Translating Communication Measures for Use in Non-English-Speaking Populations

Research involving comparisons between English-speaking and non-English-speaking populations often includes a process of scale translation. The goals of translation of a psychosocial instrument from its original, source language (e.g., English) to another target language (e.g., Spanish) are to maintain denotative and connotative word meanings, and to ensure the source and target scales correctly measure the attributes of interest. This essay offers advice on some of the important issues related to the translation of instruments used in communication research. Specific concerns about various translation methods are addressed, and suggestions for assessing the semantic equivalence and translation invariance of scales are discussed.     

Examining the measurement and structural invariance of LibQUAL+® across user groups

The LibQUAL+® instrument measures users' perceptions of library service quality; three factors are evaluated: Affect of Service, Information Control, and Library as Place. Although previous studies have assessed the factorial invariance of LibQUAL+®, factorial invariance by itself is insufficient for score comparability across groups. Stronger levels of measurement invariance need to be established. This study systematically tested the measurement and structural invariance of LibQUAL+® scores in a sample of 1551 undergraduate students, 707 graduate students, and 134 faculty members. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses showed that full measurement invariance did hold between students and faculty for the complete instrument. Building on the measurement invariance, structural invariance models showed that factor variances were equivalent across user groups, but factor covariances and means differed. Faculty had higher perceptions of Affect of Service and undergraduate students had higher perceptions of Library as Place compared to the other groups.     

A cross-cultural comparison of Kuwaiti and British citizens' views of e-government interface quality

It is difficult to conceive how Web users from different cultures can be encouraged to reap the benefits of an e-government initiative when its portal is suffering from culture-indifferent interface quality. Thus far, the e-government literature not only has paid scanty attention to web evaluation issues but also has been slow to embarking on cross-cultural research. As an attempt to address this concern, this investigation introduces an augmented approach to analyze cross-cultural website quality. The proposed approach consists of three parts: 1) a qualitative study of the website using content analysis, 2) an empirical evaluation using traditional statistical methods of perceptions of website users, and 3) a “persuasive quality gap” analysis that examines the gap between the composite scores of perceived importance and performance of quality attributes across the studied two cultures. These analyses were used to identify cross-cultural differences between Kuwaiti and British users' perceptions of e-government quality attributes. While the findings showed no significant differences between Kuwaiti and British users in terms of important quality features, the results revealed significant variations between the two groups in terms of perceived performance of quality attributes. Moreover, although the findings showed marginal support for the existence of differences between the two samples in terms of persuasive quality features, a post-hoc analysis of the persuasive quality gap revealed a need to consider not only important and/or high performing characteristics but also persuasive features to fully understand cross-cultural e-government quality variations. The author discusses the implications of these results for e-government design practices and future research.     

Multichannel marketing: An experiment on guiding citizens to the electronic channels

Governments have a variety of channels at their disposal to help them interact with their citizens. Having realized that citizens still prefer the traditional channels, governments are now focusing on ways to lead them to the web. Previously, we have shown that citizens prefer the use of soft instruments, such as communication. Communication instruments are characterized by the transfer of information from government to citizens, for example, by means of mass media or a letter. This study focuses on how a communication instrument—in this case a personal letter—can be used to lead citizens to the digital channel. We also show the effects of the instrument both in terms of channel usage and citizen perceptions. Based on a field experiment, carried out in cooperation with a Dutch national government agency, we show that unobtrusive channel marketing can be effectively used to increase usage of government e-services, without negatively affecting citizens' current level of satisfaction with service delivery.     

Are Issue-Cycles Culturally Constructed? A Comparison of French and American Coverage of Global Climate Change

We present a cross-cultural comparison of newspaper coverage of global warming in France and in the United States (1987-1997) as a case study to analyze the impact of culturally bound journalistic practices on media attention cycles. Based on the results of a content analysis, we show that France's coverage was more event-based, focused more on international relations, and presented a more restricted range of viewpoints on global warming than American coverage did. American coverage emphasized conflicts between scientists and politicians. Downs's "quot;media-attention cycle,"quot; which is apparent for the American coverage, does not manifest as visibly in French coverage. Our findings suggest that research on media coverage of global environmental issues needs to move beyond studies at the national level; cross-cultural comparisons are essential to understand how different news regimes might affect public opinion.     

Psychometric Properties of the Internet Self-Efficacy Scale: An Application of Item Response Theory

The current study provides a cursory review of item response theory (IRT), and tentatively applies the IRT to examining the psychometric properties of the Internet self-efficacy instrument. The results indicated that the eight items of the scale are not of the same quality of assessing individuals' Internet self-efficacy. The reason might be that some items are to a certain degree double-barreled. A comparison of classical test theory (CTT) and IRT shows that IRT provides insight into the item-level information about an instrument. Through illustration of the IRT, the author argued for more application of this measurement technique in the field of communication research.     

