scholarly journals Applying Q-Methodology to Investigate People’ Preferences for Multivariate Stimuli

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Gao ◽  
Alessandro Soranzo
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Decision Process ◽  
Q Methodology ◽  
Analysis Procedure ◽  
Repeated Measure ◽  
Political Sciences ◽  
Experimental Aesthetics ◽  
Multiple Variables ◽  
The Individual

This article serves as a step-by-step guide of a new application of Q-methodology to investigate people’s preferences for multivariate stimuli. Q-methodology has been widely applied in fields such as sociology, education and political sciences but, despite its numerous advantages, it has not yet gained much attention from experimental psychologists. This may be due to the fact that psychologists examining preferences, often adopt stimuli resulting from a combination of characteristics from multiple variables, and in repeated measure designs. At present, Q methodology has not been adapted to accommodate. We therefore developed a novel analysis procedure allowing Q-methodology to handle these conditions. We propose a protocol requiring five analyses of a decision process to estimate: (1) the preference of stimuli, (2) the dominance of variables, (3) the individual differences, (4) the interaction between individual differences and preference, and (5) the interaction between individual differences and dominance. The guide comes with a script developed in R (R Core Team, 2020) to run the five analyses; furthermore, we provide a case study with a detailed description of the procedure and corresponding results. This guide is particularly beneficial to conduct and analyze experiments in any research on people’s preferences, such as experimental aesthetics, prototype testing, visual perception (e.g., judgments of similarity/dissimilarity to a model), etc.

scholarly journals Kinematic Pattern of the Drag-Flick: a Case Study

2012 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Gómez ◽  
Cristina López De Subijana ◽  
Raquel Antonio ◽  
Enrique Navarro
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Angular Velocity ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
The Other ◽  
Field Hockey ◽  
Optoelectronic System ◽  
Kinematic Pattern ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Minimum Velocity

The drag-flick is more efficient than hits or pushes when a penalty corner situation is in effect in field hockey. Previous research has studied the biomechanical pattern of the drag-flick, trying to find the cues for an optimal performance. On the other hand, some other studies have examined the most effective visual pick-up of relevant information in shots and goalkeeper anticipation. The aim of this study was to analyse the individual differences in the drag-flick pattern in order to provide relevant information for goalkeepers. One female skilled drag-flicker participated in the study. A VICON optoelectronic system (Oxford Metrics, Oxford, UK) was used to capture the drag-flicks with six cameras. The results showed that the main significant differences between right and left shots (p<0.05) in the stick angles, stick minimum angular velocity and front foot-ball distance were when the front foot heel contacted the floor (T1) and at the minimum velocity of the stick, before the dragging action (T3). The findings showed that the most relevant information might be picked up at the ball-and-stick location before the dragging action.

scholarly journals Quantifying Human Subjectivity Using Q Method: When Quality Meets Quantity

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 60-79
Author(s):  
Sristi Kamal ◽  
Marcin Kocór ◽  
Małgorzata Grodzińska-Jurczak
Keyword(s):  
Q Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Data Interpretation ◽  
Interdisciplinary Studies ◽  
Private Land ◽  
Human Subjectivity ◽  
Political Sciences ◽  
Quantitative Data Analysis ◽  
Mixed Approach

Incorporating human subjectivity in applied disciplines of social sciences and other base sciences poses a challenge as the nature of qualitative data is often the point of contention. Q methodology is a tool that addresses this challenge as it helps quantify qualitative data using Q factor analysis. Initially developed for psychology and political sciences, Q methodology now finds its use in many research disciplines of science, especially in interdisciplinary studies that take into account human subjectivity. This article provides a detailed description on the various steps involved in conducting a Q study, with special emphasis on data interpretation. To describe the methodology and demonstrate data interpretation, we used data from our pilot case study of socio-ecological nature that documents attitudes of people towards nature conservation on private land. Additionally, we mention the specific usefulness of this method, highlight the potential challenges at each step of the approach, and provide practical advice to overcome them. In our opinion, Q methodology has been more restricted in its use on the ground of being a more social or psychological tool, and therefore, our aim is to familiarize researchers who could be interested in a mixed approach of joining quantitative data analysis with qualitative, in-depth interpretation with the approach at hand.

The routinization of syntagmatic associations

2020 ◽  
pp. 235-259
Author(s):  
Hans-Jörg Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual

This chapter looks at the routinization of syntagmatic associations and their cooperation with paradigmatic associations. It begins by formulating the syntagmatic-strengthening principle, which states that as syntagmatic associations between sequentially arranged elements are strengthened by repetition, the symbolic, paradigmatic, and pragmatic associations of the whole sequence are strengthened, while those of the component parts are weakened. This principle explains effects such as the phraseological tendency, collocation, lexical and lexico-grammatical chunking, idiomatization, and the emergence of complex grammatical constructions on the individual level. The remainder of the chapter deals with the whole range from small and simple (words, compounds) to large and complex utterance types (complex schematic constructions) in order to demonstrate that the routinization of syntagmatic and paradigmatic associations provides the foundation for two major principles of structure, i.e. linearity and opposition. A case study on individual differences demonstrates the effects of syntagmatic strengthening.

The Development of Language-Training Programs for Postrubella Hearing-Impaired Children

1973 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Lynch ◽  
Annette Tobin
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Treatment Programs ◽  
Individual Treatment ◽  
Target Behaviors ◽  
Systematic Fashion ◽  
Development Of Language ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Impaired Children ◽  
Hearing Impaired Children

This paper presents the procedures developed and used in the individual treatment programs for a group of preschool, postrubella, hearing-impaired children. A case study illustrates the systematic fashion in which the clinician plans programs for each child on the basis of the child’s progress at any given time during the program. The clinician’s decisions are discussed relevant to (1) the choice of a mode(s) for the child and the teacher, (2) the basis for selecting specific target behaviors, (3) the progress of each program, and (4) the implications for future programming.

