scholarly journals Methodological and conceptual challenges in rare and severe event forecast-verification

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Alexander Ebert ◽  
Peter Milne
Keyword(s):  
Skill Score ◽  
Forecast Verification ◽  
Avalanche Forecasting ◽  
Severe Event ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Critical Overview ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Do So

Abstract. There are distinctive methodological and conceptual challenges in rare and severe event (RSE) forecast-verification, that is, in the assessment of the quality of forecasts involving natural hazards such as avalanches or tornadoes. While some of these challenges have been discussed since the inception of the discipline in the 1880s, there is no consensus about how to assess RSE forecasts. This article offers a comprehensive and critical overview of the many different measures used to capture the quality of an RSE forecast and argues that there is only one proper skill score for RSE forecast-verification. We do so by first focusing on the relationship between accuracy and skill and show why skill is more important than accuracy in the case of RSE forecast-verification. Subsequently, we motivate three adequacy constraints for a proper measure of skill in RSE forecasting. We argue that the Peirce Skill Score is the only score that meets all three adequacy constraints. We then show how our theoretical investigation has important practical implications for avalanche forecasting by discussing a recent study in avalanche forecast-verification using the nearest neighbour method. Lastly, we raise what we call the “scope challenge" that affects all forms of RSE forecasting and highlight how and why the proper skill measure is important not only for local binary RSE forecasts but also for the assessment of different diagnostic tests widely used in avalanche risk management and related operations. Finally, our discussion is also of relevance to the thriving research project of designing methods to assess the quality of regional multi-categorical avalanche forecasts.

Early Childhood Education and Child Care in Arizona : Is Availability Alone Sufficient?

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Chapman ◽  
◽  
Margarita Pivovarova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Child Care ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Value Of Information ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Quality Rating ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Do So

With many states increasingly adopting Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) to rate their early childhood education (ECE) and child care programs, researchers question the use of these systems. Specifically, they are trying to understand the value of information provided by QRIS ratings and the implications QRIS ratings have on the quality of and access to ECE and child care programs for families. In this study, we attempt to understand the value of QRIS ratings when they are provided for families at the household level. To do so we take a close look at the relationship between availability of programs rated by the Quality Improvement and Rating System (QIRS) in Arizona and demographics of the communities they serve, and compare the utilization of the programs in communities with varying demographic compositions. While we find that more high-quality ECE and child care programs are available for children that are Hispanic, Black, and eligible for free and reduced-price lunch, we also find that families underutilized those programs. We argue that this underutilization might be due to a variety of barriers that the families are experiencing and believe that efforts should be directed to work with families and assist them in understanding their enrollment options.

scholarly journals Measuring School Climate among Japanese Students—Development of the Japan School Climate Inventory (JaSC)

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 4426
Author(s):  
Tomoko Nishimura ◽  
Manabu Wakuta ◽  
Kenji J. Tsuchiya ◽  
Yuko Osuka ◽  
Hideo Tamai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
School Climate ◽  
Junior High School ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
School Students ◽  
Behavioral Traits ◽  
Japanese Students ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Do So

School climate is a significant determinant of students’ behavioral problems and academic achievement. In this study, we developed the Japan School Climate Inventory (JaSC) to see whether it measures school climate properly. To do so, we investigated whether or not the measurement with JaSC varies across sub-groups of varying grade and of gender and examined the relationship between the perception of school climate and the psychological and behavioral traits at individual levels in a sample of Japanese elementary and junior high school students (n = 1399; grade 4–9). The results showed that the measurement was consistent, since single-factor structures, factor loadings and thresholds of the items were found not to vary across sub-groups of the participants. The participants’ perception of school climate was associated positively with quality of life, especially in school (β = 0.152, p < 0.001) and associated negatively with involvement in ijime (bullying) as “victim” and “bully/victim” (β = −0.098, p = 0.001; β = −0.188, p = 0.001, respectively) and peer relationship problems (β = −0.107, p = 0.025). JaSC was found to measure school climate consistently among varying populations of Japanese students, with satisfactory validity.

