This study aimed to design and validate the Teacher Identity Measurement Scale (TIMS) for assessing primary student teachers’ professional identity. Based on identity theory and a systematic review into quantitative instruments of teacher identity, teacher identity was decomposed in four first-order constructs: motivation, self image, self-efficacy, and task perception. This resulted in a measurement scale consisting of 46 items. The factorial design was examined by administering the TIMS to first- and second-year primary student teachers. In phase 1, involving 17 students, qualitative scale development methods were used to assess the construct validity. In phase 2, its second-order factor structure was tested and confirmed among a sample of 211 students. In phase 3, this structure was cross-validated among a new sample of 419 students. The instrument may contribute to understanding primary student teacher’s professional development and can be used as a tool to support the process of developing a professional teacher identity.
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BACKGROUND: The Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale (QBPDS) has been translated into different languages, and several studies on its measurement properties have been done. PURPOSE: The purpose of this review was to critically appraise and compare the measurement properties, when possible, of all language versions of the QBPDS by systematically reviewing the methodological quality and results of the available studies. METHOD: Bibliographic databases (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO) were searched for articles with the key words "Quebec," "back," "pain," and "disability" in combination with a methodological search filter for finding studies on measurement properties concerning the development or evaluation of the measurement properties of the QBPDS in patients with nonspecific low back pain. Assessment of the methodological quality was carried out by the reviewers using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist for both the original language version of the QBPDS in English and French and all translated versions. The results of the measurement properties were rated based on criteria proposed by Terwee et al. RESULTS: The search strategy resulted in identification of 1,436 publications, and 27 articles were included in the systematic review. There was limited-to-moderate evidence of good reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the QBPDS for the different language versions, but for no language version was evidence available for all measurement properties. CONCLUSION: For research and clinical practice, caution is advised when using the QBPDS to measure disability in patients with nonspecific low back pain. Strong evidence is lacking on all measurement properties for each language version of the QBPDS.
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Description: The Neck Pain and Disability Scale (NPDS or NPAD) is a questionnaire aiming to quantify neck pain and disability.1 It is a patient-reported outcome measure for patients with any type of neck pain, of any duration, with or without injury.1,2 It consists of 20 items: three related to pain intensity, four related to emotion and cognition, four related to mobility of the neck, eight related to activity limitations and participation restrictions and one on medication.1,3 Patients respond to each item on a 0 to 5 visual analogue scale of 10 cm. There is also a nine-item short version.4 Feasibility: The NPDS is published and available online (https://mountainphysiotherapy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Neck-Pain-and-Disability-Scale.pdf).1 The NPDS is an easy to use questionnaire that can be completed within 5 to 8 minutes.1,5 There is no training needed to administer the instrument but its validity is compromised if the questionnaire must be read to the patient.2 Higher scores indicate higher severity (0 for normal functioning to 5 for the worst possible situation ‘your’ pain problem has caused you).2 The total score is the sum of scores on the 20 items (0 to 100).1 The maximum acceptable number of missing answers is three (15%).4 Two studies found a minimum important change of 10 points (sensitivity 0.93; specificity 0.83) and 11.5 points (sensibility 0.74; specificity 0.70), respectively.6,7 The NPDS is available in English, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Hindi, Iranian, Korean, Turkish, Japanese and Thai. Reliability and validity: Two systematic reviews have evaluated the clinimetric properties of 11 of the translated versions.5,8 The Finnish, German and Italian translations were particularly recommended for use in clinical practice. Face validity was established and content validity was confirmed by an adequate reflection of all aspects of neck pain and disability.1,8 Regarding structural validity, the NPDS is a multidimensional scale, with moderate evidence that the NPDS has a three-factor structure (with explained variance ranging from 63 to 78%): neck dysfunction related to general activities; neck pain and neck-specific function; and cognitive-emotional-behavioural functioning. 4,5,9 A recent overview of four systematic reviews found moderate-quality evidence of high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alphas ranging from 0.86 to 0.93 for the various factors).10 Excellent test-retest reliability was found (ICC of 0.97); however, the studies were considered to be of low quality.3,10 Construct validity (hypotheses-testing) seems adequate when the NPDS is compared with the Neck Disability Index and the Global Assessment of Change with moderate to strong correlations (r = 0.52 to 0.86), based on limited moderate-quality studies.3,11,12 One systematic review reported good responsiveness to change in patients (r = 0.59).12
