Results Support (result + support)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Life Sciences

Kinds of Results Support

  • empirical result support


  • Selected Abstracts


    Capability, Quality, and Performance of Offshore IS Vendors: A Theoretical Framework and Empirical Investigation

    DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 2 2010
    Prashant C. Palvia
    ABSTRACT Information systems (IS) offshoring has become a widespread practice and a strategic sourcing choice for many firms. While much has been written by researchers about the factors that lead to successful offshoring arrangements from the client's viewpoint, the vendor's perspective has been largely scarce. The vendor perspective is equally important as offshore IS vendors need to make important decisions in terms of delivering operational and strategic performance and aligning their resources and processes in order to meet or exceed targeted outcomes. In this article, we propose and test a three-level capability,quality,performance (CQP) theoretical framework to understand vendor outcomes and their antecedents. The first level of the framework represents three vendor capabilities: relationship management, contract management, and information technology management. The second level has three mediating variables representing process quality: partnership, service, and deliverable quality. The third level has three dependent variables representing vendor outcomes: operational performance, strategic performance, and satisfaction. The model was tested with 188 vendor firms from India and China, the two most popular destinations for IS offshoring. Results support the CQP framework; vendor capabilities are significant predictors of intermediate quality measures, which in turn affect vendor outcomes. Implications of the study findings to both theory development and IS offshore vendor strategic decision making are discussed. [source]


    The relationship between childhood trauma history and the psychotic subtype of major depression

    ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 6 2010
    B. A. Gaudiano
    Gaudiano BA, Zimmerman M. The relationship between childhood trauma history and the psychotic subtype of major depression. Objective:, Increasing evidence exists linking childhood trauma and primary psychotic disorders, but there is little research on patients with primary affective disorders with psychotic features. Method:, The sample consisted of adult out-patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) at clinic intake using a structured clinical interview. Patients with MDD with (n = 32) vs. without psychotic features (n = 591) were compared as to their rates of different types of childhood trauma. Results:, Psychotic MDD patients were significantly more likely to report histories of physical (OR = 2.81) or sexual abuse (OR = 2.75) compared with non-psychotic MDD patients. These relationships remained after controlling for baseline differences. Within the subsample with comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder, patients with psychotic MDD were significantly more likely to report childhood physical abuse (OR = 3.20). Conclusion:, Results support and extend previous research by demonstrating that the relationship between childhood trauma and psychosis is found across diagnostic groups. [source]


    The origins and evolution of links between word learning and conceptual organization: new evidence from 11-month-olds

    DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2003
    Sandra Waxman
    How do infants map words to their meaning? How do they discover that different types of words (e.g. noun, adjective) refer to different aspects of the same objects (e.g. category, property)? We have proposed that (1) infants begin with a broad expectation that novel open-class words (both nouns and adjectives) highlight commonalities (both category- and property-based) among objects, and that (2) this initial expectation is subsequently fine-tuned through linguistic experience. We examine the first part of this proposal, asking whether 11-month-old infants can construe the very same set of objects (e.g. four purple animals) either as members of an object category (e.g. animals) or as embodying a salient object property (e.g. four purple things), and whether naming (with count nouns vs. adjectives) differentially influences their construals. Results support the proposal. Infants treated novel nouns and adjectives identically, mapping both types of words to both category- and property-based commonalities among objects. [source]


    A conceptual model for the longitudinal distribution of wood in mountain streams

    EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 3 2009
    Ellen Wohl
    Abstract Wood load, channel parameters and valley parameters were surveyed in 50 contiguous stream segments each 25 m in length along 12 streams in the Colorado Front Range. Length and diameter of each piece of wood were measured, and the orientation of each piece was tallied as a ramp, buried, bridge or unattached. These data were then used to evaluate longitudinal patterns of wood distribution in forested headwater streams of the Colorado Front Range, and potential channel-, valley- and watershed-scale controls on these patterns. We hypothesized that (i) wood load decreases downstream, (ii) wood is non-randomly distributed at channel lengths of tens to hundreds of meters as a result of the presence of wood jams and (iii) the proportion of wood clustered into jams increases with drainage area as a result of downstream increases in relative capacity of a stream to transport wood introduced from the adjacent riparian zone and valley bottom. Results indicate a progressive downstream decrease in wood load within channels, and correlations between wood load and drainage area, elevation, channel width, bed gradient and total stream power. Results support the first and second hypotheses, but are inconclusive with respect to the third hypothesis. Wood is non-randomly distributed at lengths of tens to hundreds of meters, but the proportion of pieces in jams reaches a maximum at intermediate downstream distances within the study area. We use these results to propose a conceptual model illustrating downstream trends in wood within streams of the Colorado Front Range. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    A NEW THEORY OF THE BUDGETARY PROCESS

