SEEKING CULTURAL FAIRNESS IN A MEASURE OF RELATIONAL REASONING

Relational reasoning, or the ability to identify meaningful patterns within any stream of information, is a fundamental cognitive ability associated with academic success across a variety of domains of learning and levels of schooling. However, the measurement of this construct has been historically problematic. For example, while the construct is typically described as multidimensional—including the identification of multiple types of higher-order patterns—it is most often measured in terms of a single type of pattern: analogy. For that reason, the Test of Relational Reasoning (TORR) was conceived and developed to include three other types of patterns that appear to be meaningful in the educational context: anomaly, antinomy, and antithesis. Moreover, as a way to focus on fluid relational reasoning ability, the TORR was developed to include, except for the directions, entirely visuo-spatial stimuli, which were designed to be as novel as possible for the participant. By focusing on fluid intellectual processing, the TORR was also developed to be fairly administered to undergraduate students—regardless of the particular gender, language, and ethnic groups they belong to. However, although some psychometric investigations of the TORR have been conducted, its actual fairness across those demographic groups has yet to be empirically demonstrated. Therefore, a systematic investigation of differential-item-functioning (DIF) across demographic groups on TORR items was conducted. A large (N = 1,379) sample, representative of the University of Maryland on key demographic variables, was collected, and the resulting data was analyzed using a multi-group, multidimensional item-response theory model comparison procedure. Using this procedure, no significant DIF was found on any of the TORR items across any of the demographic groups of interest. This null finding is interpreted as evidence of the cultural-fairness of the TORR, and potential test-development choices that may have contributed to that cultural-fairness are discussed. For example, the choice to make the TORR an untimed measure, to use novel stimuli, and to avoid stereotype threat in test administration, may have contributed to its cultural-fairness. Future steps for psychometric research on the TORR, and substantive research utilizing the TORR, are also presented and discussed.

A measure of skin familiarity and its role in the early detection of skin cancer

Skin self-examination (SSE) is promoted widely so that individuals will become familiar with their skin and be better able to identify suspicious changes earlier. However, individuals can also become familiar with their skin other than through purposeful SSE. In this article, we develop a measure of skin familiarity based on the density of spots on 14 different areas of the body. A factor analysis of the 14 body-area scores revealed that they could be grouped into four broad body regions (shoulders and back, front of legs, back of legs, and feet). Each total body score and body-region score has high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from 0.79 to 0.93). Moreover, the scores correlate as expected with skin self-examination behaviors and other personal characteristics, indicating high construct validity. We consider the advantages that skin familiarity measures offer over the exclusive use of SSE measures in the assessment of early detection activities and discuss the direction of future research in this area

A measure of conductivity for lattice fermions at finite density

We study the linear response to an external electric field of a system of fermions in a lattice at zero temperature. This allows to measure numerically the Euclidean conductivity which turns out to be compatible with an analytical calculation for free fermions. The numerical method is generalizable to systems with dynamical interactions where no analytical approach is possible.

Uso da medida de risco Foster e Hart para estimação de retornos: aplicação ao mercado de ações brasileiro

Neste trabalho busca-se investigar empiricamente, no caso brasileiro, o comportamento da medida de risco de Foster e Hart, sua capacidade de estimação de retornos e se ela pode ser usada como indicador do momento do mercado. Esta medida é de fácil assimilação e cálculo, respeita axiomas de coerência, sendo indiferente a aversão ao risco dos agentes e mensurada na mesma unidade dos retornos. Encontram-se evidências de que o risco reage a momentos de estresse do mercado e da existência de um relacionamento positivo com retornos futuros.

Medidas de risco extraídas de opções sobre petróleo

Bali, Cakici e Chabi-Yo (2011) introduziram uma nova medida de risco, englobando as medidas de risco de Aumann e Serrano (2008) e Foster e Hart (2009). Trata-se de um modelo de medida de risco implícito de opções baseado na distribuição neutra ao risco dos retornos de ativos financeiros. Este trabalho se propõe a calcular a medida de risco de Bali, Cakici e Chabi-Yo (2011) com base nas opções de petróleo, a commodity mais importante da economia mundial. Como os preços das opções incorporam a expectativa do mercado, a medida de risco calculada é considerada forward-looking. Desta forma, esse trabalho também analisa a significância dessa medida em prever a atividade econômica futura. Os resultados indicaram poder preditivo em relação ao índice VIX, o qual representa a incerteza do mercado financeiro, e ao índice CFNAI, indicador da atividade econômica norte-americana.

