A comparative study of the efficacy of intervention strategies on student electricity use in campus residence halls

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 503-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison K. Wisecup ◽  
Dennis Grady ◽  
Richard A. Roth ◽  
Julio Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Residence Halls ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Residence Hall ◽  
Intervention Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Electricity Use ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Energy Dashboard

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine whether, and how, electricity consumption by students in university residence halls were impacted through three intervention strategies. Design/methodology/approach The current investigation uses a quasi-experimental design by exposing freshman students in four matched residence halls and the use of three different interventions designed to encourage energy conservation, specifically electricity conservation. A control residence hall received no intervention. One residence hall had an energy dashboard prominently displayed. Another received various communications and programming designed to raise awareness of the need for energy conservation. A fourth residence hall had an energy dashboard and received programming. Electricity consumption among the residence halls was compared using multivariate analysis. Findings Students in all residence halls receiving interventions demonstrated significantly lower electricity consumption compared to the control residence hall. Across two years with different student populations, results were consistent: the residence hall receiving only the communications and programming, but not the dashboard, had the lowest electricity use. The residence hall with only the dashboard also demonstrated a significant but smaller decline in electricity use. Curiously, the residence hall wherein both interventions were used demonstrated the smallest decline in electricity use. Practical implications While total costs for the communications and programming are difficult to accurately assess, the results suggest that this approach is cost-effective when compared to the avoided cost of electricity and is superior in terms of electricity cost savings to both the dashboards and to the combined intervention. Results also suggest that any intervention is likely to induce a large enough electricity reduction to be cost-effective and there may be non-economic benefits as well. Originality/value This study takes advantage of the availability of four “matched” residence halls to approximate the rigor of a controlled quasi-experimental design to compare different strategies for inducing electricity consumption among freshman residents.

Cost and environmental performance of forced air and hot water heating systems in post-Soviet countries

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Begmyrat Kulmedov ◽  
Serdar Durdyev
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
High Price ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Heating Systems

PurposeThe aim of the present study is to assess the selected heating systems (furnace and boiler) commonly used in the dwellings of seven post-USSR (the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) countries. The systems were assessed in terms of their cost and environmental performance, with natural gas and electricity used as the main source of energy.Design/methodology/approachThe cost-effectiveness and environmental performance of the selected heating systems that have been commonly used in the selected post-USSR countries was assessed. Current energy (natural gas and electricity) prices that are applied in those countries were used.FindingsResults show that the furnace is the cheapest option, while natural gas is the cheapest source of energy, despite its high price in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Both heating systems could be considered eco-friendly options, although their efficiencies need to be considered at the design stage. Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which are the top natural gas producers, offer natural gas for the selected heating systems as both cost-effective and eco-friendly options.Practical implicationsA considerable reduction in electricity consumption and less harm to our environment can be achieved through the systems used in residential buildings in the region.Originality/valueThe outcomes of the present study offer value (in terms of cost-effective and eco-friendly options) for the end-users in the region.

scholarly journals Improving entrepreneurial competencies in the classroom: an extension and in-study replication

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-96
Author(s):  
Caroline E.W. Glackin ◽  
Steven E. Phelan
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Group ◽  
Experimental Design ◽  
Initial Study ◽  
Matched Pair ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Entrepreneurial Competencies ◽  
One Year ◽  
Self Replication

PurposeA recent paper by Morris et al. (2013b) presented evidence that students can develop entrepreneurial competencies through international fieldwork. This paper explores whether the same results can be developed in a traditional classroom setting.Design/methodology/approachThe study is a systematic replication of the Morris study with the addition of a matched pair, quasi-experimental design, with a self-replication. Data were collected on 13 self-reported competencies at the start of a semester from two groups using the Morris instrument. The treatment group was exposed to a curriculum designed to teach entrepreneurial competencies, and both groups were re-surveyed at the end of the semester. The process was then repeated with a different cohort, one year later, to replicate the initial study.FindingsFive competencies saw significant increases in the first treatment group. However, only three of these competencies increased more in the treatment group than the control group. In the replication study, only one competency was significantly higher in the treatment group, and that competency was not one of the original three.Practical implicationsEducators and policymakers should select a curriculum that is valid and reliable. Entrepreneurship educators and policymaker should devote more time to evaluating the effectiveness of different pedagogical techniques for improving entrepreneurial competencies.Originality/valueTo the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first studies in entrepreneurship education to undertake a matched pair, quasi-experimental design with an in-study replication. The results indicate that serious inferential errors arise if simpler designs are used, even though such designs are the norm in entrepreneurship research.

