Variance In Ratings Research Articles

The trepidatious return to in-person instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic: valuable lessons applied from online teaching using Lt in the face-to-face classroom

The speed at which educators have embraced new technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic has been remarkable. This pivot to virtual instruction has been particularly diffcult in courses where hands-on experiences are the norm, such as in anatomy and physiology laboratory courses. Now with the transition back to mostly in-person instruction, the anatomy and physiology lab environment has faced a new set of challenges where the want to return to a strictly hands-on experience is being met with the need to still maintain flexibility and accessibility for students placed in quarantine. The anatomy and physiology lab curriculum at the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) has adapted to this varied set of needs by adopting the use of the web-based laboratory software platform, Lt. Students in introductory anatomy and physiology labs surveyed during strictly virtual semesters reported a high level of satisfaction with the Lt lab software. Ratings regarding ease of use, support of learning, and overall ratings increased each semester with the highest ratings occurring during the recent semesters where instruction returned to mostly in-person and hands-on (Fall 2021 – Spring 2022). Interestingly, beginning in 2022 and continuing into fall of 2023, ratings of overall satisfaction began to decrease. Although it is currently diffcult to determine the root cause of this decrease in satisfaction, we speculate that many students are becoming fatigued with the continued use of seemingly virtual labs. Although most lab exercises are hands-on and include dissections and live physiological recordings, we think that the continued use of a virtual interface is too reminiscent of learning under quarantine conditions. Even with variations in ratings regarding Lt use in our introductory anatomy and physiology laboratories, our data still help to support the widely held belief that students perform best, and that instruction is more effective with face-to-face laboratory courses. With our continued use of Lt, we have found an effective combination of virtual and in-person instruction that best fits our course outcomes while still supporting the flexibility and accessibility our students require. Research reported in this poster was supported by the University of the Incarnate Word Offce of Research and Graduate Studies. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Differential Activation of TAS2R4 May Recover Ability to Taste Propylthiouracil for Some TAS2R38 AVI Homozygotes.

Bitterness from phenylthiocarbamide and 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) varies with polymorphisms in the TAS2R38 gene. Three SNPs form two common (AVI, PAV) and four rare haplotypes (AAI, AAV, PVI, and PAI). AVI homozygotes exhibit higher detection thresholds and lower suprathreshold bitterness for PROP compared to PAV homozygotes and heterozygotes, and these differences may influence alcohol and vegetable intake. Within a diplotype, substantial variation in suprathreshold bitterness persists, and some AVI homozygotes report moderate bitterness at high concentrations. A second receptor encoded by a gene containing a functional polymorphism may explain this. Early work has suggested that PROP might activate TAS2R4 in vitro, but later work did not replicate this. Here, we identify three TAS2R4 SNPs that result in three diplotypes-SLN/SLN, FVS/SLN, and FVS/FVS-which make up 25.1%, 44.9%, and 23.9% of our sample. These TAS2R4 haplotypes show minimal linkage disequilibrium with TAS2R38, so we examined the suprathreshold bitterness as a function of both. The participants (n = 243) rated five PROP concentrations in duplicate, interleaved with other stimuli. As expected, the TAS2R38 haplotypes explained ~29% (p < 0.0001) of the variation in the bitterness ratings, with substantial variation within the haplotypes (AVI/AVI, PAV/AVI, and PAV/PAV). Notably, the TAS2R4 diplotypes (independent of the TAS2R38 haplotypes) explained ~7-8% of the variation in the bitterness ratings (p = 0.0001). Given this, we revisited if PROP could activate heterologously expressed TAS2R4 in HEK293T cells, and calcium imaging indicated 3 mM PROP is a weak TAS2R4 agonist. In sum, our data are consistent with the second receptor hypothesis and may explain the recovery of the PROP tasting phenotype in some AVI homozygotes; further, this finding may potentially help explain the conflicting results on the TAS2R38 diplotype and food intake.

