“How Are My Age and Cows Related?” Cognitive Interviewing as a Tool to Pretest Survey Questions in Two Limited Resource Settings

Antimicrobial resistance is a complex topic requiring interdisciplinary solutions embedded in One Health thinking. Currently, many surveys are underway in low- and middle-income countries to study how antimicrobial use in the livestock sector is driving resistance. In a survey, the respondents must understand and answer the questions correctly to produce accurate and valuable results. Pretesting survey questions is therefore important but sometimes not performed due to limited time and resources. Cognitive interviewing is a pretesting method to give insights into the respondent's way of interpreting and mentally processing the survey questions to identify problems and finding ways to improve the questions. It has previously been suggested that cognitive interviews may be difficult to use in some cultural settings. This study aimed to use cognitive interviews in a respondent-adjusted way to study how survey questions related to antimicrobial use are understood and answered by 12 small-scale farmers in Kenya and Uganda. The results show that even a small number of interviews and using interviewers with limited knowledge of cognitive interviewing can identify many problems in survey questions and the survey tool. Cognitive interviews may provide a feasible and affordable way of pretesting questionnaires in situations where time and resources are limited, for example, during a disease outbreak

"How Are My Age and Cows Related?" Cognitive Interviewing as a Tool to Pretest Survey Questions in Two Limited Resource Settings.

Antimicrobial resistance is a complex topic requiring interdisciplinary solutions embedded in One Health thinking. Currently, many surveys are underway in low- and middle-income countries to study how antimicrobial use in the livestock sector is driving resistance. In a survey, the respondents must understand and answer the questions correctly to produce accurate and valuable results. Pretesting survey questions is therefore important but sometimes not performed due to limited time and resources. Cognitive interviewing is a pretesting method to give insights into the respondent's way of interpreting and mentally processing the survey questions to identify problems and finding ways to improve the questions. It has previously been suggested that cognitive interviews may be difficult to use in some cultural settings. This study aimed to use cognitive interviews in a respondent-adjusted way to study how survey questions related to antimicrobial use are understood and answered by 12 small-scale farmers in Kenya and Uganda. The results show that even a small number of interviews and using interviewers with limited knowledge of cognitive interviewing can identify many problems in survey questions and the survey tool. Cognitive interviews may provide a feasible and affordable way of pretesting questionnaires in situations where time and resources are limited, for example, during a disease outbreak

Becoming a survey whisperer: applying a video conferencing tool in cognitive interviews to improve a questionnaire used in higher education research

This case study details the experiences of two researchers at a large university in the United Kingdom, in carrying out a series of cognitive interviews with students, to examine their interpretations of, and responses to, items on an institution-wide questionnaire. Cognitive interviewing refers to a set of techniques used to assess the ways in which individuals mentally respond to survey questions, with the aim of exploring the accuracy and consistency of interpretations and, if necessary, making revisions. The research was conducted as part of a wider initiative to review the institution’s use of a standardised questionnaire to evaluate student module experiences. The case study describes how a face-to-face research activity was adapted for online delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic, in an attempt to engage students as co-designers. It considers the three key options for conducting cognitive interviews remotely (telephone, video conferencing, and web probing), and provides a critical reflection on the ethical and practical challenges and possibilities presented by using video conferencing as the preferred method. We reflect on our own experiences as researchers, suggest key considerations for those who may wish to engage in online qualitative research 7 activity, and offer links to further helpful resources, to help consolidate and extend readers’ learnin

The implementation of sustainability practices in portuguese higher education institutions

The purpose of this work is to analyze the current state of implementation of sustainability development (SD) in Portuguese higher education institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was developed to measure the level of implementation of SD practices in HEIs as well as the number of rankings, certifications and declarations of these institutions. The questionnaire was sent by e-mail to all rectors, presidents, directors of faculties, departments and schools of Portuguese universities and polytechnics. A sample of 53 leaders was obtained. Findings Portuguese HEIs are mainly engaged in the social dimension of sustainability. The economic dimension emerges in second place and the institutional in third; the environmental dimension is the least developed. Except for a few specific topics (e.g. related to research on SD, and the offer of degree courses in SD), there are no significant differences between universities and polytechnics in the implementation of SD practices. Only 11 per cent of HEIs are innovators in the implementation of SD practices, and a majority of HEIs have implemented less than 34 per cent of the SD practices studied. Research limitations/implications This research has a national scope, and the results should be interpreted only in the Portuguese context. Future studies should include a larger range of institutional actors within the faculty. Practical implications This study provides valuable insights and theoretical and methodological guidance for future implementation processes supporting the transition to sustainability in HEIs. Originality/value This is the first study conducted in Portuguese HEIs with the aim of determining their efforts to implement and promote sustainability.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Innovative, Scalable and Affordable Interventions for the Treatment of Low Back Pain