Customer-oriented deviance (COD) : a conceptualisation, development and validation of a behavioural measure

Frontline employee behaviours are recognised as vital for achieving a competitive advantage for service organisations. The services marketing literature has comprehensively examined ways to improve frontline employee behaviours in service delivery and recovery. However, limited attention has been paid to frontline employee behaviours that favour customers in ways that go against organisational norms or rules. This study examines these behaviours by introducing a behavioural concept of Customer-Oriented Deviance (COD). COD is defined as, “frontline employees exhibiting extra-role behaviours that they perceive to defy existing expectations or prescribed rules of higher authority through service adaptation, communication and use of resources to benefit customers during interpersonal service encounters.” This thesis develops a COD measure and examines the key determinants of these behaviours from a frontline employee perspective. Existing research on similar behaviours that has originated in the positive deviance and pro-social behaviour domains has limitations and is considered inadequate to examine COD in the services context. The absence of a well-developed body of knowledge on non-conforming service behaviours has implications for both theory and practice. The provision of ‘special favours’ increases customer satisfaction but the over-servicing of customers is also counterproductive for the service delivery and costly for the organisation. Despite these implications of non-conforming service behaviours, there is little understanding about the nature of these behaviours and its key drivers. This research builds on inadequacies in prior research on positive deviance, pro-social and pro-customer literature to develop the theoretical foundation of COD. The concept of positive deviance which has predominantly been used to study organisational behaviours is applied within a services marketing setting. Further, it addresses previous limitations in pro-social and pro-customer behavioural literature that has examined limited forms of behaviours with no clear understanding on the nature of these behaviours. Building upon these literature streams, this research adopts a holistic approach towards the conceptualisation of COD. It addresses previous shortcomings in the literature by providing a well bounded definition, developing a psychometrically sound measure of COD and a conceptually well-founded model of COD. The concept of COD was examined across three separate studies and based on the theoretical foundations of role theory and social identity theory. Study 1 was exploratory and based on in-depth interviews using the Critical Incident Technique (CIT). The aim of Study 1 was to understand the nature of COD and qualitatively identify its key drivers. Thematic analysis was conducted to analyse the data and the two potential dimensions of COD behaviours of Deviant Service Adaptation (DSA) and Deviant Service Communication (DSC) were revealed in the analysis. In addition, themes representing the potential influences of COD were broadly classified as individual factors, situational factors, and organisational factors. Study 2 was a scale development procedure that involved the generation and purification of items for the measure based on two student samples working in customer service roles (Pilot sample, N=278; Initial validation sample, N=231). The results for the reliability and Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA) on the pilot sample suggested the scale had poor psychometric properties. As a result, major revisions were made in terms of item wordings and new items were developed based on the literature to reflect a new dimension, Deviant Use of Resources (DUR). The revised items were tested on the initial validation sample with the EFA analysis suggesting a four-factor structure of COD. The aim of Study 3 was to further purify the COD measure and test for nomological validity based on its theoretical relationships with key antecedents and similar constructs (key correlates). The theoretical model of COD consisting of nine hypotheses was tested on a retail and hospitality sample of frontline employees (Retail N=311; Hospitality N=305) of a market research panel using an online survey. The data was analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results provided support for a re-specified second-order three-factor model of COD which consists of 11 items. Overall, the COD measure was found to be reliable and valid, demonstrating convergent validity, discriminant validity and marginal partial invariance for the factor loadings. The results showed support for nomological validity, although the antecedents had differing impact on COD across samples. Specifically, empathy and perspective-taking, role conflict, and job autonomy significantly influenced COD in the retail sample, whereas empathy and perspective-taking, risk-taking propensity and role conflict were significant predictors in the hospitality sample. In addition, customer orientation-selling orientation, the altruistic dimension of organisational citizenship behaviours, workplace deviance, and social desirability responding were found to correlate with COD. This research makes several contributions to theory. First, the findings of this thesis extend the literature on positive deviance, pro-social and pro-customer behaviours. Second, the research provides an empirically tested model which describes the antecedents of COD. Third, this research contributes by providing a reliable and valid measure of COD. Finally, the research investigates the differential effects of the key antecedents in different service sectors on COD. The research findings also contribute to services marketing practice. Based on the research findings, service practitioners can better understand the phenomenon of COD and utilise the measurement tool to calibrate COD levels within their organisations. Knowledge on the key determinants of COD will help improve recruitment and training programs and drive internal initiatives within the firm.

