Quantitative Research Instruments Research Articles

Move to Smart Learning Environment: Exploratory Research of Challenges in Computer Laboratory and Design Intelligent Virtual Laboratory for eLearning Technology

The university’s computer laboratory is currently one of the most challenging aspects when imparting practical tasks with regards to the education technology (ET) enhancement. This study intends to observe the issues confronted by students while performing tasks in the laboratory in different educational modes. The online survey is conducted using quantitative and qualitative research instruments to evaluate the students’ perspectives. This exploratory work has emphasized the practical issues such as an insufficient time constraint, and instruments, geographical needs, financial concerns, and unavailability of subject specialists to cater for relevant issues about a particular course. The sample size was (N= 161) drawn from a stratified sampling method for analysis of four strata. This research addresses these problems in the laboratory with an aim to improve the student’s practical skills as well as their investigation-based learning. It is needed for practical based courses, through experimentation with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) paradigms. The design science methodology is adopted, it presents the conception of an Intelligent Virtual Laboratory (IVL) based on pedagogical agent-based cognitive architecture (PACA). This IVL provides the level of excellence of laboratory needs by enhancing the ET which students can efficiently perform practical tasks online at anywhere. The results showed that IVL has a significant model for enhancing the learning to students and recommendations for further research implementation.

The place attachment experience regarding the disabled people: the typology of coffee shops

This study inquires the possible creation of a sense of a place in coffee houses for the disabled people as public places. The physical characteristics of a space are the main factors allowing all people including the disabled ones as well to perceive that place properly and within the “person, place and interaction process” framework. The place attachment, which can be defined as the main emotional bond between space and the users, is heavily influenced by the individualistic experiences and reactions whether they are ordinary or differently abled. In order to initiate a place attachment, spaces should be designed in a way that they respect the occupant’s perception, feelings, memories, senses and their physical abilities to enable them to develop a sense of belonging and ownership. Therefore, creating designs which foster people’s construction process of sense of a place that comprises the concept of identity and sense of belonging, is among the essential issues for realizing place attachment in architecture and design of public spaces. In our contemporary world, there are settings that possess these qualities; contrariwise there are more architectural and urban spaces which ignore these qualities and their benefits for people, especially for the disabled ones. Relatedly, a building should offer people enough information for perceiving it and with its physical features should also support the experiences that occur in it. There is a strong link between memorable events and the space where those events occur. An environment which provides outstanding and meaningful ambiance by its architectural characteristics can establish a sense of a place. Disabled people often have less opportunities to experience the spaces properly compared to others because their limitations are not taken into consideration when designing the public spaces. Therefore, the design process of public spaces should involve the basic needs of disabled people. In order to propose a typology for traditional coffee houses, this research aims to define and discuss the place attachment experience of disabled people in public spaces. The study begins with an overview of identifying different types of disabilities and special needs, and an introductory discussion of how space attachment can help to meet those needs. Therefore, the physical, social and typological aspects of traditional coffee houses were evaluated in terms of location, space organization and functions by considering the profiles of disabled users. Methodologically, this is a case study, which has a mixed research design including qualitative and quantitative research instruments.

Entrepreneurial intentions of university students: a case-based study

PurposeThis study aims to examine the entrepreneurial intentions of university students at the International University of Sarajevo. For this purpose, the entrepreneurial desires and entrepreneurial orientations of the students across several demographic variables were measured. These variables included prior entrepreneurial experience, student’s gender, faculty, year of study and attitude towards more courses on entrepreneurship. Nevertheless, the research also examined how business environment influences the entrepreneurial intentions of students by considering the same set of variables.Design/methodology/approachThe objectives of this paper have been achieved by using a quantitative research instrument, where the cross-sectional survey method for collecting primary data is used. In total, 173 usable responses have been collected from the beginning of April to the end of May in the academic year 2015/2016.FindingsThe results indicate that the greater the demotivation with the current business surrounding, the smaller the entrepreneurial intentions of the students are when the prior entrepreneurial experience, gender, year of study and attitude towards more courses on entrepreneurship are considered. The study suggests that improving the overall business surrounding and entrepreneurial education might increase the entrepreneurial intentions of the students.Originality/valueThis is the first paper that treats entrepreneurial intentions of University students in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Exploring generational cohort work satisfaction in hospital nurses

