Interviewer Effects on Nonresponse

In face-to-face surveys interviewers play a crucial role in making contact with and gaining cooperation from sample units. While some analyses investigate the influence of interviewers on nonresponse, they are typically restricted to single-country studies. However, interviewer training, contacting and cooperation strategies as well as survey climates may differ across countries. Combining call-record data from the European Social Survey (ESS) with data from a detailed interviewer questionnaire on attitudes and doorstep behavior we find systematic country differences in nonresponse processes, which can in part be explained by differences in interviewer characteristics, such as contacting strategies and avowed doorstep behavior.

Modelling job crafting behaviours: Implications for work engagement

In this study among 206 employees (103 dyads), we followed the job demands–resources approach of job crafting to investigate whether proactively changing one’s work environment influences employee’s (actor’s) own and colleague s (partner’s) work engagement. Using social cognitive theory, we hypothesized that employees would imitate each other’s job crafting behaviours, and therefore influence each other’s work engagement. Results showed that the crafting of social and structural job resources, and the crafting of challenge job demands was positively related to own work engagement, whereas decreasing hindrance job demands was unrelated to own engagement. As predicted, results showed a reciprocal relationship between dyad members’ job crafting behaviours – each of the actor’s job crafting behaviours was positively related to the partner’s job crafting behaviours. Finally, employee’s job crafting was related to colleague’s work engagement through colleague’s job crafting, suggesting a modelling process

Interviewer effects on non-response propensity in longitudinal surveys:a multilevel modelling approach

The paper investigates two different multilevel approaches, the multilevel cross-classified and the multiple-membership models, for the analysis of interviewer effects on wave non-response in longitudinal surveys. The models proposed incorporate both interviewer and area effects to account for the non-hierarchical structure, the influence of potentially more than one interviewer across waves and possible confounding of area and interviewer effects arising from the non-random allocation of interviewers across areas. The methods are compared by using a data set: the UK Family and Children Survey

Obtaining data linkage consent for children: factors influencing outcomes and potential biases

Understanding factors associated with consent for data linkage has largely focussed on adults, but parents or guardians can also be asked to consent on behalf of children for whom they are responsible. A framework for consent decision is presented, and is tested using a large nationally representative survey asking mothers to consent for both themselves and their children for two sets of records. Nearly all mothers give the same consent outcome for all their children. Consent rates are higher for education records than for health records and higher for mothers than children. Multivariate analyses suggest that minorities are generally less likely to consent, while more trust increases chances of consent. Several survey environment factors are important, with harder-to-contact respondents less likely to consent, while the presence of others and higher interviewer-respondent rapport lead to a higher chance of consent. These findings suggest potential methodologies to improve consent rates and possibly minimise bias. This is important given significant demographic differences between children across consent outcomes. However, data from a survey of 10?15 year olds in the study shows fewer differences for several important behaviours and attitudes across consent outcomes

Considerazioni sulla necessita di un approccio integrato tra medicina veterinaria e medicina umana nelle strategie di prevenzione della West Nile Disease in Regione Toscana.

