Stair safety: bottom of flight illusion

Falls near the bottom of a flight of stairs have resulted from an illusion that the person was stepping off onto the bottom landing when the person was still two treads or more above the landing. The illusion is caused by poor lighting and design defects built into the stairway. The poor lighting may be attributed to a building code that allows inadequate lighting near the bottom of external stairs in private residences. The design defect of truncating handrails before they reach the bottom tread may be due to confusion between "guards" and "handrails" and this confusion also appears to be promulgated by building code.     

Validity of The Party Exercise for Determining Holland Codes

The Party exercise, found on many career guidance websites and published annually in the best‐selling job‐hunting book What Color Is Your Parachute? (Bolles, 2020), claims to provide a quick and easy way to determine a person's Holland RIASEC (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional) code. We examined whether this commonly used exercise indeed accurately predicts Holland codes. Undergraduate students (324 women, 147 men) responded to The Party exercise and then the Self‐Directed Search (Holland & Messer, 2013). Results indicated that The Party exercise has some ability to predict some RIASEC types. However, the results do not support use of this popular exercise in lieu of a career assessment measure that has well‐established validity.     

Testing the validity of social capital measures in the study of information and communication technologies

Social capital has been considered a cause and consequence of various uses of new information and communication technologies (ICTs). However, there is a growing divergence between how social capital is commonly measured in the study of ICTs and how it is measured in other fields. This departure raises questions about the validity of some of the most widely cited studies of social capital and ICTs. We compare the Internet Social Capital Scales (ISCS) developed by Williams [2006. On and off the ’net: scales for social capital in an online era. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(2), 593–628. doi: 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00029.x] – a series of psychometric scales commonly used to measure ‘social capital’ – to established, structural measures of social capital: name, position, and resource generators. Based on a survey of 880 undergraduate students (the population to which the ISCS has been most frequently administered), we find that, unlike structural measures, the ISCS does not distinguish between the distinct constructs of bonding and bridging social capital. The ISCS does not have convergent validity with structural measures of bonding or bridging social capital; it does not measure the same concept as structural measures. The ISCS conflates social capital with the related constructs of social support and attachment. The ISCS does not measure perceived or actual social capital. These findings raise concerns about the interpretations of existing studies of ‘social capital’ and ICTs that are based on the ISCS. Given the absence of measurement validity, we urge those studying social capital to abandon the ISCS in favor of alternative approaches.     

The Relationship Between Aggression and the Big Five Personality Factors in Predicting Academic Success

The focus of this study was to determine whether aggression adds incremental validity above and beyond the Big Five personality factors in predicting grades. An archival data analysis was used in this study. The data consisted of a sample of eighth grade students. The students completed the Personal Style Inventory Adolescent (PSI-A), which is a 120-item survey instrument designed to measure the Big Five personality factors and aggression. Results indicated that aggression does add incremental validity above and beyond the Big Five. The results also indicated that the Big Five were significantly correlated with academic performance. When aggression was added into the statistical model, conscientiousness, openness and aggression were significantly correlated with grades.     

Gambling Screens: Does Shortening the Time Frame Affect their Psychometric Properties?

Gambling screening tools such as the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) and a DSM-IV Screen for Gambling Problems (NODS) developed by the National Opinion Research Council have psychometrically validated lifetime and past-year versions. As research questions often dictate shorter time intervals, researchers have adapted the time frames of these instruments to their specific purposes without examining whether changing the time frame affects the psychometric properties. In this study, 3-month versions of SOGS and NODS were administered to a sample of 80 pathological gamblers (59 men, 21 women, mean age 44) seeking treatment at a state-funded facility. The 3-months versions had good internal consistency, good convergent validity with each other, with gambling behaviors assessed via the timeline followback method, and with measures of impulsivity. The 3-month versions also showed good discriminant validity with demographic variables and a measure of verbal IQ. Together the data indicate that shortening the time frame to 3 months does not seem to have adverse effects on the psychometric properties of SOGS and NODS. Thus these adapted versions could profitably be used for shorter time intervals, including as pre/post-treatment and follow-up measures in treatment outcome studies.     

