Positive Rate Research Articles

Minding the local slot: municipalities as drivers of trust in public institutions

ABSTRACT Political theory advocates the centrality of trust for democratic legitimacy and stability. It holds that democracy works best if citizens trust governance institutions. From this standpoint, we argue that the local political arena is conducive to nurturing trust, for onward projection onto national institutions. Using a mixed-method approach to a Ghana case study that combines in-depth interviews with regression and a propensity score matching technique, we demonstrate the centrality of proximity as a trust-building mechanism. We show that proximity to elected officials and local institutions facilitates inclusion and participation – and brings the otherwise distant state closer to the local population. Positive experiences with municipal structures – the most proximate of all state institutions – help build positive evaluations of the national government. Processes that deepen participatory platforms and inclusive decision-making in local arenas will furnish governments with a legitimacy and democracy dividend.

How emoji make meaning and enact ambient affiliation: a social semiotic account of emoji-text relations in TikTok comments

ABSTRACT This paper explores how emoji make meaning with language in TikTok comments. It offers a social semiotic account which models emoji-text relations as a system of convergence, involving three kinds of semiotic relations: ideational concurrence, interpersonal resonance, and textual synchronicity. The paper focuses in detail on the comment feed of a TikTok lip-sync video which uses audio from Julia Gillard's iconic misogyny speech. It considers the role that emoji pfhgilay in enacting ambient affiliation in these comments, whereby users share positive evaluation of the TikTok Creator and express alignment with values relating to modern feminism. The work is grounded in previous corpus-based studies by the authors of the social functions of emoji across a range of social media platforms.

An evaluation of the racial equity of the actuarial Family risk assessment instrument used in Queensland, Australia

BackgroundRisk assessment instruments used in child protection to guide intervention decisions should be equitable. To be considered equitable, two criteria are necessary: instruments should avoid discriminatory logic and display comparative validity for children of different races. Empirical evidence about the equity of risk assessment instruments is limited. Objective: To investigate the racial equity of a widely used risk assessment instrument, the Structured Decision Making Family Risk Assessment (FRA). Participants and setting: Administrative data were obtained for all children subject to investigation in Queensland, Australia in 2018, for whom an FRA was completed (n = 17,851). MethodsRelationships between FRA items, race, and recurrence (subsequent investigation within 12 months) were explored using crosstabulations and Cox Proportional Hazards. Accuracy of FRA recommendations and practitioner decisions were compared using sensitivity and specificity for Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. ResultsMost FRA items predicted race better than recurrence. Differences in recurrence by race were only partially explained by FRA items. The FRA produced high rates of false positives for Indigenous children (incorrectly classifying 48.9% of children who did not recur compared to 31.7% for non-Indigenous children) and high rates of false negatives for non-Indigenous children (incorrectly classifying 59% of children who did recur compared to 39% for Indigenous children). Practitioner discretion did not mitigate inequitable FRA recommendations. ConclusionsThe FRA failed both criteria of equity, discriminating indirectly by relying heavily on factors correlated with race, and demonstrating less accuracy for Indigenous children. High rates of false positives for Indigenous children exacerbate Indigenous overrepresentation in child protection.

Spatial heterogeneity: Necessary and feasible for revealing soil trace elements pollution, sources, risks, and their links

The source diversity and health risk of trace elements (TEs) in soil make it necessary to reveal the relationship between pollution, source, and risk. However, neglect of spatial heterogeneity restricts the reliability of existing identification methods. In this study, spatial heterogeneity is proposed as a necessary and feasible factor for accurately dissecting the pollution-source-risk link of soil TEs. A comprehensive framework is developed by integrating positive matrix factorization, Geodetector, and risk evaluation tools, and successfully applied in a mining-intensive city in northern China. Overall, the TEs are derived from natural background (28.5 %), atmospheric deposition (25.6 %), coal mining (21.8 %), and metal industry (24.1 %). The formation mechanism of heterogeneity for high-variance TEs (Se, Hg, Cd) is first systematically deciphered by revealing the heterogeneous source-sink relationship. Specifically, Se is dominated (76.5 %) by heterogeneous coal mining (q=0.187), Hg is determined (92.6 %) by the heterogeneity of metal mining (q=0.183) and smelting (q=0.363), and Cd is caused (50.9 %) by heterogeneous atmospheric deposition (q>0.254) co-influenced by the terrains and soil properties. Highly heterogeneous sources are also noteworthy for their potential to pose extreme risks (THI=1.122) in local areas. This study highlights the necessity of integrating spatial heterogeneity in pollution and risk assessment of soil TEs.

