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1 – 10 of 19Rafael da Silva Fernandes, Rosana Maria do Nascimento Luz, Jaqueline Matias da Silva and Dalton Francisco de Andrade
This study aims to evaluate the suitability of emergency remote education (ERE) during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently during the return to in-person education (IPE)…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to evaluate the suitability of emergency remote education (ERE) during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently during the return to in-person education (IPE), investigating aspects of perceived quality differences in these transitions that may have impacted the students’ learning process.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applied a 41-item instrument to undergraduate students in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Brazil. For the suitability group, 493 responses were collected, and for the return to IPE group, 187 responses were collected. Three calibration approaches were performed using item response theory, with the first two adjusting data independently, and the third one involving a multigroup estimation.
Findings
During ERE, students perceived an increase in course offerings, better organization of classes and more study materials. However, the larger volume of content posed challenges in class monitoring, content comprehension and concentration. Upon returning to IPE, students noticed more organized assessments and activities. They found favorable test environments and collaborative tasks with peers, but they experienced difficulties in accessing professors and with class/content organization.
Practical implications
By identifying the most suitable items for both teaching formats, HEIs can enhance teaching practices that are more satisfactory from the students’ perspective.
Originality/value
This study provides an item ranking procedure inspired by differential item functioning and differential test functioning statistics. In an atypical situation, the item ranking procedure demonstrated its ability to generate useful information for identifying and quantifying the longitudinal effects of perceived quality on students.
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Jeovani Schmitt, Maria Inês Fini, Cyntia Bailer, Rosangela Fritsch and Dalton Francisco de Andrade
This study aims at developing an instrument to measure the latent trait propensity to drop out in face-to-face higher education.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims at developing an instrument to measure the latent trait propensity to drop out in face-to-face higher education.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on Tinto's student integration theory, a 27-item scale was created to measure student propensity to drop out of undergraduate programs. Item response theory was used to evaluate the psychometric analysis of the items. Furthermore, different methodologies were used to evaluate and provide evidence for content validity, response process validity, internal structure validity and criterion-related validity.
Findings
With the support of specialists in the construct, the interpretation of the scores for the use of the scale was defined in four levels of propensity: high, moderate, low and very low.
Research limitations/implications
The latent trait propensity to drop out in face-to-face higher education allows the inclusion of new items and aspects in the instrument. Thus, it can be adapted to distance education.
Practical implications
The students' propensity to drop out score can be useful for researchers and administration units in colleges and universities in the planning of permanent institutional actions and programs to take preventive measures.
Social implications
Minimize dropout in order to raise the educational level of the population and make better use of the resources invested in education.
Originality/value
This study points out when, why and how propensity to drop out can be measured and how scores can be interpreted in the context of the problem.
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Jerko Ledic Neto, Dalton Francisco Andrade, Hai-Yan Helen Lu, Anna Cecilia Mendonca Amaral Petrassi and Antonio Renato Pereira Moro
This study aimed to develop a psychometrically reliable job satisfaction (JS) measure for university employees, guiding administrative decisions and monitoring satisfaction over…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to develop a psychometrically reliable job satisfaction (JS) measure for university employees, guiding administrative decisions and monitoring satisfaction over time in public universities.
Design/methodology/approach
A JS survey developed by a Brazilian federal university’s sustainability committee containing 58 items across physical, cognitive and organizational domains was longitudinally tested with 1,214 responses collected. The data were analyzed using Item Response Theory (IRT) analysis, employing the Graded Response Model, with tools such as frequency analysis, item characteristic curve, and full-information factor analysis in RStudio. The scale’s criterion validity was also established via expert qualitative interpretation.
Findings
The instrument’s internal consistency was confirmed as the results demonstrated its high reliability with a marginal reliability coefficient of 0.95. Significant findings revealed that recognition and supervisor relationships were key discriminators of JS and that workers began to perceive satisfaction when basic environmental conditions were met.
Research limitations/implications
It is important to mention that the application of this scale is specifically limited to higher education institutions and may not be directly applicable to other educational settings or industry sectors without modifications.
Originality/value
Although numerous measures and scales have been developed to assess JS, one elaborated by using IRT in a public university environment was lacking. Due to shifting dynamics in the workplace, traditional measurement of JS has proven inadequate, necessitating a more precise, accessible and updated tool. The developed scale allows precisely targeted interventions to improve JS and can be reapplied to evaluate their effectiveness. This research thus contributes a valuable tool for academic organizational psychology, enhancing the understanding of the measurement of JS.
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Juliano Anderson Pacheco, Dalton Francisco de Andrade and Antonio Cezar Bornia
The purpose of this paper is to present a new method for benchmarking, which allows the construction of scales of competitiveness for the comparison of products using Item…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a new method for benchmarking, which allows the construction of scales of competitiveness for the comparison of products using Item Response Theory (IRT).
