SEM) for testing the proposed hypothesized model. The findings drawn from the present study show that altruistic values have a significant role in corporate credibility, which is an important antecedent of the customer formation of CSR images. The contribution of the present study lays in making explicit the moderating role of altruistic values, in terms of their effects on consumer trustworthiness and expertise, in the consumer formation of CSR images.

Influencer marketing: current trends and prospects

The article examines the influencer-marketing impact in the digital environment as one of the most popular lines of digital communications. The problem is the difficulty in recruiting a relevant blogger for promotional purposes. Methodologically, the study based on two basic psychological concepts: cognitive and interactive. The authors have conducted a critical analysis of scholarly literature and secondary documents and have addressed the concepts of blogger referentiality, identity and consumer identity statuses. The authors proposes and empirically verifies the hypothesis that the decision to buy an advertised product and the identity status of the consumer are interrelated. The empirical study was conducted using the author’s methodological toolkit, including an online survey using the Schneider Personality Survey. Based on the results of the study, recommendations are given for marketers to select bloggers for the target group of 18–24 year olds with different identity statuses in order to build a positive product brand. Suggestions for bloggers to interact with consumer groups with specified identity statuses are provided. Forecasts are given on the development of the influencer-marketing market, the demand for the blogging profession, the effectiveness of including the blogger’s inclusion in the company communications as potential partners, and the relationship between consumer engagement levels and social network.

The Moderating Effect of Hardiness on the Relationship Between Trait Anxiety and Performance in Collegiate Baseball Players

The purpose of this study was to explore the moderating effect of hardiness on the relationship between trait anxiety and objective performance within NCAA Division I collegiate baseball players. An updated and shortened version of the Personal Views Survey (PVS III-R) was used to measure hardiness after a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted. Of the total 389 players that participated, 171 met inclusion criteria and were split into two groups – hitters (N = 94) and pitchers (N = 80) – to identify differences in skills and how sub-constructs of hardiness (commitment, control, challenge) affected performance through a descriptive correlational design. The results show significant moderating effects of commitment for pitchers that accounted for the majority of variance in the relationship between perception of trait anxiety intensity and left on base percentage (LOB%) and wild pitches (WP). For hitters, significant moderating effects of control accounted for less variance in the relationship between perception of trait anxiety intensity on batting average on balls in play (BABIP) and grounding into double plays (GDP). The findings indicate there may be significant moderating effects of hardiness on the relationship between trait anxiety and objective performance that may be present in game situations with runners on-base. Practitioners could use these findings to target mental skills that could develop a pitcher’s commitment or hitter’s sense of control to enhance their performance within baseball-specific situations. For example, mental performance consultants could help athletes reframe the intensity of cognitive or somatic anxiety during situations with runners on-base.

Transit Service, Parking Charges, and Mode Choice for the Journey to Work: An Analysis of the 1990 NPTS

In this paper, the effects of transit service and parking charges on the choice of commuters to drive alone, carpool, or use transit are estimated. The analysis is based on data for 20 Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas from the 1990 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, FTA’s Section 15, and the Texas Transportation Institute s estimates of traffic congestion. Both the level of transit service and the likelihood of being charged for parking are found to have significant positive effects on the likelihood of choosing transit for the commute. The results also indicate that improving transit access leads to a very small increase in transit’s mode share, while improving the level of service produces a much greater mode share increase.

Household Need and Unmet Need for Caregivers of Older Persons in Thailand

ABSTRACT The need for caregivers is a crucial issue in Thailand. This research examined levels and trends of household needs and unmet needs for caregivers of older persons and explored potential factors associated with these needs. The analysis utilized data from the Survey of Older Persons in Thailand 2007, 2011, 2014, and 2017. The household need for a caregiver of older persons was defined as a household with one or more older people who needed a caregiver to help them perform basic activities of daily living. The unmet need for a caregiver referred to households where at least one older person in the household needed care but did not receive it. Findings illustrated the increasing levels and trends of household needs as well as unmet needs over time. In terms of potential determinants, older person households in Bangkok and households with higher socioeconomic status were more likely to be the household need for caregivers. In contrast, those households in the Northeastern, the poorest region, were more likely to be the unmet need household. These findings are indicative of the rising demand for long-term care services in Thailand. However, it is vital to consider unmet household needs, especially in the worse-off area, when designing national policies.