The development of an emotion lexicon for spicy food flavor experience

The sensory properties of food are the most important source of food-induced emotional responses. Spicy flavor is characterized by burning, stinging, or tingling, which gives a unique flavor to the sensory experience of food. The aim of the current study was to develop an emotion lexicon to measure the emotional responses to spicy food flavor. In Experiment 1, a focus group of frequent (N = 30) and infrequent (N = 30) spicy food consumers were interviewed to generate emotion words after tasting spicy food samples. After semantic analysis, comparison with published emotion lists, and positive and negative evaluations, a lexicon of 33 emotion words (21 positive and 12 negative emotion words) was developed for spicy flavor experiences. In Experiment 2, by applying the rate-all-that-apply technique, a separate group of participants (N = 91) rated the intensity of emotions before and after eating various spicy foods in small portions using the emotion lexicon generated in Experiment 1. Validation of the emotion lexicon shows that the high and the low spicy preference groups can be distinguished by most positive words (19 out of 21) and 4 negative words. Furthermore, participants’ spicy eating habits were significantly predicted by the positive or negative emotions associated with the spicy flavor experience during food tasting. Overall, the emotion lexicon serves as a valuable tool for investigating the affective correlates of spicy flavor across diverse spicy preference groups and holds promise for broader application to various products.

Innovation in Education Management and Talent Cultivation Models for New Quality Productivity: Based on Data Driven and Intelligent Teaching Management

The rapid development of information technology and the emergence of new quality productivity, the education management and talent cultivation models that meet the needs of modern society have to be innovated. Data-driven education management combined with intelligence, is an important innovation direction that improves the utilization of teaching resources, optimizes the teaching process, and provides customized learning support for students by leveraging data analysis and intelligent algorithms, has become an important innovation direction. This paper elaborated the key concepts and principles of data-driven, intelligent-based teaching management mode, and analyzed the realization and roles of data-driven, intelligent-based teaching management mode in terms of education management, and talent cultivation. The application of intelligent teaching management model based on data has achieved positive results. Teachers have given a positive evaluation of the model proposing that it can improve the utilization efficiency of teaching resources, optimize the teaching process, and personalize the support of student learning.

Affording pragmatics-focused training for language teachers: The case of L2 Mandarin Chinese

This study reported the design and implementation of a 16-week graduate seminar on second language (L2) pragmatics offered for 14 graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) who were teaching various target languages as teachers of record at a US public university. Grounded in the explicit awareness-raising approach, the seminar was designed to increase the GTAs' pragmatic knowledge, promote their cross-cultural pragmatic awareness, and facilitate their teaching and researching of pragmatics. Specifically, the training comprised four modules: key concepts in pragmatics, cross-cultural pragmatics, L2 pragmatics, and instructional pragmatics. With the recent advances in technology, the guidelines and practices for effectively designing web-based pragmatic materials were also incorporated. One of the GTAs, who was a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese and taught the language in the program, was observed as a focal participant to track the development of her pragmatic knowledge and application. Overall, the participants' positive evaluation ratings and comments on the seminar, as well as the focal Chinese GTA's demonstrated knowledge and application in pragmatics over time, suggest that the pragmatics-focused training is beneficial to cultivate the GTAs' professional knowledge and qualities in delivering pragmatics instruction.

