Moral psychology from the lab to the wild: Relief registries as a paradigm for studying real-world altruism

Experimental psychology’s recent shift toward low-effort, high-volume methods (e.g.,self-reports, online studies) and away from the more effortful study of naturalistic behavior raises concerns about the ecological validity of findings from these fields, concerns that have become particularly apparent in the field of moral psychology. To help address these concerns, we introduce a paradigm allowing researchers to investigate an important, widespread form of altruistic behavior – charitable donations – in a manner balancing competing concerns about internal validity, ecological validity, and ease of implementation: relief registries, which leverage existing online gift registry platforms to allow research subjects to choose among highly neededdonation items to ship directly to charitable organizations. Here, we demonstrate the use of relief registries in two experiments exploring the ecological validity of the finding from our own research that people are more willing to help others after having imagined themselves doing so. In this way, we sought to provide a blueprint for researchers seeking to enhance the ecological validity of their own research in a narrow sense (i.e., by using the relief registry paradigm we introduce) and in broader terms by adapting paradigms that take advantage of modern technology to directly impact others’ lives outside the lab.

The Scale of Quantitative Assessment Adherence to Treatment «QAA-25»: Updating of Formulations, Constructive and Factor Validity and a Measure of Consent

Aim: To update the definitions of selected questions of the "QAA-25" (quantitative adherence assessment) scale and evaluate it according to the criteria of validity and measure of agreement.Materials and Methods. In a descriptive cross-sectional study including 200 patients with coronary heart disease, adherence was determined using traditional and alternative versions of selected questions of the QAA-25 scale, followed by assessment of construct validity, factor validity, and measure of agreement.Results. Alternative question versions did not significantly affect test results, with 81% of respondents in the outpatient sample and 69% in the inpatient sample rating them as "more acceptable." The QAA-25 scale has good construct and internal validity (α – 0.818, αst – 0.832), with moderate agreement (κ – 0.562) and demonstrates high reliability of internal validity – when scale items are consistently excluded, α values remain in the 0.801-0.839 range.Conclusion. The QAA-25 scale with modified question definitions should be used instead of the previous version of the scale. Good construct validity and factor validity, sufficient measure of agreement and specificity, high sensitivity and reliability of the QAA-25 scale allow to recommend it as a tool for assessing adherence to drug therapy, medical support, lifestyle modification and integral adherence to treatment in scientific and clinical practice.

An Empirical Validation of the Regression Point Displacement Design Using Within-Study Comparison Logic: Emerging Possibilities and Cautions

Background The regression point displacement (RPD) design is a quasi-experiment (QE) that aims to control many threats to internal validity. Though it has existed for several decades, RPD has only recently begun to answer applied research questions in lieu of stronger QEs. Objectives Our primary objective was to implement within-study comparison (WSC) logic to create RPD replicates and to determine conditions under which RPD might provide estimates comparable to those found in validating experiments. Research Design We utilize three randomized controlled trials (two cluster-level, one individual-level), artificially decomposing or creating cluster structures, to create multiple RPDs. We compare results in each RPD treatment group to a fixed set of control groups to gauge the congruence of these repeated RPD realizations with results found in these three RCTs. Results RPD’s performance was uneven. Using multiple criteria, we found that RPDs successfully predicted the direction of the RCT’s intervention effect but inconsistently fell within the .10 SD threshold. A scant 13% of RPD results were statistically significant at either the .05 or .01 alpha-level. RPD results were within the 95% confidence interval of RCTs around half the time, and false negative rates were substantially higher than false positive rates. Conclusions RPD consistently underestimates treatment effects in validating RCTs. We analyze reasons for this insensitivity and offer practical suggestions to improve the chances RPD will correctly identify favorable results. We note that the synthetic, “decomposition of cluster RCTs,” WSC design represents a prototype for evaluating other QEs.

Survival of Patients on Maintenance Hemodialysis Base on Comorbidity of Cardiovascular Disease in Persahabatan Central General Hospital 2015-2019