    ECONOMICS & POLITICS, Issue 1 2006
    SOUMAYA M. TOHAMY
    This paper offers an alternative to the view that budgetary decisions are incremental because they are complex, extensive, and conflicted. Our model interprets incrementalism as the result of a legislative political strategy in response to interest group politics and economic conditions. Accordingly, a legislator chooses between single-period budgeting or multiperiod budgeting, where single-period budgeting is associated with a greater chance of non-incremental budgeting outcomes. We use a statistical procedure developed by Dezhbakhsh et al. (2003) for identifying non-incremental outcomes to test the implications of the model. Results support the model's predictions: a higher discount rate and a persistently large deficit appear to cause departures from incremental budgeting; Democrats' control over the political process have a similar effect, while a higher inflation rate has an opposite effect. [source]


    Disruptiveness, peer experiences and adolescent smoking: a long-term longitudinal approach

    ADDICTION, Issue 4 2009
    Roy Otten
    ABSTRACT Aims This study examined links of peer experiences (i.e. social status and affiliation with disruptive peers) throughout childhood with respect to adolescent smoking trajectories, after controlling for childhood disruptiveness. Specifically, we tested four models regarding links of peer experiences and deviant behaviours. Design Prospective community sample. Participants A total of 312 children, aged 6.17 years at baseline. Measurements Growth parameters of own disruptive behaviour, disruptive behaviour of friends and social status measured at ages 7,12 years as predictors of smoking assessed at ages 13,15 years, while controlling for own disruptive behaviour at age 6 years. Findings We found three groups with distinct profiles of smoking. One group displayed hardly any or no smoking at all; a second group showed a trajectory of increased smoking; and a third group that showed high smoking rates initially and increased in smoking intensity over time. Results support the assumption of the selection model that the link between disruptive peers and smoking is spurious and due to shared variances with own early disruptiveness. Moreover, support was found for the popularity,socialization model supporting the assumption that age-related increases in social status are associated with smoking. Conclusions The findings emphasize that early disruptiveness is predictive of later smoking. In addition, it was shown that smoking becomes less deviant over time, in line with group norms. Future prevention programmes should emphasize the need to change these norms. [source]


    Right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation and the dimensions of generalized prejudice: A longitudinal test

    EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 4 2010
    Frank Asbrock
    Abstract A Dual Process Model (DPM) approach to prejudice proposes that there should be at least two dimensions of generalized prejudice relating to outgroup stratification and social perception, which should be differentially predicted by Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO). The current study assessed the causal effects of SDO and RWA on three dimensions of prejudice using a full cross-lagged longitudinal sample (N,=,127). As expected, RWA, but not SDO, predicted prejudice towards ,dangerous' groups, SDO, but not RWA, predicted prejudice towards ,derogated' groups, and both RWA and SDO predicted prejudice towards ,dissident' groups. Results support previously untested causal predictions derived from the DPM and indicate that different forms of prejudice result from different SDO- and RWA-based motivational processes. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Similarity as a source of differentiation: the role of group identification

    EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2001
    Jolanda Jetten
    The present research examines the relation between perceived intergroup distinctiveness and positive intergroup differentiation. It was hypothesised that the distinctiveness,differentiation relation is a function of group identification. In two studies group distinctiveness was varied and level of identification was either measured (Study 1) or manipulated (Study 2). Results support the prediction that low group distinctiveness leads to more positive differentiation for high identifiers, although we found less support for the prediction that increased group distinctiveness leads to enhanced positive differentiation for low identifiers. The difference in emphasis between social identity theory and self-categorisation theory concerning the distinctiveness,differentiation relation is discussed and the importance of group identification as a critical factor of this relationship is stressed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Initial Public Offerings: CFO Perceptions

