Useful Instrument For Researchers Research Articles

How to Measure Gameful Experience in Business and Education?

While there is increasing interest in gamification in the context of business and education and the use of business simulation games has increased, there is not yet a short scale for measuring gameful experience in business simulation games. Existing scales are rather general and include a large number of items. When it comes to using such scales, scholars often face practical issues and restrictions regarding the survey length and participants’ response time. Furthermore, some of these rather general items are inappropriate in the business and education context. As such, gameful application evaluations are mostly incomplete and are not readily comparable, as they neglect the gameful experience itself. Thus, in this study, a short scale for measuring gameful experience in business simulation games (GxBusiness-Quest) was developed based on existing scales and related literature. Based on four samples from a business simulation game, a step-by-step scale reduction, an exploratory analysis, a confirmatory analysis, and a bivariate analysis were applied. The results confirmed that the short scale developed is a reliable and valid measure, and is a useful instrument for researchers and practitioners working in the context of business and education.

COPSOQ III in Germany: validation of a standard instrument to measure psychosocial factors at work

BackgroundOver the last almost 20 years COPSOQ (Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire) has become a well-established instrument to measure psychosocial stress at work. In Germany, a first validated version of COPSOQ was introduced in 2005. After the COPSOQ international network took over responsibility for the development of COPSOQ, a new version was published in 2019 (COPSOQ III). The German version of this questionnaire is now to be validated.MethodsMeasurement qualities of German COPSOQ III are explored in adherence to the to the usual requirements of a validation study as defined by DIN EN ISO 10075-3. A sample of observations from more than 250,000 participants surveyed with the COPSOQ in Germany is used for univariate and multivariate statistical analysis.ResultsWith its 84 items the German COPSOQ III includes all psychosocial work factors that are internationally obligatory and is still compatible with almost 70% of the content in the 2005 German version. Typical psychometric properties of the questionnaire (e. g., validity and reliability) are either good or very good for most of the 84 items and 31 scales. Beyond basic results, congruences with widely used theoretical approaches like the Demand-Control(−Support) model or the Job Demands-Resources model are generally satisfactory.ConclusionsWith the launch of COPSOQ III in Germany, new workplace psychosocial aspects could be explored. Like the preceding version, the questionnaire is a highly useful instrument for research as well as for risk assessment in enterprises. COSPQO III covers a multitude of theoretical approaches and gives comprehensive information on psychosocial working conditions to deduce actions for their improvement.

School Libraries in Pre-service Teacher Education

This paper describes a multi-stage research initiative focused on the place of school libraries in teacher education and how pre-service teachers learn to teach information literacy. Given the multinational agenda of governments and business of the creation for a knowledge-based society and economy, the research is premised on the prime opportunities of school libraries to support development of the skills and abilities essential to fulfilling these agendas by ensuring new teachers are informed and equipped to collaborate with teacher-librarians. Results and implications of one national study are given and the challenges of revising the research instruments for use in other countries are described and examples provided.

First Validation of the Referential Process Post-Session Scale - Therapist Version (RPPS-T).

ObjectiveBucci’s multiple code theory maintains that for a significant change the patient-therapist relationship should foster a referential process shaping in three alternating phases: arousal of emotion schemas, symbolizing/narrating emotional experiences, and reflecting/reorganizing the emotional meanings. Until now to monitor these phases clinicians and researchers have used several referential process computerized linguistic measures, which however need the sessions verbatim transcription. In order to have a less time-consuming method we developed and tested a therapist self-report questionnaire measuring the referential process phases.MethodWe asked eight psychotherapists in a first study and nine psychotherapists in a second study to complete the Referential Process Post-session Scale – Therapist version (RPPS-T) just after the end of their sessions. In a third study we transcribed 29 sessions conducted by three psychotherapists to calculate the correlations between the RPPS-T scores and the computerized linguistic measures of the referential process calculated on the session transcripts.ResultsIn the first study we collected 105 evaluations regarding 29 patients and an exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-factor pattern consistent with the hypothesized constructs. The analysis reduced the initial pool of 42 items to 12. In the second study 130 sessions with 25 different patients have been evaluated on the shortened version of the RPPS-T and a confirmatory factor analysis found that the four-factor model satisfactorily fitted the new data as well. In the third study we found that the factors of RPPS-T regarding the symbolizing phase correlated with the corresponding computerized linguistic measures calculated on the session transcripts.ConclusionsThe RPPS-T received a first validation as a concurrent measure of the referential process, especially for the symbolizing phase, and could be considered a useful instrument for research and supervision.