Quality of working life and career engagement of cancer survivors: the mediating role of effect of disease and treatment

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siti Raba’ah Hamzah ◽  
Siti Nur Syuhada Musa ◽  
Zulaiha Muda ◽  
Maimunah Ismail
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Survivors ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Quality Of Working Life ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This study aims at investigating the relationship between the quality of working life and career engagement of cancer survivors and the mediating role of the effect of disease and treatment. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 cancer survivors in Malaysia. The participants, aged between 18 and 40, were Malaysian citizens undergoing follow-up sessions at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital and the National Cancer Institute of Malaysia. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and regression analysis that implemented Baron and Kenny’s method for mediation were used for analyses. Findings The effect of treatment and disease was found to significantly mediate the relationship between quality of work-life and career engagement of cancer survivors. Research limitations/implications The instrument for this study was a self-reported questionnaire, with participants responding to specific items on a five-point Likert scale under the supervision of the researchers. As results from the survey were subjective in nature, the bias in the participants could not be eliminated completely. This study was also limited to the two main parameters, namely, quality of working life and career engagement and a mediator, namely, effects of the disease and treatment. Moreover, as the survey was conducted in only two hospitals in the Klang Valley area, the results cannot be generalized to other cancer survivors in other regions of Malaysia. Practical implications The results of this study indicated that the mediating role of the effects of disease and treatment on the relationship of the quality of working life subscales with career engagement. Practical implications, cancer survivor consciousness of the effects of disease and treatment is very important and should be addressed and could be notable to improve the quality of working life. Originality/value This study gives valuable insight to managers and practitioners by investigating the relationship between the quality of working life and career engagement and mediates by the effects of disease and treatment. The findings highlight the challenges cancer survivors face on their return to working life. The findings also highlight the need for management to take steps to help cancer survivors cope with career engagement for better work performance.

Contrasting quality of service experience for northern and southern Mediterranean tourists

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walesska Schlesinger ◽  
Amparo Cervera ◽  
Carmen Pérez-Cabañero
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Service ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Service Experience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Peace Of Mind ◽  
Tourist Destinations ◽  
Southern Mediterranean ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Do So

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine quality of service experience as reported by tourists in seven northern and southern Mediterranean cities. Design/methodology/approach – A self-report study was used to gather data from 1,362 tourists. Once validity of Otto and Ritchie’s (1996) scale had been confirmed, ANOVA and the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test were used to analyse the data. Findings – Tourists in all destinations highlighted the importance of the dimension peace of mind. Significant differences between tourists in the northern Mediterranean and those in the southern Mediterranean were observed in two quality of service experience dimensions: hedonics and involvement. Research limitations/implications – Although the sample was large, this study’s scope was limited to seven Mediterranean tourist cities. Further research is therefore required to generalize findings to other Mediterranean tourist destinations. Practical implications – Knowledge about quality of service experience dimensions may help tourism managers innovate and improve services. Tourists perceive northern Mediterranean destinations differently from destinations in the southern Mediterranean. Tourists report high tourist involvement in northern destinations, whereas in the south, tourists emphasize destinations’ hedonic features. These implications are also valuable for European policymakers. Originality/value – The study compared quality of service experience in northern and southern Mediterranean tourist destinations. To do so, it analysed a sample of 1,362 tourists from seven Mediterranean cities. This research is the first to analyse quality of service experience in the Mediterranean.

Corporate disclosure of human capital via LinkedIn and ownership structure

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Pisano ◽  
Luigi Lepore ◽  
Rita Lamboglia
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Ownership Structure ◽  
Ownership Concentration ◽  
Quantitative Methodology ◽  
Corporate Disclosure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Stock Of Knowledge ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between ownership concentration and human capital (HC) disclosure released via LinkedIn. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a quantitative methodology. The sample is composed of 150 European companies. Content analysis was used to examine HC disclosure via LinkedIn. Regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis. Findings The results indicate that ownership concentration negatively influences HC disclosure via LinkedIn, confirming that closely held firms have little motivation to voluntarily release information. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of this study relates to the sample size. Furthermore, this study investigates only the quantity of HC disclosure; it does not consider the quality of this information. Practical implications The typical ownership structure of European firms generates a force that opposes the growing pressure for internationalization and global transparency. This important issue needs to be considered in investor decisions, HC management and reporting and in setting accounting standards. Moreover, the study points out that, despite the potential opportunities provided by LinkedIn to build and enforce relationships with their stakeholders, companies mainly use LinkedIn for recruitment purposes. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on HC disclosure because it is, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first study that exclusively examines HC disclosure by European companies via LinkedIn and because it develops a disclosure index that includes items concerning the stock of knowledge and capabilities of employees in addition to the practices in human resource management.

scholarly journals Quantity and diversity: Simulating early word learning environments