The overall aim of the thesis was to investigate innovative, scalable and affordable interventions for the management of low back pain. Chapter Two shows an increasing online public interest in musculoskeletal conditions from 2008, with low back and neck pain being the ones with the highest annual increase (nearly 7%). Chapter Three reviews the use of text messages in the management of musculoskeletal pain. Text messages improved medication adherence compared to usual care and pain, function, quality of life and treatment adherence when added to comprehensive interventions and compared to control. Chapter Four describes the development process of the TEXT4myBACK intervention, which is a self-management text message intervention for people with low back pain. Chapter Five presents the protocol of the randomised controlled trial assessing the effect of the TEXT4myBACK intervention on function of people with low back pain compared to control. Chapter Six explores participants’ experience with the TEXT4myBACK intervention, including its acceptance, usefulness and behaviour-change ability. Chapter Seven proposes a methodology to aid the interpretation of the clinical significance of the TEXT4myBACK trial’s findings. It shows that people need to improve at least 9.4 points on a 0-30 function scale to consider self-management worthwhile. As pain management is complex and influenced by several factors including families, Chapter Eight reviews the effects of family-based interventions on health outcomes of people with musculoskeletal pain. It found that family-based interventions improve pain and disability compared to individual-focused interventions and pain compared to usual care. Chapter Nine explores the feasibility of a telephone health coaching intervention with or without an exercise buddy for people with low back pain compared to usual care and data collection approaches through a pilot and feasibility study. The thesis findings may be used to 1) guide the development of educational and text message interventions for musculoskeletal pain; 2) aid the interpretation of the clinical relevance of the TEXT4myBACK intervention’s effects through a responder analysis; 3) optimise the approaches of future randomised controlled trials including family members or exercise buddies for low back pain

The development and validation of a questionnaire on Root Cause Analysis

Background: Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a method of investigating adverse events (AEs). The purpose of RCA is to improve quality of care and patient safety through a retrospective, structured investigative process of an incident, resulting in recommendations to prevent the recurrence of medical errors. Aim: The aim of the study was to develop and validate a prototype questionnaire to establish whether the RCA model and processes employed at the research setting were perceived by the users to be acceptable, thorough and credible in terms of internationally established criteria. Methods: This is a validation study comprising four phases to meet the study objectives: 1) the development of a prototype questionnaire guided by a literature review; 2) assessing the validity of the content of the questionnaire by and numerical evaluation of the face validity thereof; 3) assessing the qualitative face validity cognitive interviews; and 4) reliability by test-retest. Results: Content validity assessment in Phase 2 resulted in removal of 1/36 (2.77%) question items and amendment of 7/36 (19.44%), resulting in 35 for the revised questionnaire. Analysis of data from the cognitive interviews resulted in amendment of 20/35 (57.14%) question items but no removal. Reliability of the final questionnaire achieved the predetermined ≥0.7 level of agreement. Conclusion: The questionnaire achieved a high content validity index and face validity was enhanced by cognitive interviews by providing qualitative data. The inter-rater coefficient indicated a high level of reliability. The tool was designed for a local private healthcare sector and this may limit its use

An Organization’s Ability to Improve Outsourcing Outcomes in Information Technology Outsourcing Initiatives by Increasing Organizational Knowledge: A Case Study

The problem addressed in this study was the literature gap regarding how internal organizational knowledge can be increased effectively within outsourcing projects. The study was a qualitative social constructionist case study composed of senior technology leaders. The purpose this study addressed was to understand the current structure of technical outsourcing contracts and how future contracts could be structured to address the problem of this study. The research incorporated how a reconceptualized absorptive capacity model, sociocognitive theory, and digital leadership mindsets could improve knowledge transfer outcomes between a vendor and client. Research shows that increasing an organization’s knowledge during an outsourcing project can lead to increased organizational innovation capacity and improve the output and quality of products. The qualitative semistructured interview data were codified manually using transcribed data with NVivo 12 software for depicting patterns and themes. The study findings indicated that corporate learning programs lacked the necessary rigor to prepare the organization effectively before and after an outsourcing engagement in terms of preparing associates with the technical knowledge transfer necessary to lessen future vendor dependencies. Additionally, I found a lack of formalized language depicting learning and knowledge transfer deliverables in outsourcing contracts. The study’s primary conclusion centered on the importance of leaders incorporating a more digital mindset and a corporate learning program focused on a structured, continual strategic learning program. Additionally, the development and inclusion of formalized learning objectives, knowledge transfer, and stated deliverables in an outsource contract are vital