Using face validity to recognize empirical community observations

There is a growing interest among international planning scholars to explore community participation in the plan making process from a qualitative research approach. In this paper the research assessment tool “face validity” is discussed as one way to help planners decipher when the community is sharing empirically grounded observations that can advance the applicability of the plan making process. Face validity provides a common sense assessment of research conclusions. It allows the assessor to look at an entire research project and ask: “on the face of things, does this research make sense?” With planners listening to citizen comments with an ear for face validity observations, holds open the opportunity for government to empirically learn from the community to see if they “got it right.” And if not, to chart out a course on how they can get it right.     

Construction and Validation of the Touch Experiences and Attitudes Questionnaire (TEAQ): A Self-report Measure to Determine Attitudes Toward and Experiences of Positive Touch

Despite growing interest in the beneficial effects of positive touch experiences throughout our lives, and individual differences in how these experiences are perceived, there is not yet available a contemporary self-report measure of touch experiences and attitudes, for which the factor structure has been validated. This article describes four studies carried out during the construction and validation of the Touch Experiences and Attitudes Questionnaire (TEAQ). The original TEAQ, containing 117 items relating to positive touch experiences was systematically constructed. Principal component analysis reduced this measure to 57 items and identified six components relating to touch experiences during childhood and adult experiences relating to current intimate touch and touch with friends and family. Three attitudinal components were identified relating to attitude to intimate touch, touch with unfamiliar people, and self-care. The structure of this questionnaire was confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis carried out on data obtained from a second sample. Good concurrent and predictive validity of the TEAQ compared to other physical touch measures currently available was identified. Known-group validity in terms of gender, marital status and age was determined, with expected group differences identified. This study demonstrates the TEAQ to have good face validity, internal consistency, construct validity in terms of discriminant validity, known-group validity and convergent validity, and criterion-related validity in terms of predictive validity and concurrent validity. We anticipate this questionnaire will be a valuable tool for the field of physical touch research.     

Reflective Listening in Heraclitus

To provide authentic language use situations for classroom activities, videotaped materials have been introduced in teaching and learning settings. In language testing, these materials raise our expectations about the potential usefulness to measure academic listening ability of non-native speakers of English. In spite of this apparent superior authenticity of a videotape formatted listening test (VFLT), much more theoretical justification and experimental research are needed to support the usefulness of VFLTs. The purpose of this study was to investigate validity evidence for the VFLT usefulness as a measure of academic lecture listening ability. Validity evidence was assessed with 83 ESL students enrolled at a midwestern university. Concurrent validity evidence, empirical item analysis, and experimental manipulation were tested. Analysis of the test results provided convincing support of the validity evidence of the VFLT. Moreover, the strong relationship between test performance and aspects of authentic and interactive tasks in the VFLT provides a justification for revision of test method facets in conventional ESL listening tests.     

Measuring community connectedness among diverse sexual minority populations

Theory and research agree that connectedness to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community is an important construct to account for in understanding issues related to health and well-being among gay and bisexual men. However, the measurement of this construct among lesbian and bisexual women or racial and ethnic minority individuals has not yet been adequately investigated. This study examined the reliability and validity of an existing measure of connectedness to the LGBT Community among a diverse group of sexual minority individuals in New York City, and whether differences in connectedness existed across gender and race or ethnicity. Scores on the measure demonstrated both internal consistency and construct stability across subgroups defined by gender and race or ethnicity. The subgroups did not differ in their mean levels of connectedness, and scores on the measure demonstrated factorial, convergent, and discriminant validity, both generally and within each of the subgroups. Inconsistencies were observed with regard to which scores on the measure demonstrated predictive validity in their associations with indicators of mental health and well-being. The scale is a useful tool for researchers and practitioners interested in understanding the role of community connectedness in the lives of diverse populations of sexual minority individuals.     