Лингвоаксиология эмоций: лингвокультурная ценность злости в русском языковом сознании

The article explores the linguocultural value of ZLOST’ in the Russian linguistic consciousness. It is based on the notion that the value of an emotion is culturally specific, not fully accessible to direct observation, yet can be discovered and measured using psycholinguistic methods. An experiment was conducted to identify the linguocultural value of the emotion ZLOST’ in the Russian linguistic consciousness. The scaling method was used for the experiment: in the first phase, seven-point bipolar scales were compiled based on the characteristics of the emotion ZLOST’ provided by the respondents. In the second phase, the participants rated the emotion ZLOST’ on these scales, and the results were processed and interpreted. It was found that ZLOST’ is most often rated as emotional and anxious, as well as strong, angry, stirring, and destructive (these scales showed the fewest zero ratings). The image of ZLOST’ as anxious, angry, destructive, and fast is almost unambiguously formed in the collective consciousness (these scales showed the least variance in ratings). The characteristics of the emotion ZLOST’ were arranged in descending order of the intensity of quality (characterized by the absolute value of the rating), and the numerical indicators were verbally interpreted: ZLOST’ is very emotional, very angry, very destructive, very anxious, dangerous, terrible, vivid, sad, impulsive, bad, quite sincere, quite stirring, quite fast, quite absorbing, quite large, quite strong, quite unconscious, quite hot, quite loud. The obtained results demonstrate the feasibility of using the applied methodology for studying the linguocultural value of emotions in the Russian linguistic consciousness, as well as in comparative studies.

AIxSuture: vision-based assessment of open suturing skills

PurposeEfficient and precise surgical skills are essential in ensuring positive patient outcomes. By continuously providing real-time, data driven, and objective evaluation of surgical performance, automated skill assessment has the potential to greatly improve surgical skill training. Whereas machine learning-based surgical skill assessment is gaining traction for minimally invasive techniques, this cannot be said for open surgery skills. Open surgery generally has more degrees of freedom when compared to minimally invasive surgery, making it more difficult to interpret. In this paper, we present novel approaches for skill assessment for open surgery skills.MethodsWe analyzed a novel video dataset for open suturing training. We provide a detailed analysis of the dataset and define evaluation guidelines, using state of the art deep learning models. Furthermore, we present novel benchmarking results for surgical skill assessment in open suturing. The models are trained to classify a video into three skill levels based on the global rating score. To obtain initial results for video-based surgical skill classification, we benchmarked a temporal segment network with both an I3D and a Video Swin backbone on this dataset.ResultsThe dataset is composed of 314 videos of approximately five minutes each. Model benchmarking results are an accuracy and F1 score of up to 75 and 72%, respectively. This is similar to the performance achieved by the individual raters, regarding inter-rater agreement and rater variability. We present the first end-to-end trained approach for skill assessment for open surgery training.ConclusionWe provide a thorough analysis of a new dataset as well as novel benchmarking results for surgical skill assessment. This opens the doors to new advances in skill assessment by enabling video-based skill assessment for classic surgical techniques with the potential to improve the surgical outcome of patients.

Bias in job analysis survey ratings attributed to order effects

AbstractWhen respondents complete long surveys, evidence suggests that they may change their response behavior as they become fatigued. The present study examines question order effects in a block‐randomized job analysis survey that collected task ratings (importance, frequency, and needed at certification) for a certification program. Analyses showed that average task ratings were lower for tasks presented later in the survey for both complete and partial responses, though the effect of question ordering was stronger for non‐completers in two rating categories (importance and needed at certification). Additionally, rater variance was lower for questions that appeared later in the survey. The results highlight the value of using randomization to mitigate order effects on survey response quality.

Detecting Randomness Effect among Raters in Physics Essay Items using Many-Facet Rasch Measurement

This study sought to detect randomness effects among raters in physics essay items using Many-Facet Rasch Measurement. The research design adopted for this study is descriptive research design based on survey method. The population of the study comprised eighty-eight (88) public schools in all the local government areas with a physics student population of 3,642 students and ninety-four (94) physics teachers in all the Senior Secondary Schools in Uyo Senatorial District for the 2022/2023 academic session. Three hundred and sixty-four (364) SSS3 physics students and 37 physics teachers from the 31 selected secondary schools in Uyo Senatorial District were sampled using multistage sampling technique for effective selection. The multi-stage sampling technique was adopted for the study. The instrument used for data collection was Physics Achievement Test (PAT) obtained from WAEC and NECO 2020 Physics Essay items with reliability coefficients of 0.91 and 0.90 respectively. The finding revealed that most of the individual raters commit randomness effect when rating physics essay Items. It also revealed there is a significant difference at the rater's group level exhibiting randomness effect when rating physics essay items, which implies that there is no group-level randomness effect present among raters when rating physics essay items. We concluded that rater effects are sources of variance in performance ratings that are associated with the raters' behaviour and not the actual performance of the ratee. It was recommended that raters should follow the rating guidelines to reduce the impact of randomness in their ratings and provide more accurate and objective evaluations.

