Aligning physical elements with persons' attitude: an approach using Rasch measurement theory

Affective engineering uses mathematical models to convert the information obtained from persons' attitude to physical elements into an ergonomic design. However, applications in the domain have not in many cases met measurement assumptions. This paper proposes a novel approach based on Rasch measurement theory to overcome the problem. The research demonstrates that if data fit the model, further variables can be added to a scale. An empirical study was designed to determine the range of compliance where consumers could obtain an impression of a moisturizer cream when touching some product containers. Persons, variables and stimulus objects were parameterised independently on a linear continuum. The results showed that a calibrated scale preserves comparability although incorporating further variables

Using item response theory to explore the psychometric properties of extended matching questions examination in undergraduate medical education

BACKGROUND: As assessment has been shown to direct learning, it is critical that the examinations developed to test clinical competence in medical undergraduates are valid and reliable. The use of extended matching questions (EMQ) has been advocated to overcome some of the criticisms of using multiple-choice questions to test factual and applied knowledge. METHODS: We analysed the results from the Extended Matching Questions Examination taken by 4th year undergraduate medical students in the academic year 2001 to 2002. Rasch analysis was used to examine whether the set of questions used in the examination mapped on to a unidimensional scale, the degree of difficulty of questions within and between the various medical and surgical specialties and the pattern of responses within individual questions to assess the impact of the distractor options. RESULTS: Analysis of a subset of items and of the full examination demonstrated internal construct validity and the absence of bias on the majority of questions. Three main patterns of response selection were identified. CONCLUSION: Modern psychometric methods based upon the work of Rasch provide a useful approach to the calibration and analysis of EMQ undergraduate medical assessments. The approach allows for a formal test of the unidimensionality of the questions and thus the validity of the summed score. Given the metric calibration which follows fit to the model, it also allows for the establishment of items banks to facilitate continuity and equity in exam standards

A Mathematical Model to Evaluate the Kinetics of D-glucose and D-fructose Fermentations by Saccharomyces bayanus at Increasing Ethanol Concentrations

In the cellar, slow and stuck fermentations occurring during winemaking are often successfully solved bythe addition of yeast strains like Saccharomyces bayanus. The kinetic behaviour shown by S. bayanus duringalcoholic fermentation was investigated using a mathematical model previously tested for S. cerevisiae, inorder to show which of the six functional parameters of the model differed significantly with the yeastpopulation. Although some parameters (hexose fractions converted to ethanol and glycerol) did not change,the kinetic constant related to the inactivation rate of the yeast population showed by S. cerevisiae assumeda value significantly higher (approximately 50-fold) than that observed for S. bayanus, while this latterpopulation was ten times less affected by ethanol than S. cerevisiae. Although no remarkable differencescould be found between the ability shown by the two yeast populations to convert hexoses (D-glucose andD-fructose), the tolerance for ethanol accumulation changed strongly. The conversion rate of these twohexoses by S. bayanus was affected less (about ten thousand-fold) by ethanol than that of S. cerevisiae

The Kinetic Effect of Some Wine Components on the Enzymatic Hydrolysis of β-glucan

Enzymatic preparations containing β-glucanases are utilised extensively in winemaking to facilitate the filtration ofmusts and wines coming from grapes affected by Botrytis cinerea, and to induce the release of mannoproteins andoligosaccharides from the cell walls of yeasts. The aim of the present work was to investigate the possible inhibitoryeffect of some wine components, and in particular of ethanol, on β-glucanase activities. For this purpose, the kineticactivity of a commercial enzymatic preparation containing β-glucanases was tested utilising both model solutions(buffer solution having a pH value similar to a must/wine with or without 13% v/v of ethanol added) and a redwine. When ethanol was added to the model solution, both the kinetic constant k and glucose production suffered adecrease of about 50% compared to the values detected in the absence of ethanol. A further loss of activity (about87%) was found using red wine as reaction medium, suggesting, as already reported in the literature, that phenolscould add their inhibitory effect to that of ethanol. The results obtained provide useful suggestions that can beadopted during winemaking. To promote the hydrolysis of the possible excess of β-glucan coming from grapesaffected by Botritis cinerea, it would be more convenient to add β-glucanases before a significant amount of ethanolaccumulates in the must/wine, while it is not possible to avoid the negative impact of ethanol or other possibleinhibitors (phenols) to promote yeast degradation in wine left on lees