Exploring the experiences of adolescent students attending a virtual school

In the past 20 years distance education has evolved rapidly. The accessibility to online learning or virtual schools has become a viable option for many students. Virtual schools offer students instructional flexibility regarding time, place, and pace. Improvements in distance education fostered rapid growth of online learning. The number of online learners grew nearly ten-fold from 2001 to 2015 (Clark, 2001; Watson et al., 2015). However, Watson (2016) estimated only 10% of online learners represented full-time virtual school students. Although face-to-face instruction is preferred by most K-12 learners, some learners argued their needs were best met by virtual schools (Green, 2013; Kenyon, 2007; Nehr, 2009; Pleau, 2012; Rice, 2006). Little is known about the lived experiences of public virtual school students. The obscure nature of virtual schools may be related to the private home-based settings and having significantly fewer enrollments compared to supplemental online programs and traditional schools. The purpose of this study was to explore the personal meanings and motivational aspects of being an adolescent middle school student in a particular virtual school. Two phenomenological methods were administered. First, the Descriptive Phenomenological Method in Psychology (Giorgi, 2009) revealed 10 commons essences of being a virtual student in a particular virtual school. Three descriptive themes related to (1) the mutual needs of family members, (2) teacher-directed learning with parental assistance, and (3) selective socialization. The descriptive study led to personal meanings expressed in psychological terms. Secondly, Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (Smith et al., 2012) was administered to interpret satisfactions and dissatisfactions of the five adolescent virtual student participants. A single theme emerged from the interpretive study relating to student freedoms, guided choices and a sense of self-control. Self determination theory was applied to 10 randomly selected experiences to provide further insight into the motivation of each participant. The support for autonomy, competence, and relatedness was identified along with the students’ levels of self-regulation. The detailed and rich descriptions of lived experiences and self-regulation capabilities were expected to improve the readers understanding of virtual school preference for a small number of adolescent students and their parents

Use and management of electronic mail in the Central Government of Zimbabwe

This study investigated the use and management of electronic mail (email) in Zimbabwe’s central government. Employing a mixed method research approach, the study used a pluralist ontological paradigm and a pragmatic epistemological paradigm within the convergent mixed methods research design. Quantitative responses from questionnaires were corroborated by qualitative findings from semi-structured interviews, personal observation and document reviews. The study was restricted to Zimbabwe’s central government, focusing on head offices of 22 government ministries situated in Zimbabwe’s capital city of Harare. The population of the study was 670. The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown imposed in Zimbabwe as from 30 March 2020 negatively affected data collection as some targeted respondents could not be accessed as the researcher had initially planned, leading to an overall response rate of 37.3%. Nonetheless, 12 out of 22 government ministries participated in the study. Quantitative data were analysed using Microsoft Excel 2010® and descriptive statistics while qualitative data were analysed thematically using Atlas.ti®. The study conformed to ethical standards of research as espoused in the University of South Africa’s ethical review guidelines. The study revealed that due to the adoption of electronic government and the inherent relative advantages of email, among other factors, there was increase in use of email as an official record in Zimbabwe’s central government. Nonetheless, management of email was still in its nascent stages and was largely poorly articulated. Poor email classification, filing, appraisal, security, preservation and disposal were largely traceable to deficiencies in legal, policy and procedural frameworks as well as skills and information and communication technology infrastructural challenges. These in turn triggered email retrieval, access, preservation and authenticity challenges. This study was a first local research to address both the use and management of email in a single study and one which proposed a framework for the effective use and management of email where a call was made to match increase in use of email with increase in professional management of the same. The proposed framework may go a long way in influencing proper and professional use and management of email in Zimbabwe’s central government and similar organisations.Information ScienceD. Phil. (Information Science

Re-engineering research and innovation information in university libraries in Uganda for small and medium enterprises.

Doctor of Philosophy in Information Studies. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2019.Globally, enormous amounts of research are generated in universities; however, in Uganda, not much of this research cascades to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which contribute 75% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Since university libraries are expected to support teaching, learning, research and community engagement in the surrounding communities, these libraries ought to reposition themselves to become conduits of disseminating Research and Innovation (R&I) to SMEs and other partners in development. The purpose of this study was to investigate how university libraries in Uganda can repackage R&I information and disseminate it to SMEs. The study addresses two broad objectives namely: 1) To investigate how University libraries in Uganda are facilitating access to R&I information for use by SMEs in the agricultural sector in Uganda; and 2) To find out the extent to which University libraries in Uganda repackage R&I information for use by SMEs in the agricultural sector. This study was underpinned by three theories namely: LibQUAL+TM, Modern theories of management and Wilson’s 1999 model of Information seeking behaviour. The study adopted a post-positivist research paradigm and an exploratory research design. Mixed methods epistemology was employed. Quantitative and qualitative data were therefore collected from a large sample of respondents from 6 universities that offer graduate agricultural programmes and from 231 SMEs in the agricultural sector. The respondents consisted of university librarians, heads of library research and innovation units, university heads of IT, Agricultural academic staff, graduate agricultural students and proprietors of SMEs in the agricultural sector in the central region of Uganda. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS to generate descriptive and inferential statistics where frequencies, percentages and chi square were used, while the qualitative data was analysed through content analysis. The findings revealed that the research carried out in universities was beneficial to SMEs, mainly in areas of increasing the SMEs productivity, identifying training opportunities, and starting up new business ventures. A third of the respondents disclosed that currently Ugandan university libraries do not have an enabling environment for SMEs to access R&I information mainly because of inaccessible format in which R&I information is packaged. However, university libraries could re-engineer their R&I information services to serve SMEs mainly through digitisation, carrying out community engagement programmes targeting SMEs, and repackaging R&I information. The study among others recommended that R&I information should be repackaged from print to short documentaries, newsletters, using social media, translating it from English to local languages and broadcasting it on radios and televisions to make it suitable for SMEs