Product Review Reading and Rating Statistics: How Do They Affect Consumer Product Evaluation?

ABSTRACTMarketers are concerned about how consumers' readings of product reviews and product rating statistics affect product evaluations. Previous studies generally regard product review content and rating statistics as affecting product evaluations independently. This may not be true. Typically, consumers enter a review section with pre‐existing positive expectations about a product. When they see a negative average rating in this section, their expectancies are disconfirmed. Their surprise stemming from the disconfirmation makes them read the reviews more carefully. Thus, review reading affects product evaluation more strongly when viewing a negative average rating. Conversely, a positive average rating results in expectancy confirmation, which weakens the effect of review reading. An eye‐tracking experiment using a mock‐resort review section supported these predictions. These findings have implications for marketers in behavioral advertising, responding to reviews, and consumers writing reviews.

How Government Stereotypes Affect Life Satisfaction: a Good Government Matters More Than a Government That Does Good

Many studies have noted the close relationship between the government and people’s life satisfaction. However, little literature has paid attention to the role of government stereotypes. This research fills this gap using two large samples of Chinese residents. In the first-phase study, we explored the content and structure of government stereotypes with a data-driven approach. We found that the content of government stereotypes consisted of four clusters: positive evaluations, negative evaluations, things about government duties, and things about the government system. Further, the content of government stereotypes could be distinguished based on two orthogonal dimensions: the valence (negative vs. positive) and the degree of generality (particularized vs. generalized). In the second-phase study, we examined how various dimensions of government stereotypes were related to life satisfaction. We found that people with more positive government stereotypes were more satisfied with life. This association was more potent when government stereotypes were more generalized (i.e., a good government at a higher construal level) than particularized (i.e., a government that does good at a lower construal level). Both studies of this research were repeatable within the two large samples. This research provided a new perspective for the literature on the relationship between government and life satisfaction and the interventions to improve life satisfaction.

Salt reduction attempts in workers after specific food service facility guidance provided by a public health center: A case study at a worksite in Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture

Objective The Kawagoe City Public Health Center implemented a project to reduce salt intake through specific food service facility guidance in workplace cafeterias. Here, we report the study results.Methods The target worksite was company A, with approximately 270 employees, located in Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture. There were 214 participants (approximately 80%). The project was conducted from November 2019 to November 2021. The long-term goal was to decrease the number of hypertensive cases in the city. Project outcomes included decreased salt intake, urinary sodium/potassium ratio, and average blood pressure. The project aimed to improve the cafeteria menu, focusing on salt reduction by offering Smart Meals® and reducing the salt equivalents in all menus. The project output indicators included reduced amount of salt in cafeteria menu items, increased frequency of cafeteria use, increased positive evaluations of the cafeteria, and increased daily awareness of the need for salt reduction. Spot urine samples, blood pressure measurements, and self-administered questionnaire data were collected during annual physical examinations. The amount of salt in the cafeteria menu was evaluated by receiving monthly data from the food service company to which company A outsourced its cafeteria operations.Results The analysis included 102 individuals with complete data from to 2019-2021. Estimated salt intake (g/day) from spot urine decreased from 10.3±2.1 in 2019 to 9.8±2.4 in 2020 and 9.5±2.0 in 2021 (P=0.003). Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) decreased from 114.7±12.5 in 2019 to 111.7±12.1 in 2020 and 110.6±12.0 in 2021 (P=0.010). Compared to 2019, changes in dietary salt equivalents in cafeteria menus in 2020 and 2021decreased for set meals A and B, curries, and noodles (P<0.001).Conclusion We offered Smart Meals® and reduced salt equivalents in all workplace cafeteria menus. After 1-2 years, employees' salt intake and blood pressure levels were lower. These results provide implications for the implementation of food environment improvements in public health centers and other local government agencies to promote the Health Japan 21 (third term) strategy.