    FINANCIAL REVIEW, Issue 4 2006
    James C. Brau
    G14; G24; G32; G34 Abstract We examine four issues pertaining to initial public offerings (IPOs) using a survey of 438 chief financial officers (CFOs). First, why do firms go public? Second, is CFO sentiment stationary across bear and bull markets? Third, what concerns CFOs about going public? Fourth, do CFO perceptions correlate with returns? Results support funding for growth and liquidity as the primary reasons for IPOs. CFO sentiment is generally stationary in pre- and post-bubble years. Managers are concerned with the direct costs of going public, such as underwriting fees, as well as indirect costs. We find a negative relation between a focus on immediate growth and long-term abnormal returns. [source]


    Explicit Input Enhancement: Effects on Target and Non-Target Aspects of Second Language Acquisition

    FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 4 2006
    Article first published online: 31 DEC 200, Carolyn Gascoigne
    Many recent studies have examined the effectiveness of various types of input enhancement. The following study expands this line of inquivy to include tech nological applications of language learning by comparing the effectiveness of the com puter application of diacritics to a traditional pen-and-paper process among beginning students of French and Spanish. In addition to studying the effect of computer-mediated input enhancement on the recall of accents, this study also questions the incidental effects of input enhancement on non-target aspects of the second language acquisition (SLA) process. Results support the effectiveness of explicit and computer-mediated input enhancement. [source]


    First-Person Shooters and the Third-Person Effect

    HUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH, Issue 2 2008
    Erica Scharrer
    A sample of 118 U.S. 6th and 7th graders was used to examine early adolescents' views of whether video games negatively influence themselves, others of the same age, and younger others. Six specific games ranging in rating from E for Everyone to M for Mature were listed for the early adolescents to respond to, with questions asked about both potential influence and whether young people should be allowed to play the games. Results support a third-person perception that grew as the rating of the game became more restrictive and as the "other" group in question became younger. The presence of rules set by parents about video game use was a positive predictor of perceptions of influence on self and others. Résumé Les jeux de tir ŕ la premičre personne et l,effet de troisičme personne Grâce ŕ un échantillon de 118 élčves américains de 6e et 7e années (11-13 ans), cet article explore les opinions des jeunes adolescents quant ŕ l'influence négative des jeux vidéo sur eux-męmes, sur d,autres personnes du męme âge et sur des enfants plus jeunes. Les jeunes adolescents devaient réagir ŕ six jeux spécifiques, classés de E (Everyone, pour tous) ŕ M (Mature, adulte), répondant ŕ des questions portant sur leur influence possible et sur le droit que devraient ou non avoir les jeunes de jouer ŕ ces jeux. Les résultats soutiennent une perception de la troisičme personne qui augmentait plus le classement du jeu devenait contraignant et plus le groupe « autre » en question rajeunissait. La présence de rčgles établies par les parents ŕ propos de l'usage des jeux vidéo était une variable explicative positive des perceptions de l'influence sur soi et les autres. Abstract Ego-Shooter und der Third-Person-Effekt Mit einer Stichprobe von 118 US-amerikanischen 6. und 7. Klässlern wurde die Einschätzung Jugendlicher dazu untersucht, dass Videospiele sie selbst, Gleichaltrige oder Jüngere negativ beeinflussen können. Bezug nehmend auf eine Liste mit sechs spezifischen Spielen (bewertet als J für Jedermann bis E für Erwachsene) sollten die Jugendlichen Fragen zum möglichen Einfluss und die Frage, ob jungen Leuten erlaubt werden sollte, diese Spiele zu spielen, beantworten. Die Befunde stützen die Annahmen einer Third-Person-Wahrnehmung, welche zunahm, wenn die Bewertung des Spiels restriktiver und die Gruppe der anderen jünger wurde. Das Vorhandensein von elterlichen Regeln zu Videospielen war ein positiver Prädiktor für die Wahrnehmung des Einflusses auf einen selbst und auf andere. Resumen La Persona que Dispara Primero y el Efecto de la Tercera Persona Una muestra de 118 estudiantes Norteamericanos de sexto y séptimo grado fue usada para examinar la visión que los adolescentes jóvenes tienen sobre los video-juegos y si los video-juegos influyen negativamente sobre ellos mismos, sobre otros de su misma edad, y sobre otros nińos más jóvenes. Seis juegos específicos variando en su clasificación de E, para Todos, a M, para Maduros, fueron enlistados para que los adolescentes jóvenes respondieran a las preguntas sobre la influencia potencial y si debería permitírsele a la gente joven jugar estos juegos. Los resultados apoyaron la percepción de la tercera persona, la cual creció a medida que la clasificación del juego se convirtió en más restrictiva y que el grupo en cuestión fuera más joven. La presencia de reglas puestas por los padres sobre el uso de video-juegos fue un vaticinador positivo de las percepciones de influencia sobre uno mismo y sobre otros. ZhaiYao Yo yak [source]