A Kinetic Method to Identify the Optimum Temperature for β-glucanase Activity

Enzymatic preparations containing β-glucanases are largely utilised in winemaking to facilitate the filtration of musts and wines coming from grapes affected by Botrytis cinerea, and to induce the release of mannoproteins and oligosaccharides from the cell wall of yeasts. The aim of the present work was to investigate the effect of temperature on β-glucanase activity. For this purpose, the kinetic activity of a commercial enzymatic preparation containing β-glucanases was tested utilising a model solution (buffer solution of β-glucan extracted from alcoholic yeasts with a pH similar to a must/wine, with or without 13% ethanol added) at different temperatures ranging from 20 to 40°C. By an innovative procedure based on a kinetic model able to describe the time evolution of D-glucose accumulation – the final product of β-glucan hydrolysis – it was possible to relate the maximum rate of this process to temperature. The temperature at which the enzymatic activity showed the maximum value (Tmax) was close to 30°C, without any substantial variation following ethanol addition. Indeed, in spite of a remarkable reduction (of about 66%) in the catalytic activity shown by the commercial enzymatic preparation, no significant variation of the Tmax was observed, suggesting that the presence of an inhibitor such as ethanol in the reaction medium did not change the sensibility of the enzymes to temperature

Internal construct validity of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS): a Rasch analysis using data from the Scottish Health Education Population Survey

Background: The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS) was developed to meet demand for instruments to measure mental well-being. It comprises 14 positively phrased Likert-style items and fulfils classic criteria for scale development. We report here the internal construct validity of WEMWBS from the perspective of the Rasch measurement model. Methods: The model was applied to data collected from 779 respondents in Wave 12 (Autumn 2006) of the Scottish Health Education Population Survey. Respondents were aged 16–74 (average 41.9) yrs. Results: Initial fit to model expectations was poor. The items 'I've been feeling good about myself', 'I've been interested in new things' and 'I've been feeling cheerful' all showed significant misfit to model expectations, and were deleted. This led to a marginal improvement in fit to the model. After further analysis, more items were deleted and a strict unidimensional seven item scale (the Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS)) was resolved. Many items deleted because of misfit with model expectations showed considerable bias for gender. Two retained items also demonstrated bias for gender but, at the scale level, cancelled out. One further retained item 'I've been feeling optimistic about the future' showed bias for age. The correlation between the 14 item and 7 item versions was 0.954. Given fit to the Rasch model, and strict unidimensionality, SWEMWBS provides an interval scale estimate of mental well-being. Conclusion: A short 7 item version of WEMWBS was found to satisfy the strict unidimensionality expectations of the Rasch model, and be largely free of bias. This scale, SWEMWBS, provides a raw score-interval scale transformation for use in parametric procedures. In terms of face validity, SWEMWBS presents a more restricted view of mental well-being than the 14 item WEMWBS, with most items representing aspects of psychological and eudemonic well-being, and few covering hedonic well-being or affect. However, robust measurement properties combined with brevity make SWEMWBS preferable to WEMWBS at present for monitoring mental well-being in populations. Where face validity is an issue there remain arguments for continuing to collect data on the full 14 item WEMWBS

Magnetic phase transition in V2O3 nanocrystals

V2O3 nanocrystals can be synthesized through hydrothermal reduction of VO(OH)2 using hydrazine as a reducing agent. Addition of different ligands to the reaction produces nanoparticles, nanorods and nanoplatelets of different sizes. Small nanoparticles synthesized in this manner show suppression of the magnetic phase transition to lower temperatures. Using muon spin relaxation spectroscopy and synchrotron x-ray diffraction, it is determined that the volume fraction of the high-temperature phase, characterized by a rhombohedral structure and paramagnetism, gradually declines with decreasing temperature, in contrast to the sharp transition observed in bulk V2O3.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Author finding post print - The Multiple Sclerosis-Fatigue Self- Efficacy (MS-FSE) scale: initial validation.

To examine the validity and sensitivity to change of the Multiple Sclerosis-Fatigue Self-Efficacy scale

Critical Values for Yen’s Q3: Identification of Local Dependence in the Rasch model using Residual Correlations

The assumption of local independence is central to all IRT models. Violations can lead to inflated estimates of reliability and problems with construct validity. For the most widely used fit statistic Q3 there are currently no well-documented suggestions of the critical values which should be used to indicate local dependence, and for this reason a variety of arbitrary rules of thumb are used. In this study, we used an empirical data example and Monte Carlo simulation to investigate the different factors that can influence the null distribution of residual correlations, with the objective of proposing guidelines that researchers and practitioners can follow when making decisions about local dependence during scale development and validation. We propose that a parametric bootstrapping procedure should be implemented in each separate situation in order to obtain the critical value of local dependence applicable to the data set, and provide example critical values for a number of data structure situations. The results show that for the Q3 fit statistic no single critical value is appropriate for all situations, as the percentiles in the empirical null distribution are influenced by the number of items, the sample size, and the number of response categories. Furthermore, our results show that local dependence should be considered relative to the average observed residual correlation, rather than to a uniform value, as this results in more stable percentiles for the null distribution of an adjusted fit statistic