ExerStart: helping seniors be active and independent for less

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-160
Author(s):  
Patrick van Esch ◽  
Sarah Maree Duffy ◽  
James Teufel ◽  
Gavin Northey ◽  
Edward Elder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Fitness ◽  
Social Marketing ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Functional Fitness ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Marketing Program ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Within Subjects ◽  
Criterion Referenced ◽  
Cost Efficient

Purpose The purpose of this research is to examine a downstream social marketing program that slows the typical decline in functional fitness and independence of adults over 55 with particular attention to the ROI and the efficiency of the program. Design/methodology/approach Within subjects quasi-experimental design. Findings The ExerStart program is cost-efficient and effective delivering an ROI of 33 per cent. The participants of the ExerStart social marketing program significantly improved functional fitness. Further, this program demonstrates that this result may be achieved with just four exercises rather than six. Practical implications A successful, cost-effective, high-retention social marketing program is outlined for social marketers who aim to increase the functional fitness and independence of adults over 55 years. Social implications Two societal benefits, the first is that it provides direction about how to efficiently prolong the independence of adults over 55 years, and the second is that it decreases pressure and costs on the healthcare system. This may be useful for policy makers and social marketers alike. Originality/value The authors contribute to the literature in two important ways. First, this paper details a cost-effective intervention that improves the physical fitness of a significant and growing portion of the community and suggests additional considerations for future ROI calculations. Second, this paper contributes methodologically by introducing the senior fitness test (a new criterion-referenced clinically relevant physical fitness standard specifically developed for seniors).

Alcohol, Children, and Adolescents

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol J. Loveland-Cherry
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Intervention Studies ◽  
Intervention Strategies ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Major Health ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Primary Focus

Alcohol use in children and adolescents continues to be a major health concern. There is a rich literature on correlates and antecedents of alcohol use in children and adolescents, and concerted efforts have been made to develop, implement, and evaluate intervention strategies. This chapter provides a review of the intervention studies to prevent alcohol use in these groups. The interventions are categorized by their primary focus: school, family, and community. The studies were limited to those with either an experimental or a quasi-experimental design and published results.

Knowledge mobilisation in sub-Saharan Africa: an impact evaluation of CPDL in improving primary school children’s performance

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Mason ◽  
David Galloway
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
Impact Evaluation ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Knowledge Mobilisation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
The Impact

PurposeA non-governmental organisation (NGO) with schools in Sierra Leone prioritises admission of the most disadvantaged children but nevertheless achieves high educational and social standards. These schools were asked to provide continuing professional development and learning (CPDL) for other schools. This paper aims to report the design, development and delivery of CPDL which aimed to mobilise effective practices more widely. It also reports the design and results of an impact evaluation.Design/methodology/approachIt was recognised that CPDL delivered by foreigners would be (1) unaffordable in this impoverished West African country and (2) culturally inappropriate. It was therefore delivered by local teachers from the NGO's own schools. Most had obtained no formal teaching qualification. They were trained to collect data using a quasi-experimental design for an impact evaluation of children's attendance and literacy. A total of five schools participated in the CPDL, with ten control schools.FindingsA largely unqualified team succeeded in mobilising knowledge in the experimental schools. Children's attendance in experimental schools improved over that in control schools. Performance in literacy also improved significantly and was maintained at follow-up.Research limitations/implicationsFindings of the impact evaluation are seen as indicative rather than causal because a quasi-experimental study was conducted rather than a randomised controlled trial.Originality/valueThis lies in (1) teachers in schools with a severely disadvantaged intake providing a structured programme of CPDL for teachers in other schools; (2) school improvement through knowledge mobilisation in CPDL; (3) an impact evaluation with a quasi-experimental design showing improvement in children's performance.