Experimental Investigation of a Prandtl Probe Fabricated Using Desktop Stereolithography Technology

A Prandtl probe is one of the standard instruments used for flow characterization in wind tunnel facilities. The convectional fabrication method of this instrument requires skilled artisanship, precision drilling, lathing and soldering of its several parts. This reflects into high costs of production in turn making wind energy studies expensive. With the adoption of additive manufacturing, the tooling costs, skills required and design to manufacture constraints can be addressed. This research presents a Prandtl probe that was designed using NX™ software, fabricated by desktop stereolithography additive manufacturing platform and validated in a wind tunnel for velocity range of 0 m/s to 51 m/s. This research attested the option of fabricating relatively cheap functional Prandtl probe with desktop stereolithography technology which can be used for accurate determination of flow quality in wind tunnels experiments. This provides various learning and research institution in developing countries that have already invested in additive desktop manufacturing technology certainty and a cheaper option to fabricate wind research instruments for use at their laboratories. Moreover, fabrication and validation of a 5-hole Prandtl probe can also be examined.

Experimental Investigation of a Prandtl Probe Fabricated Using Desktop Stereolithography Technology

A Prandtl probe is one of the standard instruments used for flow characterization in wind tunnel facilities. The convectional fabrication method of this instrument requires skilled artisanship, precision drilling, lathing and soldering of its several parts. This reflects into high costs of production in turn making wind energy studies expensive. With the adoption of additive manufacturing, the tooling costs, skills required and design to manufacture constraints can be addressed. This research presents a Prandtl probe that was designed using NX™ software, fabricated by desktop stereolithography additive manufacturing platform and validated in a wind tunnel for velocity range of 0 m/s to 51 m/s. This research attested the option of fabricating relatively cheap functional Prandtl probe with desktop stereolithography technology which can be used for accurate determination of flow quality in wind tunnels experiments. This provides various learning and research institution in developing countries that have already invested in additive desktop manufacturing technology certainty and a cheaper option to fabricate wind research instruments for use at their laboratories. Moreover, fabrication and validation of a 5-hole Prandtl probe can also be examined.

Developing a scale of social commerce service quality: an exploratory study

PurposeFollowing the emergence of Web 2.0 technologies, social commerce has been viewed as an inseparable part of today’s business environment. Social commerce is a recent version of e-commerce, which has rapidly become a new interesting field for both practitioners and academics. To improve social commerce success, managers should be aware of what encompasses social commerce quality, how consumers sense it and how it is assessed. Though, despite the importance of social commerce, designing of scales for measuring the social commerce quality has rarely been explored. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a new scale for measuring the social commerce service quality comprehensively.Design/methodology/approachTo obtain the research objective, in the first step, a comprehensive literature review along with focus group discussions was conducted to theoretically conceptualize service quality dimensions and measures. Then, for evaluating the proposed scale via social commerce customers, the survey method was used. Finally, the verified measures were weighted and ranked using fuzzy analytic hierarchy process.FindingsThe findings showed that social commerce service quality is a hierarchical and multidimensional construct consisting of six key dimensions including information quality, social interaction quality, design quality, functional quality, social trust/security and social support.Research limitations/implicationsThe study results assist managers to improve the quality of social commerce services through increasing the awareness of customers’ perceptions and expectations concerning social service quality. They further help managers to understand systematically all dimensions of social commerce service quality, which may lead to reduce the risk of social commerce adaptation failure and consequently increase the customers’ satisfaction.Originality/valueThe role of service quality in acceptance and success of social commerce has been emphasized by many academics and practitioners. However, review of the previous literature shows that inadequate studies in this field have been conducted so far. The main contribution of this study is conceptualization and development of a validated scale for measuring the social commerce service quality. This scale provides a useful instrument for researchers who wish to measure the service quality of social commerce and for managers who want to improve the perceived quality of their services.

Validation of the Intention Attribution Test for Children (IAC).

The Intention Attribution Test for Children (IAC) was created to assess hostile attribution bias in preschool- and early school-aged children. It comprises 16 cartoon strips presenting situations in which one character (either a child or an adult) causes harm to another, either intentionally, accidentally (nonintentional), or without his or her intention being clear (ambiguous). Its validity was tested on 233 children aged 4 to 12 years. Exploratory factor analysis and item response theory models demonstrated support for a single factor of hostile attribution bias for the ambiguous and nonintentional items. Analyses revealed, however, that the intentional items did not contribute to this same overall construct of hostile intention attribution bias. Correlations with the Social Perception Test and with sociometry suggest good validity of the IAC. The IAC may be a useful instrument for research and in the context of therapeutic intervention addressing socially inappropriate behavior in childhood.

