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Theory Framework (theory + framework)
Selected AbstractsAn Examination of Rater Drift Within a Generalizability Theory FrameworkJOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT, Issue 1 2009Polina Harik The present study examined the long-term usefulness of estimated parameters used to adjust the scores from a performance assessment to account for differences in rater stringency. Ratings from four components of the USMLE® Step 2 Clinical Skills Examination data were analyzed. A generalizability-theory framework was used to examine the extent to which rater-related sources of error could be eliminated through statistical adjustment. Particular attention was given to the stability of these estimated parameters over time. The results suggest that rater stringency estimates obtained at a point in time and then used to adjust ratings over a period of months may substantially decrease in usefulness. In some cases, over several months, the use of these adjustments may become counterproductive. Additionally, it is hypothesized that the rate of deterioration in the usefulness of estimated parameters may be a function of the characteristics of the scale. [source] Experimentally manipulated high in-group status can buffer personal self-esteem against discriminationEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2005Michael J. Platow We present an experiment in which the relative status of an in-group and the discriminatory nature of a decision maker's intergroup behaviour (in-group-favouring/out-group-favouring/even-handed) were independently manipulated to observe their effects on self-esteem. Adopting a Social Identity Theory framework, and following from previous empirical work, we predicted that discrimination against one's in-group would lead to lower self-esteem among members of a low-status group but not among members of a high-status group. This prediction was confirmed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] MUNICIPAL CONTRACTING OUT: GOVERNANCE CHOICES, MISALIGNMENT AND PERFORMANCE IN SWEDISH LOCAL GOVERNMENTFINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY & MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2008Tobias Johansson In this paper we apply a Transaction Cost Theory framework to analyse the use and effects of contracting out in Swedish local government. During the last decade Swedish local authorities, like in many other countries, have, to a larger extent, started to contract external subcontractors to fulfil their responsibilities towards its citizens. It is not only in the traditional subcontracting sectors such as housing, infrastructure, and technical services that this trend is evident, but also in policy areas like education, social care, and elderly care. In fact, very little is known about the overall effects of, and the mechanisms underlying, governance choices. The overall results corroborate transaction cost reasoning. Supplier competition and specificity have anticipated effects on municipal de-integration. Too little, but not too much, use of contracting out, in relation to theoretical predictions, worsens performance. The latter aspect is not fully in accordance with TCE-propositions. [source] An Agency Theory Perspective on Student Performance EvaluationDECISION SCIENCES JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE EDUCATION, Issue 1 2005Michael E. Smith ABSTRACT The emphasis in recent research on the responsibility of college and university business instructors to prepare students for future employment underscores a need to refine the evaluation of student performance. In this article, an agency theory framework is used to understand the trade-offs that may be involved in the selection of various approaches to student evaluation. Understanding these trade-offs may be particularly important as faculty members seek to balance competing obligations, such as research and service requirements, while ensuring instructional effectiveness. This article presents propositions for examining how various institutional, instructor, and student characteristics influence the selection and use of student performance evaluation techniques (i.e., exams, papers, and group assignments). In conclusion, we suggest that agency theory may serve as a foundation for understanding current evaluation practices and guiding instructors in their selection of appropriate evaluation mechanisms. [source] A qualitative exploration of multiple medicines beliefs in co-morbid diabetes and cardiovascular diseaseDIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 10 2008R. J. Stack Abstract Aim,, Multiple medicines are typically prescribed for patients with Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Non-adherence to medicines can arise for those who self-manage the complex regimens typical of T2D and CVD. Perceptions about treatment and illness are probable drivers of adherence and self-management behaviours. However, few studies have explored perceptions about multiple medicines and none has examined the complexities of managing medicines used in T2D and CVD. We explored perceptions towards multiple medicines expressed by people managing co-morbid T2D and CVD. Method,, Nineteen adults managing multiple medicines for T2D and CVD participated in semi-structured interviews. The interviews were analysed using a modified grounded theory framework. Results,, Participants were sceptical about the prescription of additional medicines, particularly CVD medicines. Often medicines for T2D management were thought to be more important than medicines prescribed for CVD management. Lifestyle change was thought to be a way of reducing CVD risk and this was related to the lower status given to CVD medication. Lipid-lowering medicines were often thought to be the least important CVD medication prescribed, with some participants considering cessation of medicines to test their necessity. Conclusions,, Despite evidence on the severity of macrovascular complications in T2D being available, participants in this study undervalued their CVD medications. Survey research is needed to assess how widely held these beliefs are and whether these beliefs influence