No / There is a common assumption that a postal questionnaire is an inappropriate research instrument for collecting rich qualitative data. In this article we challenge this and argue that in some circumstances such instruments can be used to yield rich thick descriptions of the kind normally associated with interviewing. We give the example of research into lesbian identities. Our experience led us to question what we call the epistemology of presence and the assumption that presence guarantees authenticity. We also suggest that the ethics of the face-to-face encounter may be different from those occurring at a distance. We conclude by arguing that researchers should be more open to the possibilities that postal questionnaires may be capable of generating authentic qualitative data, and that interviewing should be an explicit choice not the default position in qualitative research.

Yes / This article discusses the data obtained from an online survey of academic staff who are involved in module design and who are employed within one university. The survey was used as a baselining tool to explore the nature of current module design practice within the survey sample. Do academics consistently employ the pragmatic approaches recommended by educational developers and theorists or is module and curriculum development a more informally constructed process? By comparing the initial findings of this project with survey and interview data produced by evidence-based projects, this article suggests that module design practice is not set in stone and that we need a deeper analysis of the process of module and curriculum design in terms of social practice and socio-cultural theory in order to gain a deeper understanding of it.

Research report presented to SBL, Unisa, Midrand. / This study aims to examine how manager's leadership styles correlates with leadership outcomes and perceptions of subordinates and management in the construction industry. Leadership styles, conception and leadership outcomes in terms of effectiveness and operationalization were measured using a modified Bass and Avolio's multifactor leadership questionnaire (MLQ) and a modified Porter et al.'s organizational commitment questionnaire (OCQ).

The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire is an internationally widely used instrument assessing different eating styles that may contribute to weight gain and overweight: emotional eating, external eating, and restraint. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the 30-item German version of the DEBQ including its measurement invariance across gender, age, and BMI-status in a representative German population sample. Furthermore, we examined the distribution of eating styles in the general population and provide population-based norms for DEBQ scales. A representative sample of the German general population (N = 2513, age > 14 years) was assessed with the German version of the DEBQ along with information on sociodemographic characteristics and body weight and height. The German version of the DEQB demonstrates good item characteristics and reliability (restraint: α = .92, emotional eating: α = .94, external eating: α = .89). The 3-factor structure of the DEBQ could be replicated in exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and results of multi-group confirmatory factor analyses supported its metric and scalar measurement invariance across gender, age, and BMI-status. External eating was the most prevalent eating style in the German general population. Women scored higher on emotional and restrained eating scales than men, and overweight individuals scored higher in all three eating styles compared to normal weight individuals. Small differences across age were found for external eating. Norms were provided according to gender, age, and BMI-status. Our findings suggest that the German version of the DEBQ has good reliability and construct validity, and is suitable to reliably measure eating styles across age, gender, and BMI-status. Furthermore, the results demonstrate a considerable variation of eating styles across gender and BMI-status.

It is believed by many researchers that little attention has been given to patients' perceptions of the impact of chronic pain on their lives. In recognition of this need, G. Frank Lawlis, C. Edward McCoy, and David K. Selby developed the Dallas Pain Questionnaire (DPQ) to assess the amount of chronic pain that affects four aspects (daily activities, work-leisure activities, anxiety-depression, and social interest) of the patients' lives. The present study, conducted to validate the DPQ's statistical properties, first reviews the literature addressing the various theories and varieties of pain, its opiates, and the two current approaches to quantify pain. This study included a total of 143 subjects. Clinical subjects were 104 inpatients in the Spinal and Chronic Pain Center at Medical Arts Hospital and 15 chronic pain outpatients released to work. Normal subjects consisted of staffing personnel (n = 13) and flight assistance employees (U = 11)- Both clinical and normal groups completed the DPQ. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was administered only to the clinical population. Results suggest that the DPQ is both externally reliable (stability reliability coefficient of .970) as well as an internally consistent instrument. Two factors emerged from factor structure analysis. Factor one (63.2% of variance) represents functional activities. Factor two (8.3% of variance) represents emotional capacities. A correlation analysis suggests the concurrent validity of the psychological and functional factors of the DPQ. A t-test demonstrated that chronic pain patients have significantly higher DPQ's scores than normals. Because these findings support its psychometric properties, the DPQ appears to have utility for clinical and research purposes. The findings, limitations, and implications of this study are detailed, as are suggestions for future research.

Research report presented to SBL, Unisa, Midrand. / This study aims to examine how manager's leadership styles correlates with leadership outcomes and perceptions of subordinates and management in the construction industry. Leadership styles, conception and leadership outcomes in terms of effectiveness and operationalization were measured using a modified Bass and Avolio's multifactor leadership questionnaire (MLQ) and a modified Porter et al.'s organizational commitment questionnaire (OCQ).