The impact of spousal behavior changes on smoking, drinking and physical activity: The longitudinal survey of middle-aged and elderly persons in Japan

The purpose of this study is to assess how one spouse's behavior change can influence their partner's successful behavior changes in smoking, drinking and physical activity. We used data from 10-wave prospective annual surveys of 9417 married couples (discrete-time person-years = 118,876) aged 50–59 years in the Longitudinal Survey of Middle-aged and Elderly Persons in Japan. A logistic generalized estimating equation model with discrete-time design was used among individuals who smoked at baseline to examine the impact of their spouse's health behaviors (i.e. quit smoking, stable non-smoker, or started smoking in reference to stable smoker) on changes in their own behavior (quitting smoking) which lasted one year or more. Similarly, reducing alcohol intake and starting physical activity were individually analyzed. Partners of spouses who had quit smoking had higher odds of quitting smoking themselves than partners of spouses who were stable smokers. The multivariable odds ratios[95%CI] in men and women were 1.94[1.23–3.07] and 2.89[1.81–4.52]. An association was found in partners of spouses who had been stable non-smokers (OR:1.64[1.33–2.03] and 2.20[1.66–2.94]), but not after spouses had started smoking (OR:1.29[0.71–2.36] and 1.27[0.54–2.99]). Similar associations were found for reducing alcohol intake and starting physical activity although for physical activity, the association was still found after the spouse had become physically inactive. Couples affect each other's health behaviors. Both male and female participants had higher odds of adopting positive health behavior changes if these changes had previously been made by their spouse.

Scale for the evaluation of visitor experiences in a shopping center in Cali, Colombia

This article presents the reliability and validity of a scale that evaluates the experiences of visitors to the shopping center in Cali - Colombia. The methodology is framed within a quantitative, descriptive, and causal approach, through the application of the hypothetical-deductive method. The variables considered in the measurement scale were determined from a theoretical review and content validation. To collect the information, a personal survey was administered to a sample of 343 customers. The validity and reliability of the scale was determined by Exploratory Factor Analysis, Cronbach's coefficient, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Among the main findings, it is highlighted that the scale shows high reliability and internal consistency since one factor explains 50% of the total accumulated variance and the total Cronbach's Alpha is 0.846. When the confirmatory model was applied, positive correlations were identified between the indicators and the variables and between the three variables. Therefore, the final scale consisted of three: subscales emotional experiences, sensory experiences, cognitive experiences, and 23 items.

INDICATEURS DE LA VARIABILITE CLIMATIQUE SUR LE COTONNIER DANS LA COMMUNE DE BANIKOARA AU NORD-EST BENIN

Water deficit remains one of the main limiting factors for agricultural production in Benin. This research aims to contribute to a better understanding of the indicators of climatic variability on cotton in the commune of Banikoara. This objective is achieved through a methodological approach that takes into account documentation, field work and data processing. Climatological data related to rainfall and temperature for the period 1960-2020 and producers perceptions were used. Field surveys of producers and resource persons, i.e. one hundred and ninety-six (196) people, were carried out in ten (10) villages chosen according to their weight in cotton production. The results showed that seasonal rainfall totals, the number of rainy days and average monthly rainfall show a significant downward trend over the period 1960-2020. Temperatures have increased over the periods 1978-1989 and 1996-2020. The average temperature has increased by 1.9°C. The end and length of the rainy season have shown a significant trend towards earlier and shorter rainfall respectively. All these parameters have an impact on cotton production and yield.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF FEMALE EMPLOYEES UNDER SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL BARRIERS IN BALOCHISTAN

Due to sociocultural and tribal barriers that are still difficult to overcome, women in Balochistan struggle mightily to find employment and support their families. They experience workplace harassment as well as anxieties. Women in Balochistan struggle to find stable employment opportunities. 96% of educated women are unemployed. The culture and tribal traditions of Balochistan demonstrate the violent domination of men in many spheres of life. The main goal of this research study is to evaluate the work performance of female workers in light of socioeconomic and cultural constraints. For the current investigation, the descriptive, analytical, and exploratory methodologies as well as a mixed study design (qualitative and quantitative) were used. The researcher conducted focus groups and six individual interviews with a sample of 400 respondents in the cities of Khuzdar, Zhob, and Quetta. Personal interviews, focus groups, and surveys were used to gather primary data. Secondary data was gathered from books, research papers, magazines, newspaper articles, and other sources, such as research articles. Using convenience sampling procedures, 400 questionnaires with closed-ended questions on a five-point Likert scale were created for quantitative data and given to the selected respondents in accordance with the study's objectives. Purposive or judgmental sampling strategies were utilized for qualitative data. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS), which is accurate and dependable for data analysis, was used to examine the data.

Use, knowledge, attitudes and practices of formal and alternative medicine related to Covid-19 in the Ecuadorian population.

