Measuring quality of life in aphasia: results from two scales

Background: Although aphasia affects quality of life (QoL), the impact within specific domains (e.g., psychosocial, communication) is poorly understood. Moreover, the complex and multidimensional nature of QoL renders it difficult to measure accurately using a single global scale. Aims: Using two recently developed QoL scales, the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39, (SAQOL; Hilari, Byng, Lamping, & Smith, 2003a) and the American Speech Language Hearing Association’s Quality of Communication Life Scale (QCL; Paul et al., 2004), this study aimed to document the domains of QoL that were most affected for participants with aphasia compared to control participants, as well as to determine the relationship between the two scales, their sub-domains, and linguistic variables in aphasia. Methods & Procedures: The two scales were administered to a group of 19 participants with aphasia (14 male, 5 female), ages ranging from 27 to 79 years, and 19 age- and gender-matched control participants. Various types and severity of aphasia were represented in the aphasia group. The performances of aphasia and control groups were compared, and correlation analyses examined the relationship between the two scales and their sub-domains in the aphasia group only. Outcomes & Results: Compared to control participants, QoL was lower in participants with aphasia, with the communication sub-domain of SAQOL and socialisation/ activities sub-domain of QCL being the most affected areas of functioning. Between the two scales, the communication sub-domain of SAQOL correlated with the socialisation/ activities sub-domain and the QCL mean. Moreover, linguistic variables correlated strongly with psychosocial, communication and socialisation/activities sub-domains of QoL. Conclusions: Measuring QoL using the SAQOL and the QCL captures different but equally important aspects of experiences of living with aphasia. When interpreted together, they provide a holistic picture of functioning in aphasia that includes broad overviews of QoL from the SAQOL and a finer-grained analysis of communication impairments on QoL from the QCL.

Benchmarking and valuation issues in measuring depreciation for European office markets

Purpose – The paper addresses the practical problems which emerge when attempting to apply longitudinal approaches to the assessment of property depreciation using valuation-based data. These problems relate to inconsistent valuation regimes and the difficulties in finding appropriate benchmarks. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a case study of seven major office locations around Europe and attempts to determine ten-year rental value depreciation rates based on a longitudinal approach using IPD, CBRE and BNP Paribas datasets. Findings – The depreciation rates range from a 5 per cent PA depreciation rate in Frankfurt to a 2 per cent appreciation rate in Stockholm. The results are discussed in the context of the difficulties in applying this method with inconsistent data. Research limitations/implications – The paper has methodological implications for measuring property investment depreciation and provides an example of the problems in adopting theoretically sound approaches with inconsistent information. Practical implications – Valuations play an important role in performance measurement and cross border investment decision making and, therefore, knowledge of inconsistency of valuation practice aids decision making and informs any application of valuation-based data in the attainment of depreciation rates. Originality/value – The paper provides new insights into the use of property market valuation data in a cross-border context, insights that previously had been anecdotal and unproven in nature.

Measuring the impact of observations on the predictability of the Kuroshio Extension in a shallow-water model

In this paper sequential importance sampling is used to assess the impact of observations on a ensemble prediction for the decadal path transitions of the Kuroshio Extension (KE). This particle filtering approach gives access to the probability density of the state vector, which allows us to determine the predictive power — an entropy based measure — of the ensemble prediction. The proposed set-up makes use of an ensemble that, at each time, samples the climatological probability distribution. Then, in a post-processing step, the impact of different sets of observations is measured by the increase in predictive power of the ensemble over the climatological signal during one-year. The method is applied in an identical-twin experiment for the Kuroshio Extension using a reduced-gravity shallow water model. We investigate the impact of assimilating velocity observations from different locations during the elongated and the contracted meandering state of the KE. Optimal observations location correspond to regions with strong potential vorticity gradients. For the elongated state the optimal location is in the first meander of the KE. During the contracted state of the KE it is located south of Japan, where the Kuroshio separates from the coast.

Measuring the discrepancy between fecundity and lifetime reproductive success in a pollinating fig wasp

Lifetime reproductive success in female insects is often egg- or time-limited. For instance in pro-ovigenic species, when oviposition sites are abundant, females may quickly become devoid of eggs. Conversely, in the absence of suitable oviposition sites, females may die before laying all of their eggs. In pollinating fig wasps (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae), each species has an obligate mutualism with its host fig tree species [Ficus spp. (Moraceae)]. These pro-ovigenic wasps oviposit in individual ovaries within the inflorescences of monoecious Ficus (syconia, or ‘figs’), which contain many flowers. Each female flower can thus become a seed or be converted into a wasp gall. The mystery is that the wasps never oviposit in all fig ovaries, even when a fig contains enough wasp females with enough eggs to do so. The failure of all wasps to translate all of their eggs into offspring clearly contributes to mutualism persistence, but the underlying causal mechanisms are unclear. We found in an undescribed Brazilian Pegoscapus wasp population that the lifetime reproductive success of lone foundresses was relatively unaffected by constraints on oviposition. The number of offspring produced by lone foundresses experimentally introduced into receptive figs was generally lower than the numbers of eggs carried, despite the fact that the wasps were able to lay all or most of their eggs. Because we excluded any effects of intraspecific competitors and parasitic non-pollinating wasps, our data suggest that some pollinators produce few offspring because some of their eggs or larvae are unviable or are victims of plant defences.

Measuring perceived brand luxury: an evaluation of the BLI scale

This paper investigates the psychometric properties of Vigneron and Johnson's Brand Luxury Index scale. The authors developed the scale using data collected from a student sample in Australia. To validate the scale, the study reported in this paper uses data collected from Taiwanese luxury consumers. The scale was initially subjected to reliability analysis yielding low α values for two of its five proposed dimensions. Exploratory and confirmatory factors analyses were subsequently performed to examine the dimensionality of brand luxury. Discriminant and convergent validity tests highlight the need for further research into the dimensionality of the construct. Although the scale represents a good initial contribution to understanding brand luxury, in view of consumers' emerging shopping patterns, further investigation is warranted to establish the psychometric properties of the scale and its equivalence across cultures.