PurposeAlthough extensive research exists regarding job satisfaction, many previous studies used a more restrictive, quantitative methodology. The purpose of this qualitative study is to capture the perceptions of hospital nurses within generational cohorts regarding their work satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachA preliminary qualitative, phenomenological study design explored hospital nurses’ work satisfaction within generational cohorts – Baby Boomers (1946-1964), Generation X (1965-1980) and Millennials (1981-2000). A South Florida hospital provided the venue for the research. In all, 15 full-time staff nurses, segmented into generational cohorts, participated in personal interviews to determine themes related to seven established factors of work satisfaction: pay, autonomy, task requirements, administration, doctor–nurse relationship, interaction and professional status.FindingsAn analysis of the transcribed interviews confirmed the importance of the seven factors of job satisfaction. Similarities and differences between the generational cohorts related to a combination of stages of life and generational attributes.Practical implicationsThe results of any qualitative research relate only to the specific venue studied and are not generalizable. However, the information gleaned from this study is transferable and other organizations are encouraged to conduct their own research and compare the results.Originality/valueThis study is unique, as the seven factors from an extensively used and highly respected quantitative research instrument were applied as the basis for this qualitative inquiry into generational cohort job satisfaction in a hospital setting.

Drivers of the Technology Adoption In Healthcare

This paper proposes a theoretical framework for the study of the diffusion of ICT in management and assistance services in healthcare and empirically verifies its applicability in studying adoption of technology in this area. There was a review of literature in the period 2004-2014. Based on this framework, the researchers verified empirically the applicability of organizational drivers proposed in the prior conditions, through a case study conducted by interviews with 13 managers of a Brazilian public hospital that is adopting a nursing prescription module. Through the content analysis, eight organizational drivers of the technology adoption were confirmed. For future research, it is relevant to verify the applicability of the organizational and individual drivers in the other phases of the framework organized according to Rogers (1983), as well as in the prior conditions, either by new case studies or by developing quantitative research instruments about the management process of technology adoption in organizations.

Teacher Written Feedback on Student Writing: Teachers’ and Learners’ Perspectives

Using quantitative and qualitative research instruments, this study investigates teachers’ feedback on students’ writing in an EFL teaching context in the Republic of Benin. The main purpose is to determine the nature of the feedback that the teachers provide, and to identify their rationale for feedback provision. The study also attempts to provide insights into the learners’opinions about their teachers’ feedback. The results indicate that the majority of the participant EFL students are not favourable to their teachers’ feedback practices, and therefore, do not use the feedback that they get effectively. The study also reveals that while the teachers consider their feedback as a tool to promote accuracy in writing in their EFL classes, the students prefer a type of teacher feedback that would also take into account the content of their written production. Suggestions are made in the study to help bridge the gap between teachers’ practices and learners’ expectations.

Self-other agreement for improving communication in libraries and information services

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the Self-Other Agreement between leaders and employees in the sector of Libraries and Information Services (LIS) to construct a sustainable and strategic communicational process among library directors and staff. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 135 leaders-employees of 17 organisations of LIS in more than five countries answered on a quantitative methodological research instrument in a multiplicity of variables. Statistical analysis of independent samples t-test was used to testify our research hypotheses. Findings – Results indicated that there is a difference in means between the two independent samples (leaders-employees). There are library leaders who rate themselves quite high, and there are employees who rate their leaders with lower evaluations. Research limitations/implications – This research extends and improves the matter of Self-Other Agreement in the sector of LIS through the collection of data that indicated a possible gap of communication and trustworthiness between leaders and employees. Practical implications – Regardless of the difference or the consensus of ratings among leaders and employees, the results of this research could be served as a stimulus plus as a starting point for library leaders by correcting or developing relations of communication and trustworthiness between them and their followers. Originality/value – Self-Other Agreement is one of the major factors that positively or negatively affect the overall operation of the organization in the way a leader could perceive the additional feedback. In the sector of LIS, the study of Self-Other Agreement is a rich and unexplored research area which deserves further analysis.

“Culture” a Panacea for Brand Survival: Feasibility Analysis of Zimbabwe Tourism Destination

The study investigated culture as one the strategies that can be used to enhance survival of Zimbabwe tourism brand. This is because like other African tourism destinations, Zimbabwe is rich in unique traditional culture but failing to improve its global tourism brand identity. The study was based on a mixed methods research design combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches in collecting data from respondents. The qualitative method was used to find out the most crucial variables that contribute to culture identity in Zimbabwe tourism destination. This was done through in-depth interviews with the experts and managers in the tourism industry. The responses showed that the most common sources of culture identity are beliefs and norms, national dress code, galleries and heritage, originality in values and language. These variables were then investigated on their effect to Zimbabwe tourism destination branding using survey questionnaires as quantitative research instruments. The respondents for the questionnaires were from the travel sector, accommodation sector, resorts, Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Environment. The results of the study show that national dress code is the most important source for Zimbabwe tourism cultural branding followed by galleries and heritages and originality in values. The study therefore recommended these three as the most core source for branding Zimbabwe tourism destination using culture. The other variables which are language, beliefs and norms have been regarded as supporting cultural factors and a model was designed to show the relationships.