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The denim industry faces many complex sustainability challenges and has been especially criticized for its polluting and hazardous production practices. Reducing resource use of water, chemicals and energy and changing denim production practices calls for collaboration between various stakeholders, including competing denim brands. There is great benefit in combining denim brands’ resources and knowledge so that commonly defined standards and benchmarks are developed and realized on a scale that matters. Collaboration however, and especially between competitors, is highly complex and prone to fail. This project brings leading denim brands together to collectively take initial steps towards improving the ecological sustainability impact of denim production, particularly by establishing measurements, benchmarks and standards for resource use (e.g. chemicals, water, energy) and creating best practices for effective collaboration. The central research question of our project is: How do denim brands effectively collaborate together to create common, industry standards on resource use and benchmarks for improved ecological sustainability in denim production? To answer this question, we will use a mixed-method, action research approach. The project’s research setting is the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (MRA), which has a strong denim cluster and is home to many international denim brands and start-ups.
E-cycling intelligence is a research project directly connected to the PhD-research of Joost de Kruijf at the Utrecht University. Within the program the effects of the introduction of e-bikes in daily commuting are being investigated. Using a large-scale incentive program targeting on behavioral change among car-oriented commuters the next four specific components are being :- Modal shift to e-cycling- Well-being and travel satisfaction of e-bikes vs. car- Weather circumstances and e-cycling- Behavioral intention to e-bike vs. actual behavior Using a combination of three surveys (baseline, one month and half a year) and continuous GPS-measurement on the behavior of more than 800 participants makes this research unique. In collaboration with the TU/e the GPS-dataset is being translated into relevant information on modal shift on different trip purposes offering a new range of possibilities to analyses behavioral change. Knowledge on every of the four topics in the project is translated scientific paper. The expected end of the project is July 2021.With the research not new insights are being gained, the Breda University of Applied Sciences also develops a scientific network of cycling related researchers together with a network of cycling engaged road authorities.
Water treatment companies are more and more interested in chemical-free water treatment. This is a solution that might not only decrease costs of chemicals, but also decrease possible formation of by-products and contribute to decreasing the introduction of emerging contaminants in the environment. A possible route for this is the use of magnetic fields based treatment. Magnetic fields exist around us (our planet is surrounded by such fields) but are not broadly used in water treatment. A reason for this situation isthe fact that water treatment is a rather traditional market and magnetic treatment, conversely, a rather controversial and (still) not completely understood. Even with such resistance, recently it has been shown that magnetic fields applied to drinking water resulted in significant structural change of its microbiome [1]. This community structural change was clearly detected with a newly developed flow cytometry method, where the phenotypic characteristics of the entire microbial community could be analysed instantly [2-9]. Lab-scale batch experiments have shown that magnetic fields can selectively boost the growth of smaller bacteria [1][3] and indicated as a next step that the same principle could be addressed in pilot scale tests. ISusMag is structured to apply the robust and instant flow cytometry method to examine the effect of magnetic fields on drinking water at pilot scale under realistic field conditions. For this purpose, groundwater will be evenly distributed into two (pipe)lines of the same length: one will be magnetically treated, and one will be used as control. Samples will be taken at the end of the two pipes for flow cytometry examination. Measurement results can help drinking water companies to understand whether a magnetic treatment is an alternative to control the growth of pathogenic bacteria instead of classical chemical treatment (disinfection).