Evaluation of the effect of cervical and lumbar disc herniations on female sexual function: a comparative prospective study

PurposeWe aimed to evaluate the effect of cervical disc herniation (CDH) and lumbar disc herniation (LDH) on female sexual functioning before and after surgical intervention.MethodsThe current study was conducted from February 2022 to February 2023. A total of 100 sexually active female patients in their reproductive phase who were diagnosed with CDH and LDH based on physical examination and previous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results, as well as 50 healthy females, were enrolled. The female subjects were evaluated using the validated Arabic version of the female sexual function index (ArFSFI), a 0 to 10 visual analogue scale (VAS), the Oswestry disability index (ODI) and Beck’s depression index (BDI).ResultsThe baseline ArFSFI domains and total scores were greatest in the controls, followed by the CDH group. The ArFSFI domains and total scores were greatest in the control group, followed by the postoperative ArFSFI domains and total scores in the cervical group. The variations in satisfaction, pain, and overall ArFSFI ratings were significant across research groups. The difference in desire, arousal, lubrication, and orgasm was substantial in the lumbosacral group, but there were no significant changes between the cervical and control groups. Postoperatively, ArFSFI domains and overall scores improved in both of the cervical and lumbar groups. Both research groups’ ODI score and grade improved after surgery. Finally, both groups’ BDI score and grade improved after surgery.ConclusionFemale sexual dysfunctions caused by CDH and LDH improved considerably after surgery.

Assessing the implementation of place of last drink (POLD): a strategy to reduce overservice of alcohol

Background Place of Last Drink (POLD) is a strategy used by some law enforcement agencies to identify bars and restaurants that overserve patrons. When responding to an alcohol-related incident, ideally officers systematically record the last drinking location of the individuals involved and follow up with locations that are frequently named as a source of last drink. The likely success of this strategy, as with many strategies, is dependent on how fully it is implemented. We assessed implementation of a POLD initiative in Minnesota (USA). Methods We surveyed 26 law enforcement agencies about their POLD implementation. We created and assessed four components: Start-up, Data Collection, Stakeholder Awareness, and Follow-up. Five researchers independently rated each agency on each component, resolving discrepancies through consensus. We combined component ratings to create an overall high, medium or low implementation rating, Results We found considerable variation in ratings for each component and in overall levels of POLD implementation across the 26 agencies. Nine agencies were rated as having overall high implementation, five as medium, and 12 as low. Conclusion Considering implementation levels allows a more granular assessment of the components necessary for optimal implementation of POLD and other programs, and how they may affect outcomes.

Development and validity evidence for the resident-led large group teaching assessment instrument in the United States: a methodological study.

Despite educational mandates to assess resident teaching competence, limited instruments with validity evidence exist for this purpose. Existing instruments do not allow faculty to assess resident-led teaching in a large group format or whether teaching was interactive. This study gathers validity evidence on the use of the Resident-led Large Group Teaching Assessment Instrument (Relate), an instrument used by faculty to assess resident teaching competency. Relate comprises 23 behaviors divided into six elements: learning environment, goals and objectives, content of talk, promotion of understanding and retention, session management, and closure. Messick's unified validity framework was used for this study. Investigators used video recordings of resident-led teaching from three pediatric residency programs to develop Relate and a rater guidebook. Faculty were trained on instrument use through frame-of-reference training. Resident teaching at all sites was video-recorded during 2018-2019. Two trained faculty raters assessed each video. Descriptive statistics on performance were obtained. Validity evidence sources include: rater training effect (response process), reliability and variability (internal structure), and impact on Milestones assessment (relations to other variables). Forty-eight videos, from 16 residents, were analyzed. Rater training improved inter-rater reliability from 0.04 to 0.64. The Φ-coefficient reliability was 0.50. There was a significant correlation between overall Relate performance and the pediatric teaching Milestone, r = 0.34, P = .019. Relate provides validity evidence with sufficient reliability to measure resident-led large-group teaching competence.

Listening-Related Fatigue in New and Experienced Adult Cochlear Implant Users.