A Review of “Profiles of New York State—Facts,Figures & Statistics for 2,365 Populated Places in New York”

In 2015, the information literacy (IL) team designed an instrument to determine international graduate business students' perceptions of their IL skills and their actual test-assessed IL skills. The purpose of this research was to compare international graduate students' perceptions of their IL skills versus their test-assessed competencies, with the aim of creating training modules to improve test-identified deficiencies. Results demonstrate that wide discrepancies exist between students' perceptions of their own skills and their actual skills on all six ILA-topic areas assessed by the internally developed test instruments, with students overestimating their abilities in all areas.     

Two time series,their meaning and some applications

Introducing and studying two types of time series, referred to as R1 and R2, we try to enrich the set of time series available for time dependent informetric studies. In a first part we focus on mathematical properties, while in a second part we check if these properties are visible in real data. This practical application uses data in the social sciences related to top Chinese universities. R1 sequences always increase over time, tending relatively fast to one, while R2 sequences have a decreasing tendency tending to zero in practical cases. They can best be used over relatively short periods of time. R1 sequences can be used to detect the rate with which cumulative data increase, while R2 sequences detect the relative rate of development.The article ends by pointing out that these time series can be used to compare innovative activities in firms. Clearly, this investigation is just a first attempt. More studies are needed, including comparisons with other related sequences.     

我国促进大数据发展政策工具选择体系结构及其优化策略研究

[目的/意义]探究我国为实现促进大数据发展的政策目标而构建的政策工具选择体系结构,揭示大数据政策工具选择中存在的问题,为优化我国促进大数据发展政策工具选择提供建议。[方法/过程]构建由63项聚焦大数据发展的政策文本构成的政策样本集,运用内容分析法,对样本集中包含的政策工具进行编码。建立包含基础资源维度、技术维度和领域维度的政策工具选择三维分析框架,通过编码映射,建立其与政策工具编码的关联。从领域维度,使用层次聚类分析法,对样本政策文本进行聚类分析。[结果/结论]政策工具编码分析结果显示,我国大数据政策工具选择中存在缺乏长期规划,政策及政策工具协同不足,政策工具选择欠丰富;政策工具选择结构失衡;需求表达模糊,难以定位关键政策及政策工具等问题。应加强战略规划和发展理念指引,重视政策及政策工具协同,规避公共风险,构建需求驱动和问题导向的政策工具选择体系结构,创新设计与应用关键政策工具。     

Validating students' library experience survey using rasch model

Few studies have investigated the psychometric property of new instruments developed locally to assess students' library experience, such as their behavior, perception and attitude toward library use. Validating a survey instrument is critical because using untested assessment instruments is more likely to lead to a lack of credibility in the results, as well as a lack of accuracy in the study's purpose (Sullivan, 2011). This study used data from a locally developed student library experience survey distributed in Spring 2018 at a large public research university library to examine undergraduate and graduate students' behaviors, attitudes and perceptions of library use. To test the validity of the survey as to whether six subdomains of the library experience survey contributed to a single construct, library experience, the study used Rasch model framework. This study contributes to the field as a first example using the Rasch model for library assessment purposes. Suggestions for best practices are discussed.     

Diffusion of knowledge in the aeronautical and aerospace sector in Portugal: Implementation of a pilot study of the NASA/DoD aerospace knowledge diffusion research project

This article presents the result of a test of a research instrument that has been widely used to assess how knowledge is diffused in the aerospace industries of NATO and other countries. Normally, the instrument is used in its original English version and as a self-completed mail questionnaire. In this test, the instrument was translated into Portuguese, and additional information was collected through unstructured telephone interviews and observation of respondents answering the questionnaire. The conclusion is that when instruments are used across different cultures, even within the same industry sectors, it is necessary first to validate the use of the instrument in those cultures.     

新媒介环境下的跨文化传播——以讲述“美丽江苏”故事为例

在全球化时代,跨文化传播对于塑造自身形象、增进理解意义重大。新的国际格局和传播环境要求跨文化传播在传播主体、渠道、内容、受众意识等方面进行变革。本文以"美丽江苏"的跨文化传播为例,分析了这一品牌形象传播的现状和问题,提出"六结合"的理念和具体的传播策略。它们指向了这样一种对跨文化传播的理解:跨文化传播是一座"桥",连接了不同的群体,其价值不是为了传播自己,而是依靠对"自己"的传播,争取相互之间的理解。     

Benchmarking reference services: an introduction

Benchmarking is based on the common sense idea that someone else, either inside or outside of libraries, has found a better way of doing certain things and that your own library's performance can be improved by finding out how others do things and adopting the best practices you find. Benchmarking is one of the tools used for achieving continuous improvement in Total Quality Management (TQM) programs. Although benchmarking can be done on an informal basis, TQM puts considerable emphasis on formal data collection and performance measurement. Used to its full potential, benchmarking can provide a common measuring stick to evaluate process performance. This article introduces the general concept of benchmarking, linking it whenever possible to reference services in health sciences libraries. Data collection instruments that have potential application in benchmarking studies are discussed and the need to develop common measurement tools to facilitate benchmarking is emphasized.     