FLAMENCO PERFORMER’S PERCEIVED VALUE: DEVELOPMENT OF A MEASUREMENT INDEX

This paper aims to explain the main elements influencing the perceived value of the flamenco performer. In the framework of cultural economics, it presents a methodology based on two stages: interviews to experts, to identify the different aspects which influence the value of the performer; and surveys to consumers, to measure the valuation of stated aspects. The data from surveys were used for an exploratory factor analysis which results identified three factors that influence the perceived value of the performer: virtuosity, feelings, and influencer-brand. The conclusions also show that among these factors, virtuosity may be used as a synthetic index of performer valuation, since it represents more than 42% of the accumulated total variance. Due to its findings the article is a useful instrument for researchers in cultural economics, art sociology, consumer studies, and empirical aesthetics.

Conducting the Pilot Study: A Neglected Part of the Research Process? Methodological Findings Supporting the Importance of Piloting in Qualitative Research Studies

During the development of research to compare the processes and impact of inclusive education in Sweden with results obtained from a study undertaken in Ireland, a pilot study was conducted and documented. The pilot study had three aims: (1) to gather data to provide guidance for a substantive study adapted to Swedish conditions through modification of Irish research procedures and instruments, (2) to critically interrogate how we as researchers could most effectively conduct a pilot study utilizing observational and video-recorded data, and (3) to use the Irish theoretical model as a tool of analysis for studying inclusion in two Swedish schools. Although pilot studies are frequently conducted to assess the efficacy of research instruments for use in qualitative research projects, few publications have drawn upon empirical findings related to such studies. Additionally, while methodological texts recommend the use of pilot studies in qualitative research, there is a lack of reported research focusing on how to conduct such pilot studies. We argue that our methodological findings may contribute to greater awareness of the important role that a pilot study may have for full-scale qualitative research projects, for example, in case study research where semi-structured qualitative interviews are used. This argument is based on the assumption that researchers, and especially novice researchers, having conducted a pilot study will be better informed and prepared to face the challenges that are likely to arise in the substantive study and more confident in the instruments to be used for data collection. A proper analysis of the procedures and results from the pilot study facilitates the identification of weaknesses that may be addressed. A carefully organized and managed pilot study has the potential to increase the quality of the research as results from such studies can inform subsequent parts of the research process.

The Staff Observation Aggression Scale \u2013 Revised (SOAS-R) \u2013 adjustment and validation for emergency primary health care

BackgroundMany emergency primary health care workers experience aggressive behaviour from patients or visitors. Simple incident-reporting procedures exist for inpatient, psychiatric care, but a similar and simple incident-report for other health care settings is lacking. The aim was to adjust a pre-existing form for reporting aggressive incidents in a psychiatric inpatient setting to the emergency primary health care settings. We also wanted to assess the validity of the severity scores in emergency primary health care.MethodsThe Staff Observation Scale - Revised (SOAS-R) was adjusted to create a pilot version of the Staff Observation Scale – Revised Emergency (SOAS-RE). A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was added to the form to judge the severity of the incident. Data for validation of the pilot version of SOAS-RE were collected from ten casualty clinics in Norway during 12 months. Variance analysis was used to test gender and age differences. Linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate the relative impact that each of the five SOAS-RE columns had on the VAS score. The association between SOAS-RE severity score and VAS severity score was calculated by the Pearson correlation coefficient.ResultsThe SOAS-R was adjusted to emergency primary health care, refined and called The Staff Observation Aggression Scale - Revised Emergency (SOAS-RE). A total of 350 SOAS-RE forms were collected from the casualty clinics, but due to missing data, 291 forms were included in the analysis. SOAS-RE scores ranged from 1 to 22. The mean total severity score of SOAS-RE was 10.0 (standard deviation (SD) =4.1) and the mean VAS score was 45.4 (SD = 26.7). We found a significant correlation of 0.45 between the SOAS-RE total severity scores and the VAS severity ratings. The linear regression analysis showed that individually each of the categories, which described the incident, had a low impact on the VAS score.ConclusionsThe SOAS-RE seems to be a useful instrument for research, incident-recording and management of incidents in emergency primary care. The moderate correlation between SOAS-RE severity score and the VAS severity score shows that application of both the severity ratings is valuable to follow-up of workers affected by workplace violence.