Active listening in everyday settings is challenging and requires substantial mental effort, particularly in noisy settings. In some cases, effortful listening can lead to significant listening-related fatigue and negatively affect quality of life. However, our understanding of factors that affect the severity of fatigue is limited. Hearing aids and cochlear implants (CIs) can improve speech understanding and thus, potentially, reduce listening effort and fatigue. Some research supports this idea for adult hearing aid users with mild-to-moderate hearing loss, but similar work in CI users is very limited. This study examined (1) longitudinal changes in listening-related fatigue in new and established CI users, and (2) relationships between demographic and audiologic factors and preimplantation and postimplantation listening-related fatigue. Participants included an experimental group of 48 adult CI candidates receiving either a unilateral implant (n = 46) or simultaneous, bilateral implants (n = 2) and a control group of 96 experienced (>12 months experience) adult CI users (50 unilateral, 46 bilateral). Listening-related fatigue was evaluated using the 40-item version of the Vanderbilt Fatigue Scale for Adults. Experimental group ratings were obtained before implantation and again at 0.5-, 1-, 2-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month(s) postactivation. Control group participants completed the scale twice-upon study entry and approximately 3 months later. Additional measures, including a social isolation and disconnectedness questionnaire, hearing handicap inventory, and the Effort Assessment Scale, were also administered at multiple time points. The role of these measures and select demographic and audiologic factors on preimplant and postimplant fatigue ratings were examined. Adult CI candidates reported significantly more fatigue, greater self-perceived hearing handicap, greater listening effort, and more social isolation than experienced adult CI users. However, significant reductions in fatigue and effort were observed within 2 weeks postimplantation. By 3 months, there were no significant differences in fatigue, effort, hearing handicap, or social isolation between new CI recipients and experienced CI users. Secondary analyses revealed that age at onset of hearing loss (before or after 2 years of age) and subjective hearing handicap contributed significantly to the variance of preimplantation fatigue ratings (those with higher handicap reported higher fatigue). In contrast, variance in postimplantation fatigue ratings was not affected by age of hearing loss onset but was affected by gender (females reported more fatigue than males) and subjective ratings of effort, handicap, and isolation (those reporting more effort, handicap, and isolation reported more fatigue). Listening-related fatigue is a significant problem for many CI candidates, as well as for many experienced unilateral and bilateral CI users. Receipt of a CI significantly reduced listening-related fatigue (as well as listening effort, hearing handicap, and social isolation) as soon as 2 weeks post-CI activation. However, the magnitude of fatigue-related issues for both CI candidates and experienced CI users varies widely. Audiologic factors, such as hearing loss severity and aided speech recognition, were not predictive of individual differences in listening-related fatigue. In contrast, strong associations were observed between perceived hearing handicap and listening-related fatigue in all groups suggesting fatigue-related issues may be a component of perceived hearing handicap.

SENSORY EVALUATION AND ACCEPTABILITY OF WATER YAM (DIOSCOREA ALATA) FLOUR FOR PRODUCTION SNACKS

This study assess the acceptability of processed water yam flour as a snack and its sensory evaluation. Using water yam flour and wheat flour in the ratios of 70:30 and 50:50, two distinct composite flour blends were created. As a control, there were samples made of wheat flour. The purpose of the study was to investigate the potential applications of Nigeria's freely obtainable water yam flour for making chinchin, cake, and cookies. In order to accomplish this, chinchin, cakes, and cookies made with water yam and wheat flour were prepared and then subjected to sensory analysis. Based on its appearance, color, flavor, texture, taste, mouth feel, crispiness, and overall acceptability, food products such chinchin, cake, and cookies were utilized to assess the sensory acceptability. For sensory evaluation, an 8-point hedonic scale was employed. The mean separation was performed using the Duncan New Multiple Range Test. The data was analyzed using the mean(x) score, simple percentage, standard deviation (SD), and analysis of variance (ANOVA). To clarify how new recipe is created, the study used an experimental research approach. It was evident from the findings that the judges accepted chinchin, cakes, and cookie sampling. The study concluded that, with regard to the factors examined, there was no discernible variation in the judges' ratings. Based on the results, the researcher concluded that water yam flour can be used in place of wheat flour and that products like chinchin, cakes, and cookies made with water yam flour should be encouraged by the producers.