Design/methodology/approach
Theoretically, the method combines classic benchmarking process steps with IRT steps and demonstrates through mathematical models how this technique can measure the competitiveness of products by means of a latent trait.
Findings
The IRT method uses the theories of psychometrics to measure the competitiveness of products through qualitative and quantitative interpretation of the tangible and intangible characteristics of those products. To demonstrate the application of the developed method, the items were constructed for teaching staff.
Research limitations/implications
The application of the developed method will increase the accuracy of assessments of the competitiveness of a product because this method uses a mathematical model of the IRT to evaluate the characteristics product that reflect market competitiveness. Items must be selected based on theories relevant to the product and/or expert opinion or customers.
Practical implications
The applicability of the method results in the construction of a scale in which items identify good practice with greater difficulty because they are represented in the same units that index competitiveness. Thus, managers of companies obtain knowledge about their products and the market, which allows them to assess their performance against their competitors and to make decisions regarding the continuous improvement of their production process and expansion of product characteristics.
Originality/value
This work presents a new method for benchmarking using a quantitative technique that enables measurement of the latent trait of “competitiveness” through robust mathematical models.
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Francisco Elder Escossio de Barros, Ruan Carlos dos Santos, Lidinei Eder Orso and Antonia Márcia Rodrigues Sousa
From the agency theory’s point of view, this paper aims to analyze corporate governance mechanisms about the characteristics of the companies quoted in the segments Bovespa Mais…
Abstract
Purpose
From the agency theory’s point of view, this paper aims to analyze corporate governance mechanisms about the characteristics of the companies quoted in the segments Bovespa Mais and Bovespa Mais 2 and their influence on the creation of value in preparation for the opening of the initial public offering (IPO).
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative approach was adopted to achieve the proposed objective using the panel data with fixed effects and secondary data collected on the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários website, using statistical software Stata® 13.0 for statistical tests. The population comprises non-financial companies belonging to the Bovespa Mais and Bovespa Mais Level 2 groups, as the survey sample took into account the period of adhesion of the companies, totaled in 15 companies, which cover the period from 2008 to 2019. The selected variables correspond to the ownership structure’s characteristics, then the board’s composition and the fiscal council as the body responsible for supervising the administrators’ acts.
Findings
The main results indicate that the number of independent members on the board of directors and the supervisory board’s participation positively influence market performance. However, it also reveals that the concentration of ownership brings fundraising for other companies’ acquisitions, risk reduction concerning information asymmetry between investing powers.
Research limitations/implications
The main results indicate that the number of independent members on the board of directors and the supervisory board’s participation positively influence market performance. Despite this, it also reveals that the concentration of ownership brings fundraising for other companies’ acquisitions, risk reduction concerning information asymmetry between investing powers.
Practical implications
This paper advances a comparative institutional perspective to explain capital market choice by firms making an IPO in a foreign market. This paper finds that internal governance characteristics (founder-chief executive officer, executive incentives and board independence) and external network characteristics (prestigious underwriters, degree of venture capitalist syndication and board interlocks) are significant predictors of foreign capital market choice by foreign IPO firms.
Social implications
While product market choices have been central to strategy formulation for firms in the past, financial markets’ integration makes capital markets an equally crucial strategic decision. This paper advances a comparative institutional perspective to explain capital market choice by firms making an IPO in a foreign market.
Originality/value
This situation generates value to shareholders and is perceived by the market and, ultimately, generates a direct relationship with the market performance of companies. While product market choices have been central to strategy formulation for firms in the past, financial markets’ integration makes capital markets an equally major strategic decision.
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Faezeh Ghaffari, Maryam Shabak, Nima Norouzi and Siyamak Nayyeri Fallah
This study aimed at the identification of perceptional environment properties in hospital public spaces that can affect salutogenic components and patients' overall satisfaction…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed at the identification of perceptional environment properties in hospital public spaces that can affect salutogenic components and patients' overall satisfaction and suggested a conceptual framework.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic review focused on specific steps to clarify the impact of public spaces' environmental quality on patients' satisfaction through the salutogenic approach. Searches were conducted in five databases and four scientific journals.
Findings
Five perceptional environment components of hospital public spaces: physical–psychological comfort, visibility, accessibility, legibility and relationability can be related to three indicators of salutogenic approach: manageability, perception and meaning and can be evaluated in patients' overall satisfaction: desire to use hospital again, to recommend the hospital to others, to prefer hospital to other healthcare environments and to trust in the hospital.
Originality/value
Despite studies on healthcare environments, there is a lack of research on the salutogenic approach in hospital public spaces. Therefore, this paper focuses on the environmental quality in public spaces as an influence on patients' satisfaction with the salutogenic perspective to create a health-promoting environment.
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