The Validity of the Brief Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (bMAST) as a Problem Drinking Severity Measure

Objective: The Brief Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (bMAST) is a 10-item test derived from the 25-item Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST). It is widely used in the assessment of alcohol dependence. In the absence of previous validation studies, the principal aim of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the bMAST as a measure of the severity of problem drinking. Method: There were 6,594 patients (4,854 men, 1,740 women) who had been referred for alcohol-use disorders to a hospital alcohol and drug service who voluntarily participated in this study. Results: An exploratory factor analysis defined a two-factor solution, consisting of Perception of Current Drinking and Drinking Consequences factors. Structural equation modeling confirmed that the fit of a nine-item, two-factor model was superior to the original one-factor model. Concurrent validity was assessed through simultaneous administration of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and associations with alcohol consumption and clinically assessed features of alcohol dependence. The two-factor bMAST model showed moderate correlations with the AUDIT. The two-factor bMAST and AUDIT were similarly associated with quantity of alcohol consumption and clinically assessed dependence severity features. No differences were observed between the existing weighted scoring system and the proposed simple scoring system. Conclusions: In this study, both the existing bMAST total score and the two-factor model identified were as effective as the AUDIT in assessing problem drinking severity. There are additional advantages of employing the two-factor bMAST in the assessment and treatment planning of patients seeking treatment for alcohol-use disorders. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs 68: 771-779,2007)

The development of the extended adolescent injury checklist (E-AIC) : a measure for injury prevention program evaluation

The Extended Adolescent Injury Checklist (E-AIC), a self-report measure of injury based on the model of the Adolescent Injury Checklist (AIC), was developed for use in the evaluation of school-based interventions. The three stages of this development involved focus groups with adolescents and consultations with medical staff, pilot testing of the revised AIC in a high school context, and use of the finalised checklist in pre- and post-questionnaires to examine its utility. Results revealed that responses to the final version of the E-AIC were meaningful and remained consistent over time. The E-AIC appears to be a promising measure of adolescent injury that is simple, time-efficient and appropriate for use in the evaluation of school-based injury prevention programs.

Organisational innovativeness : the role of strategic orientation and environmental scanning

This study examined the effects of strategic orientation and environmental scanning on a firm’s propensity to innovate (organisational innovativeness). Previous research has mostly proposed descriptive and theoretical relationships between strategic orientation, environmental scanning and organisational innovation adoption (Beal, 2000; Jennings & Lumpkin, 1992; Raymond, Julien, & Ramangalahy, 2001). However, strategic orientation and environmental scanning, as distinct constructs, have not been empirically examined directly before in relation to organisational innovativeness. Furthermore the directionality of the relationship between strategic orientation and environmental scanning on organisational innovation adoption is still unclear (Hagen, Haile, & Maghrabi, 2003). For example, does scanning the environment result in certain types of organisational strategies, and these strategies in turn influence levels of organisational innovativeness? Or do certain types of strategic orientations pre-determine the levels of environmental scanning, and then this environmental scanning influences an organisation’s propensity to innovate? Therefore, this study using a more nuanced measure of strategic orientation; the Venkatraman’s (1989) STROBE framework of analysis, defensiveness, futurity, proactiveness, aggressiveness and riskiness, examined the directional effects of strategy and environmental scanning on organisational innovativeness Specifically, two competing models of directionality between strategic orientation and environmental scanning in relation to organisational innovativeness were proposed. Model 1 (Behavioural View) proposed that certain strategic orientation dimensions affect levels of environmental scanning, which in turn influences organisational innovativeness. In contrast, Model 2 (Open Systems view) proposed that environmental scanning affects the emphasis on certain strategic orientation dimensions, which in turn influences organisational innovativeness. Data was collected from 117 industrial firms and path analyses were used to test the two competing models. The results supported both models, suggesting a bi-directional relationship, as both models had adequate fit indices and significant paths with the data. However, overall Model 2 – the Open Systems Model had the stronger fit indices and stronger indirect effect compared to Model 1 – the Behavioural Model, suggesting that overall environmental scanning does not exert a strong direct effect on innovativeness but has more of a stronger indirect effect through the analysis and proactiveness strategic orientation dimensions. In sum, the thesis results suggest that firms’ that emphasise environmental scanning – that is continually seeking information from the environment about customers, markets, industry and new technology - are more likely to emphasise strategic orientations such as proactiveness – being innovative - and also analysis – being analytical and comprehensive in decision making - and both these strategic orientations in turn greatly influence these firms’ propensity to innovate. Discussion is given to these findings and implications are drawn for organisations and future research.

Can one electrochemically measure the statistical morphology of a rough electrode

We have developed a theory for an electrochemical way of measuring the statistical properties of a nonfractally rough electrode. We obtained the expression for the current transient on a rough electrode which shows three times regions: short and long time limits and the transition region between them. The expressions for these time ranges are exploited to extract morphological information about the surface roughness. In the short and long time regimes, we extract information regarding various morphological features like the roughness factor, average roughness, curvature, correlation length, dimensionality of roughness, and polynomial approximation for the correlation function. The formulas for the surface structure factors (the measure of surface roughness) of rough surfaces in terms of measured reversible and diffusion-limited current transients are also obtained. Finally, we explore the feasibility of making such measurements.