Introductory view of anomalous change detection in hyperspectral images within a theoretical gaussian framework

Exploitation of temporal series of hyperspectral images is a relatively new discipline that has gained a lot of attention from the image processing scientific community. In this paper, we consider the specific problem of anomalous change detection (ACD) in hyperspectral images and discuss how images taken at two different times can be processed to detect changes caused by insertion, deletion, or displacement of small objects in the monitored scene. We introduce the ACD problem using an approach based on the statistical decision theory and we derive a common framework including different ACD approaches. Far from being inclusive of all the methods proposed in the literature, this tutorial overview places emphasis on techniques based on the multivariate Gaussian model that allows a formal presentation of the ACD problem and the rigorous derivation of the possible solutions in a way that is both mathematically more tractable and easier to interpret. The unification of different approaches under a single rigorous statistical scheme provides both a tutorial overview of ACD techniques, and a useful instrument for researchers already familiar with the ACD problem. Dedicated preprocessing methods aimed at improving the robustness of the ACD process are also discussed. Real data are exploited to test and compare the presented methods, highlighting advantages and drawbacks of each approach. The tutorial aspect of the paper has suggested the use of a freely available data set. This should hopefully motivate the interested reader to experiment with the processing methods and performance evaluation chain presented herein.

Validation of the Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory for Chinese Women.

This study aimed to revise and validate a Chinese version of Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory (C-PMWI). In the preparation phase, the PMWI was first revised for the possible cultural differences between Chinese and non-Chinese women. Supplementary items on use of electronic devices as a contemporary form of monitoring were added. Forward and back translated items were reviewed by a panel of intimate partner violence (IPV) experts, resulting in the scale-level content validity index of 0.94. Cognitive debriefing was conducted to confirm comprehensibility. The newly revised measure was administered to the sample of 1,198 Chinese women, recruited from community centers and shelters in Hong Kong. Exploratory factor analysis conducted on data from half the sample revealed a two-factor structure similar to the original English version: emotional-verbal and dominance-isolation. This structure was verified by confirmatory factor analysis with the other half of the sample. Known-groups validity was demonstrated by significant differences in scores between women with different relationship histories. Moderate-to-strong correlations of the C-PMWI with other forms of IPV, controlling behaviors, relationship satisfaction, and depression established convergent validity. The C-PMWI showed good internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha >.9 for the entire scale and each subscale. The intraclass correlation across administrations 2 weeks was >.9, demonstrating test-retest reliability. The use of the comprehensive validation procedures in the present study provided evidence for both cultural appropriateness and satisfactory psychometric properties of the C-PMWI. The C-PMWI shows promise as a useful instrument for research and clinical practice with Chinese women.

Validity of the Parenting Stress Index Short Form in a Sample of At-Risk Mothers.

The Parenting Stress Index Short Form (PSI-SF) is a widely used instrument in scientific literature to evaluate the levels of stress a parent feels when facing parenting-related tasks. Despite the potential usefulness of the PSI-SF with at-risk families, no validation studies have been carried out on this population in Spain. The main objective of this study is to report evidences of the reliability and validity of PSI-SF with a sample of at-risk mothers. Specifically, (1) to examine the discriminative capacity of PSI-SF to differentiate between a community sample and another sample composed of families with various levels of risk and (2) to analyze the relationships with general health indicators and parental sense of competence. Analyses reported in this article show satisfactory results regarding appropriate internal consistency coefficients for the scale. With respect to the evidences of validity, results reported here suggest that the total PSI-SF score, but not the two subscales, could be useful to differentiate between different groups of mothers with different levels of risk. The Childrearing stress subscale was associated with a poorer perception as a mother as well as with an external locus of control, and the Personal distress subscale was related to all the general health indicators, explaining a high percentage of variance. The results reported show that the total score or the subscales should be used in a differentiated way according to the professional's objectives. Hence, PSI-SF may be a useful instrument for researchers and practitioners who work with at-risk families.

The Art Affinity Index (AAI)

The interplay of knowledge and art perception has been investigated over the past decades in various disciplines such as art sociology and aesthetic education. We present a brief overview of methodological approaches that investigated the effect of knowledge and expertise on the perception and appreciation of art. We then describe in detail the construction of the empirically grounded Art Affinity Index (AAI), which was formulated using exploratory factor analysis of questionnaire data received from 288 visitors to a fine arts museum in Switzerland. Subsequent confirmatory factor analysis in 289 other visitors showed the reliability and stability of the two AAI factors: Art relation and Art knowledge. The AAI was found to possess satisfactory validity and correlated meaningfully with visitors’ age and gender. These psychometric properties suggest the AAI is a convenient measure of art affinity. It provides a useful instrument for researchers in art sociology, visitor studies, and empirical aesthetics.