Awareness as a catalyst for sustainable behaviors: A theoretical exploration of planned behavior and value-belief-norms in the circular economy

This study explores the interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing sustainable behaviours within the Circular Economy (CE) through the lenses of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory. This objective was achieved by conducting a large scale survey in Brazil and using Composite-Based Structural Equation Modeling (cSEM) technique in conjunction with R software to analyze data and assess our research hypotheses. Our findings underscore the paramount importance of intrinsic factors—such as personal values, beliefs, and positive evaluations of sustainability outcomes—over external pressures like environmental laws and organizational policies in fostering sustainable actions. While increased awareness of the CE significantly enhances attitudes towards and the likelihood of engaging in sustainable behaviours, the study reveals that external pressures and perceived barriers, such as time, cost, and skill limitations, do not significantly deter those with a high level of awareness and positive sustainability evaluation from acting sustainably. Academically, the study enriches environmental psychology by extending TPB and VBN theories, advocating for a refinement of TPB to better account for contexts where personal values are stronger drivers than external pressures or immediate practical constraints.

Unveiling the dynamics of revisit intention and word-of-mouth: an attribution theory approach to Halal-friendly hotel attributes and service encounter evaluation

PurposeThis study examined the revisit intention of tourists in Muslim-friendly hotels in nexus with Halal-friendly hotel attributes (social environment, facilities, food and beverage, locals and staff, and services), corporate image, customer engagement, perceived value, and service encounter evaluation. It further examined the mediating role of corporate image, customer engagement and perceived value between Halal-friendly hotel attributes and service encounter evaluation.Design/methodology/approachUsing a structured survey instrument, 390 valid responses were gathered from international tourists who visited Malaysia. The collected data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares – Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the assumed relationships.FindingsThe research shows that corporate image (CI), customer engagement (CE), and perceived value (PV) are directly influenced by Halal-friendly hotel attributes (HFHA) and exert influence on service encounter evaluation (SEE). Findings also suggest the mediating effect of CI, CE, and PV between HFHA and SEE. SEE further positively and significantly enhances the revisit intention and positive word-of-mouth.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study stipulate that hotel owners should ensure the presence of HFHA in their offers to retain their existing guests and ensure their positive communication towards potential visitors through developing a fascinating image, engagement, and lucrative value.Originality/valueGrounded on the attribution theory, this study contributes to the Halal tourism literature by exploring the role of Halal-friendly hotel attributes in enhancing the hotel’s image, customer engagement, and perceived value to enhance positive service encounter evaluation and revisiting intention for the hotel.

Phosphatidylethanol is a promising tool for screening alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is one of the leading causes of preventable developmental disabilities. A lack of objective screening methods results in an under-recognition of the phenomenon. Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is a specific ethanol biomarker that reveals alcohol intake up to several weeks after alcohol use. So far, PEth has mostly been a tool for detecting moderate and heavy drinking. With lower PEth cut-offs, revealing even minor prenatal alcohol consumption is possible. We aimed to find out if a sensitive method for PEth analysis would give additional information about PAE and to assess the cut-off value for a positive alcohol result in prenatal screening. The study was an observational study of 3000 anonymous blood samples collected from the Helsinki University Hospital Diagnostic Center between June and September 2023. The Finnish Red Cross Blood Service received the samples originally for blood group typing and antibody screening as part of the prenatal blood screening program. We developed a sensitive PEth 16:0/18:1 analysis method using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) equipment after liquid-liquid extraction of PEth from whole blood. The lower limit of quantification was 1 ng/mL. PEth was ≥2 ng/mL in 5.2% of the cases, ≥8 ng/mL in 2.0%, and ≥20 ng/mL in 1.0%. The detection time of PEth can be several weeks, especially with low PEth concentrations and after heavy alcohol consumption. It remained unknown whether the positive PEth tests resulted from drinking deliberately during pregnancy or before pregnancy recognition. We suggest adding PEth 16:0/18:1 to a routine prenatal blood screening program with a cut-off of 2 ng/mL-and in positive cases, clinical evaluation and retesting in 2-4 weeks. In clinical settings, information on gestational week and alcohol consumption before pregnancy is relevant and needs to be considered when interpreting low PEth concentrations.