Women's Scores on the Sexual Inhibition/Sexual Excitation Scales (SIS/SES): Gender Similarities and Differences

Theory and research agree that connectedness to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community is an important construct to account for in understanding issues related to health and well-being among gay and bisexual men. However, the measurement of this construct among lesbian and bisexual women or racial and ethnic minority individuals has not yet been adequately investigated. This study examined the reliability and validity of an existing measure of connectedness to the LGBT Community among a diverse group of sexual minority individuals in New York City, and whether differences in connectedness existed across gender and race or ethnicity. Scores on the measure demonstrated both internal consistency and construct stability across subgroups defined by gender and race or ethnicity. The subgroups did not differ in their mean levels of connectedness, and scores on the measure demonstrated factorial, convergent, and discriminant validity, both generally and within each of the subgroups. Inconsistencies were observed with regard to which scores on the measure demonstrated predictive validity in their associations with indicators of mental health and well-being. The scale is a useful tool for researchers and practitioners interested in understanding the role of community connectedness in the lives of diverse populations of sexual minority individuals.     

THE LAW OF GENIUS AND HOME RUNS REFUTED

In a lively, provocative article, DeVany claims inter alia that the size distribution of home runs follows a continuous "power law" distribution which is nested in a larger class of "stable" statistical distributions characterized by an infinite variance. He uses this putative fact about the size distribution of home runs to argue that concern about the use of steroids to enhance home run ability is necessarily misplaced. In this article, we show that the initial claim is false and argue that the subsequent claim about the potential importance of steroid use does not follow from the first. We also show that the method used to establish that the size distribution of home runs is characterized by an infinite variance is unreliable and will find evidence "consistent" with infinite variance in all but the most trivial of data sets generated by processes with finite variance. Despite a large and growing literature that spans several fields and uses methods and arguments similar to DeVany's, we argue that mere inspection of the unconditional distribution of some human phenomenon is unlikely to yield much insight. ( JEL C16, L83)     

A Psychometric Comparison of Three Scales and a Single-Item Measure to Assess Sexual Satisfaction

This study was designed to systematically compare and contrast the psychometric properties of three scales developed to measure sexual satisfaction and a single-item measure of sexual satisfaction. The Index of Sexual Satisfaction (ISS), Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction (GMSEX), and the New Sexual Satisfaction Scale–Short (NSSS-S) were compared to one another and to a single-item measure of sexual satisfaction. Conceptualization of the constructs, distribution of scores, internal consistency, convergent validity, test-retest reliability, and factor structure were compared between the measures. A total of 211 men and 214 women completed the scales and a measure of relationship satisfaction, with 33% (n = 139) of the sample reassessed two months later. All scales demonstrated appropriate distribution of scores and adequate internal consistency. The GMSEX, NSSS-S, and the single-item measure demonstrated convergent validity. Test-retest reliability was demonstrated by the ISS, GMSEX, and NSSS-S, but not the single-item measure. Taken together, the GMSEX received the strongest psychometric support in this sample for a unidimensional measure of sexual satisfaction and the NSSS-S received the strongest psychometric support in this sample for a bidimensional measure of sexual satisfaction.     

THE INFLUENTIALS: BACK TO THE CONCEPT OF OPINION LEADERS?

The concept of opinion leadership has been related to a lingeringtheoretical and methodological debate. The present study examinesa new measure to identify opinion leaders (the Strength of PersonalityScale) developed by the Allensbach Survey Center in Germany.The results of applying this measure in Germany and Israel allowedthe testing of its validity and efficiency. The findings, however,do not suggest that the influentials identified by this scaleare opinion leaders according to the original conceptualization,but fit better the more sophisticated characterization of opinionleadership that stemmed from modifications of the original conceptof opinion leaders.     

The use of self-generated identification codes in longitudinal research

Longitudinal research designs involve data collection at multiple time points to measure change over time. Therefore, identification of the same respondents is essential at each time point so that data from the same respondents can be matched for comparison over time. Subject-generated identification codes permit an anonymous means to track respondents over multiple data collection points. This article describes the evolution of subject-generated identification codes, techniques to improve respondent match rates, and the authors' experience using this mechanism in a longitudinal study of staff registered nurses working in hospitals. Challenges, recommendations, and implications for using subject-generated identification codes are discussed.     