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica L. Montag ◽  
Michael N. Jones ◽  
Linda B. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
School Achievement ◽  
Lexical Diversity ◽  
Critical Measure ◽  
The Many ◽  
Large Corpus ◽  
Do So

The words in children’s language learning environments are strongly predictive of cognitive development and school achievement. But how do we measure language environments and do so at the scale of the many words that children hear day-in and day-out? The quantity and quality of words in a child’s input is typically measured in terms of total amount of talk and the lexical diversity in that talk. There are disagreements in the literature whether amount or diversity is the more critical measure of the input. Here we analyze the properties of a large corpus (6.5 million words) of speech to children and simulate learning environments that differ in amount of talk per unit time, lexical diversity, and the contexts of talk. The central conclusion is that what researchers need to theoretically understand, measure, and change is not the total amount of words, or the diversity of words, but the function that relates total words to the diversity of words, and how that function changes across different contexts of talk.

scholarly journals Kultura organizacyjna jako moderator związków pomiędzy zaufaniem organizacyjnym a jego determinantami i następstwami

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-196
Author(s):  
Lech Górniak ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Organizational Trust ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Industry Type ◽  
Type Size ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Do So

The paper includes analysis of the results of field studies conducted among employees of 20 organizations (N=601). The analyses were aimed at determining the impact of organizational culture has on the relationships between the “soft” (psychological and social) factors that characterize them. In particular the impact of organizational culture was considered on the relationship between the antecedents and outcomes of organizational trust. The statistical method used was moderation analysis (Hayes, 2018). The studies were based on a questionnaire that included 13 scales as measures for the variables considered. The analyses provides two main conclusions. The first is for researchers dealing with the soft aspects of the organization’s functioning, especially those related to the role of trust in the organization. The second is addressed to practitioners and relates to the quality of knowledge on employee management. The conclusion for the researchers concerns the need to take into account the specificity of a given organization when describing organizational phenomena. This concerns the tacit factors that go beyond the standard characteristics (industry type, size of the organization, number of employees, etc.), in particular those aspects of the organizational culture related to organizational trust. The failure to do so may lead to inadequate advice for executives regarding the methods used to develop the organization’s potential. The conclusion for practitioners is the need to pay attention to how employees perceive the organizational culture of their company. The omission of this fact may adversely affect the strategy of building a climate of trust, which can lead to a decrease in teamwork quality and a reduction in the superior-subordinate relationship.

scholarly journals Corpo, subjetividade e o discurso da saúde: ensaio para profissionais de campo

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-92
Author(s):  
Josiane Cristina Bocchi
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Medical Specialties ◽  
Calidad De Vida ◽  
Concept Of Health ◽  
Health And Illness ◽  
Health Discourse ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Do So

Resumo As narrativas estéticas estão presentes nas práticas de saúde e são acompanhadas pela ênfase na alimentação saudável e na qualidade de vida. Mas se somos levados a consumir formas de vida saudável, por que tantas pessoas se sentem cada vez mais doentes? Este ensaio discute a produção desse discurso no campo da saúde e os impactos das noções de saúde e de alimentação na subjetividade atual. A saúde torna-se sinônimo de prevenção, longevidade e boa forma. Ela tem sido usada como categoria de normatividade social. Existem relações de poder inerentes a essa concepção de saúde, que geram uma hipocondria na relação entre representações de saúde e de doença. Consequentemente, temos uma medicalização dos corpos e possível reedição de um higienismo, autorizado pelo saber das especialidades médicas. Tudo em nome da boa saúde.Palavras-chave: Saúde. Corpo. Subjetividade. Alimentação Saudável. Body, subjectivity and health discourse: an essay for field professionals Abstract Aesthetic narratives are present in health practices and are accompanied by an emphasis on healthy eating and quality of life. But if we are driven to consume healthy ways of living, why do so many people feel increasingly sick? This essay discusses the production of this discourse in the field of health and the impacts of notions of health and food on current subjectivity. Health becomes synonymous with prevention, longevity and fitness. It has been used as a category of social normativity. There are power relations inherent to this concept of health, which generate hypochondria in the relationship between representations of health and illness. Consequently, we have a medicalization of bodies and a possible reissue of hygienism, authorized by the knowledge of medical specialties. All in the name of good health.Keywords: Health. Body. Subjectivity. Healthy Eating. Cuerpo, subjetividad y el discurso de la salud: ensayos para profesionales de campo  Resumen Las narrativas estéticas están presentes en las prácticas de salud y vienen acompañadas por el énfasis en la alimentación saludable y en la calidad de vida. Pero si somos inducidos a consumir formas de vida saludable, ¿por qué tanta gente se siente cada vez más enferma? Este ensayo discute la producción de ese discurso en el campo de la salud y los impactos de las nociones de salud y de alimentación en la subjetividad actual. La salud se torna sinónimo de prevención, longevidad y buena forma. Esta ha sido usada como categoría de normatividad social. Existen relaciones de poder inherentes a esa concepción de salud, que generan una hipocondría en la relación entre representaciones de salud y de enfermedad. Consecuentemente, tenemos una medicalización de los cuerpos y posible reedición de un higienismo, autorizado por el saber de las especialidades médicas. Todo en nombre de la buena salud.Palabras clave: Salud. Cuerpo. Subjetividad. Alimentación Saludable.

