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Copyright of Moambe-Bulletin of Akaki Tsereteli State University is the property of Akaki Tsereteli State University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: Identifying factors that may influence aflatoxin exposure in children under 5 years of age living in farming households in western Kenya. Design: We used a mixed methods design. The quantitative component entailed serial cross-sectional interviews in 250 farming households to examine crop processing and conservation practices, household food storage and consumption and local understandings of aflatoxins. Qualitative data collection included focus group discussions (N 7) and key informant interviews (N 13) to explore explanations of harvesting and post-harvesting techniques and perceptions of crop spoilage. Setting: The study was carried out in Asembo, a rural community where high rates of child stunting exist. Participants: A total of 250 female primary caregivers of children under 5 years of age and thirteen experts in farming and food management participated. Results: Study results showed that from a young age, children routinely ate maize-based dishes. Economic constraints and changing environmental patterns guided the application of sub-optimal crop practices involving early harvest, poor drying, mixing spoiled with good cereals and storing cereals in polypropylene bags in confined quarters occupied by humans and livestock and raising risks of aflatoxin contamination. Most (80 %) smallholder farmers were unaware of aflatoxins and their harmful economic and health consequences. Conclusions: Young children living in subsistence farming households may be at risk of exposure to aflatoxins and consequent ill health and stunting. Sustained efforts to increase awareness of the risks of aflatoxins and control measures among subsistence farmers could help to mitigate practices that raise exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, it is aimed to reveal the quantitative adequacy of the lighting in urban park areas and the effects of the users on the usage situations of the spaces. In this direction, both quantitative and qualitative methods were used and analyzes were made by developing a different perspective in the study. In the study, in which fieldwork, measurements and observation technique were used together, Meydan Park and Atapark, which are two parks on the same transportation axis, were selected as the study areas and a pilot study was conducted in Trabzon. Of these two parks, Meydan Park is illuminated using the latest lighting types and techniques suitable for today's technology, while Atapark has older types and techniques. As a result, it was seen that these modern and classical lighting differences did not have the expected positive effect on modern techniques. In addition, when lighting techniques are evaluated based on the literature in terms of different spatial components and elements of parks, it has been concluded that the feasibility of different activities is related to lighting. With the observations made at different times, the changing user densities and the continuity of activity day and night were examined. The results showed that the day-night activity continuity changed in parallel with the lighting situation for both parks and the lighting types and techniques were not compatible with the current uses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to analyze the role of social capital and leadership in improving the adaptive capacity of Iranian pistachio farmers by using Social Network Analysis (SNA). The results indicate that the studied network is not a dense network, and there are few reciprocal and face-to-face relations among farmers. The findings also illustrate that in all cooperative links, there were no noticeable bridging links among the farmers and their tendency toward bonding links, indicating less bridging social capital at the three studied villages. The nature of relationships in social networks will improve if the quality of communication between individuals in a network and actors from other networks and villages is enhanced. This can increase the productivity of social networks and lead to higher quality resources, better support, development of useful information between networks and improvement in farmers' adaptive capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology-mediated learning has become a valuable tool, especially in the English language classroom. Nowadays, mobile learning is considered a significant educational tool for promoting education among learners. Several recent studies have attempted to examine different aspects of mobile learning. The size of the experimental group, and the duration and suitability of the assessment methods are important aspects in designing experimental studies in the context of mobile English language learning. Yet, very few studies have paid attention to these aspects. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the utilisation of state-of-the-art mobile technology in English language learning, especially in terms of the size of the experimental groups, and the duration and suitability of the assessment methods. Following a systematic review protocol, 151 articles published between 2010 and 2017 were selected for analysis. Furthermore, this study considered, separately, three factors addressed in the reviewed studies: language acquisition problems, types of participants, and targeted English skills. The findings showed that the group size and study duration significantly differed among the studies based on the above factors. Questionnaires and tests were found to be the most common methods of assessment for each factor, whether used separately or in combination. The results of this review can assist in the formulation of experimental designs to mitigate the challenges and facilitate the effective use of mobile learning in English language learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A culture medium contains basic elements (water, nutrients), to which are added various supplements capable of contributing to the growth of the bacteria of interest, and at the same time, inhibiting the association flora. This study aimed for testing and optimization of special supplemented culture media used for diagnosis of microbial origin foodborne pathogens. For this, performance criteria (productivity, selectivity, and specificity) of ten different culture media used for the identification and characterization of most common bacteria (i.e., Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) involved in food poisoning, were investigated. For the evaluation of the performance parameters, artificial contamination was performed with Reference Materials (MR) represented by reference strains, on two levels of contamination (low and high) and blank samples. On the qualitative methods (detection of L. monocytogenes and Salmonella spp.), selectivity, specificity, accuracy, concordance and evaluation of the detection limit at 50% (LOD50) were tested; while, on the quantitative methods (enumeration of E. coli and