    Culture in the context of intercultural negotiation.

    HUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH, Issue 4 2000
    Individualism-collectivism, paths to integrative agreements
    This study explores culture's effect on behaviors and outcomes in intercultural negotiation and examines how those effects are moderated by role. Eighty U.S. and international students took part in a previously developed negotiation task (Pruitt, 1981) and completed Hui and Triandis's (1986) individualism-collectivism (INDCOL) scale. Negotiation interactions were coded for information sharing, offers, and distributive tactics. Findings show that a negotiation dyad's collectivism is positively associated with higher joint profit. The effects of culture on both communication behaviors and joint outcomes, however, differ by role of the negotiator. In particular, seller collectivism has larger and more consistent effects on communication behavior and joint profit than buyer collectivism. Results support a ,culture in context' perspective of negotiation that takes into account negotiator qualities, contextual and structural features of the negotiation, and mediating processes in addition to cultural values. [source]


    Risk factors for body dissatisfaction in adolescent boys and girls: A prospective study

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS, Issue 4 2004
    Katherine Presnell
    Objective Despite evidence that body dissatisfaction predicts the onset of eating pathology and depression, few prospective studies have investigated predictors of body dissatisfaction. Method We examined risk factors for body dissatisfaction using prospective data from 531 adolescent boys and girls. Results Elevations in body mass, negative affect, and perceived pressure to be thin from peers, but not thin-ideal internalization, social support deficits, or perceived pressure to be thin from family, dating partners, or media, predicted increases in body dissatisfaction. Gender moderated the effect of body mass on body dissatisfaction and revealed a significant quadratic component for boys, but not girls. Gender also moderated negative affect. Discussion Results support the assertion that certain sociocultural, biologic, and interpersonal factors increase the risk for body dissatisfaction, but differ for boys and girls. Results provided little support for other accepted risk factors for body dissatisfaction. © 2004 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 36: 389,401, 2004. [source]


    Personality and Performance at the Beginning of the New Millennium: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go Next?

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SELECTION AND ASSESSMENT, Issue 1-2 2001
    Murray R. Barrick
    As we begin the new millennium, it is an appropriate time to examine what we have learned about personality-performance relationships over the past century and to embark on new directions for research. In this study we quantitatively summarize the results of 15 prior meta-analytic studies that have investigated the relationship between the Five Factor Model (FFM) personality traits and job performance. Results support the previous findings that conscientiousness is a valid predictor across performance measures in all occupations studied. Emotional stability was also found to be a generalizable predictor when overall work performance was the criterion, but its relationship to specific performance criteria and occupations was less consistent than was conscientiousness. Though the other three Big Five traits (extraversion, openness and agreeableness) did not predict overall work performance, they did predict success in specific occupations or relate to specific criteria. The studies upon which these results are based comprise most of the research that has been conducted on this topic in the past century. Consequently, we call for a moratorium on meta-analytic studies of the type reviewed in our study and recommend that researchers embark on a new research agenda designed to further our understanding of personality-performance linkages. [source]


