44,652 research outputs found

    Environmental Sustainability and the Hospitality Customer Experience: A Study in Tourist Accommodation

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    Academic research on sustainability in the hospitality industry is scarce and fragmented, and requires a general structure to lend coherence to its approach. There is a need for empirical research to fathom the question of environmental sustainability and customer experience in the hospitality industry and to study the interaction between the two concepts. This paper aims to close these gaps by establishing the nature of the relationship between customers’ perceptions of the environmental practices in tourism accommodation and their customer experiences and levels of satisfaction. The working hypotheses, based on a review of the literature on environmental sustainability and customer experience in the hospitality industry, are tested in an empirical study of 412 Spanish customers who stayed in various types of tourist accommodation. The main conclusion is that the relationship between environmental sustainability and customer experience in the hospitality industry can be demonstrated. This paper also validates a measurement scale based on the most accepted dimensionality of the construct: cognitive (think), affective (feel), behavioral (act), sensory (sense) and social (relate)

    Receiver Operating Characteristics of the CAP Lie Scale and Correlates of Impression Management in Parenting Capacity Evaluations

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    The purpose of the present study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Child Abuse Potential L scale with a heterogeneous sample of caregivers referred for parenting capacity evaluations. One aim of the study was to assess the measurement properties of the L scale. A second aim was to evaluate the discriminative validity of the L scale by way of its receiver operating characteristics. A third aim of the study was to examine potential correlates of desirable responding on the L scale. The findings from this study provide new information about the psychometric properties of the CAP L scale and its application in clinical and forensic settings. Consistent with past investigations, caregivers produced a high rate (74.4 %) of invalid CAP profiles by way of elevated L scale scores. The L scale showed little variation across caregivers from families with different maltreatment histories. Item analyses and estimates of internal consistency showed homogeneity of the L scale, though several problem items were identified. Deletion of these items, however, produced only marginal improvements in internal consistency. The 14-item revised scale that resulted from the item deletions showed tradeoffs in sensitivity and specificity compared to the original 18-item scale. Classificatory accuracy of the 18-item scale (with emphasis on sensitivity to detect fake-good responding) was best using a cutoff score that was one to two points higher than recommendations given in the CAP manual (Milner, 1986). Last, the L scale showed inverse associations with stress and aggression. These findings suggest that caregivers perceive the context of evaluation to be coercive, pointing up the importance of procedures and pacing that increase rapport. Also, caregivers who report low levels of anger and stress produce higher L scale scores. Furthermore, findings highlight tradeoffs in L scale sensitivity and specificity that evaluators can select as a function of referral question or other relevant considerations. In sum, findings add to the scientific merit of the CAP in relation to Daubert criteria for testimonial admissibility

    Development and Initial Validation of a Questionnaire to Measure Health-Related Quality of Life of Adults with Common Variable Immune Deficiency: The CVID_QoL Questionnaire.

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    BACKGROUND: Generic health status quality of life (QoL) instruments have been used in patients with common variable immune deficiency (CVID). However, by their nature, these tools may over- or underestimate the impact of diseases on an individual's QoL. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire to measure specific-health-related QoL for adults with CVID (CVID_QoL). METHODS: The 32-item content of the CVID_QoL questionnaire was developed using focus groups and individual patient interviews. Validation studies included 118 adults with CVID who completed Short Form-36, Saint George Respiratory Questionnaire, General Health Questionnaire-12, and EuroQol-5D questionnaire in a single session. Principal component and factor analysis solutions identified 3 scores to be similar in number and content for each solution. Validation of 3 factor scores was performed by construct validity. Reproducibility, reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity were evaluated. Matrices consisting of correlations between the 32 items in the CVID_QOL were calculated. RESULTS: Factor analysis identified 3 dimensions: emotional functioning (EF), relational functioning (RF), and gastrointestinal and skin symptoms (GSS). The instrument had good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha, min. 0.74 for GSS, max. 0.84 for RF, n = 118) and high reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficient, min. 0.79 for RF, max 0.90 for EF, n = 27). EF and RF scores showed good convergent validity correlating with conceptually similar dimensions of other study scales. Acute and relapsing infections had a significant impact on EF and RF. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence of the reliability and construct validity of the CVID_QoL to identify QoL issues in patients with CVID that may not be addressed by generic instruments

    Mental health, social inclusion and arts: developing the evidence base

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    After-School Programs for High School Students: An Evaluation of After School Matters

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    Evaluates outcomes for teens in Chicago's After School Matters apprenticeship-like program, finding statistically significant benefits on some measures of youth development and reduced problem behaviors but not in job skills or school performance

    Research and Applications of the Processes of Performance Appraisal: A Bibliography of Recent Literature, 1981-1989

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    [Excerpt] There have been several recent reviews of different subtopics within the general performance appraisal literature. The reader of these reviews will find, however, that the accompanying citations may be of limited utility for one or more reasons. For example, the reference sections of these reviews are usually composed of citations which support a specific theory or practical approach to the evaluation of human performance. Consequently, the citation lists for these reviews are, as they must be, highly selective and do not include works that may have only a peripheral relationship to a given reviewer\u27s target concerns. Another problem is that the citations are out of date. That is, review articles frequently contain many citations that are fifteen or more years old. The generation of new studies and knowledge in this field occurs very rapidly. This creates a need for additional reference information solely devoted to identifying the wealth of new research, ideas, and writing that is changing the field
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