科学数据产品的质量管理基础

科学数据的质量越高,人们可以越快获得更准确的结论,社会更容易从中获益.要改进科学数据的质量,必须清楚地了解科学数据的性质及其产生过程.本文以科学决策过程为背景,提出数据产品和数据质量的定义,其中假设了两种典型的情景:收集观测数据及进行以文献为基础的研究.然后分析与全面质量管理(TQM)理念相关的两个延伸学科--全面信息质量管理(TIQM)和全面数据质量管理(TDQM),以确定科学数据质量的管理是否有别于其他数据和信息的管理.本文提出规划、评估/保障、控制和持续改进的建议,重点放在将质量设计到生产流程中去,而不是依赖大量的检验.     

Managers Making Sense of Millennials: Perceptions of a Generational Cohort

The study of generational cohorts has seen an increase in popularity in scholarly and popular literature. Millennials comprise the newest cohort to enter the workplace. This study explores how managers use social categorization to make sense of their Millennial-generation employees. Data were collected through interviews conducted with managers in order to learn how they viewed and described Millennials. Twenty-five managers in the hospitality industry were interviewed. Data were analyzed by searching for membership categorization devices (MCDs), then patterns in usage and meaning of the devices were explored. Three patterns were identified in using MCDs to reference Millennials: “kids”, “age group,” and “Millennials”/variations of the term. These findings are examined in reference to how they may inform managerial behavior as well as guide further study of generational cohorts.     

Slowed driving-reaction time following concussion-symptom resolution

Background: Concussed patients have impaired reaction time (RT) and cognition following injury that may linger and impair driving performance. Limited research has used direct methods to assess driving-RT post-concussion. Our study compared driving RT during simulated scenarios between concussed and control individuals and examined driving-RT''s relationship with traditional computerized neurocognitive testing (CNT) domains.MethodsWe employed a cross-sectional study among 14 concussed (15.9 ± 9.8 days post-concussion, mean ± SD) individuals and 14 healthy controls matched for age, sex, and driving experience. Participants completed a driving simulator and CNT (CNS Vital Signs) assessment within 48 h of symptom resolution. A driving-RT composite (ms) was derived from 3 simulated driving scenarios: stoplight (green to yellow), evasion (avoiding approaching vehicle), and pedestrian (person running in front of vehicle). The CNT domains included verbal and visual memory; CNT-RT (simple-, complex-, Stroop-RT individually); simple and complex attention; motor, psychomotor, and processing speed; executive function; and cognitive flexibility. Independent t tests and Hedge d effect sizes assessed driving-RT differences between groups, Pearson correlations (r) examined driving RT and CNT domain relationships among cohorts separately, and p values were controlled for false discovery rate via Benjamini-Hochberg procedures (α = 0.05).ResultsConcussed participants demonstrated slower driving-RT composite scores than controls (mean difference = 292.86 ms; 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 70.18–515.54; p = 0.023; d = 0.992). Evasion-RT (p = 0.054; d = 0.806), pedestrian-RT (p = 0.258; d = 0.312), and stoplight-RT (p = 0.292; d = 0.585) outcomes were not statistically significant after false-discovery rate corrections but demonstrated medium to large effect sizes for concussed deficits. Among concussed individuals, driving-RT outcomes did not significantly correlate with CNT domains (r-range: –0.51 to 0.55; p > 0.05). No correlations existed between driving-RT outcomes and CNT domains among control participants either (r-range: –0.52 to 0.72; p > 0.05).ConclusionSlowed driving-RT composite scores and large effect sizes among concussed individuals when asymptomatic signify lingering impairment and raise driving-safety concerns. Driving-RT and CNT-RT measures correlated moderately but not statistically, which indicates that CNT-RT is not an optimal surrogate for driving RT.     

Reading as a lifeline among aging readers: Findings from a qualitative interview study with older adults

Older adults who identify as readers and choose to read for pleasure in their everyday lives are understudied despite the persistence and pervasiveness of this kind of reading. The phenomenology of reading and critical age studies inform this pilot project that uses in-depth interviews conducted with five readers who are between the ages of 75–90?years and who live in Canada. Data analysis followed principles of close reading and thematic analysis. Findings privilege the voices of the older readers and show how their experiences of reading can be analyzed using the metaphor of reading as a lifeline that, in turn, bridges with notions of resilience and embodied information practices. Reading for pleasure supports resilience and a reflective stance on life among older adults. The findings call for other researchers to engage more readily with older adults and will be of use to librarians and others who provide services, programs, and resources to older adult readers.     

Effect of U-Pace Instruction on Academic Success,Learning, and Perceptions in Younger and Older Undergraduates

A randomized controlled trial was conducted to determine the efficacy of U-Pace instruction for older undergraduates, ages 25 and older, and younger undergraduates, ages 18 to 24. Additionally, change in learner perceptions across the semester, an outcome not reported in the literature on U-Pace instruction, was investigated. In both younger and older undergraduates U-Pace instruction produced greater learning, greater academic success, and sustained or improved students’ perceptions of themselves as learners compared with Face-to-Face instruction. The findings provide strong support for the efficacy of U-Pace instruction in younger and older students and highlight a possible mechanism underlying U-Pace instruction’s effects on learning and academic success.     

On the Superior Statistical Properties of Frequency Scales in Job Analyses

This study compared the statistical properties of four job analysis task survey response scale types: criticality, difficulty in learning, importance, and frequency. We used nine job analysis studies spanning two fields, medical imaging and allied health professionals, to compare the job analysis scales in terms of variability and interrater agreement. Results showed that frequency scales using absolute anchors had greater between-task variability and higher interrater agreement for all nine studies. This may have occurred due to what has been described by past research as self-presentation bias. In this case, an aggregate base percentage of respondents always responded that tasks in their domain are highly critical, highly important, and easy to learn. These results showed that frequency scales with absolute anchors yielded data with better statistical performance than other more subjective scales. These properties do not answer the question of whether a scale matches an exam's purpose, which is the most important consideration for job analyses. They do, however, suggest that, if statistics are a primary deciding factor, strong consideration should be given to using frequency scales with absolute anchors.