    Person-environment fit and transfer of training

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2002
    Enoch A. Awoniyi
    Results support the hypothesis that individuals transfer their training to the job when their ,real' environment matches or fits the preferred ,ideal' environment. Five aspects of environment were assessed: supervisory encouragement, sufficient resources, worker's perceived freedom, workload pressures, and perceived worker creativity. In addition to the traditional criteria of hiring people whose skills match the job, organizations might consider creating environments to match employees' needs. [source]


    Effect of Psychiatric and Other Nonmotor Symptoms on Disability in Parkinson's Disease

    JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 5 2004
    Daniel Weintraub MD
    Objectives: To examine the effect of depression and other nonmotor symptoms on functional ability in Parkinson's disease (PD). Design: A cross-sectional study of a convenience sample of PD patients receiving specialty care. Setting: The Parkinson's Disease Research, Education and Clinical Center at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Participants: One hundred fourteen community-dwelling patients with idiopathic PD. Measurements: The Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS); Hoehn and Yahr Stage; Mini-Mental State Examination; Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, depression module; probes for psychotic symptoms; Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; Geriatric Depression Scale,Short Form; Apathy Scale; and Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Disability was rated using the UPDRS activity of daily living (ADL) score and the Schwab and England ADL score. Multivariate analysis determined effect of depression and other nonmotor symptoms on disability. Results: The presence of psychosis, depressive disorder, increasing depression severity, age, duration of PD, cognitive impairment, apathy, sleepiness, motor impairment, and percentage of time with dyskinesias were related to greater disability in bivariate analyses. Entering these factors into two multiple regression analyses, only the increasing severity of depression and worsening cognition were associated with greater disability using the UPDRS ADL score, accounting for 37% of the variance in disability (P<.001). These two factors plus increasing severity of PD accounted for 54% of the variance in disability using the Schwab and England ADL score (P<.001). Conclusion: Results support and extend previous findings that psychiatric and other nonmotor symptoms contribute significantly to disability in PD. Screening for nonmotor symptoms in PD is necessary to more fully explain functional limitations. Further study is required to determine whether identifying and treating these symptoms will improve function and quality of life. [source]


    Measuring Sexism, Racism, Sexual Prejudice, Ageism, Classism, and Religious Intolerance: The Intolerant Schema Measure

    JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 10 2009
    Allison C. Aosved
    Despite similarities between sexism, racism, sexual prejudice, ageism, classism, and religious intolerance, investigators do not routinely investigate these intolerant beliefs simultaneously. The purpose of this project was to create a brief, psychometrically sound measure of intolerance reflecting these 6 constructs. Data from existing measures (Attitudes Toward Women Scale, Neosexism Scale, Modern and Old-Fashioned Racism Scale, Modern Homophobia Scale, Frabroni Scale of Ageism, Economic Beliefs Scale, and M-GRISM) and from items created by the authors were obtained from several college samples to create the Intolerant Schema Measure (ISM). Results support the internal consistency, test,retest reliability, and factor structure of the questionnaire. Expected relationships between measured concepts, social dominance, social desirability, and across key demographic groups support the validity of the instrument. [source]


    Self-Efficacy and Causal Attributions: Direct and Reciprocal Links

    JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2000
    Alexander D. Stajkovic
    This study examines Bandura's (1986, 1997a) propositions that self-efficacy provides information from which causal attributions are made and that causal attributions, in turn, influence formation of subsequent self-efficacy expectations. We developed a conceptual rationale for and empirically tested 2 sets of hypotheses pertaining to direct and reciprocal links between self-efficacy and causal attributions. Effects of causal attributions and subsequently formed self-efficacy on subsequent task performance were also investigated. Results support the existence of direct and reciprocal links between self-efficacy and causal attributions. We found interactive effects between self-efficacy and performance feedback on causal attributions, and a mediating effect of causal attributions on the formation of subsequent self-efficacy beliefs. Causal attributions and subsequent self-efficacy also significantly predicted subsequent performance. [source]


    Impact of Terminal Digit Preference by Family Physicians and Sphygmomanometer Calibration Errors on Blood Pressure Value: Implication for Hypertension Screening