Measurement of relative humidity in museums at high altitude

Abstract

Sensing devices used in museums for measuring relative humidity can be affected by pressure errors at altitudes over 900 m. The various instruments available for RH measurement are reviewed; an explanation of the pressure error is given and its significance for museums is evaluated; and information on avoidance of and correction for pressure errors is provided.     

Grading Ourselves

Abstract

While the need for a plan to evaluate distance library services is clear, the means by which this work should be done is less obvious. Faced with a variety of measurement tools, it can be difficult to decide not only what to evaluate but also how to do it. With the goal of providing information on how to develop appropriate assessment instruments to document performance and service quality, this paper gives an overview of the assessment movement. As a lens through which librarians, administrators, accrediting bodies and other stakeholders might view the effectiveness and value of distance library services, the Distance Learning Library Services (DLS) Guidelines serve as a framework that can be used to build an assessment strategy, as well as a gateway to other measurement tools and accreditation standards.     

Hazard and Outrage: Developing a Psychometric Instrument in the Aftermath of Katrina

This article details the development of a psychometric instrument measuring the constructs of hazard and outrage in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The study focused on the interplay of perceived hazard and outrage in relation to evacuation from the New Orleans area, with specific attention to demographic differences. Perceptions of hazard and outrage during Katrina served to illustrate the utility of the scale in examining these responses across different demographic groups. Possible ways that this information can be used to design messages that alert audiences to hazards, yet successfully address the need for outrage, emerged from the study.     

Hazard and Outrage: Developing a Psychometric Instrument in the Aftermath of Katrina

This article details the development of a psychometric instrument measuring the constructs of hazard and outrage in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The study focused on the interplay of perceived hazard and outrage in relation to evacuation from the New Orleans area, with specific attention to demographic differences. Perceptions of hazard and outrage during Katrina served to illustrate the utility of the scale in examining these responses across different demographic groups. Possible ways that this information can be used to design messages that alert audiences to hazards, yet successfully address the need for outrage, emerged from the study.     

Comparison of the citation distribution and h-index between groups of different sizes

Evaluating the performance of institutions with different resources is not easy, any citation distribution comparisons are strongly affected by the differences in the number of articles published. The paper introduces a method for comparing citation distributions of research groups that differ in size. The citation distribution of a larger group is reduced by a certain factor and compared with the original distribution of a smaller group. Expected values and tolerance intervals of the reduced set of citations are calculated. A comparison of both distributions can be conveniently viewed in a graph. The size-independent reduced Hirsch index – a function of reducing factor that allows the comparison of groups within a scientific field – is calculated in the same way. The method can be used for comparing groups or units differing in full-time equivalent, funding or the number of researchers, for comparing countries by population, gross domestic product, etc. It is shown that for the calculation of the reduced Hirsch index, the upper part of the original citation distribution is sufficient. The method is illustrated through several case comparisons.     

Devising Video Distribution Strategies via the Internet: Focusing on Economic Properties of Video Products

This article tries to link economic properties of video products to strategies that can be used by Internet-based video distributors. First, this study suggests 4 economic properties of video products: video as an experience good, returns to scale, video as a public good, and interdependency of willingness to pay. Second, based on economic attributes, this study synthesizes several strategies. Finally, this article uses a case study to compare theoretical strategies to actual strategies used by 2 Internet-based movie distributors. As a result of this study, we found that there are several possible strategies that are not yet being used in practice. It is expected that as the market becomes more mature through the development of technologies (e.g., digital rights management), more strategies will be adopted by online video distributors.     

LOOK WHO'S TALKING

Even though we live in a global world cross-cultural comparisons of journalism practice remain rare. This study analyzed the use of sources in newspaper coverage in Sweden and the United States. Rather than focusing on one single event, the comparison utilizes data from a number of different events: the 2003 Iraq War, the 2002 national election in Sweden and the 2004 presidential election in the United States, and the 2005/2006 international controversy stemming from the publication of the Mohammad Cartoons. Some interesting patterns across the three events emerged for the use of government officials, academic experts and citizens as sources. The findings are discussed in the context of news reporting and journalism within a distinct national political and media system.