A vector measure for the intelligence of a question-answering (Q-A) system

The problem of quantification of intelligence of humans, and of intelligent systems, has been a challenging and controversial topic. IQ tests have been traditionally used to quantify human intelligence based on results of test designed by psychologists. It is in general very difficult to quantify intelligence. In this paper the authors consider a simple question-answering (Q-A) system and use this to quantify intelligence. The authors quantify intelligence as a vector with three components. The components consist of a measure of knowledge in asking questions, effectiveness of questions asked, and correctness of deduction. The authors formalize these parameters and have conducted experiments on humans to measure these parameters

Study of phase synchronization in multichannel seizure EEG using nonlinear recurrence measure

Complex biological systems such as the human brain can be expected to be inherently nonlinear and hence difficult to model. Most of the previous studies on investigations of brain function have either used linear models or parametric nonlinear models. In this paper, we propose a novel application of a nonlinear measure of phase synchronization based on recurrences, correlation between probabilities of recurrence (CPR), to study seizures in the brain. The advantage of this nonparametric method is that it makes very few assumptions thus making it possible to investigate brain functioning in a data-driven way. We have demonstrated the utility of CPR measure for the study of phase synchronization in multichannel seizure EEG recorded from patients with global as well as focal epilepsy. For the case of global epilepsy, brain synchronization using thresholded CPR matrix of multichannel EEG signals showed clear differences in results obtained for epileptic seizure and pre-seizure. Brain headmaps obtained for seizure and preseizure cases provide meaningful insights about synchronization in the brain in those states. The headmap in the case of focal epilepsy clearly enables us to identify the focus of the epilepsy which provides certain diagnostic value. Comparative studies with linear correlation have shown that the nonlinear measure CPR outperforms the linear correlation measure. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A microelectrode impedance method to measure interaction of cells

An impedance method was developed to determine how immune system cells (hemocyte) interact with intruder cells (parasites). When the hemocyte cells interact with the parasites, they cause a defensive reaction and the parasites start to aggregate in clusters. The level of aggregation is a measure of the host-parasite interaction, and provides information about the efficiency of the immune system response. The cell aggregation is monitored using a set of microelectrodes. The impedance spectrum is measured between each individual microelectrode and a large reference electrode. As the cells starts to aggregate and settle down towards the microelectrode array the impedance of the system is changed. It is shown that the system impedance is very sensitive to the level of cell aggregation and can be used to monitor in real time the interaction between hemocyte cells and parasites.

Matrix Representation of the Stationary Measure for the Multispecies TASEP

In this work we construct the stationary measure of the N species totally asymmetric simple exclusion process in a matrix product formulation. We make the connection between the matrix product formulation and the queueing theory picture of Ferrari and Martin. In particular, in the standard representation, the matrices act on the space of queue lengths. For N > 2 the matrices in fact become tensor products of elements of quadratic algebras. This enables us to give a purely algebraic proof of the stationary measure which we present for N=3.

Health related quality of life measure in systemic pediatric rheumatic diseases and its translation to different languages: an international collaboration

Background: Rheumatic diseases in children are associated with significant morbidity and poor health-related quality of life (HRQOL). There is no health-related quality of life (HRQOL) scale available specifically for children with less common rheumatic diseases. These diseases share several features with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) such as their chronic episodic nature, multi-systemic involvement, and the need for immunosuppressive medications. HRQOL scale developed for pediatric SLE will likely be applicable to children with systemic inflammatory diseases.Findings: We adapted Simple Measure of Impact of Lupus Erythematosus in Youngsters (SMILEY (c)) to Simple Measure of Impact of Illness in Youngsters (SMILY (c)-Illness) and had it reviewed by pediatric rheumatologists for its appropriateness and cultural suitability. We tested SMILY (c)-Illness in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases and then translated it into 28 languages. Nineteen children (79% female, n= 15) and 17 parents participated. The mean age was 12 +/- 4 years, with median disease duration of 21 months (1-172 months). We translated SMILY (c)-Illness into the following 28 languages: Danish, Dutch, French (France), English (UK), German (Germany), German (Austria), German (Switzerland), Hebrew, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Slovene, Spanish (USA and Puerto Rico), Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Argentina), Spanish (Mexico), Spanish (Venezuela), Turkish, Afrikaans, Arabic (Saudi Arabia), Arabic (Egypt), Czech, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Japanese, Romanian, Serbian and Xhosa.Conclusion: SMILY (c)-Illness is a brief, easy to administer and score HRQOL scale for children with systemic rheumatic diseases. It is suitable for use across different age groups and literacy levels. SMILY (c)-Illness with its available translations may be used as useful adjuncts to clinical practice and research.