    JOURNAL OF CLINICAL HYPERTENSION, Issue 5 2008
    Theophile Niyonsenga PhD
    The accuracy of blood pressure (BP) measurement is important; systematic small errors can mislabel BP status in many persons. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of 2 types of measurement errors on the evaluation of BP in family medicine: errors associated with terminal digit preference and those associated with calibration errors of sphygmomanometers. Secondary data analyses from 2 different projects were used to derive empiric distributions of terminal digit and BP device errors. Taking into account both types of errors, the proportion of false positives (falsely high BP) and false negatives (falsely normal BP) varied between 0. 82% and 5.18% of the population of consulting family physicians. In the United States, false positives and false negatives in patients' BP evaluations might lead to overtreating or undertreating 1.15 million to 7.25 million patients. Results support the need for the development of systematic interventions for quality control of BP measurements and periodic retraining for health professionals. [source]


    Direct hydroxide attack is a plausible mechanism for amidase antibody 43C9,

    JOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, Issue 12 2003
    Lillian T. Chong
    Abstract Direct hydroxide attack on the scissile carbonyl of the substrate has been suggested as a likely mechanism for esterase antibodies elicited by phosphonate haptens, which mimic the transition states for the alkaline hydrolysis of esters.1 The unique amidase activity of esterase antibody 43C9 has been attributed to nucleophilic attack by an active-site histidine residue.2 Yet, the active site of 43C9 is strikingly similar to those of other esterase antibodies, particularly 17E8. We have carried out quantum mechanical calculations, molecular dynamics simulations, and free energy calculations to assess the mechanism involving direct hydroxide attack for 43C9. Results support this mechanism and suggest that the mechanism is plausible for other antiphosphonate antibodies that catalyze the hydrolysis of (p -nitro)phenyl esters. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 24: 1371,1377, 2003 [source]


    Knowledge Transfer and Collaboration in Distributed U.S.-Thai Teams

    JOURNAL OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION, Issue 4 2005
    Saonee Sarker
    This article reports on a study that investigates factors influencing knowledge transfer in the context of cross-cultural distributed teams engaged in information systems development. The goal was to examine the validity of a four-factor framework of knowledge transfer (the "4 C Framework"), which proposes that capability, credibility, communication, and culture of the source significantly affects knowledge transfer. The framework is examined in the context of US-Thai distributed teams, as well as within the local subgroups. Results support the role of credibility and communication on knowledge transfer in the cross-cultural distributed teams, and within the local subgroups. Capability was not found to be related to knowledge transfer either in the distributed teams or within the local subgroups. Finally, culture of the source did affect knowledge transfer in the distributed teams, although in a direction opposite to that hypothesized. [source]


    Different hip and knee priority score systems: are they good for the same thing?

    JOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 5 2010
    Antonio Escobar MD PhD
    Abstract Objective, The aim of the present study was to compare two priority tools used for joint replacement for patients on waiting lists, which use two different methods. Methods, Two prioritization tools developed and validated by different methodologies were used on the same cohort of patients. The first, an IRYSS hip and knee priority score (IHKPS) developed by RAND method, was applied while patients were on the waiting list. The other, a Catalonia hip,knee priority score (CHKPS) developed by conjoint analysis, was adapted and applied retrospectively. In addition, all patients fulfilled pre-intervention the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). Correlation between them was studied by Pearson correlation coefficient (r). Agreement was analysed by means of intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), Kendall coefficient and Cohern kappa. The relationship between IHKPS, CHKPS and baseline WOMAC scores by r coefficient was studied. Results, The sample consisted of 774 consecutive patients. Pearson correlation coefficient between IHKPS and CHKPS was 0.79. The agreement study showed that ICC was 0.74, Kendall coefficient 0.86 and kappa 0.66. Finally, correlation between CHKPS and baseline WOMAC ranged from 0.43 to 0.64. The results according to the relationship between IHKPS and WOMAC ranged from 0.50 to 0.74. Conclusions, Results support the hypothesis that if the final objective of the prioritization tools is to organize and sort patients on the waiting list, although they use different methodologies, the results are similar. [source]


