Background: A feasible and reliable instrument to measure strength in persons with severe intellectual and visual disabilities (SIVD) is lacking. The aim of our study was to determine feasibility, learning period and reliability of three strength tests.Methods: Twenty-nine participants with SIVD performed the Minimum Sit-to-Stand Height test (MSST), the Leg Extension test (LE) and the 30 seconds Chair-Stand test (30sCS), once per week for 5 weeks. Feasibility was determined by the percentage of successful measurements; learning effect by using paired t test between two consecutive measurements; test–retest reliability by intraclass correlation coefficient and Limits of Agreement and, correlations by Pearson correlations.Results: A sufficient feasibility and learning period of the tests was shown. The methods had sufficient test–retest reliability and moderate-to-sufficient correlations. Conclusion: The MSST, the LE, and the 30sCS are feasible tests for measuring muscle strength in persons with SIVD, having sufficient test re-test reliability.
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Organizations are currently facing substantial challenges regarding becoming circular by 2050 – also referred to as Circular Economy (CE). Subsequently, increasing complexity on all organizational levels creates uncertainty about respective organizational and technological capabilities and adequate strategies to develop these capabilities. Organizations are struggling in picking up the CE ambitions and answering the what’s in it for me question. Scholars are developing models and frameworks to enable organizations to measure CE performance. Over 125 assessment methods are available for micro level assessment – measuring up to 365 different metrics. Moreover, extant literature is available presenting barriers and opportunities for CE transformation focusing on industry, sector, region, etc. And, although a more holistic perspective is required to become circular mature, this is currently lacking. In this paper we present a multi-methodology view on approaches and how they are used (or not). Our main goal is to extend the existing body of knowledge with an eye on applicability and research directions to untie the Gordian knot of measuring circularity.
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Exergames provide a challenging opportunity for home-based training and evaluation of postural control in the elderly population, but affordable sensor technology and algorithms for assessment of whole body movement patterns in the home environment are yet to be developed. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the use of Kinect, a commonly available video game sensor, for capturing and analyzing whole body movement patterns. Healthy adults (. n=20) played a weight shifting exergame under five different conditions with varying amplitudes and speed of sway movement, while 3D positions of ten body segments were recorded in the frontal plane using Kinect and a Vicon 3D camera system. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to extract and compare movement patterns and the variance in individual body segment positions explained by these patterns. Using the identified patterns, balance outcome measures based on spatiotemporal sway characteristics were computed. The results showed that both Vicon and Kinect capture >90% variance of all body segment movements within three PCs. Kinect-derived movement patterns were found to explain variance in trunk movements accurately, yet explained variance in hand and foot segments was underestimated and overestimated respectively by as much as 30%. Differences between both systems with respect to balance outcome measures range 0.3-64.3%. The results imply that Kinect provides the unique possibility of quantifying balance ability while performing complex tasks in an exergame environment.
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This study evaluates psychometric properties of the Individual Recovery Outcomes Counter (I.ROC) in a Dutch population of participants with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD). B. Esther Sportel1*† , Hettie Aardema1†, Nynke Boonstra2 , Johannes Arends1 , Bridey Rudd3 , Margot J. Metz4 , Stynke Castelein5 and Gerdina H.M. Pijnenborg6
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Abstract Teaching project management is becoming a standard part of curricula in higher education. Assessing the added value of the teaching efforts needs pre- and post assessments. Given the wide variety of skills and knowledge project management embraces a proper assessment of project management is difficult. A method of assessing added value has been designed and tested on the first part of a professional Master in Project and Process Management. The design is based on students assessment of learning gains (SALG) with several extra criteria. The design was evaluated, updated and tested again. The third test with a tweaked design is being performed. The results do not convince that this SALG-based instrument can be used to measure added value. Presented at ICEE2015 : International conference on engineering education, 20th - 24th July 2015, Zagreb, Zadar (Croatia).
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Living labs are complex multi-stakeholder collaborations that often employ a usercentred and design-driven methodology to foster innovation. Conventional management tools fall short in evaluating them. However, some methods and tools dedicated to living labs' special characteristics and goals have already been developed. Most of them are still in their testing phase. Those tools are not easily accessible and can only be found in extensive research reports, which are difficult to dissect. Therefore, this paper reviews seven evaluation methods and tools specially developed for living labs. Each section of this paper is structured in the following manner: tool’s introduction (1), who uses the tool (2), and how it should be used (3). While the first set of tools, namely “ENoLL 20 Indicators”, “SISCODE Self-assessment”, and “SCIROCCO Exchange Tool” assess a living lab as an organisation and are diving deeper into the organisational activities and the complex context, the second set of methods and tools, “FormIT” and “Living Lab Markers”, evaluate living labs’ methodologies: the process they use to come to innovations. The paper's final section presents “CheRRIes Monitoring and Evaluation Tool” and “TALIA Indicator for Benchmarking Service for Regions”, which assess the regional impact made by living labs. As every living lab is different regarding its maturity (as an organisation and in its methodology) and the scope of impact it wants to make, the most crucial decision when evaluating is to determine the focus of the assessment. This overview allows for a first orientation on worked-out methods and on possible indicators to use. It also concludes that the existing tools are quite managerial in their method and aesthetics and calls for designers and social scientists to develop more playful, engaging and (possibly) learning-oriented tools to evaluate living labs in the future. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/overdiek12345/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mari-genova-17a727196/?originalSubdomain=nl
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From the article: "Various programs in higher education feel a need to teach project management skills to students. Measuring the effect of education is a challenge especially when focused on behavioral skills. Research on learning gains usually turns to the method of Students Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG), which can be questioned on reliability. This article constructs five design criteria for an improved Students Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG): measure satisfaction, use pre- and posttests, use perceived ability, account for learning stage one and account for attrition. A first test on a semester of a professional master in project management yields ambiguous results. The second test with a 360 degrees measurement is performed on the same semester with different students. The post test is scheduled for June 2014, results will be reported at the World Congress."
