Research Strategies: Bibliographic Instruction for Undergraduates

published or submitted for publicatio

Control mechanisms and perceived organizational support: exploring the relationship between new and traditional forms of control

Purpose: Taking into account the need to make a clearer distinction between traditional and new organizational controls, this paper aims to investigate similarities and differences between those two forms and explore the extent to which new forms of control can be operationalized from a quantitative point of view. Design/methodology/approach: Suggesting that new organizational controls can be understood also in light of quantitative paradigms, we develop and test a scale to measure the existence of these types of controls, examine its construct validity and evaluate its convergent validity. Findings: The theoretical dimensions of new controls have empirical correspondence. Input and behaviour controls are strongly associated with the promotion of values and beliefs in organizations. New controls become responsible for employees’ acceptance of companies’ management, an aspect measured by Perceived-Organizational-Support (POS)

Durable goods, price indexes and quality change: an application to automobile prices in Italy, 1988-1998.

The paper analyzes the problems of measurement of durable consumer prices posed by quality change. Theoretical price indexes are defined and used to analyze several empirical methods of estimation of quality adjusted price indexes. The paper shows that hedonic regressions and other quality adjustment methods commonly used by statistical agencies do not always provide reliable price estimators. The analysis suggests that the application of methods of measurement based on chain indexes may remove the measurement problems associated with quality change. The paper includes an application of the theory to the analysis of automobile prices in Italy during the period 1988-1998.durable goods, quality change, hedonic regressions, elementary index numbers

Constructing futures: a social constructionist perspective on foresight methodology

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the relationship between a particular epistemological perspective and foresight methodology. We draw on a body of social theory concerned with the way that meaning is produced and assimilated by society; specifically, the social construction of knowledge, which is distinguished from its nearneighbour constructivism by its focus on inter-subjectivity. We show that social constructionism, at least in its weak form, seems to be implicit in many epistemological assumptions underlying futures studies. We identify a range of distinctive methodological features in foresight studies, such as time, descriptions of difference, participation and values, and examine these from a social constructionist perspective. It appears that social constructionism is highly resonant with the way in which knowledge of the future is produced and used. A social constructionism perspective enables a methodological reflection on how, with what legitimacy, and to what social good, knowledge is produced. Foresight that produces symbols without inter-subjective meaning neither anticipates, nor produces futures. Our conclusion is that foresight is both a social construction, and a mechanism for social construction. Methodologically, foresight projects should acknowledge the socially constructed nature of their process and outcomes as this will lead to greater rigour and legitimacy

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 324)

This bibliography lists 200 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during May, 1989. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance

Applied Evaluative Informetrics: Part 1

This manuscript is a preprint version of Part 1 (General Introduction and Synopsis) of the book Applied Evaluative Informetrics, to be published by Springer in the summer of 2017. This book presents an introduction to the field of applied evaluative informetrics, and is written for interested scholars and students from all domains of science and scholarship. It sketches the field's history, recent achievements, and its potential and limits. It explains the notion of multi-dimensional research performance, and discusses the pros and cons of 28 citation-, patent-, reputation- and altmetrics-based indicators. In addition, it presents quantitative research assessment as an evaluation science, and focuses on the role of extra-informetric factors in the development of indicators, and on the policy context of their application. It also discusses the way forward, both for users and for developers of informetric tools.Comment: The posted version is a preprint (author copy) of Part 1 (General Introduction and Synopsis) of a book entitled Applied Evaluative Bibliometrics, to be published by Springer in the summer of 201

Reimagining the General Health Questionnaire as a measure of emotional wellbeing: A study of postpartum women in Malta

Background: Postpartum health has been subject to a focus on psychological morbidity, despite positive associations between postpartum recovery and maternal emotional wellbeing. There are currently many validated tools to measure wellbeing and related concepts, including non-psychiatric morbidity. The General Health Questionnaire, 12 items (GHQ-12) is one such instrument, widely used and validated in several languages. Its use in postpartum settings has been documented with disagreement about the instrument's utility in this population, particularly in relation to scoring method and threshold. The GHQ-12 has never been translated into Maltese. This study explored the psychometric properties of the GHQ-12 in a Maltese postpartum population to consider if the use of a different scoring method (visual analogue scale) in the GHQ-12 can determine postpartum wellbeing. Methods: One hundred and twenty-four postpartum women recruited from one hospital in Malta completed the translated and adapted GHQ-12 as a wellbeing measure (GHQ-12(WB)) at four postpartum time points. The psychometric properties of the GHQ-12(WB) were explored using confirmatory factor analysis, discriminant and divergent validity and reliability analysis. Results: The GHQ-12(WB) demonstrated good divergent and known-groups validity and internal consistency. No models offered a good fit to the data. The overall consistent best-fit to the data was an eight item, two factor model (GHQ-8). Model fit improved across all models in terms of CFI at 13 weeks. Conclusion: Findings generally support the reliability and validity of the Maltese version of the GHQ-12(WB). Model fit changes over time reflect the dynamic nature of postpartum recovery. Further evaluation of the GHQ-8(WB) is recommended. © 2013 Australian College of Midwives

Primal-Dual Estimation of a Linear Expenditure Demand System

Efficient estimates require the utilization of all the available theoretical and statistical information. This fact suggests that econometric models based on an explicit optimization theory might achieve more efficient estimates when all the primal and dual relations are used for a joint estimation of the model’s parameters. We present a discussion of this idea using a Linear Expenditure System (LES) of consumer demand. We assume that the risk-neutral household chooses its consumption plan on the basis of expected information. Some time after that decision, the econometrician attempts to measure quantities and prices and in so doing commits measurement errors. Hence, the econometric model is an errors-in-variables nonlinear system of equations for which there is no known consistent estimator. We propose an easy-to-implement estimator and analyze its empirical properties by a Monte Carlo simulation that shows a relatively small bias.Consumer demand functions, primal-dual, linear expenditure system, Demand and Price Analysis, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, D0,

PRICES, PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION AND QUALITY MEASUREMENT: A COMPARISON BETWEEN HEDONIC AND MATCHED MODEL METHODS

The paper provides an analysis of the problems of construction of quality-adjusted price indexes within the framework of the theory of product differentiation. In the general case of price-making behaviour on the part of firms, hedonic regressions are defined on the basis of reduced forms of the equation relating equilibrium prices to product characteristics. The paper considers the reduced form given by the marginal cost function and shows that the Laspeyres hedonic price index provides a lower bound to the quality-adjusted rate of price change while the Paasche hedonic price index provides an upper bound to the quality-adjusted rate of price change. The properties of hedonic price indexes are compared with those of matched model indexes. The theory is applied to the study of personal computer prices in Italy during the 1995-2000 period.discrete choice, price indexes, product quality, personal computer