Chronic kidney disease is the progressive loss of kidney function over months or years. The significant increase in new cases of chronic kidney disease is in line with the increasing number of patients undergoing hemodialysis as kidney replacement therapy in an effort to survive. Comorbid cardiovascular disease is a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality with chronic kidney disease. The study was conducted to determine the survival of hemodialysis patients in the group with comorbid cardiovascular disease and the group without comorbid cardiovascular disease. This study used a retrospective cohort design. The location of this study was conducted at Persahabatan Central Public Hospital, DKI Jakarta, and used secondary data from the hospital information system data from 2015 to 2019. The variables significantly related to the survival of patients undergoing hemodialysis with comorbid cardiovascular disease were age, complications of anemia, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. The age variable has a p-value of 0.029 with an HR of 1.54 (95% CI OR 1.043-2.262). The anemia variable has a p-value of 0.013 with an HR of 1.60 (95% CI 1.117-2.515). The diabetes mellitus variable has a p-value of 0.000 with HR2.71 (95% CI 1.780-4.11). The hypertension variable has a p-value of 0.004 with HR1.79 (95% CI 1.208-2.646). In conclusion, patients undergoing hemodialysis with comorbid cardiovascular disease have a risk of death of 0.76 times compared to patients undergoing hemodialysis with the comorbid non-cardiovascular disease. This study's internal validity was not good due to selection bias and non-differential misclassification information bias. Thus, the results of this study cannot be generalized.

MARKETING ENDORSEMENT STRATEGY IN BATIK KAMPUS: ISLAMIC BUSINESS ETHICS PERSPECTIVE

This research aims to describe the problem of endorsement as a marketing strategy for Batik Kampus Online Shop Buaran Pekalongan from the perspective of Islamic business ethics. The approach used in this research is phenomenology. The research location is in Buaran Pekalongan precisely on Jl. Pelita II, No. 54, Jenggot Gang 4. Sources and data collection techniques in this study using semi-structured interviews, participatory observation, and documentation. Internal validity is done using triangulation, emic and member checking. Data analysis using reduction, display and drawing conclusions. The results of this study concluded that the endorsement marketing strategy carried out by Batik Kampus via Instagram and telegram contained two types of endosers, namely testimonials and celebrity appeal. Endorsement as a Kampus Batik marketing strategy in terms of Islamic Business Ethics as a whole on social media. The products that Batik Kampus promote are not exaggerating and in accordance with Islamic Sharia principles. Products that are traded include products that are polite and cover the body. The use of endorsement as a marketing strategy by Batik Kampus has had a significant positive impact as evidencing by the increased sales turnover and the increase in admins who help him in online business in the market place and proven by the assets owned by Moh. Abdul Ghoni. Kampus Batik services are very fast, friendly and accept dropshipping or packaging which can make it easier for buyers to buy and resell Batik Kampus products to consumers directly.

Polish adaptation The State Self-Forgiveeness Scale

The aim of the presented study was to Polish version of The State Self-Forgiveness Scale (Wohl i in., 2008) – Skala Epizodycznego Przebaczenia Sobie. The scale is used to assess self-forgiveness after wrongdoing towards self and other persons. The scale consists of 17 items and two subscales describing feelings and actions as well as beliefs towards oneself, which are to lead to self-forgiveness. Four hundred forty four (Mage =27.8, SD=9.9) participated in the study. Both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory analysis were performed to determine the psychometric properties (RMSEA 0,048, GFI 0,924, PCLOSE 0,556). In order to determine the internal consistency was calculated by Cronbach’s alpha (0,80-0,86). The internal validity was assessed by Heartland Forgiveness Scale. The obtained results showed that the Polish version of The State Self-forgiveness Scale as tool with good psychometric properties and to recommend it for the assessment of self-forgiveness both in research.

Identifying aggressive versus ethical sales supervision in B2B service recovery: a multilevel perspective

PurposeThe current research provides a conceptual framework that explains how sales managers' aggression across business-to-business (B2B) sales organizations triggers salespeople's surface acting, deep acting and service recovery performance. It also investigates the moderating role of ethical leadership through sales managers' aggressiveness on service recovery performance.Design/methodology/approachThe authors test the model using multilevel analysis with cross-sectional data of 367 salespeople from different sales organizations.FindingsThe study shows that the aggression of sales managers has an adverse influence on service recovery performance. Additionally, aggressiveness among sales managers is positively connected with surface acting while adversely affecting deep acting. The study’s findings also indicate that ethical sales leadership is positively moderate among sales managers' aggressiveness and service recovery performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors collected data from individual salespersons, which is the limitation; however, future studies could collect data using the dyadic approach, such as matching responses from both managers and salespersons. This method could enhance the model's internal validity.Originality/valueSeveral studies have mainly focused on positive supervision styles in the literature on service recovery. At the same time, building a negative supervision model in the B2B service recovery context, which has been persistently ignored, is noteworthy.