Aplicação da Plataforma Kahoot! Durante o Ensino Remoto na Pandemia por COVID-19

The pandemic we are facing has generated the need for changes in the teaching process of Higher Education institutions. Remote teaching has become a reality, directly impacting pedagogical training. Digital applications with themes focused on teaching and learning, such as Kahoot!, have become tools to stimulate student participation and engagement during classes. In this study, students were subjected to a quiz on subjects directly related to the classes through the use of Kahoot!. At the end of the semester, a questionnaire was applied through an online form, addressing its use as a revision tool. Acceptance was generally satisfactory and positively evaluated by students. However, the difficulties related to its administration are challenges that still need to be overcome, aiming to maintain the quality of teaching. The positive evaluation of students is seen as an important indicator to guide the actions of the teacher in future practices that adopt digital tools as an integral part of the teaching of traditional disciplines.

The Sexual Double Standard toward Non-Heterosexual Populations: Evaluations of Sexually Active Gay Men and Lesbian Women.

We examined the sexual double standard (SDS) toward sexually active gay men and lesbian women and the role that participants' masculinity and femininity played in their evaluations. We hypothesized that there would be a reverse SDS in which highly sexually active lesbian women would be evaluated positively and highly sexually active gay men negatively, with both being evaluated more negatively than less sexually active gay men and lesbians. We also hypothesized that masculinity would moderate this effect, with participant masculinity being positively related to stronger negative evaluations of highly sexually active gay targets and more positive evaluations of highly sexually active lesbian targets. Results indicate a weak SDS in the areas of likability and morality, with highly sexually active lesbians being liked by masculine participants the most and highly sexually active gay men being rated as the least moral. The SDS appears to be influenced by expectations of gender roles and may be reversed for gay men and lesbian women because of these expectations.

Positive Affect, Positive Evaluation, or Positive Functioning? Bringing Positive Psychology into the Dialog of Effectuation

Positive Affect, Positive Evaluation, or Positive Functioning? Bringing Positive Psychology into the Dialog of Effectuation

Charting the landscape of remote medical interpreting: an international survey of interpreters working in remote modalities in healthcare services

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the growth of remote interpreting, yet research on several aspects of remote medical interpreting (RMI) remains limited. Against this backdrop, this study reports key findings from a survey of professional healthcare interpreters with experience in RMI (N=47), addressing various gaps in RMI research, including interlocutor distribution and technology use, factors affecting interpreters' perceived impact of RMI on their performance, medical settings in which RMI is used, and working conditions. Results indicate that most interpreters have experience with both telephone interpreting (TI) and video interpreting (VI) in the healthcare context, encountering various medical settings, distribution patterns and technological configurations. Quantitative findings reveal four similar normative configurations of interlocutor distribution in both TI and VI, each with slightly different normative technologies. TI is perceived to have a more negative impact on overall performance than VI, which receives more positive evaluations regarding source text comprehension, target text production, rapport between interlocutors, concentration, stress, and fatigue. Qualitative results reveal common challenges shared by TI and VI, with COVID-19 exacerbating some of them. This study contributes to establishing a systematic understanding of the complexity of RMI across multiple dimensions and provides a nuanced perspective on both TI and VI.

Actitan: A Natural Complex for Managing Diarrhea—Insights from Cross-Sectional Survey Research Involving Patients, Pharmacists and Physicians