Decompression zone deconstructed

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (11/12) ◽  
pp. 1108-1116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Otterbring
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Retail Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Actual Field ◽  
Home Goods

Purpose Researchers have hypothesized that products located at the decompression zone of a store (the entrance area where customers adjust to the retail environment) do not influence sales of these particular products, because customers do not register things that are too close to store entrances. The purpose of this paper is to examine the validity of such a decompression zone account in actual field settings, and hence investigate whether or not placing products at the store entrance would increase customers’ likelihood to purchase these products. Design/methodology/approach Two field studies with a total sample of 715 customers were conducted, in which the entrance area of a home goods store was manipulated using a two-group quasi-experimental design. In Study 1, customers were (vs were not) exposed to candles and candle holders at the store entrance. In Study 2, an employee greeted customers at the store entrance with (vs without) the store’s products nearby. Findings Study 1 found that customers who were (vs were not) exposed to candles and candle holders at the store entrance purchased a significantly larger number of both these products. Study 2 replicated and generalized these findings. Although customers in the employee + products condition spent less money than customers in the employee-alone condition, the former group still purchased a significantly larger number of candles and candle holders. These findings go directly against a decompression zone account, but are consistent with research on exposure effects. Originality/value This paper is the first to empirically examine the validity of the decompression zone account in real retail settings. The paper also fills a more general gap in the store atmospherics literature, as only a very limited number of studies have dealt with the external parts of the retail environment, such as the store entrance area.

Good idea, bad prerequisite, zero result – the meaning of context in implementing aftercare for young people in secure unit care

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 248-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Andersson Vogel ◽  
Marie Sallnäs ◽  
Tommy Lundström
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Young People ◽  
Target Group ◽  
Outcome Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Care Project ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Secure Unit

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to report results from a quasi-experimental study of outcomes of a leaving care project for youth placed in secure unit care and second, based on the (zero) results, to analyse and discuss the interplay between organisational boundaries, social work and the target group when implementing a project such as the one studied. Design/methodology/approach – The outcome study had a quasi-experimental design. The young people in the leaving care programme were compared with a matched reference group who did not get the special leaving care services. Data were collected (structured Adolescent Drug Abuse Diagnosis-interviews) when the young people entered secure units and on follow-up (registered crime and re-entry into care). Findings – The outcome study showed that the leaving care project had no effect on the young people's situation at follow-up regarding re-offending and re-entry into secure unit care. This is understood and discussed in relation to the poor implementation of the leaving care project along with an inbuilt conflict between state and local municipality that overshadowed the good intentions of the project. Research limitations/implications – The effect study has a quasi-experimental design, and hence differences between the project group and the comparison group at T1 cannot be fully precluded, although nothing is pointing in such a direction. The unclear content of the intervention makes it difficult to decode how the variation in the support given to the young people eventually impacted the results. The zero-results apply to group level, but that may not be valid for each and every one in the project. Practical implications – According to earlier research, a key person following young persons through different phases of the care trajectory may be of importance. Learning from the CoC project, one can conclude that such a key person should preferably take the role of advocate for the young person, and not be an administrator mainly concerned with coordinating other professionals. Further, when planning and financing is split between organisations, that split hinders efforts to actually mobilise support for young people leaving secure unit care. Originality/value – Few leaving care services are designed for youth with severe behavioural problems and hence, the research is scarce. This study contributes with important knowledge about leaving care interventions for the target group.

The interplay between social crowding and power on solo diners’ attitudes toward menus with popularity and scarcity cues

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 1227-1246 ◽  
Author(s):  
YooHee Hwang ◽  
Na Su ◽  
Anna Mattila
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
High Power ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Interactive Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Responses ◽  
Restaurant Managers ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Sense Of Power ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the interactive effect of social crowding and solo consumers’ sense of power on attitudes toward the restaurant menu with popularity and scarcity cues. Design/methodology/approach In total, 181 US consumers were recruited. Using a quasi-experimental design, social crowding and promotional cues on a restaurant menu were manipulated and solo consumers’ sense of power was measured. Findings Low-power individuals exhibited more favorable attitudes toward the menu with a popularity cue at a crowded restaurant. High-power individuals’ attitudes toward the menu were equally favorable across the two promotional cues and crowding levels. Practical implications Restaurant managers might want to leverage popularity cues on the menu during peak hours to appeal to solo diners. After diners indicate their dining type (alone vs with others) in kiosks and tablets, restaurants can tailor promotional cues accordingly. Restaurants can also embed more popularity cues in dinner (vs lunch) menus because dinner is more hedonic and social in nature. Originality/value This study contributes to the crowding literature by examining promotional cues on the menu and sense of power as moderators of consumer responses to crowding. This study further adds to the solo consumption literature by extending the notion of power and social crowding to ethnic dining contexts.