A Model of Interorganizational Networking Antecedents, Consequences and Business Performance

ABSTRACTPurpose: This quantitative study intended to examine the communication interactions that develop within a business network among various actors (i.e., customers, providers, cooperators, etc.), together with their effects upon business networking and performance. To these ends, we developed a conceptual model of dyadic marketing-oriented and network-oriented communication exchanges (i.e., interorganizational antecedents), interorganizational networking consequences, and business performance. Specifically, interorganizational networking consequences were examined in terms of tactical and strategic cooperation, whereas business performance was examined in terms of adaptability, productivity and efficiency.Methodology/approach: To set the hypotheses of the study we delved into the wide stream of marketing literature pertaining to interorganizational networks and business-to-business relationships, and specifically to the marketing orientation theory, the social network theory, and the IMP approach. These research hypotheses were tested using advanced statistical analysis and causal modeling. The research sample comprised 1,000 business-to-business international companies, which were mostly U.S., and European and were randomly selected from the yahoo.com business-to-business companies’ subdirectory. The data collection involved a two-wave e-mail survey, in which the quantitative research instrument was emailed to the respective marketing directors’ personal accounts. Totally 249 high ranking marketing executives responded, thus yielding a 24.9% response rate. The selected data were, then, subjected to rigorous advanced statistical analysis of structural equation modeling, using the AMOS21 statistical package, to test reliability and stability of selected measures and validity of the research model, as a whole.Findings: Overall, the research findings provided sufficient evidence that the proposed model was robust. Moreover, the findings supported that communication exchanges that deploy within a wide array of participants (i.e., within a network of organizational members, customers, partners, and other interacting partners within a market), may have stronger explanatory powers upon a company’s networking effects and business performance, than communication exchanges that evolve merely at a dyadic company-customer level.Originality/value/contribution: This research is original; that is, it deals with empirical, quantitative data and makes an attempt to combine marketing concepts mainly from 3 marketing streams studying the long-term business-to-business relationships. Our approach is based on existing marketing literature, suggesting that networks, apart from being embedded in previous relationships and interactions, they may also be based on more loosely coupling between organizations. Thus, we use the IMP approach to formulate the measures of our study; however, we don’t discriminate between strong and weak ties in relationship bonding. In this research we focus on specific communication behaviors that may nurture interorganizational networking and look for effects upon cooperation and business performance. The research findings imply that marketing executives would worthwhile expand their communication exchanges beyond their narrow customers’, or providers’ network, to the wider array of trustworthy business circle, as such a behavior may largely favor their companies’ adaptability to environmental changes, flourish innovation, and lead to synergies in efficiency and productivity gains.

Social Communication in a Community: The Bridge among Generations

<p> </p><p class="IATED-Affiliation"><span lang="EN-US">Referring to scientific literature, the article aims to define criteria of social communication, which are identified by socio-cultural, psychological, communication competences that in value viewpoint are essential for partnership relations among generations. The article presents network characteristics of successful partnership among generations. On the basis of theoretical works‘ analysis the research methodology as well as quantitative and qualitative research instrument, which allowed performing the empirical research, has been designed. The article also presents essential results of the research: how social communication and partnership networks create premises for bridges among generations in a community. The research has been performed in N community in Lithuania‘s second largest city. In this article the authors pursue to find the answer to the problematic question – what experience of communities‘ creation of bridges between social communication and partnership networks can strengthen bridges among generations.</span></p><p class="IATED-Affiliation"> </p>

The Eco-Modular Construction: Qualitative Research on its Marketing Use, Design and Development

The eco-modular construction represents a new type of construction developed so as to be ecological and easy to build, this research aiming at discovering its new uses so as to design more particular products. Through the applying of a questionnaire as a quantitative research instrument, this research aims firstly at appreciating the necessity of using the eco-modular construction both domestically and professionally, secondly at identifying the general and particular domestic and professional uses of such a product and thirdly at identifying the most frequent uses given to the product by the researched population. In this respect, the results generated three representations with a significant importance at the level of the sample: greenhouse, bikepark and dwelling - with more uses, as well as several others worthy of being taken into consideration: emergency shelter, hobbit dwelling, bird watching observatory, relaxation area, children play area, events area etc. so we herein conclude that, as population's needs and attitudes are changing, the design of constructions will change as well, such eco-modular construction representing an alternative to safely preserve the environment.