La West Nile Disease (WND) è una zoonosi causata dal West Nile Virus (WNV), un Arbovirus neuropatogeno trasmesso principalmente da zanzare ornitofile isolato per la prima volta in Uganda nel 1937 e responsabile di meningo-encefalite nell'uomo e negli equidi. Il primo focolaio italiano di WND si è manifestato in Regione Toscana nel 1998 nell'area lacustre del Padule di Fucecchio nella quale si verificarono casi clinici in 14 cavalli, 6 dei quali con esito mortale, ma senza interessare l'uomo. A distanza di 10 anni dalla prima notifica, nell'agosto 2008, la WND è ricomparsa in Italia nell'area del delta del Po ma, al contrario di quanto avvenne in Toscana, l'infezione del 2008 ha causato sintomatologia clinica, oltre che nei cavalli, anche in 8 persone. Nel 2009 l'infezione si è ripresentata di nuovo in Regione Toscana con 10 cavalli risultati positivi al WNV confinati nella Provincia di Arezzo: sempre nel 2009, nell'area del delta del Po si verificarono 18 casi clinici nell'uomo 4 dei quali con esito mortale. A fronte della diffusione del virus e del cambiamento della situazione epidemiologica nel territorio toscano, si rende necessaria un'analisi delle azioni di controllo che si stanno attuando da alcuni anni, sia in medicina veterinaria che umana, per ridefinire in maniera integrata le strategie di controllo nei confronti di questa malattia (e anche di altre zoonosi) in una prospettiva “One Health”. Tale esigenza nasce dalla necessità di superare il concetto di malattia “esotica” perché, a fronte dell'aumento della popolazione umana, della globalizzazione, degli scambi commerciali e dei cambiamenti climatici, malattie come la WND, oggi “esotiche” non lo sono più. In un mondo ormai sempre più globalizzato nelle sue manifestazioni, nessuna singola disciplina o settore della società ha conoscenze o risorse sufficienti per affrontare da sola i problemi legati alla salute delle persone e degli animali od all’integrità degli ecosistemi. L''iniziativa “One Medicine – One Health”, termine coniato dal medico veterinario e parassitologo Calvin W. Schwabe (1927–2006), è una cornice logica che promuove la collaborazione tra diverse discipline affinché lavorino insieme stabilendo un approccio integrato (olistico) alla prevenzione della salute. Partendo dai dati fruibili dagli attuali sistemi informativi, l'obiettivo del presente lavoro è stato quello di illustrare considerazioni su vari aspetti relativi alla gestione della WND sia in campo umano che veterinario con l'intento di fornire spunti di riflessione per la costruzione di un sistema di sorveglianza integrato e, sopratutto, interattivo nello scambio delle informazioni in modo tale da essere in grado non solo di individuare tempestivamente la circolazione virale ma sopratutto di prevenire lo stato di malattia nell'uomo e negli animali. In tal senso, la collaborazione tecnico-scientifica tra medico-chirurgo, medico veterinario e altre professioni coinvolte, rappresenta un punto cardine sul quale lavorare per cercare di migliorare significativamente la salute umana e animale

The influence of distributed leadership on teachers' organizational commitment: a multilevel approach

In the present study the effects of a cooperative leadership team, distributed leadership, participative decision-making, and context variables on teachers' organizational commitment are investigated. Multilevel analyses on data from 1522 teachers indicated that 9% of the variance in teachers' organizational commitment is attributable to differences between schools. The analyses revealed that especially the presence of a cooperative leadership team and the amount of leadership support played a significantly positive key role in predicting teachers' organizational commitment. Also, participative decision-making and distribution of the supportive leadership function had a significant positive impact on teachers' organizational commitment. In contrast, distribution of the supervisory leadership function and teachers' job experience had a significant negative impact

Putting theory oriented evaluation into practice

Evaluations of gaming simulations and business games as teaching devices are typically end-state driven. This emphasis fails to detect how the simulation being evaluated does or does not bring about its desired consequences. This paper advances the use of a logic model approach which possesses a holistic perspective that aims at including all elements associated with the situation created by a game. The use of the logic model approach is illustrated as applied to Simgame, a board game created for secondary school level business education in six European Union countries

Reliability of the Dutch Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory

Objective: To evaluate the reliability of the Dutch version of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI), an instrument for measuring functional status (capability and performance in self-care, mobility and social function) of young children using parent interviews. Design: Inter-interviewer reliability was studied after scoring audiotaped interviews by a second researcher. For test-retest reliability the same parent was interviewed twice within three weeks; in inter-respondent reliability both parents of a child were interviewed independently within a few days. On item level, percentage identical scores were computed, and on scale level intraclass correlation coef cients (ICC) and Cronbach's alphas were calculated. Subjects: Parents of 63 nondisabled and 53 disabled (various diagnosis) children aged between 7 and 88 months were interviewed. Results: On scale level, all ICCs were above 0.90 and Cronbach's alpha was 0.89 for the self-care domain, 0.74 for the mobility domain and 0.87 for the social function domain. On item level for the Functional Skills Scale, the mean percentage identical scores varied from 89 to 99, and for the Caregiver Assistance Scale from 54 to 90. Different scores between interviewers resulted partially from ambiguous interpretation of the item and/or the explanation. Conclusions: Although small adaptations have to be made, the psychometric properties of the Dutch PEDI are found to be good. 458 JE Wassenberg-Severijnen et al