Desenvolvimento e avaliação das características psicométricas do Questionário de Auto-Percepção de Inteligência Emocional (QIE-AP)

Este estudo pretendeu desenvolver e avaliar as caracteristicas psicometricas de um novo instrumento para avaliar a autopercepcao de capacidades de inteligencia emocional (IE) baseado no modelo de IE de Mayer e Salovey (1997): o Questionario de Auto-Percepcao de Inteligencia Emocional (QIE-AP). Foram desenvolvidos dois estudos transversais. A amostra inclui 401 participantes (n1=191; n2=210) com idades entre 16 e 75 anos. Os dados foram analisados considerando uma analise fatorial exploratoria (AFE), analise fatorial confirmatoria (AFC), analise multigrupos, confiabilidade, e analises de correlacao. Os resultados da analise fatorial exploratoria suportam a retencao de quatro fatores do modelo teorico original: percepcao, avaliacao e expressao emocional, facilitacao emocional do pensamento, compreensao e analise emocional, e regulacao emocional. A analise fatorial confirmatoria demonstrou um bom ajustamento dos dados a estrutura original de quatro fatores, e os fatores revelaram confiabilidade, validade convergente e discriminante. Adicionalmente, as duas analises multigrupos demonstraram que o modelo final e totalmente invariante entre as duas amostras independentes e parcialmente invariantes entre generos. O estudo suporta a validade e confiabilidade inicial do QIE-AP, tornando-o num instrumento util na area da IE.

Research of instrument to measure customer perceived service quality of mobile data services

With the rapid growth of mobile data services in China, the competition between mobile data service providers become more intense. To gain advantage in the fierce competition, it is very critical to manage service quality effectively, thus a comprehensive measurement instrument of service quality is needed. However, there are few studies dedicated to measure service quality of mobile data services. Our study proposes a conceptual framework derived from technical acceptance model. Based on the framework, we develop and validate an instrument to measure perceived service quality of mobile data services in rigorous process. Finally, we have gotten a service quality instrument with six-dimensions: content quality, usability, reliability and speed, interaction, entertainment/enjoyment, and security/privacy. This scale provides a useful instrument for researchers who wish to measure the service quality of mobile data services and for marketing managers who want to improve their service performance.

Interpreters of Nineteenth Century Viewed by Anthropologists

Along the history the interpreters were discreet witnesses of important historical events. We discovered that the visual analysis of photographs is an extremely useful instrument for research in interpretation which enables us to discover how the interpreter was perceived. In our research on the history of interpretation in pictures, we created a database with nearly 350 photographs of interpreters since 1846 until 1939 available in digital collections. We must acknowledge that the higher number of photographs has us a little surprised, and after a first analysis we discovered that photographers who realised most portraits worked for anthropological institutions or were themselves anthropologists. Our aim is to carry out a visual analysis of these portraits to discover, if the concept of the Other of the anthropologists of this period changes in liaison with the interpreters. Also we analyze eleven portraits of four interpreters by re-contextualising them. The results suggest that the interpreters are seen like specimens. The anthropologists do not see the interpreters; they perceive only the Other savage. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n9p284

The development of culturally-sensitive measures for research on ageing

Attempts to import existing measures developed in other countries when constructing research instruments for use with older people can result in several problems including inappropriate wording, unsuitable response sets, and insufficient attention to cultural nuances. This paper addresses such problems by discussing a mixed methods approach to measurement development (i.e. both qualitative and quantitative) that incorporates input from the aging adults for whom the measure is intended. To test this approach, a step-by step process to the development of a culturally-grounded measure for older Thai people is described. Using focus groups and in-depth interviews, the process begins with an identification of the culturally meaningful domains of the construct under study. Next, input is gathered from other studies; a preliminary quantitative measure is developed; the measure is reviewed by a panel of experts; and then it is pilot-tested. Cognitive interviews are utilized when pilot-testing of the items detects problems with measurement construction or interview methods. When these problems are remedied, the measure is incorporated into a large-scale survey and tested for its psychometric qualities. In addition to providing a template for culturally-sensitive measurement development in gerontology, this paper also highlights issues that researchers should consider when attempting to develop measures and provides suggestions for how to address such issues.

Preparing research instruments for use with different cultures

There is a growing requirement to use standardised instruments for collecting research data and monitoring patient progress. Two sets of properties should be addressed when selecting and adapting research instruments: psychometric properties (validity, appropriateness, reliability, and responsiveness) and clinical properties (feasibility and acceptability of the instrument). This paper outlines steps necessary to fulfil these requirements when using a research instrument in different cultures.