‘A Routh O’ Auld Nick-Nackets’ – the antiquarian collection of John Rae

2015 ◽  
Vol 36-37 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-183
Author(s):  
Paul Taylor
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Moral Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Representative Case ◽  
National Museums ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The University

John Rae, a Scottish antiquarian collector and spirit merchant, played a highly prominent role in the local natural history societies and exhibitions of nineteenth-century Aberdeen. While he modestly described his collection of archaeological lithics and other artefacts, principally drawn from Aberdeenshire but including some items from as far afield as the United States, as a mere ‘routh o’ auld nick-nackets' (abundance of old knick-knacks), a contemporary singled it out as ‘the best known in private hands' (Daily Free Press 4/5/91). After Rae's death, Glasgow Museums, National Museums Scotland, the University of Aberdeen Museum and the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, as well as numerous individual private collectors, purchased items from the collection. Making use of historical and archive materials to explore the individual biography of Rae and his collection, this article examines how Rae's collecting and other antiquarian activities represent and mirror wider developments in both the ‘amateur’ antiquarianism carried out by Rae and his fellow collectors for reasons of self-improvement and moral education, and the ‘professional’ antiquarianism of the museums which purchased his artefacts. Considered in its wider nineteenth-century context, this is a representative case study of the early development of archaeology in the wider intellectual, scientific and social context of the era.

Drowning in negativism, self-hate, doubt, madness: Linguistic insights into Sylvia Plath’s experience of depression

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zsófia Demjén
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Medical Humanities ◽  
Sylvia Plath ◽  
Individual Experience ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
The World ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Linguistic Methods ◽  
Linguistic Approach

This paper demonstrates how a range of linguistic methods can be harnessed in pursuit of a deeper understanding of the ‘lived experience’ of psychological disorders. It argues that such methods should be applied more in medical contexts, especially in medical humanities. Key extracts from The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath are examined, as a case study of the experience of depression. Combinations of qualitative and quantitative linguistic methods, and inter- and intra-textual comparisons are used to consider distinctive patterns in the use of metaphor, personal pronouns and (the semantics of) verbs, as well as other relevant aspects of language. Qualitative techniques provide in-depth insights, while quantitative corpus methods make the analyses more robust and ensure the breadth necessary to gain insights into the individual experience. Depression emerges as a highly complex and sometimes potentially contradictory experience for Plath, involving both a sense of apathy and inner turmoil. It involves a sense of a split self, trapped in a state that one cannot overcome, and intense self-focus, a turning in on oneself and a view of the world that is both more negative and more polarized than the norm. It is argued that a linguistic approach is useful beyond this specific case.

THE ROLE OF EDUCATION ON DISASTER PREPAREDNESS CASE STUDY OF 2012 INDIAN OCEAN EARTHQUAKES ON THAILAND’S

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raya Muttarak ◽  
Wiraporn Pothisiri
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Disaster Experience ◽  
Individual Household ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
The Individual

In this paper we investigate how well residents of the Andaman coast in Phang Nga province, Thailand, are prepared for earthquakes and tsunami. It is hypothesized that formal education can promote disaster preparedness because education enhances individual cognitive and learning skills, as well as access to information. A survey was conducted of 557 households in the areas that received tsunami warnings following the Indian Ocean earthquakes on 11 April 2012. Interviews were carried out during the period of numerous aftershocks, which put residents in the region on high alert. The respondents were asked what emergency preparedness measures they had taken following the 11 April earthquakes. Using the partial proportional odds model, the paper investigates determinants of personal disaster preparedness measured as the number of preparedness actions taken. Controlling for village effects, we find that formal education, measured at the individual, household, and community levels, has a positive relationship with taking preparedness measures. For the survey group without past disaster experience, the education level of household members is positively related to disaster preparedness. The findings also show that disaster related training is most effective for individuals with high educational attainment. Furthermore, living in a community with a higher proportion of women who have at least a secondary education increases the likelihood of disaster preparedness. In conclusion, we found that formal education can increase disaster preparedness and reduce vulnerability to natural hazards.

IMF Stabilization Programs, Policy Conduct and Macroeconomic Outcomes: A Case Study of Pakistan

2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-62
Author(s):  
Nawaz A. Hakro ◽  
Wadho Waqar Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Current Account ◽  
Inflation Rate ◽  
Current Account Balance ◽  
Macroeconomic Policies ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Fiscal Balance ◽  
Macroeconomic Impacts ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Imf

This study is designed to assess the macroeconomic performance of fund-supported programs, and the sequencing and ordering of macroeconomic policies in the context of the Pakistan economy. The generalized evaluation estimator technique has been used to assess the macroeconomic impacts of the IMF supported programs. GDP growth, inflation rate, current account balance, fiscal balance and unemployment are used as the target variables in order to gauge economic performance during the program years. The vector of policy variables (that might have been adopted in the absence of programs) and the vector of foreign exogenous variables are also taken as explanatory variables in the model, so that the individual effect of the IMF supported programs could be assessed. The result suggests that as the IMF prescriptions were applied, the current account balance has worsened, the unemployment rate has significantly increased, and the inflation rate has increased during the years of fund-supported programs. Only the budget balance has shown signs of improvement. Furthermore an inadequate sequencing of reforms has contributed to the further worsening of the economic scenario during the program period.

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