The Covid-19 pandemic revealed a complex health problem for people and national health systems. Faced with the initial ignorance of the behavior of the SARS-COV-2 virus in populations, people turned to relief and alternative medicines. In Ecuador, the use of traditional or western medicine and the systematic approach of people to conventional medicine are evident realities. Our work aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding Covid-19 and the use of formal and traditional medicine to treat the disease or contagion. An open, personal and confidential survey was carried out, with 158 questions on general data, ethnicity, health status, covid-19 tests, use of self-medication, use of medicinal plants or other chemical products, and use of antibiotics or antiparasitics, among other data. In the control of the patients, six months after finishing the survey, they were asked about the acceptance of the vaccine and the decision to be vaccinated or not. The results in 3,000 persons (50% female and 50% male) show frequent use of alternative or traditional medicine, even in health personnel or university studies. The study's conclusions reflect that people choose any of the therapies they have access to and even mix traditional treatments with traditional ones that are unproven or toxic. Keywords: knowledge, attitudes, practices, covid-19, formal medicine, traditional medicine

The impact of mask-wearing in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 during the early phases of the pandemic.

Masks have been widely recommended as a precaution against COVID-19 transmission. Several studies have shown the efficacy of masks at reducing droplet dispersion in lab settings. However, during the early phases of the pandemic, the usage of masks varied widely across countries. Using individual response data from the Imperial College London-YouGov personal measures survey, this study investigates the effect of mask use within a country on the spread of COVID-19. The survey shows that mask-wearing exhibits substantial variations across countries and over time during the pandemic's early phase. We use a reduced form econometric model to relate population-wide variation in mask-wearing to the growth rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases. The results indicate that mask-wearing plays an important role in mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Widespread mask-wearing associates with an expected 7% (95% CI: 3.94%-9.99%) decline in the growth rate of daily active cases of COVID-19 in the country. This daily decline equates to an expected 88.5% drop in daily active cases over 30 days compared to zero percent mask-wearing, all else held equal. The decline in daily growth rate due to the combined effect of mask-wearing, reduced outdoor mobility, and non-pharmaceutical interventions averages 28.1% (95% CI: 24.2%-32%).

“You can’t swim well if there is a weight dragging you down”: cross-sectional study of intimate partner violence, sexual assault and child abuse prevalence against Australian nurses, midwives and carers

BackgroundDomestic and family violence (DFV), including intimate partner violence (IPV), sexual assault and child abuse are prevalent health and social issues, often precipitating contact with health services. Nurses, midwives and carers are frontline responders to women and children who have experienced violence, with some research suggesting that health professionals themselves may report a higher incidence of IPV in their personal lives compared to the community. This paper reports the largest study of DFV against health professionals to date.MethodAn online descriptive, cross-sectional survey of 10,674 women and 772 men members of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) (Victorian Branch). The primary outcome measures were 12-month and adult lifetime IPV prevalence (Composite Abuse Scale); secondary outcomes included sexual assault and child abuse (Australian Bureau of Statistics Personal Safety Survey) and prevalence of IPV perpetration (bespoke).ResultsResponse rate was 15.2% of women/11.2% of men who were sent an invitation email, and 38.4% of women/28.3% of men who opened the email. In the last 12-months, 22.1% of women and 24.0% of men had experienced IPV, while across the adult lifetime, 45.1% of women and 35.0% of men had experienced IPV. These figures are higher than an Australian community sample. Non-partner sexual assault had been experienced by 18.6% of women and 7.1% of men, which was similar to national community sample. IPV survivors were 2-3 times more likely to have experienced physical, sexual or emotional abuse in childhood compared to those without a history of IPV (women OR 2.7, 95% CI 2.4 to 2.9; men OR 2.8, 95% CI 2.0 to 4.1). Since the age of sixteen, 11.7% of men and 1.7% of women had behaved in a way that had made a partner or ex-partner feel afraid of them.ConclusionsThe high prevalence of intimate partner violence and child abuse in this group of nurses, midwives and carers suggests the need for workplace support programs. The findings support the theory that childhood adversity may be related to entering the nursing profession and has implications for the training and support of this group.