Did the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program Reduce Readmissions? An Assessment of Prior Evidence and New Estimates

In this article, we provide a comprehensive, empirical assessment of the hypothesis that the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) affected hospital readmissions. In doing so, we provide evidence as to the validity of prior empirical approaches used to evaluate the HRRP and we present results from a previously unused approach to study this research question—a regression-kink design. Results of our analysis document that the empirical approaches used in most prior research assessing the efficacy of the HRRP often lack internal validity. Therefore, results from these studies may not be informative about the causal consequences of the HRRP. Results from our regression-kink analysis, which we validate, suggest that the HRRP had little effect on hospital readmissions. This finding contrasts with the results of most prior studies, which report that the HRRP significantly reduced readmissions. Our finding is consistent with conceptual considerations related to the assumptions underlying HRRP penalty: in particular, the difficulty of identifying preventable readmissions, the highly imperfect risk adjustment that affects the penalty determination, and the absence of proven tools to reduce readmissions.

Clinical research in homeopathy: asking the right questions

Identifying the ‘right’ clinical research questions in homeopathic medicine requires that the targets for that research are clearly and optimally defined. The definition of such targets depends, in turn, on a full and clear understanding of the current research evidence base. Moreover, it is crucial to retain a scientifically objective and consistent approach that is not distracted by extremes of opinion on either side of the debate about the research evidence in homeopathy. The main focus logically must be on randomised controlled trials (RCTs) because, despite reservations about their application to homeopathy research in the past, they are the only available way to prove cause and effect of an intervention. Many commentators, however, have failed to distinguish between the findings of placebo- and other-than-placebo (OTP)- controlled trials, while the individualised style of the normal homeopathic intervention and the main effects anticipated from that intervention have not always been properly reflected. Thus, the interpretation of findings in terms of ‘efficacy’ or ‘effectiveness’ of the intervention is often unclear. Our method of ‘vote counting’ the results of RCTs in homeopathy has enabled a clear categorisation of the research evidence, together with an opportunity to reflect condition-specific findings. That approach is not without flaws, however, and a more appropriate and sophisticated systematic review (SR) of the RCT evidence would be additionally helpful. Previous SRs of RCTs in homeopathy have typically failed to provide clear conclusions about the effectiveness of homeopathy as a system of medicine or about the efficacy of particular medicines. This is largely the result of a failure to distinguish: individualised from non-individualised homeopathy; treatment from prophylaxis; and internal validity (risk of bias) from model validity (‘state of the art’ practice and relevant outcome measures). And SRs have paid little attention to the potency of the homeopathic medicines used, to reviewing OTP-controlled RCTs, or to distinguishing between research published in the peer-reviewed and the non-peer-reviewed literature. A clearer and more complete awareness of the current RCT evidence will emerge from the above SR programme, which is now in progress. Importantly, the attributes of homeopathy and study design that it addresses can be fully reflected in answering the key questions that are then applied to new RCTs in homeopathy.

Factors associated with differential community prevalence of hepatitis E in two sub-counties in Kitgum District in Northern Uganda: A comparative cross-sectional study

Background: Hepatitis E is one of the leading causes of acute viral hepatitis worldwide. During 2009, an epidemic of hepatitis E resulted in 10,437 infections and 167 deaths in Kitgum district.Objective: To investigate factors associated with the differential community prevalence of hepatitis E in two sub-counties in Kitgum District.Methods: We conducted a community survey during the 4th-31st of May 2012 in two Sub Counties in Kitgum District in Northern Uganda. A total of 474 heads of household were recruited using a probability proportional to size through multistage and random sampling methods. Two hundred thirty-four (49.26%) heads of household were from Mucwini, and 241 (50.74%) were from Kitgum Matidi Sub Counties. The questionnaire had an internal validity of Cronbach’s α=0.85. The study was approved by a local IRB. STATA version 10.0 was used for data analysis, and a p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant.Results: The prevalence of hepatitis E was significantly higher in Mucwini Subcountry 97 (41.99%) than in Kitgum Matidi 63 (26.47%); χ2=12.6; p=0.000. Factors associated with differential prevalence were hand washing after latrine use with Adjusted Odds Ratio (AoR)=0.23,95%CI:0.110-0.646; p=0.003; frequency of communal hand washing AoR=0.53,95%CI:0.330-0.860; p=0.01; patients’ handling by health workers AoR=1.91,95%CI:1.410-2.610; p<0.001; frequency of village health meetings held AoR=0.69,95%CI:0.56-0.85; p<0.001 and awareness of the cause of Hepatitis E AoR=1.42, 95%CI:0.710-1.880; p=0.015.Conclusions: Factors associated with the differential community prevalence of hepatitis E in the two communities were poor personal hygiene, poor community practices and a low level of community awareness about the virus. District and health authorities should put in place measures to improve personal and household hygiene and strengthen community health education on hepatitis E.