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Used Measures (used + measure)
Selected AbstractsPsychometric properties of the Trauma Assessment for AdultsDEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 2 2009Matt J. Gray Ph.D. Abstract Background: The Trauma Assessment for Adults (TAA) was developed to facilitate the assessment of exposure to traumatic events that could result in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The TAA inquires about numerous potentially traumatic events that an individual may have experienced. Although the TAA has been used extensively for clinical and research purposes, its psychometric properties have never been formally evaluated. The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate the psychometric properties of this frequently used measure. Methods: The studies reported here describe the performance of the TAA in two samples,college undergraduates (N=142) and community mental health center clients (N=67). Among undergraduates, 1-week temporal stability was evaluated and, in both samples, item- and scale-level convergence of the TAA with an established trauma exposure measure was assessed. Convergence of the TAA with clinically related constructs was also evaluated. Results: The TAA exhibited adequate temporal stability (r=.80) and satisfactory item-level convergence with existing measures of trauma history among college students. In the clinical sample, the TAA again converged well with an established measure of trauma exposure (r=.65). It was not as strongly predictive, in either sample, of trauma-related distress relative to an alternate trauma exposure measure. Conclusion: Although it performs satisfactorily, the TAA does not appear to be superior to other existing measures of trauma exposure. Depression and Anxiety, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Unreliability of the dot probe taskEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 7 2005Stefan C. Schmukle Abstract The dot probe task is a widely used measure of attention allocation to threatening stimuli. The present two studies examine the reliability of different versions of this task using words as well as pictures as stimulus material. Estimates of both internal consistency and retest reliability over one week lead to the conclusion that the dot probe task is a completely unreliable measure of attentional allocation in non-clinical samples. This unreliability may explain the inconsistent findings for the dot probe task as reported in the literature. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] How closely do acute lethal concentration estimates predict effects of toxicants on populations?INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2005John D. Stark Abstract Acute lethal dose/concentration estimates are the most widely used measure of toxicity and these data often are used in ecological risk assessment. However, the value of the lethal concentration (LC50) as a toxicological endpoint for use in ecological risk assessment recently has been criticized. A question that has been asked frequently is how accurate is the LC50 for prediction of longer-term effects of toxicants on populations of organisms? To answer this question, Daphnia pulex populations were exposed to nominal concentrations equal to the 48-h acute LC50 of 6 insecticides, Actara, Aphistar diazinon, pymetrozine, Neemix, and Spinosad; and 8 agricultural adjuvants, Bond, Kinetic, Plyac, R-11, Silwet, Sylgard 309, Water Maxx, and X-77; for 10 d. None of the D. pulex populations exposed to the acute LC50 of these insecticides were 50% lower than the control populations at the end of the study; exposure to diazinon resulted in populations that were higher than expected (91% of the control). Exposure to Actara and Aphistar resulted in populations that were <1 and 29% of the control, respectively. Exposure to Fulfill, Neemix, and Spinosad resulted in extinction. Extinction occurred after exposure to all of the adjuvants, except Silwet L-77 where the population was 31% of the control. These results corroborate other studies that indicate that the LC50 is not a good predictor of effects on population growth. Although lethal concentration estimates have their place in toxicology, namely to compare intrinsic toxicity of chemicals among species or susceptibility of a species to different chemicals over short time periods, population growth and growth-rate studies are necessary to predict toxicant effects on populations. [source] Reliability assessment of the somatomorphic matrixINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS, Issue 4 2004Guy Cafri Abstract Objective The appearance of muscularity is an emerging topic of research interest within the body image field. However, the most widely used measure to assess attitudes toward muscularity, the somatomorphic matrix, lacks pertinent reliability data. Method In response to this dearth of information, the current study assessed the test-retest reliability of this measure in samples of men and women. Results Surprisingly, the somatomorphic matrix demonstrated inadequate reliability for the majority of assessed rating protocols. Discussion The implications of this finding on assessment of the muscularity construct are discussed. © 2004 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 35: 597,600, 