non-adherence. Future research should explore how healthcare professionals can best address such beliefs. [source] Sleep disturbance experiences among perimenopausal women in TaiwanJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 15 2009Hsiu-Chin Hsu Aim., To generate a descriptive theory framework regarding the experiences of sleep disturbances among perimenopausal women in Taiwan. Background., Although studies show that some perimenopausal women are troubled by sleep problems, little information was found about the subjective experiences of sleep disturbances among these women. Research is required to explore women's feelings or perceptions in dealing with their sleep problems. These understandings will be important to help alleviate perimenopausal women's sleep problems. Design., A grounded theory research design was applied. Method., Twenty-one Taiwanese sleep disturbed women, aged 46,57 years, participated in in-depth interviews. Results., ,Getting back a good night's sleep' was the core theme for describing and guiding the process of the women's sleep disturbance experiences. During the process, ,disturbed sleep' was identified as the antecedent condition that included subcategories: easy awakening, difficulty falling asleep, inner worries, physical discomfort and genetic and bodily constitution. Analyses showed five categories (some with subcategories) of the sleep disturbed women: (i) worsening health status , physical exhaustion, impaired social interactions, emotional swings and decreased work performance; (ii) living with lonely nights , self-help and endurance; (iii) a search for resources to relieve sleep difficulties , doctor shopping, trying alternative therapies, exercising and seeking support; (iv) vicious cycle and (v) acceptance of insomnia. Conclusions., Women expected to relieve their sleep disturbance by finding comprehensive counselling or by their body constitution responding to treatment. Healthcare providers need to value women's individual concerns and subjective voices. Providers must seek out sleep counselling instead of simply prescribing drugs for their sleep difficulties. Relevance to clinical practice., It is crucial to integrate perimenopausal sleep care by implementing a multidimensional approach such as sleep assessment laboratories, sleep counselling, complementary alternative medicine, sleep strategies and support groups. [source] Building on the indigenous: theory and method of marriage therapy in contemporary Eastern and Western AfricaJOURNAL OF FAMILY THERAPY, Issue 4 2000Augustine Nwoye This paper highlights the distinctive approach to marriage therapy in use by therapists in two regions of Africa. It illustrates that marital therapy in these two regions is based on role theory framework and follows, in its execution, the pattern of the judicial trial model. It traces adaptations made by contemporary marriage therapists to ensure that while building their present practices on this essentially indigenous/court-room trial model, they are able to remain open to outside influences from other models of marriage. [source] Substantive-level theory of highly regarded secondary biology teachers' science teaching orientationsJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 2 2005Patricia Meis Friedrichsen Science teaching orientations, defined as teachers' knowledge and beliefs about the purposes and goals for teaching science, have been identified as a critical component within the proposed pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) model for science teaching. Because of the scarcity of empirical studies in this area, this case study examined the nature and sources of science teaching orientations held by four highly regarded secondary biology teachers. Data sources consisted of transcripts from four interviews, a card-sorting task, and classroom observations. Using a grounded theory framework, inductive data analysis led to the construction of a substantive-level theory for this group of participants. In regard to the nature of science teaching orientations, the use of central and peripheral goals, as well as the means of achieving these goals, was used to represent the complex nature of participants' science teaching orientations. The participants' science teaching orientations included goals related to general schooling, the affective domain, and subject matter, although the latter was not always a central component. In regard to the sources of teaching orientations, participants were strongly influenced by the classroom context and their beliefs about learners and learning; additional influences included prior work experiences, professional development, and time constraints. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 218,244, 2005 [source] Founding Family Controlled Firms: Performance, Risk, and ValueJOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2001Daniel L. McConaugby An agency theory framework is used to test the effects of founding family control on firm performance, capital structure, and value. Both the finance and management literatures regarding the relationship between firm control and firm value are explored. Controlling for size, industry, and managerial ownership, the results suggest that firms controlled by the founding family have greater value, are operated more efficiently, and carry less debt than other firms. [source] The use of illustrations when learning to read: A cognitive load theory approachAPPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2010Susannah Torcasio Three experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of including illustrations in beginning reading materials. Experiment 1 compared reading materials consisting solely of simple prose passages with materials consisting of the same passages plus informative illustrations depicting the content of each passage. Reading proficiency improved more under the no illustrations condition. Experiment 2 compared the informative illustrations with uninformative illustrations. Reading proficiency improved more using uninformative illustrations. Experiment 3 compared uninformative illustrations with no illustrations and found no significant differences between conditions. These results were interpreted within a cognitive load theory framework. It was concluded that informative illustrations are redundant and so impose an extraneous working memory load that interferes with learning to read. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This article was published online on 8th April 2009. An error was subsequently identified. This notice is included in the online and print versions to indicate that both have been corrected [3 July 2009]. [source] Coordination of staffing and pricing decisions in a service firmAPPLIED STOCHASTIC MODELS IN BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY, Issue 4 2008an A. Serel Abstract Customer demand is sensitive to the price paid for the service in many service environments. Using queueing theory framework, we develop profit maximization models for jointly determining the price and the staffing level in a service company. The models include constraints on the average waiting time and the blocking probability. We show convexity of the single-variable subproblem under certain plausible assumptions on the demand and staffing cost functions. Using numerical examples, we investigate the sensitivity of the price and the staffing level to changes in the marginal service cost and the user-specified constraint on the congestion measure. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Existential function of babies: Babies as a buffer of death-related anxietyASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Xinyue Zhou The present study examined babies as death anxiety buffers with Chinese participants in three experiments. In Experiment 1, death-related thoughts increased college-aged participants' interest in human babies. In Experiment 2, images of newborn animals reduced the number of death-related thoughts recorded by college-aged participants. In Experiment 3, female factory workers who read news articles describing deaths of babies had pessimistic estimations of their own life expectancies. An explanation of these results is provided within a terror management theory framework, with a primary focus on how babies reinforce cultural worldviews and enhance self-esteem via the notion of symbolic immortality. Thus, the anxiety-buffering function of baby is subsumed under cultural worldviews validation and self-esteem enhancement. [source] The ERA: A Brave New World of Accountability for Australian University Accounting SchoolsAUSTRALIAN ACCOUNTING REVIEW, Issue 1 2010Paul De Lange This study examines the potential impact of Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) on Australian university accounting schools through a series of in-depth interviews with Heads of Schools. Using an institutional theory framework we find that the pending introduction of the ERA has brought about changes in school structures, processes and systems. A creeping isomorphism is apparent as evidenced by a sector-wide movement towards targeting publications in highly ranked North American journals. While participants were generally positive about the overall aims of the ERA many felt that it would marginalise non-mainstream research. Furthermore, they were of the opinion that the ERA would lead to a reduction in the standing of accounting schools within Australian universities relative to other disciplines. [source] The optimal extraction of water along an arbitrarily configured river systemAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL & RESOURCE ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2009Alex Coram The fundamental problem for any scheme of water management that tries to maximise welfare across a river system is that of determining the optimal allocation at every point. The problem cannot, in general, be avoided by trading water rights because the price will not account for the effect of extraction at any one point on all other points. This article interprets the problem in terms of the indeterminacy that results from missing information on the value of water at internal junctions between rivers. It is then solved in an optimal control theory framework. [source] Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of the Room-Temperature Photoluminescence of Amorphized Pb(Zr,Ti)O3CHEMPHYSCHEM, Issue 8 2005Emmanuelle Orhan Dr. Abstract Ultrafine PbZr0.20Ti0.80O3 was amorphized through high-energy mechanical milling. The structural evolution through the amorphization process was accompanied by various characterization techniques, such as X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transformed IR spectroscopy (FTIR), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and Raman spectroscopy. A strong photoluminescence was measured at room temperature for amorphized PbZr0.20Ti0.80O3, and interpreted by means of high-level quantum mechanical calculations in the density functional theory framework. Three periodic models were used to represent the crystalline and amorphized PbZr0.20Ti0.80O3, and they allowed the calculation of electronic properties that are consistent with the experimental data and that explain the appearance of photoluminescence. [source] UV Spectra and Excitation Delocalization in DNA: Influence of the Spectral WidthCHEMPHYSCHEM, Issue 7 2005Emanuela Emanuele Abstract The singlet excited states of the model DNA duplex (dA)10.(dT)10 are studied. Calculations are performed in the exciton theory framework. Molecular dynamics calculations provide the duplex geometry. The dipolar coupling is determined using atomic transition charges. The monomer transition energies are simulated by Gaussian functions resembling the absorption bands of nucleosides in aqueous solutions. Most of the excited states are found to be delocalized over at least two bases and result from the mixing of different monomer states. Their properties are only weakly affected by conformational changes of the double helix. On average, the highest oscillator strength is carried by the upper eigenstates. The duplex absorption spectra are shifted a few nanometers to higher energies with respect to the spectra of noninteracting monomers. The states with larger spatial extent are located close to the maximum of the absorption spectrum. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||