    Residential Design Implications of Consumers' Recycling Behaviors

    JOURNAL OF INTERIOR DESIGN, Issue 1-2 2003
    Sharon Macy M.A.
    ABSTRACT Each year landfills receive a growing amount of waste that could be eliminated by recycling practices supported through the design of kitchens. This study had three objectives: (a) to examine residential design implications for incorporating recycling within the home, (b) to examine consumer's feelings of environmental altruism and their behaviors toward recycling within the context of situational conditions within the home, and (c) to examine consumer's views regarding the convenience of their home's recycling facilities. The primary research instrument was a survey of consumer behaviors and attitudes toward recycling. Certified Kitchen Designers provided client names for whom they had designed a kitchen as part of a remodel or new home construction within the last five years. Questionnaires were mailed to 271 households with a 58.2% response rate achieved. Five areas of information were addressed in the survey: sociode-mographics, behaviors and situational design factors, altruistic values, perceived inconvenience, and economic factors. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis with Chi-square tests used to examine relationships between variables. Results support including an area for recycling in the kitchen or a space that is directly adjacent such as an attached garage; convenience was found to be a primary factor in the recycling behaviors of highly altruistic individuals. It is important to design an environment that supports recycling. Whether recycling is convenient or not will have an influence on an individual's recycling behaviors. With environments that support recycling behaviors, consumers will increase their quantity and accuracy in recycling, which in turn could lead to an increase in attitudes toward other pro-environmental actions. [source]


    Making the Best of a Bad Situation: Material Resources and Teenage Parenthood

    JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 1 2007
    Stefanie Mollborn
    Past research has largely ignored the influence of material resources on teenage parents' life outcomes. A lack of resources such as housing, child care, and financial support is hypothesized to explain the negative effect of teenage parenthood on educational attainment. Regression analyses use nationally representative data from the 1988 , 2000 National Education Longitudinal Study (N = 8,432, n = 356 teenage parents). Results support the hypothesis completely for the teenage fathers in the sample and partially for mothers: Resources substantially diminish the educational penalty teenage parents paid by age 26. Gender influences which types of resources are protective, providing policy implications. Help with child care is critical for teenage mothers, whereas housing and financial resources may be important for men. [source]


    Work-life benefits and positive organizational behavior: is there a connection?

    JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, Issue 2 2008
    Lori Muse
    Focusing on the employee well-being component of positive organizational behavior (POB), this study explores the relationship between organization provided benefit programs and POB. Specifically, we ask the question: are employees' use and perceived value of a work-life benefit package associated with their positive attitudes and behaviors in the workplace? Grounded in social exchange theory and the norm of reciprocity, we develop and estimate a model identifying differential relationships of benefit use and perceived benefit value with employee attitudinal and performance outcomes. Employing the multigroup method, the hypothesized model was fit to the data of two dissimilar organizations. Results support our hypothesis that providing work-life benefits employees use and/or value is part of a positive exchange between the employee and employer. This exchange is positively related to employees' feelings of perceived organizational support and affective commitment to the organization and reciprocation in the form of higher levels of task and contextual performance behaviors. Results also revealed that employees' perceptions of benefit program value play a critical role regardless of actual program use in influencing attitudes and behavior. Our findings emphasize the importance of valuing employees and investing in their well-being inside as well as outside the workplace. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Is it pay levels or pay raises that matter to fairness and turnover?

    JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, Issue 8 2005
    Amanuel G. Tekleab
    Two studies examined the relationship between actual pay and distributive and procedural justice, and the extent to which these perceptions were related to two important pay satisfaction dimensions, pay level and pay raise, and ultimately, impacted turnover. For each study the measures of pay and justice variables were obtained on a cross-sectional basis, while the measure of turnover was necessarily lagged. Results showed that distributive justice mediated the relationship between pay and both pay level satisfaction and pay raise satisfaction. Furthermore, distributive justice was a stronger predictor of pay level satisfaction; whereas procedural justice was a stronger predictor of pay raise satisfaction. Procedural justice also played a moderating role in Study 2. The study also showed that only pay raise satisfaction was significantly and negatively related to turnover in Study 1, and to turnover via turnover intention in Study 2. Results support the value of considering pay satisfaction as multidimensional when evaluating justice issues in a compensation context. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Spongelike acquisition of sight vocabulary in beginning readers?

    JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN READING, Issue 1 2000
    Morag Stuart
    We report two training studies designed to investigate the relation between phonological awareness, sound-to-letter mapping knowledge, and printed word learning in novice five-year-old readers. Effects of visual memory and of teaching methods are also explored. In our first study, novice five-year-old readers able to segment initial phonemes and with good knowledge of mappings between sounds and letters learned words more easily from repeated exposure to texts. Results suggested that visual memory influenced word learning in non-segmenting but not in segmenting children. Spelling regularity did not affect ease of learning. Nouns were easier to learn than function words. In the second study, although phonological awareness and sound-to-letter mapping knowledge still exerted a significant influence, all novice five-year-olds were able to learn words more easily if these were taught out-of-context singly on flashcards. Results support the view that mental representations of printed words are more easily formed by beginners who are able to match at least some of the phonological segments detected in the spoken word to letters in the printed word. [source]


    Self-efficacy, reasoning ability, and achievement in college biology

    JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 5 2007
    Anton E. Lawson
    Abstract This study compared the relationships of self-efficacy and reasoning ability to achievement in introductory college biology. Based on the hypothesis that developing formal and postformal reasoning ability is a primary factor influencing self-efficacy, a significant positive correlation was predicted between reasoning ability and degree of self-efficacy to complete biological tasks. Further, reasoning ability was predicted to be more highly correlated with course achievement than self-efficacy. The study involved pre- and posttesting 459 introductory biology students. Both self-efficacy and reasoning ability increased during the semester. As predicted, self-efficacy and reasoning ability were positively correlated. Depending on the nature of the achievement measure, reasoning ability accounted for some 15 to 30 times more variance in achievement than self-efficacy. Also, as predicted, reasoning ability was a strong predictor of self-efficacy, but self-efficacy was not a strong predictor of reasoning ability. Self-efficacy estimates and achievement were higher for the concrete tasks than for the formal tasks and higher for the formal tasks than for the postformal tasks. In general, students tended to overestimate their abilities to carry out the concrete, formal, and postformal tasks. Results support the study's working hypothesis that intellectual development continues for some students during the college years, that a postformal level of intellectual development exists, and that reasoning ability is a primary factor influencing both self-efficacy and achievement. Student overestimation of their abilities may contribute to complacency, lack of effort, and to less than optimal achievement. Consequently, it may be advantageous early in the semester to provide students with particularly challenging tasks that "shock" them out of their complacency and perhaps increase their effort, their reasoning skills, and their achievement. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 706,724, 2007 [source]


    Managers and Productive Investment Decisions: The Impact of Uncertainty and Risk Aversion

    JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2004
    Jacques-Bernard Sauner-Leroy
    The main purpose of this study is to examine the links among uncertainty, manager's risk-taking attitude, and the level of productive investment of small and medium-size enterprises. The analysis makes use of qualitative data collected by the Bank of France in a national survey conducted in 1999 on the strategic behavior of 1,578 French industrial small and medium-size firms. A multiple regression model is used to test the impact of uncertainty and risk aversion on investment decisions. Results support the hypothesis of the literature stating that productive investment is correlated positively with risk taking and is correlated negatively with uncertainty. [source]


    /r/ and the construction of place identity on New York City's Lower East Side1

    JOURNAL OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS, Issue 5 2009
    Kara Becker
    This paper argues that a group of white residents on the Lower East Side of Manhattan use a New York City English (NYCE) feature , non-rhoticity in the syllable coda , in the construction of a place identity, one aspect of identity tied to localness and authenticity. A quantitative analysis confirms that the change in progress towards rhoticity in NYCE (Labov 1966) continues to advance slowly, so that non-rhoticity remains a resource for New Yorkers, imbued with local social meaning. Ethnographic observation of the Lower East Side reveals conflict among residents, which motivates one group to highlight their place identity by using non-rhoticity. These Lower East Siders utilize micro-variation of /r/ in stretches of interview talk, increasing non-rhoticity when discussing neighborhood topics. Results support a social practice approach to stylistic and sociolinguistic variation, where Lower East Siders use /r/ in constructing a place identity in order to present themselves as authentic neighborhood residents. [source]