Relationship between Collaboration in Work Support and Knowledge and Skills in Providing Support for Individuals with Disabilities

Background: There has been growing hope for initiatives supporting the transition of persons with disabilities from employment-related welfare services to employees in companies. This is against the backdrop of a significant increase in employment among persons with disabilities in Japan. Objective: To improve the quality of this transition, this study examined the relationship between the collaboration of the Work Support Centers for Continuous Employment Type B (WSC-B) with vocational rehabilitation organizations (VROs) and knowledge and skills related to employment support. Methods: A survey including all 122 WSC-B in L-Prefecture was conducted by postal mail. The respondents were asked to rate items on the following six levels concerning collaboration with VROs and understanding of VROs. We used the Japanese version of the Self-Assessment for Students or Counselors (SASC-J) to assess knowledge and skills related to work support. Results: The t-test conducted on knowledge and skills status between WSC-B with a high degree of cooperation with VROs and those with low degrees confirmed significant differences among the various subsystems in VROs. Conclusion: Based on our results, we suggest that maximizing the use of collaboration in work support will enhance the support provided by WSC-B and promote transition support for people with disabilities.

Needs and Challenges Cattle Producers Face in Adapting Preconditioning Programs

Identifying the producer’s needs and challenges is the first step to understanding what types of programs will benefit producers the greatest. In the cattle industry, participation in calf preconditioning programs have slowly increased over the last two decades as more sellers and buyers recognize the economic benefits. However, for a seller to receive maximum benefit when marketing their cattle requires planning and an understanding of the components that go into a preconditioning program. Surveys are a practical way to gain useful information to develop programming to educate on developing preconditioning protocols that best fits their operation. Following the 2019 Oklahoma Quality Beef Network (OQBN) VAC45 fall certified sales, a survey was distributed electronically and by postal mail to participating cattle producers. The survey examined a number of aspects associated with preconditioning calves, management practices, operation size, demographics, and obstacles producers face when preconditioning calves. Participation rate was approximately 56% out of the 126 OQBN producers surveyed. Of the respondents, 52% did so electronically. Program ear tags moved to online sales in 2019 and 98% of respondents found ordering online convenient. These results would indicate that the use of technology is an increasing component in the cattle industry by producers and leading the way to the development of more tech related tools. Smaller operations marketing 50 or fewer head (72%) are utilizing preconditioning programs the greatest. Still, the biggest challenge reported by producers preconditioning calves was the expense (59%) associated followed by availability of labor (22%) and facilities (13.5%). Thirty-two percent of respondents indicated 5% or less morbidity rate, and 13% of respondents experienced 10% or less mortality rate. Thirty-three percent of producers estimated 1lb. or less ADG. Developing resources concerning the costliest components of preconditioning may be most crucial and beneficial to the producer to achieve a successful program.

Recruiting a Probability-Based Online Panel via Postal Mail: Experimental Evidence

Once recruited, probability-based online panels have proven to enable high-quality and high-frequency data collection. In ever faster-paced societies and, recently, in times of pandemic lockdowns, such online survey infrastructures are invaluable to social research. In absence of email sampling frames, one way of recruiting such a panel is via postal mail. However, few studies have examined how to best approach and then transition sample members from the initial postal mail contact to the online panel registration. To fill this gap, we implemented a large-scale experiment in the recruitment of the 2018 sample of the German Internet Panel (GIP) varying panel recruitment designs in four experimental conditions: online-only, concurrent mode, online-first, and paper-first. Our results show that the online-only design delivers higher online panel registration rates than the other recruitment designs. In addition, all experimental conditions led to similarly representative samples on key socio-demographic characteristics.

Recruiting a Probability-Based Online Panel via Postal Mail: Experimental Evidence

Once recruited, probability-based online panels have proven to enable high-quality and high-frequency data collection. In ever faster-paced societies and, recently, in times of pandemic lockdowns, such online survey infrastructures are invaluable to social research. In absence of email sampling frames, one way of recruiting such a panel is via postal mail. However, few studies have examined how to best approach and then transition sample members from the initial postal mail contact to the online panel registration. To fill this gap, we implemented a large-scale experiment in the recruitment of the 2018 sample of the German Internet Panel (GIP) varying panel recruitment designs in four experimental conditions: online-only, concurrent mode, push-to-web, and paper-first. Our results show that the online-only design delivers higher online panel registration rates than the other recruitment designs. In addition, all experimental conditions led to similarly representative samples on key socio-demographic characteristics.

The Long-Term Impact of Different Offline Population Inclusion Strategies in Probability-Based Online Panels: Evidence From the German Internet Panel and the GESIS Panel

While online panels offer numerous advantages, they are often criticized for excluding the offline population. Therefore, some probability-based online panels have developed offline population inclusion strategies. Two dominant approaches prevail: providing internet equipment and offering an alternative survey participation mode. We investigate the impact of these approaches on two probability-based online panels in Germany: the German Internet Panel, which provides members of the offline population with internet equipment, and the GESIS Panel, which offers members of the offline population to participate via postal mail surveys. In addition, we explore the impact of offering an alternative mode only to non-internet users versus also offering the alternative mode to internet users who are unwilling to provide survey data online. Albeit lower recruitment and/or panel wave participation probabilities among offliners than onliners, we find that including the offline population has a positive long-term impact on sample accuracy in both panels. In the GESIS Panel, the positive impact is particularly strong when offering the alternative participation mode to non-internet users and internet users who are unwilling to provide survey data online.