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Activity trackers like Fitbit are used for self-tracking of physical activity by an increasing number of individuals. Comparing physical activity scores with peers can contribute to the desired behavioural change. However, for meaningful social comparison a high inter-device reliability is paramount. This study aimed to determine the inter-device reliability of Fitbit activity trackers in measuring steps. Ten activity trackers (Fitbit Ultra) were worn by a single person (male,46 years) during eight consecutive days. Inter-device reliability was assessed on three different levels of aggregation (minutes, hours, days) with various methods, including intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), Bland-Altman plots, limits of agreement (LOA) and Mixed Model Analysis. Results showed that the inter-device reliability of the Fitbit in measuring steps is good at all levels of aggregation (minutes, hours, days), but especially when steps were measuredper day. This implies that individuals can reliably compare their daily physical activity scores with peers.
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Background: In clinical practice, nurses’ attitudes regarding older patients are important in relation to quality of care. The Older People in Acute Care Survey (OPACS) is an instrument measuring hospital nurses attitudes regarding older patients and is validated in Australia and the USA. The OPACS is translated in Dutch language and content validity of this translation is previously assessed, presenting questionable results. Measurement instruments, however, cannot be “validated” based on content validity evidence alone. Judgmental evidence and statistical analysis should be combined to fully evaluate content domain definition and representation and guide further development. Objective: Assess structural validity and reliability to fully evaluate the OPACS for use in the Netherlands, complementing previous conducted content validity results. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Three general hospitals in the Netherlands. Participants: 201 registered nurses. Methods: Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the structural validity. Reliability was assessed with Cronbach’s alpha. Results: OPACS Section A (measuring practice experiences) demonstrated to have acceptable structural validity- and good reliability outcomes after exclusion of two items (model fit: x² [df=537]=8475.40, p <0.001, CFI=0.96, TLI=0.96, RMSEA=0.21; Cronbach’s alpha=0.82). Section B (measuring general opinion) demonstrated to have inadequate structural validity outcomes (model fit: x² [df=1127]=9200.29, p<0.001, CFI=0.68, TLI=0.67, RMSEA=0.15). None of the items contributed significant to the factor and therefore no further analysis could be performed (range p(>|z|)= 0.551 -0 .788). Conclusion: Even though structural validity for section A was acceptable, content validity scores of a majority of items in this subscale were low, resulting in questionable use of this subscale for the Dutch context. The findings of this study, in relation to the earlier findings regarding content validity, justify the conclusion that use of the Dutch OPACS in clinical practice and research is not recommended. Given these findings, future research should pursue the development or (cross-cultural) validation of other instruments measuring hospital nurses attitudes towards older patients for the Dutch cultural context. Furthermore, this study demonstrated the influence of cultural differences on measurement instruments and the need for rigorous research before using a measurement instrument in a new culture or context.
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Background: Functional decline is common in nursing home residents. Nursing staff can help prevent this decline, by encouraging residents to be more active in functional activities. Questionnaires measuring the extent to which nursing staff encourage functional activity among residents are lacking. In addition, there are no measurement instruments to gain insight into nursing staff perceived barriers and facilitators to this behavior. The aim of this study was to develop, and study the usability, of the MAastrIcht Nurses Activities INventory (MAINtAIN), an inventory assessing a) the extent to which nursing staff perceive to perform behaviors that optimize and maintain functional activity among nursing home residents and b) the perceived barriers and facilitators related to this behavior. Methods: Using a mixed-methods approach the MAINtAIN was developed and its usability was studied. Development was based on literature, expert opinions, focus group (N = 3) and individual interviews (N = 14) with residents and staff from nine nursing homes in the Netherlands. Usability was studied in a cross-sectional study with 37 nurses and certified nurse assistants; data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Development of the MAINtAIN resulted in two distinctive parts: MAINtAIN-behaviors and MAINtAIN-barriers. MAINtAIN-behaviors, targeting nursing staff behavior to optimize and maintain functional activity, includes 19 items covering activities of daily living, household activities, and miscellaneous activities. MAINtAIN-barriers addresses the perceived barriers and facilitators related to this behavior and comprises 33 items covering barriers and facilitators related to the residents, the professionals, the social context, and the organizational and economic context. The usability study showed that the inventory was not difficult to complete, that items and response options were clear,and that the number of missing values was low. Few items showed a floor or ceiling effect. Conclusions: The newly developed inventory MAINtAIN provides a usable method for researchers and nursing homes to obtain insight into nursing staff perceived behavior in optimizing functional activity among residents and their perceived barriers and facilitators related to this behavior. Outcomes of the MAINtAIN may contribute to change in nursing staff behavior and may improve nursing care. Further research with regard to the psychometric properties of the MAINtAIN is recommended.
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