2004. [source] Exergetic performance assessment of a ground-source heat pump drying systemINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 8 2007Ebru Hancioglu Kuzgunkaya Abstract In evaluating the efficiency of heat pump (HP) systems, the most commonly used measure is the energy (or first law) efficiency, which is modified to a coefficient of performance (COP) for HP systems. However, for indicating the possibilities for thermodynamic improvement, energy analysis is inadequate and exergy analysis is needed. This study presents an exergetic assessment of a ground-source (or geothermal) HP (GSHP) drying system. This system was designed, constructed and tested in the Solar Energy Institute of Ege University, Izmir, Turkey. The exergy destructions in each of the components of the overall system are determined for average values of experimentally measured parameters. Exergy efficiencies of the system components are determined to assess their performances and to elucidate potentials for improvement. COP values for the GSHP unit and overall GSHP drying system are found to range between 1.63,2.88 and 1.45,2.65, respectively, while corresponding exergy efficiency values on a product/fuel basis are found to be 21.1 and 15.5% at a dead state temperature of 27°C, respectively. Specific moisture extraction rate (SMER) on the system basis is obtained to be 0.122 kg kW,1 h,1. For drying systems, the so-called specific moisture exergetic rate (SMExR), which is defined as the ratio of the moisture removed in kg to the exergy input in kW h, is also proposed by the authors. The SMExR of the whole GSHP drying system is found to be 5.11 kg kW,1 h,1. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Interrogative Suggestibility among Witnesses with Mild Intellectual Disabilities: the Use of an Adaptation of the GSSJOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 1 2002Rebecca Milne Background As part of the assessment of witnesses' ability to provide an account to the police and the courts, information is sometimes sought concerning their level of interrogative suggestibility. The most widely used measure for this is the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS, Gudjonsson 1997), which has two parallel forms (GSS 1 and GSS 2). However, the GSS relates to a verbally presented narrative, not to a visual event, as is more common to witness situations. Methods The present study adapted the scale's format so that the questions referred to a video-taped incident that had been viewed 24 h earlier by men and women with mild intellectual disabilities (n = 47) and their ,general population' counterparts (n = 38). Results The pattern of results was identical to that typically obtained using the GSS in that: (1) compared with their general population counterparts, the participants with intellectual disabilities were more suggestible because of their vulnerability to the ,misleading questions'; (2) suggestibility scores correlated with the participants' verbal recall of the incident, and (3) both participants with intellectual disabilities and their general population counterparts who were misled by questions in the form of two false alternatives were more likely to select the latter option. Conclusions The implications of these findings for psychological assessments of potential witnesses are discussed. [source] How should we estimate driving pressure to measure interrupter resistance in children?PEDIATRIC PULMONOLOGY, Issue 9 2007MB ChB, P. Seddon BSc Abstract Interrupter resistance (Rint) is a widely used measure of airway caliber, but concerns remain about repeatability and sensitivity. Some Rint variability may derive from the linear back-extrapolation algorithm (LBE 30/70) usually used to estimate driving pressure. To investigate whether other methods of estimating driving pressure could improve repeatability and sensitivity, we studied 39 children with asthma. Two measurements of Rint,each the median of 10 interruptions,were made 5 min apart, and 14 children had a third measurement after bronchodilator (RintBD). Mouth pressure transients were analyzed using several algorithms, to compare the magnitude, repeatability, and sensitivity to bronchodilator change of Rint values yielded. Algorithms taking driving pressure from later in the transient, predictably, yielded higher values of Rint than those which back-extrapolated to time of valve closure. Algorithms which did not rely on back-extrapolation, including mean oscillation pressure (MOP) and mean plateau pressure (MP 30/70) had better repeatability. Sensitivity to detect change, calculated as ratio of bronchodilator response to repeatability coefficient (,Rint/CR), was also better for non-extrapolating algorithms: MP 30/70 1.67, LBE 30/70 1.28 (P,=,0.0004). Measuring Rint using techniques other than conventional back-extrapolation may give more consistent and clinically useful results, and these approaches merit further exploration. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2007; 42:757,763. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Fitness, developmental instability, and the ontogeny of fluctuating asymmetry in Daphnia magnaBIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, Issue 2 2006LEIF CHRISTIAN STIGE Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is the most commonly used measure of developmental instability. The relation between FA and individual fitness remains controversial, partly due to limited knowledge on the mechanisms behind variation in FA. To address this, we investigated the associations between FA, growth and reproduction as well as the ontogeny of FA in a clonal population of Daphnia magna. FA was not correlated with growth and reproduction, either at the between- or the within-individual level, in a high (N = 48 individuals) or in a low (N = 52 individuals) food-quantity regime. There were therefore no indications of functional effects of FA or of phenotypic trade-offs between developmental stability, growth and reproduction. Individual asymmetries varied randomly in sign and magnitude between subsequent molts (N = 19 individuals, 9,11 instars), but the levels of FA were generally lowest at intermediate ages. No feedback between right and left sides was detected. This suggests that FA only reflects the most recent growth history, that developmental instability may increase in old age, and that FA depends on processes operating on each side of the body independently. The results also suggest that FA differences within and among individual Daphnia are largely random, with limited biological significance. © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2006, 88, 179,192. [source] Prediction of lethal/effective concentration/dose in the presence of multiple auxiliary covariates and components of varianceENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 9 2007Steve Gutreuter Abstract Predictors of the percentile lethal/effective concentration/dose are commonly used measures of efficacy and toxicity. Typically such quantal-response predictors (e.g., the exposure required to kill 50% of some population) are estimated from simple bioassays wherein organisms are exposed to a gradient of several concentrations of a single agent. The toxicity of an agent may be influenced by auxiliary covariates, however, and more complicated experimental designs may introduce multiple variance components. Prediction methods lag examples of those cases. A conventional two-stage approach consists of multiple bivariate predictions of, say, medial lethal concentration followed by regression of those predictions on the auxiliary covariates. We propose a more effective and parsimonious class of generalized nonlinear mixed-effects models for prediction of lethal/effective dose/concentration from auxiliary covariates. We demonstrate examples using data from a study regarding the effects of pH and additions of variable quantities 2',5'-dichloro-4'-nitrosalicylanilide (niclosamide) on the toxicity of 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol to larval sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus). The new models yielded unbiased predictions and root-mean-squared errors (RMSEs) of prediction for the exposure required to kill 50 and 99.9% of some population that were 29 to 82% smaller, respectively, than those from the conventional two-stage procedure. The model class is flexible and easily implemented using commonly available software. [source] Mental illness, nativity, gender and labor supplyHEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2010Victoria D. Ojeda Abstract We analyzed the impacts of nativity and mental health (MH) on work by gender for non-elderly adults using the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. We employed two indicators of MH , the K6 scale of Mental Illness (MI) and an indicator for symptoms of Mania or Delusions (M/D). Instrumental variable (IV) models used measures of social support as instruments for MI. Unadjusted work rates were higher for immigrants (vs US-born adults). Regressions show that MI is associated with lower rates of work among US-born males but not immigrant males and females; M/D is associated lower rates of work among US-born males and females, and among immigrant males. Results did not change using IV models for MI. Most persons with MI work, yet symptom severity reduces labor supply among natives especially. Immigrants' labor supply is less affected by MI. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Expressive and receptive language skills of temperamentally shy preschoolersINFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2004Katherine A. Spere Abstract Although shy children speak less in social situations, the extent to which their language skills fall behind those of their more outgoing peers remains unclear. We selected 22 temperamentally shy and 22 non-shy children from a larger group of 400 4-year-old children who were prescreened for temperamental shyness by maternal report, using the Colorado Childhood Temperament Inventory (CCTI). We then compared the two groups on widely used measures that index expressive and receptive language skills. We found that, although the temperamentally shy children scored lower on both expressive and receptive language skills compared with their non-shy counterparts, they were nonetheless performing at their age equivalency. The non-shy children, however, were performing significantly above their age level on expressive and receptive language skills. These findings suggest that the development of normal language skills is not compromised in temperamentally shy preschoolers. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Colour of Poverty: A Study of the Poverty of Ethnic and Immigrant Groups in CanadaINTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 1 2000Abdolmohammad Kazemipur Research on immigrants' socio-economic performances in Canada has produced mixed results. One reason for this has been the fact that many studies have used measures that rely on average performance of immigrants, and also treat immigrants as a homogeneous group. Also, some measures of economic performance are unnecessarily complicated. The present article argues that this practice masks the diversity of experiences that exist among immigrants. In particular, it is argued that indices based on average income do not adequately reveal the status of low income immigrants. Using poverty status as an indicator of economic performance, the study xamines and compares different groups of immigrants, in terms of their ethnic origin, period of immigration, age at immigration, and their geo-graphical location in Canada. [source] Revisiting the Sense of Community Index: A confirmatory factor analysisJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2004Patricia L. Obst The Sense of Community Index (SCI) is one of the most commonly used measures of Psychological Sense of Community (PSOC). There is much discussion in the literature as to the validity of the scale as a measure not only of overall PSOC, but also of the dimensions (Membership, Influence, Needs Fulfillment, and Emotional Connection) theorized by McMillan and Chavis (1986) to underlie the construct. The current paper examines the factor structure of SCI in a study ( N = 219) that examines multiple community memberships, including neighborhood, student, and interest group communities. Data was analyzed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results showed that the SCI, in its original factor structure, did not adequately fit the data. The scale was revised, therefore, using CFA indicators, to produce a new four-factor structure based on the same items. This revised model was tested and found to display adequate fit indices to the data in all three communities. The results of the study provide empirical support for retaining measures that encapsulate the four dimensions of PSOC. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 32: 691,705, 2004. [source] Measuring social activities and social function in long-term cancer survivors who received hematopoietic stem cell transplantationPSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 5 2010Karen L. Syrjala Abstract Objective: Cancer survivors report deficits in social functioning even years after completing treatment. Commonly used measures of social functioning provide incomplete understanding of survivors' social behavior. This study describes social activities of survivors and evaluates the psychometric properties of the Social Activity Log (SAL) in a cohort of long-term survivors of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for cancer. Methods: One hundred and two (5,20 year) survivors completed the SAL, Short-Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36), and other patient-reported outcomes. Principal components analysis determined the factor structure of the SAL along with correlations and regressions to establish validity. Results: Principal component analysis yielded three factors in the SAL: ,non-contact events' (e.g. telephone calls), ,regular events' (e.g. played cards), and ,special events' (e.g. concerts), which explained 59% of the total variance. The SAL possessed good internal consistency (Cronbach's ,=0.82). SF-36 social function and SAL were moderately correlated (r=0.31). In linear regressions, physical function and depression explained 16% of the variance in the SAL (P<0.001), while physical function, depression, and fatigue predicted 55% of the variance in SF-36 social function (P<0.001). Conclusions: Results support the use of the SAL as a measure of social activity in cancer survivors who received HSCT. Although the SAL is designed to measure social behaviors, SF-36 social function assesses subjective experience and is more strongly associated with depression and fatigue. The SAL appears to be a promising tool to understand the behavioral social deficits reported by long-term survivors of cancer. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Contract modifications and the basis behavior of live cattle futuresTHE JOURNAL OF FUTURES MARKETS, Issue 6 2004James E. Newsome The purpose of this study was to assess the basis behavior of the Live Cattle Futures contract at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) before and after the 1995 contract changes. Additionally, an alternative method of basis calculation utilizing weighted mean futures prices versus settlement futures prices was compared to determine which method provides a better representation of the basis level. Within a regression model with heteroskedascity error framework, we found that the level of nearby basis in the period after June 1995 has shifted lower and the average monthly open interest of net commercial long positions has substantially increased after the contract modifications. These empirical results are consistent with the notion that more long activity entered the market in response to the contract modifications. Additionally, an alternative (new) measure of basis calculation (cash price minus weighted mean futures price) produced similar results to two other commonly used measures. In conclusion, the 1995 contract changes have neither increased nor decreased the volatility of live cattle basis. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 24:557,590, 2004 [source] Implicit Value Judgments in the Measurement of Health InequalitiesTHE MILBANK QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2010SAM HARPER Context: Quantitative estimates of the magnitude, direction, and rate of change of health inequalities play a crucial role in creating and assessing policies aimed at eliminating the disproportionate burden of disease in disadvantaged populations. It is generally assumed that the measurement of health inequalities is a value-neutral process, providing objective data that are then interpreted using normative judgments about whether a particular distribution of health is just, fair, or socially acceptable. Methods: We discuss five examples in which normative judgments play a role in the measurement process itself, through either the selection of one measurement strategy to the exclusion of others or the selection of the type, significance, or weight assigned to the variables being measured. Findings: Overall, we find that many commonly used measures of inequality are value laden and that the normative judgments implicit in these measures have important consequences for interpreting and responding to health inequalities. Conclusions: Because values implicit in the generation of health inequality measures may lead to radically different interpretations of the same underlying data, we urge researchers to explicitly consider and transparently discuss the normative judgments underlying their measures. We also urge policymakers and other consumers of health inequalities data to pay close attention to the measures on which they base their assessments of current and future health policies. [source] The evolution of fitness in life-history theoryBIOLOGICAL REVIEWS, Issue 3 2000JON E. BROMMER ABSTRACT Theory concerning the evolution of life history (the schedule of reproduction and survival) focuses on describing the life history which maximises fitness. Although there is an intuitive link between life history and fitness, there are in fact several measures of the ,black box' concept of fitness. There has been a debate in the bio-mathematical literature on the predictive difference between the two most commonly used measures; intrinsic rate of increase r and net reproductive ratio R0. Although both measures aim to describe fitness, models using one of the measures may predict the opposite of similar models using the other measure, which is clearly undesirable. Here, I review the evolution of these fitness measures over the last four decades, the predictive differences between these measures and the resulting shift of the fitness concept. I focus in particular on some recent developments, which have solved the dilemma of predictive differences between these fitness measures by explicitly acknowledging the game-theoretical nature of life-history evolution. [source] PREMATURE MORTALITY AND POVERTY MEASUREMENTBULLETIN OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH, Issue 4 2007Ravi Kanbur I32 ABSTRACT There is a glaring paradox in all commonly used measures of poverty. The death of a poor person, because of poverty, reduces poverty according to these measures. This surely violates our basic intuitions of how poverty measures should behave. It cannot be right in concept that differentially higher mortality among the poor serves to reduce poverty. This article begins the task of developing poverty measures that are not perversely mortality sensitive. A family of measures is proposed that is an intuitive modification of standard poverty measures to take into account the fact that the rich live longer than the poor. [source] Separate, But How Unequal?CITY & COMMUNITY, Issue 3 20021980 to 1990, Ethnic Residential Stratification Much recent scholarship has focused on inequality in the socioeconomic status of neighborhoods in which different racial and ethnic groups are concentrated. However, the most widely used measures of residential inequality merely describe the extent to which groups are nominally differentiated in residential space. I use 1980 and 1990 U.S. Census data to calculate levels of and changes in residential stratification,the degree to which members of one group tend to live in more advantaged neighborhoods than members of another group,between whites and blacks, Latinos, and Asians. Results both confirm and qualify conventional interpretations of residential inequality when measured as nominal,level segregation. For example, although in 1990 Latinos and Asians were similarly and only moderately segregated from whites, Asians experienced dramatically lower levels of neighborhood disadvantage. I also find that although levels of segregation were nearly identical in central cities and suburban rings, residential stratification was much lower for suburban residents than for their central city counterparts. I conclude by discussing implications of the findings for theoretical and empirical research on residential inequality. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||