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Adequate Reliability (adequate + reliability)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	40%

Selected Abstracts

Prediction of Onset of Corrosion in Concrete Bridge Decks Using Neural Networks and Case-Based Reasoning

COMPUTER-AIDED CIVIL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING, Issue 2 2005
G. Morcous
It is based on the integration of artificial neural network (ANN), case-based reasoning (CBR), mechanistic model, and Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). A probabilistic mechanistic model is used to generate the distribution of the time to corrosion initiation based on statistical models of the governing parameters obtained from field data. The proposed ANN and CBR models act as universal functional mapping tools to approximate the relationship between the input and output of the mechanistic model. These tools are integrated with the MCS technique to generate the distribution of the corrosion initiation time using the distributions of the governing parameters. The proposed methodology is applied to predict the time to corrosion initiation of the top reinforcing steel in the concrete deck of the Dickson Bridge in Montreal. This study demonstrates the feasibility, adequate reliability, and computational efficiency of the proposed integrated ANN-MCS and CBR-MCS approaches for preliminary project-level and also network-level analyses. [source]

The Family Daily Hassles Inventory: A Preliminary Investigation of Reliability and Validity

FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES RESEARCH JOURNAL, Issue 2 2002
Suzanne Z. Rollins
This study investigated the preliminary reliability and validity of a new family daily hassles assessment using two well-established instruments that measure daily hassles and health status. Participants (140 mothers) completed a self-administered survey. The results indicated adequate reliability of the new assessment and supported the concurrent and construct validity of the scores obtained with the new assessment as a measure of daily hassles. [source]

The Riverside Behavioral Q-sort: A Tool for the Description of Social Behavior

JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 3 2000
David C. Funder
The Riverside Behavioral Q-sort (RBQ) is a flexible technique for gathering a wide-ranging description of the behavior of individuals in dyadic social interaction. Ratings of RBQ items can attain adequate reliability to reflect behavioral effects of experimental manipulations and to manifest meaningful correlations with a variety of personality characteristics. The RBQ's flexibility, validity, and relative ease of use may facilitate the more frequent inclusion of behavioral data in personality and social psychology. [source]

Reliability reconsidered: Cronbach's alpha and paediatric assessment in occupational therapy

AUSTRALIAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY JOURNAL, Issue 3 2009
Georgia Spiliotopoulou
Background/aim:,Using reliable outcome measures is a necessity for the occupational therapy profession in enabling valid assessments of clients. Although Cronbach's alpha is the most widely applied index of internal consistency reliability, there are misconceptions about its use and interpretation. This paper aims to guide assessment developers in paediatric occupational therapy, as well as practitioners who are evaluating outcome measures in using and interpreting the Cronbach's alpha estimates appropriately. This will enable them to decide on the tools' clinical value and incorporate them into their practice with children. Method:,Previously published papers reporting on internal consistency issues of outcome measures in paediatric occupational therapy were searched through the Allied and Complementary Medicine database. These papers were used as a basis to discuss possible reasons for reporting of low internal consistency. Results:,The analysis demonstrates that Cronbach's alpha reports are not always interpreted in a sound way. The paper emphasises that one should be cautious about judging estimates of internal consistency. Low size of the coefficient alpha might not always indicate problems with the construction of the tool; whereas large sizes do not always suggest adequate reliability. Instead, these reports might be related to the data characteristics of the construct. Conclusion:,In judging an outcome measure's internal consistency, researchers and practitioners in occupational therapy should report and consider the nature of data, the scale's length and width, the linearity and the normality of response distribution, the central response tendency, the sample response variability and the sample size. [source]

Multidimensional measure for gastroesophageal reflux disease (MM-GERD) symptoms in children: a population-based study

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 9 2008
Hoda M Malaty
Abstract Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms are very common in children with major presenting symptoms of abdominal pain, heartburn and regurgitation. The presence of GERD symptoms often result in an impaired health-related quality of life for both the patients and their parents. Evaluation of children with GERD symptoms continues to challenge physicians due to the lack of a validated measure for GERD symptoms. Aims: To develop and test a multidimensional measure for GERD symptoms in children and to evaluate the responses of the measure among children attending pediatric gastroenterology (GI) clinics. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study that enrolled children with GERD symptoms from pediatric GI clinic. All children and parents received a standardized questionnaire concerning socio-economic parameters, GERD symptoms, duration, frequency, intensity and missed activities due to GERD symptoms. Each child and parent pair was interviewed by a physician to complete baseline information for the multidimensional measure that consisted of four scales: symptoms scale (10 items), pain intensity scale (3 items); disability scale (3 items) and satisfaction scale (2 items). Results: One hundred and thirty-three children participated in the study; 59% girls, ages 4 to 18 years, mean age = 10 ± 3, 50%, 10 years and younger. There was an excellent correlation between the four-scales measure among children 7 years and younger (R = 0.70, p = 0.0001) and children >7 years (R = 0.74, p = 0.0001). The inter-item consistency (Cronbach's co-efficient alpha) for the symptoms items, pain intensity items, disability items and satisfaction items were 0.71, 0.74, 0.78 and 0.60, respectively, demonstrating adequate reliability of the measure. Conclusion: Children with GERD symptoms have good responses to the multidimensional measure for GERD symptoms, showing that the measure performed well across populations. The measure is reliable and specific for assessing the symptoms of GERD in children and is an appropriate outcomes measure for clinical trials involving GERD symptoms in children. [source]