Diarrhea continues to be a global health problem as acute diarrhea carries the risk of dehydration, while both acute and chronic diarrhea can significantly affect patients’ quality of life and reduce productivity. The innovative medical device Actitan, which consists of a complex of natural molecules, could be an effective option for the treatment of diarrhea from various causes. The aim of this post-market cross-sectional study was to evaluate the perceived efficacy, safety and usage pattern of the two formulations for adults (Actitan-P) and children (Actitan-F) among patients/child caregivers, physicians and pharmacists. Participants completed online questionnaires with closed multiple-choice questions that were rated on a verbal 5-point Likert scale. These surveys were conducted via the online platform Real World Data, which provides digital questionnaires for patients, doctors and pharmacists. Two separate surveys were conducted for the two formulations, with a total of 2630 participants (1488 participants for Actitan-P and 1142 participants for Actitan-F). Overall, the results indicate a high level of efficacy and safety of the product. In the case of Actitan-F, more than 96% of caregivers rated safety as good or excellent, and over 92% rated efficacy as good or excellent. Actitan-P also received positive feedback: nearly 86% of patients reported good/excellent efficacy, and more than 93% rated safety as good or excellent. These positive evaluations were confirmed by physicians and pharmacists, who also did not report adverse effects. In summary, this study confirms the role of Actitan as a safe and effective option for the treatment of diarrhea of different causes and in different patient groups, including young children.

Momentary autonomic engagement during parent-adolescent conflict: Coping as a moderator of associations with emotions.

Regulatory efforts are hypothesized to affect associations between emotions and physiology (i.e., concordance) to facilitate adaptive functioning. Assessing the role of coping on physiological-emotional concordance during ecologically relevant scenarios can elucidate whether concordance can serve as a biomarker of risk or resilience. The present study assessed self-reported coping as a moderator of minute-to-minute associations between autonomic nervous system activity and emotions (i.e., physiological-emotional concordance) in caregivers (N = 97) and adolescents (N = 97; ages 10-15) during a dyadic conflict task. Models included physiological variables (sympathetic, skin conductance level [SCL]; and parasympathetic, respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) and their interaction (SCL × RSA) as predictors of emotions, with coping variables as moderators. Caregivers' use of primary control coping (e.g., problem solving and emotional expression) and secondary control coping (e.g., cognitive reappraisal and acceptance) use in response to family stress predicted more positive emotional experiences during the laboratory conflict task. Adolescents' use of secondary control coping moderated the SCL-emotion association, such that increases in momentary SCL were associated with more positive emotion ratings for youth reporting higher secondary control coping. For youth who report more adaptive trait-level coping skills, momentary changes in SCL may reflect active engagement and attentiveness to facilitate more positive emotional experiences. Findings advance our understanding of the interrelationships between physiological responses and psychological experiences during relevant, interactive scenarios. Autonomic responses are differentially related to affective states depending on the coping strategies that adolescents employ, suggesting that concordance may be associated with intervention targets (i.e., coping skills).

Pengaruh Customer Review dan Customer Rating Terhadap Keputusan Pembelian Konsumen pada Marketplace Shopee: Studi Kasus pada Mahasiswa Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis Universitas Muhammadiyah Bengkulu

Purchasing decision is a process where consumers evaluate various alternative choices and choose one or more alternatives based on certain considerations. Several factors that influence the purchasing decisions of online shopping consumers are customer reviews and customer ratings. This study aims to determine the effect of customer reviews and customer ratings on consumer purchasing decisions. This type of research is quantitative research with a descriptive approach. The population of this study were all students of the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Muhammadiyah Bengkulu, who use the Shopee marketplace. The number of research samples was 90 people. Data collection was carried out by distributing questionnaires. The data analysis technique uses multiple linear regression analysis techniques. The results of data analysis obtained multiple linear regression equations as follows: Y = 1.577 + 0.483 X1 + 0.360 X2. The results of the analysis show that partially customer review has a positive and significant effect on purchasing decisions (tcount = 5,350 and Sig = 0.000) and customer rating has a positive and significant effect on purchasing decisions (tcount = 3,747 and Sig = 0.000). Simultaneously, there is an influence of customer review and customer rating on purchasing decisions (Fhitung = 85,744 and Sig = 0.000). It is recommended for online traders in the Shopee marketplace to be able to increase consumer purchasing decisions by increasing consumer confidence through increasing positive customer reviews and customer ratings.