A Machine Learning–Based Readability Model for Gujarati Texts

This study aims to develop a machine learning–based model to predict the readability of Gujarati texts. The dataset was 50 prose passages from Gujarati literature. Fourteen lexical and syntactic readability text features were extracted from the dataset using a machine learning algorithm of the unigram parts of speech tagger and three Python programming scripts. Two samples of native Gujarati speaking secondary and higher education students rated the Gujarati texts for readability judgment on a 10-point scale of “easy” to “difficult” with the interrater agreement. After dimensionality reduction, seven text features as the independent variables and the mean readability rating as the dependent variable were used to train the readability model. As the students' level of education and gender were related to their readability rating, four readability models for school students, university students, male students, and female students were trained with a backward stepwise multiple linear regression algorithm of supervised machine learning. The trained model is comparable across the raters’ groups. The best model is the university students’ readability rating model. The model is cross-validated. It explains 91% and 88% of the variance in readability ratings at training and cross-validation, respectively, and its effect size and power are large and high.

CHANGING THERAPY TO ACHIEVE ENDOSCOPIC HEALING IN ASYMPTOMATIC PATIENTS WITH IBD: WHEN IS PERFECT THE ENEMY OF GOOD?

Abstract INTRODUCTION The treat-to-target strategy for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) recommends optimizing or changing therapy in patients who have not achieved clinical remission and endoscopic healing. In asymptomatic patients, the potential benefit of changing therapy to achieve endoscopic healing is less clear, particularly since &amp;lt;40% typically achieve endoscopic healing with current therapy. We sought to define appropriateness of changing therapy in asymptomatic IBD patients with active endoscopic inflammation. METHODS Using the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method, a panel of 9 IBD specialists considered appropriateness of changing therapy in 16 scenarios of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 96 scenarios of Crohn’s disease (CD), rating them on a 9-point Likert scale as inappropriate (1-3), uncertain (4-6), or appropriate (7-9). Patients in all scenarios were asymptomatic with active endoscopic disease; variables included disease extent, behavior, prior treatment, recent disease progression, and prior disease complications. Current therapy was assumed to be optimized, so the only options were changing therapy or continuing current therapy. An additional 14 scenarios explored whether age &amp;gt;65 years and the possibility of pregnancy within the next year influenced treatment decision-making. Initial ratings were collected via online anonymous survey, discussed at an in-person meeting, and collected as final ratings in a second anonymous survey using a modified Delphi approach. Disagreement was assessed using a validated index. RESULTS Panelists rated it appropriate to change therapy (i.e., expected benefit sufficiently exceeds expected negative consequences) in 96/126 scenarios, generally those with progressive, complicated, and/or extensive disease; 27 scenarios of patients with mild and/or stable disease were rated uncertain, particularly in those with prior exposure to ≥3 drug classes (Table). Changing therapy in asymptomatic patients was rated inappropriate in three scenarios: in patients with UC Mayo 1 disease previously treated with ≥3 therapy classes with no endoscopic progression in the last year; in any patient who showed endoscopic improvement over the last year; and in any patient with CD who had only scattered aphthous ulcers. Patient age &amp;gt;65 years influenced a decision to change therapy specifically for anti-TNFs and JAK inhibitors; the possibility of pregnancy also influenced decision-making. Despite variability in ratings, the threshold for disagreement was not crossed for any scenario. CONCLUSIONS Our panel of IBD specialists rated appropriateness of changing therapy to achieve endoscopic healing in asymptomatic patients with UC and CD in a variety of scenarios. Our findings can be used to help guide clinical decision-making in this population until data from ongoing randomized studies are available (NCT05230173).

P978 Changing therapy to achieve endoscopic healing in asymptomatic patients with IBD: When is perfect the enemy of good?