The Impact Of Age, Gender, And Ethnic Diversity On Organizational Performance: An Empirical Study Of Bangladesh's Banking Sector

Abstract: Purpose: This study aims to investigate the impact of workforce diversity (in terms of employee age, gender, and ethnicity) on organizational performance in Bangladesh's banking sector. Research Methodology: This research work evaluates the relationship between workforce diversity and organizational performance in the banking sector. The impact of workforce diversity on organizational performance is examined using structural equation modeling (SEM). The sample data was acquired from ten randomly chosen banks in Dhaka, Bangladesh, using a standardized questionnaire and a personal survey. Results: The study's findings revealed that age, gender, and ethnic diversity have a statistically significant positive impact on organizational performance. Among them, age diversity has the most significant effect on organizational performance, and gender diversity has less impact. Limitations: Other workforce diversity factors (such as religion, nationality, and so on) may have an impact on organizational performance, but they were not considered in this study. Contribution: The findings of this study reveal that in Bangladesh's banking business, there is a dynamic relationship between workforce diversity and organizational performance. Furthermore, this research work has significant ramifications, as well as the fact that effectively managing diversity practices in the workforce will improve the organization's performance. Keywords: 1. Diversity 2. Age 3. Gender 4. Ethnicity 5. Organizational performance

Cechy osobowości, orientacja sprawcza i wspólnotowa a wypalenie w nauce zdalnej studentów różnych lat

The coronavirus pandemic forced an immediate transition of education to remote. This affected the students significantly. The aim of this study is to examine the level of academic burnout in remote learning during the pandemic, taking into account personality differences (Big Five traits: conscientiousness, neuroticism; communal orientation) as predictors. The difference in the burnout level within two groups was also examined – people learning remotely from the beginning and those who previously studied stationary. A personal survey and three questionnaires were used: the Polish adaptation of the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI-PL) by Sorokowska, Słowińska, Zbieg and Sorokowski measuring Big Five traits, the Scale Measuring Agency and Communion by Wojciszke and Szlendak, and the Polish adaptation of the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) by Chirkowska-Smolak measuring burnout. 587 students aged 18–48 participated in the study. A general hypothesis was that the mentioned individual differences stand as burnout level predictors. The results confirmed that a high level of neuroticism and communal orientation predict higher exhaustion – one of the burnout factors. Higher conscientiousness predicts lower burnout levels in both factors (exhaustion and disengagement). Results also showed that people who previously studied stationary had higher burnout levels than those studying remotely from the beginning – the difference is slight.

Adherence to COVID-19 Protocols: A Behavioral Frequency Assessment

In a time where the world is facing the COVID-19 pandemic, it could prove important to understand the current frequency of certain behaviors (i.e., COVID-19 non-adherence, hand hygiene, social gatherings, and non-essential trips) of university students as colleges in the United States prepare to welcome additional students back to their campuses for the spring semester of 2021. A four-segment online survey was created to gather information on COVID-19 non-adherence by using a combination of socio-demographic questions, non-adherence scenarios, behavioral frequency questions, and a personality survey. This paper's focus is specifically on certain questions from the behavioral frequency section of the survey to help provide descriptive research on university students' current behaviors.

Monitoring Mode Effects in A Survey of Consumer Buying Behaviour

In an effort to increase response rates and control survey costs, survey designers have come to increasingly consider mixed mode survey designs. However, the impact of differential administration by mode is less clear for ongoing data collection efforts that are primarily designed for a single mode of administration, where alternative modes have emerged over time upon respondent. This is the case for the Consumer Expenditures Quarterly Interview Survey, a personal visit household survey with a non-ignorable percentage of cases interviewed by telephone. This research draws on six months data to assess variation in mode of administration and evaluate the size of mode effects in key survey estimates. The results of the study suggest that mode itself matters less than does the respondent behavior typically associated with mode. While telephone interviewing may impact the quality of Consumer Expenditures data collected relative to that of personal visit interviewing, Keywords: Mode equivalence, Consumer Expenditure, mixed mode designs, Survey costs; Respondent Behaviour DOI: 10.7176/JMCR/86-02 Publication date: September 30 th 2022

Finding Common Ground

Abstract: This article assesses a collaborative digital storytelling project between Chief Leschi Schools, a Puyallup Tribal K-12 school, and University of Washington students, teachers, and institutional leaders. This assessment emphasizes the importance of and examines how to build trust and facilitate co-planning in digital storytelling workshops centering Indigenous voices. Collaboration between Indigenous and non-indigenous students and teachers offered unconventional learning experiences and community celebrations of Indigenous youth. Inductive, qualitative research drawing from personal memos, interviews, focus groups, and surveys revealed the significance of co-planning and trust-building between participants of distinct social and formal education backgrounds. This analysis showcases how these different factors shaped and sustained the project, resulting in what the authors hope will be an enduring commitment. Recommendations include: (1) Emphasis on consistent and ongoing participation to cultivate trust and facilitate continuous communication; (2) purposeful engagement of students’ fundamental skills, presenting digital narratives that align with their interests and competencies; and (3) adopting an approach for non-indigenous academics and academic institutions of prioritizing and actively engaging in collaborative partnerships with Indigenous communities. The article underscores the significance of recognizing and resolving complex power and cultural dynamics between universities and tribes for successful project co-planning and implementation.