La surveillance de l’activité physique et des comportements sédentaires, et la question de leur mesure, sont primordiales dans un contexte où les sociétés modernes favorisent l’augmentation de l’incidence de nombreuses maladies associées à un mode de vie sédentaire. Objectif : L’objectif de cette thèse était d’approfondir les connaissances sur la surveillance et la mesure de l’activité physique et des comportements sédentaires. Méthodes : Quatre études ont été réalisées. Deux travaux analysent et discutent le système français de surveillance de l’activité physique et des comportements sédentaires des adultes et des jeunes. Une étude teste les propriétés psychométriques du questionnaire mondial sur la pratique d’activités physiques (GPAQ). Enfin, une revue de la littérature analyse le contenu des questionnaires disponibles pour mesurer les comportements sédentaires. Résultats : Les deux études portant sur la surveillance observent un manque d’homogénéité et de constance dans le choix des outils de mesure qui limite le suivi de l’évolution des pratiques. L’étude sur le GPAQ révèle des résultats, en termes de reproductibilité et de validité, similaires aux valeurs habituellement observées. Enfin, la revue de littérature a mis en évidence que les questionnaires mesurant les comportements sédentaires présentent des différences en termes de population cible, période de rappel, nombre d’item, et caractéristiques des comportements sédentaires mesurés. Conclusion : Des recommandations ont été formulées afin d’améliorer la mesure et la surveillance de l’activité physique et des comportements sédentaires en France / Physical activity and sedentary behaviors are major health determinants and are being surveyed worldwide. Objective: The aim of this thesis was to contribute to the surveillance and measurement of physical activity and sedentary behaviors. Method: This thesis includes four studies. The first study analyzes and discusses the present situation of French national surveillance studies. The second study presents the results from the first French report card on physical activity for children and adolescents. The third study discusses the validity and reliability properties of the French version of the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ). The fourth study examines the content of questionnaires measuring sedentary behaviors. Results: Studies 1 and 2 reported measurement issues impairing the overall data quality, inter-study comparisons and survey of changes over time. The study of GPAQ reported limited but acceptable reliability and validity for the measurement of physical activity and sedentary time in France. Finally, the systematic review on sedentary behaviors questionnaires reported large differences in the population targeted (ex: adults, youth, elderly), recall frame (ex: previous day, last 7 days, last month), the number of item (from 1 to more than 100), and the sedentary behaviors characteristics measured (from only sitting time to up to 27 sedentary behaviors). Conclusion: The work realized during this thesis allows the formulation of recommendations to improve the surveillance of physical activity and sedentary behaviors in France

Nous étudions le comportement des investisseurs individuels sur les marchés financiers en combinant les réponses au questionnaire MiFID et les données bancaires de plus de 98,000 clients d’une grande banque Européenne. Tout d’abord, nous étudions la participation sur les marchés actions. Nous montrons que la tolérance au risque et les attitudes face aux pertes auto-évaluées des clients sont de forts prédicteurs de l’investissement en actions tout en contrôlant les déterminants classiques. Puis, dans le cadre de la comptabilité mentale, nous créons une typologie d’objectifs mentaux et montrons que les décisions financières des clients sont cohérentes avec leurs objectifs mentaux. Enfin, nous analysons le comportement des investisseurs détenant directement au moins une action étrangère. Nous montrons qu’ils détiennent des portefeuilles d’actions plus diversifiés que les investisseurs domestiques. Ces investisseurs sophistiqués sont plus tolérants au risque, moins sensibles aux pertes et plus instruits en matière financière mais sont sujets au biais national. / We study retail investors’ behavior on financial markets by combining the MiFID questionnaire answers and banking records of more than 98,000 retail clients of a large European retail bank. First, we study stock market participation. We show that retail clients’ self-assessed risk tolerance and attitudes towards losses are strong drivers of stockholding while controlling for classical determinants. Second, under the mental accounting framework, we derive a typology of retail client mental goals and show that retail clients’ actual investment decisions are consistent with their mental goals. Finally, we analyze the behavior of investors directly holding at least one foreign individual stock. We show that they hold more diversified stock portfolios than domestic investors. These sophisticated investors are more risk tolerant, less sensitive to losses and more financially literate but are subject to the home bias.

Aim of the Study The aim of this study was to determine if the nursing interventions of patient education and multidisciplinary coordination of care were able to improve pain control in the cancer patient in an acute hospital setting. Background of the Study The role of the nurse in cancer pain management has been defined as being that of an educator, coordinator of care and advocate. A nurse with adequate knowledge of pain and its application to the cancer population and functioning in the role as defined is believed to be able to overcome many of the barriers that exist in implementing adequate analgesia and improve pain management in cancer patients. Design of the Study A randomized experimental control group design was utilized. The study comprised 3 experimental groups and one control group incorporating pre and post testing. The Intervention of the Study Experimental group one: subjects received education regarding their pain management which was tailored to meet their specific needs. Experimental group two: subjects underwent a pain assessment and construction of a care plan which was communicated verbally to the treating medical and nursing team and followed up with a written report which was documented in the history and sent to the treating medical physician. Experimental group three: subjects received the combined interventions administered to groups one and two. Control group four: subjects were assessed and all information was record in the same manner as for the experimental groups. The control group received their usual care during the study and their pain scores were measured at the same time intervals as the three experimental groups. Instrumentation The Wisconsin Brief Pain Questionnaire was used for the assessment of all subjects. The McGill Pain Questionnaire was used as the outcome measure following intervention. Data Analysis A one-way analysis of variance was used to detect the differences between the intervention groups and the control group. T-Tests were used to detect the differences between the groups incorporating a Bonferroni adjustment for frequent T tests. Results The main effect demonstrated a significant difference between the treatment groups and control at a significance level of 0.002. T-Tests showed no significant difference between control and communication groups and no significant difference between education and combined groups. A significant difference was detected between education and control and between combined and control. Conclusions Nursing interventions of patient education, coordination of care and advocacy can significantly improve cancer pain management. Intervention was tailored to meet the specific patient needs based on findings from the assessment and was dependent upon an adequate knowledge base. The nursing intervention of education was the most powerful of the three intervention types and its success was in tailoring to each individual. However, it is believed that with further recognition of the role of the nurse as coordinator of care will lead to greater improvements in cancer pain management.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Auburn University, 2008. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 53-58).