Calculating, Interpreting, And Reporting Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Coefficient For Likert-Type Scales

The purpose of this paper is to show why single-item questions pertaining to a construct are not reliable and should not be used in drawing conclusions. By comparing the reliability of a summated, multi-item scale versus a single-item question, the authors show how unreliable a single item is; and therefore it is not appropriate to make inferences based upon the analysis of single-item questions which are used in measuring a construct

2 nd Runner-Up Outstanding Paper presented at the 19 th Annual Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education Conference

Abstract This descriptive-correlational study investigated Ohio State University (O.S.U.) Extension county agent

Model for stimulating entrepreneurial skills through entrepreneurship education in an African context

The need to stimulate entrepreneurial skills in graduates as a strategy for tackling graduate unemployment has spurred the introduction of entrepreneurship education programs. The effectiveness of such entrepreneurship education programs from an African context is the focus of this paper. A modified model for evaluating the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education was derived from Fayolle, Gaily, and Lassa-Clerc; and was tested via structural equation modeling. Data were collected from randomly selected 750 participants who had undergone at least one compulsory entrepreneurship module at the university level. It was found that entrepreneurship education which is not well aligned with contextual peculiarities may not optimally yield the desired outcome. This paper, therefore, underscores the need for a thoroughly contextualized curriculum that encapsulates national, local, and very importantly, institutional factors

The genomic landscape of balanced cytogenetic abnormalities associated with human congenital anomalies

Despite the clinical significance of balanced chromosomal abnormalities (BCAs), their characterization has largely been restricted to cytogenetic resolution. We explored the landscape of BCAs at nucleotide resolution in 273 subjects with a spectrum of congenital anomalies. Whole-genome sequencing revised 93% of karyotypes and demonstrated complexity that was cryptic to karyotyping in 21% of BCAs, highlighting the limitations of conventional cytogenetic approaches. At least 33.9% of BCAs resulted in gene disruption that likely contributed to the developmental phenotype, 5.2% were associated with pathogenic genomic imbalances, and 7.3% disrupted topologically associated domains (TADs) encompassing known syndromic loci. Remarkably, BCA breakpoints in eight subjects altered a single TAD encompassing MEF2C, a known driver of 5q14.3 microdeletion syndrome, resulting in decreased MEF2C expression. We propose that sequence-level resolution dramatically improves prediction of clinical outcomes for balanced rearrangements and provides insight into new pathogenic mechanisms, such as altered regulation due to changes in chromosome topology

Retinal pigment epithelium in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration and photobiomodulation as a potential therapy?

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) comprises a monolayer of cells located between the neuroretina and the choriocapillaries. The RPE serves several important functions in the eye: formation of the blood retinal barrier, protection of the retina from oxidative stress, nutrient delivery and waste disposal, ionic homeostasis, phagocytosis of photoreceptor outer segments, synthesis and release of growth factors, reisomerization of all-trans-retinal during the visual cycle, and establishment of ocular immune privilege. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in developed countries. Dysfunction of the RPE has been associated with the pathogenesis of AMD in relation to increased oxidative stress, mitochondrial destabilization and complement dysregulation. Photobiomodulation or near infrared light therapy which refers to non-invasive irradiation of tissue with light in the far-red to near-infrared light spectrum (630-1000 nm), is an intervention that specifically targets key mechanisms of RPE dysfunction that are implicated in AMD pathogenesis. The current evidence for the efficacy of photobiomodulation in AMD is poor but its safety profile and proposed mechanisms of action motivate further research as a novel therapy for AMD.Jack Ao, John PM Wood, Glyn Chidlow, Mark C Gillies and Robert J Casso