FAMILY GOAL RECORDING: AN ADAPTATION OF GOAL ATTAINMENT SCALING FOR ENHANCING FAMILY THERAPY AND ASSESSMENT*

Family Goal Recording is proposed as a systemic approach for measuring change in the presenting concerns of couples and families. This paper describes the procedures for using Family Goal Recording as an outcome measure for family therapy and a device to enhance goal attainment. In addition, the results of an initial study on the reliability and validity of this method are presented.     

Evaluating a Measure of Student Field Performance in Direct Service

This study examines the reliability and validity of a measure to evaluate student field performance. Results demonstrated a consistent factor structure with excellent internal consistency, however, there was inadequate consistency between ratings of individual students in their first and second field education experiences. The measure had some predictive validity in that it could differentiate between students identified as having difficulty in Year 1 of the program, but not in Year 2. Scores were significantly associated with academic grades. Implications for future instrument development and the process of evaluation are considered.     

MEDIA FRAMINGS OF THE ISSUE OF TURKISH ACCESSION TO THE EU

Recent empirical research has argued that there is a movement towards a Europeanized public sphere in the European Union. Based on a representative sample from the British, French, Slovenian, Turkish, and US-American press, this article explores via a novel content analytic method that codes frames semi-automatically through keywords, in how far the discourses about the proposed accession of Turkey to the EU approximate a European public sphere. The findings show that discourses do not fulfill basic standards of democratic deliberation: Not only are there vast differences in the intensity of the debates, but the distribution of the main frames that structure the discourse – a "clash of civilizations" between "Islamic Turkey" and "Christian Europe" on the one hand versus a liberal-multiculturalist project that unifies different civilizations under one political roof on the other – are differently distributed across the countries surveyed. The actual manifestations frames vary by country. All frames employed also consider collectivities rather than individuals the major parties of the discourse, a conception that runs against the tenets of rational-democratic deliberations.     

MEASURING AGGREGATE RELIGIOSITY IN THE UNITED STATES, 1952–2005

I present a method for measuring aggregate religiosity. The method allows one to combine many indicators of religiosity, even if the indicators measure only a portion of religiosity, or if the indicators are not measured every year of the series. I demonstrate the method by measuring aggregate religiosity of the US population from 1952 through 2005. The results show the sharp rise in religiosity during the 1950s, the decline beginning in the 1960s, and the slower decline since the 1970s. I present evidence of content and convergent validity of this new index.     

Assessing the validity of a single-item HIV risk stage-of-change measure

This study examined the validity of a single-item measure of HIV risk stage of change that HIV prevention contractors were required to collect by the California State Office of AIDS. The single-item measure was compared to the more conventional University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA). Participants were members of Los Angeles County-defined behavioral risk groups recruited from a mobile HIV testing program (N = 123). The study found low correspondence between participants' stage of change on the single-item and the URICA, suggesting that they do not assess the same construct, and that the single item may not provide a valid measure. The current data suggests that the single-item measure should be revised or abandoned in favor of more conventional stage-of-change measures.     

Functional capacity evaluation: Ecological validity of three static endurance tests

Functional Capacity Evaluation's (FCE's) are designed to measure the functional capacity of injured workers. Static endurance tests are integrated aspects of FCE's. Little is known about the validity of the tests. In this study, three static endurance tests (overhead work, crouching and kneeling) of the Isernhagen Work Systems FCE are studied for ecological validity. By manipulating the environment in an experiment using three different conditions (normal, loud noise, high production requirement), the ecological validity of the tests was investigated. Results: the different conditions did not seem to influence the holding times, the perceived exertion and the productivity of the subjects. The results are discussed and it is concluded that the three static endurance tests meet conditions of ecological validity. In order to be able to state that the tests of the IWS FCE are ecologically valid, more research is needed to enable a generalization.