Influence of pre-crisis reputation and COO on diminishing a product-harm crisis

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 857-872
Author(s):  
Mukesh Kumar ◽  
Chandan Parsad ◽  
Umesh Kumar Bamel ◽  
Sanjeev Prashar ◽  
Archana Parashar
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Experimental Design ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Interactive Effect ◽  
Country Of Origin ◽  
Factorial Experimental Design ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Behavioural Intentions ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
A Company

Purpose This paper aims to report the results of an experiment undertaken to investigate the effect of country of origin (COO) in shielding the company’s image and retaining the trust and supportive behavioural intentions when it faces a crisis and the interactive effect of COO and the company’s pre-crisis reputation in shielding the company’s image. Design/methodology/approach A quasi-experimental study was undertaken to test the proposed hypotheses. Specifically, a two (pre-crisis reputation: low versus high) × two (country of origin: Indian versus Non-Indian) between-subjects factorial experimental design is configured and operationalized. Findings The results demonstrate that COO of a company fails to protect trust and supportive behaviour on its own, but, in the presence of a high pre-crisis reputation, it shields trust in the company more effectively. However, the interaction of COO and reputation does not induce supportive behaviour for the company during a crisis. Originality/value The findings of this research may help organizations to enhance trust/supportive behaviour toward their brand/company using attributes such as COO and pre-crisis reputation of the company.

Psychosocial treatment for incarcerated methamphetamine users: the Philippines experience

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-358
Author(s):  
Ma. Regina M. Hechanova ◽  
Jennel C. Reyes ◽  
Avegale C. Acosta ◽  
Antover P. Tuliao
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Life Skills ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Psychosocial Treatment ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Release Program ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate a psychosocial treatment program for prisoners incarcerated because of methamphetamine use. It compared the outcomes of prisoners who received the program while incarcerated, those who were released and received the treatment as part of community-based drug recovery program and a waitlist-control group (WC) with no treatment. Design/methodology/approach A quasi-experimental design was use with pre- and post-test surveys administered to three groups: a WC group, a pre-release treatment-while-incarcerated (TWI) group, and a post-release outpatient treatment group (OP). Surveys measured recovery skills, life skills and substance use disorder (SUD) symptoms were administered before and after the intervention. Findings Results revealed that at baseline OP and TWI had significant higher recovery skills compared to WC group. However, in terms of life skills, there was no significant difference observed among the WC, OP and TWI group at baseline. TWI had a significantly lower number of SUD symptoms compared to the WC group at baseline. As hypothesized, findings revealed significant changes in recovery and life skills among the OP and TWI group compared to the WC group. No significant change in SUD scores were observed for all groups. Research limitations/implications A major limitation of the study was the use of a quasi-experimental design because legal issues did not allow a randomized control trial. Future research using randomized controlled trial designs would provide more robust conclusions on the impact of the intervention. The study design was also limited to pre- and post-evaluation. Further studies are encouraged to look at longitudinal outcomes of appears on SUD symptoms and possibility of relapse. Practical implications Given that there were no significant differences in outcomes between OP and TWI groups, results suggest that the program may serve either as a pre- or post-release program for incarcerated drug users. However, results also suggest that completion is higher when the program is used as a pre-release program. Delivering the program prior to release also reduces challenges related to attrition including conflict in schedules and the lack of resources for transportation. Social implications The study suggests the value of psychosocial treatment as opposed to punitive approaches in dealing with drug use. In particular, delivering interventions prior to release can prepare participants for problems they may encounter during reintegration and prevent recidivism. In a country where drug-related killings are on the rise, the study presents an alternate and restorative justice approach. Originality/value The study addresses a dearth in the literature on psychosocial intervention for methamphetamine users. It also fills a vacuum in studies from developing countries such as the Philippines.

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