PENGARUH CITRA MEREK DAN KUALITAS PELAYANAN TERHADAP LOYALITAS PELANGGAN MELALUI VARIABEL KEPUASAN PELANGGAN

Abstract�PT Pos Indonesia (Persero) as a State-Owned Enterprise (BUMN) which carries out the mission of postal mail and postal parcel courier services in Indonesia with premium products, Special Express Post is a delivery service with a maximum travel time of 4 days that reaches the recipient quickly, precise, safe and reach all parts of Indonesia. One strategy to foster customer satisfaction that leads to customer loyalty is the formation of a brand image and the best possible service quality in the minds of postal customers.The research method used in this research is descriptive verification with a quantitative approach, to determine the significant relationship between the variables of brand image, service quality to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The population in this study were customers of the Kuningan Post Office, users of special express mail delivery services, amounting to 1,769. Techniques and data sources were obtained from literature studies and questionnaires to 298 respondents who were designated as samples with a significance level of 5%.The results of the hypothesis test indicate that the variables of brand image and service quality partially have a positive and significant effect on customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction variables partially have a positive and significant effect on customer loyalty. Brand image variables partially have a positive and significant effect on customer loyalty. Service quality variable partially does not have a significant effect on customer loyalty. Simultaneously, brand image and service quality have a positive effect on customer satisfaction and loyalty.�Keywords: Brand Image; Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Loyalty.

Regime geral dos atos eletrónicos – um regime esquecido

In addition to the digitization of physical evidence associated with the modernization of the mechanisms of the digitalized civil process, the future of Justice is closely linked to digital proof: the use of originally electronic documents to prove contracts and other legally relevant acts. The proliferation of electronic communications (replacing postal mail, fax communications and even telephone), in its multiple forms (electronic mail, instant messages, and the multiple public and private communications services provided by social networks), as well as the expansion of electronic commerce, and in particular the generalization of electronic contracting, has been increasing exponentially the use of electronic means for the practice of legal acts. Digital proof assumes a central role in civil law, both from a substantive and an adjective perspective. The regime of validity and probative value of documents, signatures and electronic communications enshrined in Decree-Law No. 290-D/99, of 2 August, represents a general regime for civil law of paramount importance in the Information Society. Unfortunately, the Portuguese legislator has repeatedly approved exceptional rules in individual diplomas, contradicting or ignoring the existence of this general regime.

Negligible Effects of the Survey Modes for Patient-Reported Outcomes: A Report From the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study

PURPOSE This study compared the measurement properties for multiple modes of survey administration, including postal mail, telephone interview, and Web-based completion of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) among survivors of childhood cancer. METHODS The population included 6,974 adult survivors of childhood cancer in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study who completed the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18), which measured anxiety, depression, and somatization symptoms. Scale reliability, construct validity, and known-groups validity related to health status were tested for each mode of completion. The multiple indicators and multiple causes technique was used to identify differential item functioning (DIF) for the BSI-18 items that responded through a specific survey mode. The impact of the administration mode was tested by comparing differences in BSI-18 scores between the modes accounting for DIF effects. RESULTS Of the respondents, 58%, 27%, and 15% completed postal mail, Web-based, and telephone surveys, respectively. Survivors who were male; had lower education, lower household income, or poorer health status; or were treated with cranial radiotherapy were more likely to complete a telephone-based survey compared with either a postal mail or Web-based survey (all P < .05). Scale reliability and validity were equivalent across the 3 survey options. One, 2, and 5 items from the anxiety, depression, and somatization domains, respectively, were identified as having significant DIF among survivors who responded by telephone ( P < .05). However, estimated BSI-18 domain scores, especially depression and anxiety, between modes did not differ after accounting for DIF effects. CONCLUSION Certain survivor characteristics were associated with choosing a specific mode for PRO survey completion. However, measurement properties among these modes were equivalent, and the impact of using a specific mode on scores was minimal.

The U.S. Postal Service and the Postal Unions in the 1970s

Chapter Six shows how postal unions made use of increased collective bargaining rights to win higher pay and increased benefits. At the same time, there was constant conflict with postal management and within the unions on issues of democracy and militancy in the first decade of the new U.S. Postal Service. By 1971, the National Association of Letter Carriers and the new American Postal Workers Union had emerged as the two leading postal unions representing workers and instituting reforms. The U.S. Postal Service would also be bargaining with two smaller unions that had little or nothing to do with the strike—the National Postal Mail Handlers Union and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association.

Comparing Internet Experiences and Prosociality in Amazon Mechanical Turk and Population-Based Survey Samples

Given the high cost of traditional survey administration (postal mail, phone) and the limits of convenience samples such as university students, online samples offer a much welcomed alternative. Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT) has been especially popular among academics for conducting surveys and experiments. Prior research has shown that AMT samples are not representative of the general population along some dimensions, but evidence suggests that these differences may not undermine the validity of AMT research. The authors revisit this comparison by analyzing responses to identical survey questions administered to both a U.S. national sample and AMT participants at the same time. The authors compare the two samples on sociodemographic factors, online experiences, and prosociality. The authors show that the two samples are different not just demographically but also regarding their online behaviors and standard survey measures of prosocial behaviors and attitudes. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for data collected on AMT.