Project-Based English Language Instruction: A Study of Secondary School Learners in India

The idea of Project-Based Learning (PBL) is based on a holistic instructional strategy, which is becoming more meaningful in today’s society as teachers increasingly teach groups of young learners having different learning styles and ability levels. These learners primarily come from the northern part of India and have not been properly exposed to the learning of English because of varied linguistic, cultural, schooling and social backgrounds. The study aims at assessing the effectiveness of PBL in teaching young learners (14-16 years of age) Aligarh Muslim University, India. The methods employed in the study rely on data obtained with both qualitative and quantitative research instruments. Keywords: Project-based language instructions, project-based learning

The relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership styles in the South African petrochemical industry

Orientation: Although research on emotional intelligence in the context of leadership has remained a recurrent area of interest in theory and practice during the past decade, ongoing debate continues regarding the contribution of emotional intelligence to the understanding of leadership.Research purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between self-reported emotional intelligence and leadership styles in a South African context and to determine whether emotional intelligence can predict an effective leadership style.Motivation for the study: Research is needed in order to determine a more detailed relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership in the dynamic and globalising South African petrochemical context.Research design, approach and method: The study was conducted in terms of a positivist paradigm, using quantitative research instruments. Leaders (N = 161) were selected from a business unit in a South African petrochemical organisation. Self-reports from the emotional quotient inventory and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ Form 5X, Version 2009) were analysed. Correlation analyses indicated statistically-significant relationships between emotional intelligence and transformational and laissez-faire leadership.Main findings: Findings indicated positive correlations between self-reported emotional intelligence (specifically adaptability) and transformational leadership. Negative correlations were obtained between emotional intelligence (specifically intrapersonal skills) and laissez-faire leadership. The research also showed differences between specific demographic variables.Practical/managerial implications: This study provides valuable significance for organisations’ endeavours in improving, training and identifying alternative selection and assessment procedures for evaluating leaders’ strengths.Contribution/value-add: This research contributes to the South African research on emotional intelligence and leadership styles and thereby adds context-specific value to the topic within a specific cultural and organisational context.

Characterization of Tataouines Raw and Activated Clay

This study deals with the mineralogical and thermal analysis of red clay taken from the south of Tunisia (Tataouine area) which will be used in industrial and environmental fields. In that purpose the study had recourse to several quantitative and qualitative research instruments: chemical analysis, mineralogical study and thermal analysis. The analyses were carried out by different methods such as: (i) X-ray diffraction (XRD), (ii) infrared spectroscopy (IR), (iii) thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), (iv) differential thermal analysis (DTA) and (v) cation exchange capacity (CEC). The data collected from these techniques show that illite and kaolinite are the major clay phases. The accessory minerals detected in powdered rock is calcite. The raw clay has undergone an acid activation using the sulfuric acid. The acid activation of south of Tunisia clay increase the specific surface area by adsorption of methylene blue from 117 m2/g to 163 m2/g. The experimental investigation is performed in accordance with the methodology of the factorial design of experiments. The different factors or parameters used in this methodology are: the temperature (T), the contact time (t), the liquid/solid ratio (R), and the acid concentration (C). The optimal conditions, obtained by the statistically designed experiments, for the best results of methylene blue adsorption were: 60 °C, a contact time of 1.5 h, a liquid/solid ratio of 7 and acid concentration of 20%. These parameters are applied in the preparation of the sample used in characterization study. The effect of the reaction conditions on the solid structure is investigated by comparison with the raw clay sample.

Personal preference or policy? Language choice in a European‐based international organization

PurposeMutual understanding and cross‐border synergy in international organizations largely depend on the efficiency of the language(s) used between employees in home and foreign markets. This study aims to provide insights in how language(s) can be applied efficiently in international companies.Design/methodology/approachThe study reports on a cross‐cultural employee survey that was conducted in a Dutch international company intending to improve internal communications between Dutch‐based and German‐based employees.FindingsThe study shows that although English is a popular language in internal contacts with foreign colleagues, it is not perceived to be equally effective across borders. The results indicate that language background affects experiences with passive as well as active language skills. This suggests that an English language policy can be feasible, but that promotion and facilitation of language use is needed for specific language groups.Practical implicationsThe study indicates that quantitative academic research can help international companies in formulating a relevant corporate language policy tailored to the needs of the organization.Originality/valueThe study uses insights from existing qualitative studies on corporate language in established multinationals to create a quantitative research instrument employed within a company with a relatively young internationalization strategy. As such, it contributes to substantiating previous research findings.

ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS’ GENERATED QUESTIONS IN LABORATORY LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

In order to attain a reliable laboratory work assessment, we argue taking the Learning Environment as a core concept and a research paradigm that considers the factors affecting the laboratory as a particularly complex educational context. With regard to Laboratory Learning Environments (LLEs), a well known approach is the SLEI (Science Laboratory Environment Inventory). The aim of this research is to design and apply an alternative and qualitative assessment tool to characterize Laboratory Learning Environments in an introductory course of organic chemistry. An alternative and qualitative assessment tool would be useful for providing feed-back for experimental learning improvement; serving as a complementary triangulation tool in educational research on LLEs; and generating meaningful categories in order to design quantitative research instruments. Toward this end, spontaneous questions by students have been chosen as a reliable source of information. To process these questions, a methodology based on the Grounded Theory has been developed to provide a framework for characterizing LLEs. This methodology has been applied in two case studies. The conclusions lead us to argue for using more holistic assessment tools in both everyday practice and research. Likewise, a greater attention should be paid to metacognition to achieve suitable self-perception concerning students’ previous knowledge and manipulative skills.

Die Kooperation zwischen Haus- und Betriebsärzten in Deutschland: Wo befinden sich Defizite und Barrieren?: Eine qualitative Analyse anhand von Fokusgruppeninterviews

Given the high prevalence of work-associated health problems and the significance of work-related stress factors, cooperation between general practitioners (GPs) and occupational health physicians (OPs) is of particular interest to the healthcare system. Both groups of physicians have an important role to play in supporting prevention, rehabilitation and workplace reintegration. In Germany, however, cooperation between GPs and OPs is often lacking or suboptimal. In our study, we assessed relevant deficiencies in and barriers to this cooperation.Three focus groups were interviewed: GPs, OPs, and medical doctors working in both fields. Data were analysed according to the qualitative content analysis method of P. Mayring.Deficiencies such as lack of communication (e.g., opportunity to make phone calls), insufficient cooperation in regard to sick-leave and professional reintegration, lack of knowledge about the specialty and influence of OPs as well as about patients' working conditions in general. Barriers: Prejudices, competition, mistrust, fear of negative consequences for the patients, lack of legal regulations, or limited accessibility.Similar deficiencies and barriers were mentioned in all three focus groups. The data are helpful in understanding the interface between GPs and OPs in Germany to provide an informative basis for the development of quantitative research instruments for further analysis to improve cooperation. This is the basis for additional cooperation projects.

Quality in health care: possibilities and limitations of quantitative research instruments among health care users

Quality in health care has traditionally been dominated by medical profession, where patients’ opinions were labelled as lay evaluation. Patients’ views and opinions are important because they give us an insight into dimensions of quality that are not evaluated by medical profession and often seem to be more important. In health care quantitative methodology is often used to address these quality dimensions and introduce patients’ views and opinions. There are various benefits using quantitative research instruments, such as a detailed analysis of the importance of various quality dimensions for patients and an analysis of factors influencing patients’ satisfaction. On the other hand serious deficiencies can be tackled too, that are usually dealt with qualitative research instruments, because they go deeper into people’s motives and feelings. However, health care service is specific—it is very important to patients (health is one of the most important values), but their participation in health care service is rather low. They also don’t always say and do what they mean. In such a context combination of quantitative and qualitative research instrument does not give satisfactory answers. The importance of complaints is stressed and rewards for taking them seriously and acting upon them is discussed.

How qualitative information helped to shape quantitative research instruments in Rwanda

Rwanda experienced extreme violence and genocide during a three month period starting in April 1994. In the northern regions, there had been ongoing violence since 1990. Many inhabitants still suffer emotionally from the consequences of this era. We performed a quantitative study to measure the effe

A Cluster Analysis of Physician’s Values, Prescribing Behaviour and Attitudes towards Firms’ Marketing Communications

In this paper, the authors present an exploratory research on the associations between physicians’ personal values with physicians’ prescribing criteria and preferred marketing communications. The research involved extant marketing research and primary data collection. The resulting quantitative research instrument was then administered to a sample of 69 physicians, yielding a 69% response rate. All but the demographic measures were tapped by 5-point scales and a series of factor and reliability analyses assessed unidimentionality and reliability of research constructs. A series of ANOVAs and Tukey tests depicted the differences among three clusters. Implications are that physicians’ personal values may be a meaningful basis of segmentation for the pharmaceutical market, and findings may be useful for both marketing strategy planners and researchers examining physicians’ prescription behavior and attitudes towards firms’ marketing communication efforts.