Abstract Background The treat-to-target strategy for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) recommends optimising or changing therapy in patients who have not achieved clinical remission and endoscopic healing. In asymptomatic patients, the potential benefit of changing therapy to achieve endoscopic healing is less clear, particularly since &amp;lt;40% typically achieve endoscopic healing with current therapy. We sought to define appropriateness of changing therapy in asymptomatic IBD patients with active endoscopic inflammation. Methods Using the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method, a panel of 9 IBD specialists considered appropriateness of changing therapy in 16 scenarios of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 96 scenarios of Crohn’s disease (CD), rated on a 9-point Likert scale as inappropriate (1-3), uncertain (4-6), or appropriate (7-9). Patients in all scenarios were asymptomatic with active endoscopic disease; variables included disease extent, behaviour, prior treatment, recent disease progression, and prior disease complications. Current therapy was assumed to be optimised, so the only options were changing therapy or continuing current therapy. An additional 14 scenarios explored patient factors that might influence treatment decision-making. Ratings were collected via online anonymous survey, discussed at an in-person meeting, then finalised in a second anonymous survey using a modified Delphi approach. Disagreement was assessed using a validated index. Results Panelists rated it appropriate to change therapy (i.e., expected benefit sufficiently exceeds expected negative consequences) in 96/126 scenarios, generally those with progressive, complicated, and/or extensive disease; 27 scenarios of mild and/or stable disease were rated uncertain, particularly with prior exposure to ≥3 drug classes. Changing therapy in asymptomatic patients was rated inappropriate in 3 scenarios: in Mayo 1 UC previously treated with ≥3 therapy classes with no endoscopic progression in the last year; in any patient who showed endoscopic improvement over the last year; and in any patient with CD who had only scattered aphthous ulcers. Patient age &amp;gt;65 years influenced a decision to change therapy specifically for anti-TNFs and JAK inhibitors; the possibility of pregnancy also influenced decision-making. Despite variability in ratings, the threshold for disagreement was not crossed for any scenario. Conclusion Our panel of IBD specialists rated appropriateness of changing therapy to achieve endoscopic healing in asymptomatic patients with UC and CD in a variety of scenarios. Our findings can be used to help guide clinical decision-making in this population until data from ongoing randomised studies are available (NCT05230173).

Citizens’ opinions on (non-)essential uses of persistent chemicals: A survey in seven European countries

In accordance with the European Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability towards a Toxic-free Environment, the European Commission plans to phase out persistent chemicals, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), except for uses classified essential for society. Until now, empirical research on what is considered an essential or non-essential chemical use has been lacking. Furthermore, as such criteria are bound to be subjective, different parties can have different views. In this study we explored which uses of persistent chemicals citizens from seven EU countries consider (non-)essential for society. As EU citizens are directly impacted by policy decisions based on (non-)essentiality criteria, we also investigated the influence of emphasis on the consequences of banning vs. allowing persistent chemicals, the association with demographics, and of having heard of persistent chemicals or PFAS prior to the study. We found substantial variation in essentiality ratings within and between use categories and between countries. Uses related to safety were frequently considered essential, whereas uses related to recreation, household, and personal care were frequently considered non-essential. Emphasis on different consequences did not influence essentiality ratings. Gender, age, education, and political orientation were to some extent associated with essentiality ratings. People who had not heard of persistent chemicals or PFAS prior to the study rated uses of persistent chemicals less frequently as non-essential or essential. Our findings offer insight into EU citizens’ opinions on (non-)essential uses of persistent chemicals, and provide empirical input to the scientific and public debate on framing the concept of essential use.

Deep learning architecture towards consumer buying behaviour prediction using multitask learning paradigm

A recommendation system serves as a distributed information filter, predicting customer preferences in reviews, ratings, and comments. Analysing customer behaviour aids in understanding needs and predicting intentions. E-commerce tracks product usage and sentiment to provide a personalized network based on consumer preference modelling. The challenge lies in optimizing item selection for suitable consumers to enhance performance. To address this, an imperative is the item recommendation approach for modelling future consumer behaviour. However, traditional machine learning methods often overlook dynamic product recommendations due to evolving user interests and changes in preferences reflected in customer ratings, causing cold-start issues. To overcome these challenges, a comprehensive deep learning approach is introduced. This approach incorporates a deep neural network for consumer preference prediction, utilizing a multi-task learning paradigm to accommodate variations in consumer ratings. The research contribution lies in applying this network to predict consumer preference scores based on latent multimodal information and item characteristics. Initially, the architecture manages changing consumer aspects and preferences by extracting features and latent factors from customer review rating data. These latent factors include customer demographic information and other concealed features that signify preferences based on experiences and behaviours. Extracted latent features are processed using a sentiment analysis model to generate embedding latent features. A finely-tuned deep neural network with hyper-parameter adjustments serves as a prediction network, forming a customer performance-oriented recommendation system. It processes embedded latent features along with associated sentiments to achieve high prediction accuracy, reliability, and latency. The deep learning architecture, enriched with consumer-specific discriminative information, generates an objective function for item recommendations with minimal error, significantly enhancing predictive performance. Empirical experiments on Amazon review datasets validate the proposed model’s performance, showcasing its enhanced effectiveness and scalability in handling substantial data volumes.