Demographic variables as moderators between QWL and OCB

2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 396-408
Author(s):  
Mohit Yadav ◽  
Santosh Rangnekar ◽  
Anugamini Priya Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Citizenship ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
Quality Of Work Life ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Process ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of quality of work life (QWL) on organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) of employees. Also, the paper examines the role of demographic variables, i.e. gender, position and type of organization as moderators of relationship between QWL and OCB. Design/methodology/approach A survey with sample of 375 was used in this study. PROCESS tool by Hayes (2013) was used to analyze the relation between QWL, OCB and demographic variables. Findings QWL was found to positively influence OCB. Gender and type of organization were found to moderate the relationship, whereas position failed to moderate the relation significantly. Practical implications The study reinforced the significance of QWL practices by organizations to improve extra-role behaviours of employees. Also, importance of considering gender and the industry you are in is emphasized in using and designing the QWL programme for employees. Originality/value While many antecedents have been studied in relation to OCB, QWL is rarely discussed. The paper attempts to reemphasize QWL’s importance in doing so in light of demographic variables as moderators.

The Mis-shapen Pearl: Morris, Handel, Milton, and L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato

2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-217
Author(s):  
Rachel Duerden
Keyword(s):  
World View ◽  
Dance Music ◽  
Middle Way ◽  
Key Characteristics ◽  
John Eliot ◽  
Being There ◽  
The Many ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Do So

Mark Morris's L'Allegro, Il Penseroso ed Il Moderato (1988), embodies ideas about how to live a good life. L'Allegro is unusual in that it is a full evening-length work, yet has no through-narrative; it has characters and action, but these change in each of the many individual sections. However, together these embody a dialogue – really a three (or four or even five)-way discussion between poet, composer and choreographer about the best way to live. The relationship between dance, music and text, and the implied conversation across the centuries between Milton, Handel, Jennens and Morris, offer insights into the way such layering of creativity can illuminate our engagement with art. As in so much of Mark Morris's work, the relationship of choreography and music is of paramount importance, and this will form the main focus of the discussion here. Handel's secular oratorio of 1740 is itself a setting of John Milton's companion poems, L'Allegro and Il Penseroso (1631), which explicitly explore through debate the relative merits of different approaches to life. Handel's musical setting includes an additional ‘voice’ in the debate: Il Moderato, words by Handel's librettist Charles Jennens, offering a ‘middle way’, or ‘18th century balance’, as John Eliot Gardiner has it (1980:16). 1 For the purposes of this essay I focus chiefly on the dialogue between dance and music as manifest in a few ‘moments’, with reference also at times to the poetry and its rhythms. In this, I am guided by theories of art as embodiment as expounded by Paul Crowther. When we engage with art, we do so in the fullest sense of perceptual, that is, with our whole, embodied selves. Art, as the embodiment of ideas, does not teach us anything specific about the artist or his/her world, but it does reveal something of the world-view of the artist as an embodied being. There is thus the potential for empathy, and imaginative engagement; we are not passive consumers but active reciprocal participants. Through close reading of a few short examples drawn from the work, I employ structural analysis to examine music-dance relationships, referring also from time to time to the poetry, which itself reflects key characteristics of both choreography and music. These examples show how dance, music and poetry manifest characteristics that are suggestive of similar perspectives on life, both individually and in relationship with one another. John Creaser, writing of Milton's poems, observes that they embody a sophisticated and resilient playfulness conveyed through verbal nuance and rhythmic buoyancy, a revelation of temperament and sensibility rather than an exploration of ideals. (Creaser 2001:377)

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