Bridging the gap in ESG measurement: Using NLP to quantify environmental, social, and governance communication

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria take a central role in fostering sustainable development in economies. This paper introduces a class of novel Natural Language Processing (NLP) models to assess corporate disclosures in the ESG subdomains. Using over 13.8 million texts from reports and news, specific E, S, and G models were pretrained. Additionally, three 2k datasets were developed to classify ESG-related texts. The models effectively explain variations in ESG ratings, showcasing a robust method for enhancing transparency and accuracy in evaluating corporate sustainability. This approach addresses the gap in precise, transparent ESG measurement, advancing sustainable development in economies.

Five Is the Brightest Star. But by how Much? Testing the Equidistance of Star Ratings in Online Reviews

Organizational research increasingly relies on online review data to gauge perceived valuation and reputation of organizations and products. Online review platforms typically collect ordinal ratings (e.g., 1 to 5 stars); however, researchers often treat them as a cardinal data, calculating aggregate statistics such as the average, the median, or the variance of ratings. In calculating these statistics, ratings are implicitly assumed to be equidistant. We test whether star ratings are equidistant using reviews from two large-scale online review platforms: Amazon.com and Yelp.com. We develop a deep learning framework to analyze the text of the reviews in order to assess their overall valuation. We find that 4 and 5-star ratings, as well as 1 and 2-star ratings, are closer to each other than 3-star ratings are to 2 and 4-star ratings. An additional online experiment corroborates this pattern. Using simulations, we show that the distortion by non-equidistant ratings is especially harmful in cases when organizations receive only a few reviews and when researchers are interested in estimating variance effects. We discuss potential solutions to solve the issue with rating non-equidistance.

Factors driving FIFA world cup 2022 viewership ratings in mainland China: marketing outlooks for FIFA world cup 2026.

The FIFA World Cup is not only the most lucrative athletic event globally, but it also functions as a platform for promoting peace owing to FIFA's new vision. Nevertheless, the determinants of TV viewership ratings, especially in the Chinese market, which is a critical revenue stream for FIFA TV broadcasting, are still unsolved. Using a distributional regression, this study aimed to quantify the dynamics of viewership ratings for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in mainland China. The CCTV viewership ratings were modeled using 12 covariables related to Chinese TV consumer behavior. Given the data structure, a Logit Normal regression model was chosen to fit the location and dispersion parameters of viewership ratings to explanatory variables. In the fitted heteroscedastic model, the viewership ratings dynamics in mainland China were driven by the match kick-off time: . In addition, the model captures the factors that influence the variations in viewership ratings: (if, FIFA World Cup champion = "Yes") + 0.004 × FIFA world ranking]. Thus, it shows that the FIFA World Cup champions tamp down such variations, leading to a more stable viewing behavior among Chinese consumers. Time- and team-sensitive strategies are proposed to aid in crafting uncertainty-suppressing business decisions for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Ultimately, in the more insecure 2020s, a broader live coverage of the FIFA World Cup would be invaluable for promoting peace.

Exploring psychological flexibility as in-treatment behaviour during internet-delivered acceptance and commitment therapy for paediatric chronic pain: Occurrence and relation to outcome

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy has gained preliminary evidence for paediatric chronic pain. Several studies show that psychological flexibility/inflexibility is a process driving treatment change in ACT for chronic pain. The literature supporting psychological flexibility as a change process in ACT is typically based on self-report. The aim of the present study was to investigate psychological flexibility (i.e. acceptance, defusion, values formulation and committed action) as in-treatment behaviour during internet-delivered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for paediatric chronic pain, by having two independent observers rating patient written statements. The sample was self-recruited and consisted of 28 girls between ages 13 and 17 years. Results showed that psychological flexibility could be operationalised as in-treatment behaviours and reliably assessed using observer ratings. Also, data illustrated a within subject variability in ratings of acceptance and defusion, with a considerable difference in degree of acceptance or defusion evoked by different experiential exercises. Furthermore, analyses showed that a higher average degree of acceptance in patient statements during the early phase of treatment was related to larger treatment effects. Defusion, values formulation and committed action showed no significant influence on outcome. Results should be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size.