S. aureus), repeatability, reproducibility, critical difference and measurement uncertainty were assessed. For the qualitative methods (detection of L. monocytogenes and Salmonella spp.), the evaluated parameters showed values between 82-100% and 0.429-0.564 cfu/25 g for LOD50, respectively. For the quantitative methods (enumeration of E. coli and S. aureus), the values obtained had a measurement uncertainty between 0.24-0.26 log10 cfu/g). The performance criteria (productivity, selectivity and specificity) of the culture media investigated were successfully achieved. These findings on the benefits of the addition of supplements for the culture media used to diagnose food poisoning provide further evidence of the importance of additional components with the role of enrichment, stimulation, inhibition, selection and highlighting of metabolic and enzymatic equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper constructed a robust methodology to investigate the impact of news regarding macroeconomic policies on exchange rate fluctuations, and to examined the applicability of qualitative information alongside historical data to predict exchange rates. To do so, hybrid machine learning algorithms comprised of natural language processing, fuzzy logic, and support vector regression have been constructed. This study emphasizes the significance of qualitative information on investors' subjective consideration, the decision-making process, and causality on exchange rate volatility. To perceive the causality of expected and unexpected macroeconomic news on exchange rate fluctuations, news regarding the inflation rate, interest rate, unemployment rate, balance of trade, and credit ratings has been extracted from the web. Learning automata has been adopted to construct a unique lexicon for textual analysis. Subjective considerations of decision makers based on news have been evaluated by processing using the prospect theory and composing fuzzy antecedents for the fuzzy logic phase. The fuzzy logic method attained the correlation value between the macroeconomic news and the exchange rate. Finally, support vector regression predicted the exchange rate on a daily basis. The statistical test results indicated a strong correlation between recently published macroeconomic news on daily exchange rate fluctuations and their usability for predicting exchange rates in the short term, while emphasizing the significance of sustainable macroeconomic policies on exchange rate stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the end of the 1970s, all teacher education programmes have been a part of academic higher education in Finland. Thus, TE has been implemented in universities and all Finnish comprehensive and upper-secondary school teachers have a master's degree. Research methods courses have been an essential part of teacher education courses for over 40 years. Our results revealed that students in all educational programmes seem to prefer empirical methods to theoretical methods as a way of acquiring educational knowledge. In line with previous studies, an aversion to quantitative methods was also found in the present study. However, there were some exceptions to this overall view. Most of the students in our study recognized that teachers need research skills in their practical work. The students acknowledged that these kinds of skills are especially important when acquainting themselves with new research results in their professional field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the breakup of the former Republic of Yugoslavia, the number of inhabitants in newly formed state of Serbia has been in constant decrease. On the other hand, the number of urban areas has been growing. One of the main goals of former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the development of all the areas, including the rural ones. In the '60s and the '70s, the land with special purpose was supposed to be of the utmost importance. Urban regions were to be better connected and enlarged. The main reason for it was the distribution of economic activities as well as the process of deagrarization which had already been in progress. In 1966, the first spatial plan of a special-purpose area, being the outset of an idea in a Socialist country, was in fact the proposition of the first Yugoslav conurbation. The long forgotten project was about to be reinforced in 1996, when thirty years later the country was in a transitional period, heading towards market capitalization. After the final breakup of Yuoslavia, there was a growing need for preservation of the urban areas and large trade centers, along with the necessity of better communication among municipalities. The ambitious project in question called "Morava city", has never been brought to life. The main purpose of this manuscript is to answer the question of the actual necessity of this potential conurbation by means of GIS methodology, qualitative and quantitative techniques, and demographic and sociological factors. Accordingly, by means of spatial analysis, the communist project is placed into post-communist environment. Finally, the manuscript focuses on the relationship between rural and urban areas, traffic connectivity, geographical position, and most importantly on the sustainability and profitability of the first Serbian conurbation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Scientific quality and feasibility are part of ethics review by Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). Scientific Review Committees (SRCs) were proposed to facilitate this assessment by the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) SRC Consensus Group. This study assessed SRC feasibility and impact at CTSA-affiliated academic health centers (AHCs). Methods: SRC implementation at 10 AHCs was assessed pre/post-intervention using quantitative and qualitative methods. Pre-intervention, four AHCs had no SRC, and six had at least one SRC needing modifications to better align with Consensus Group recommendations. Results: Facilitators of successful SRC implementation included broad-based communication, an external motivator, senior-level support, and committed SRC reviewers. Barriers included limited resources and staffing, variable local mandates, limited SRC authority, lack of anticipated benefit, and operational challenges. Research protocol quality did not differ significantly between study periods, but respondents suggested positive effects. During intervention, median total review duration did not lengthen for the 40% of protocols approved within 3 weeks. For the 60% under review after 3 weeks, review was lengthened primarily due to longer IRB review for SRC-reviewed protocols. Site interviews recommended designing locally effective SRC processes, building buy-in by communication or by mandate, allowing time for planning and sharing best practices, and connecting SRC and IRB procedures. Conclusions: The CTSA SRC Consensus Group recommendations appear feasible. Although not conclusive in this relatively short initial implementation, sites perceived positive impact by SRCs on study quality. Optimal benefit will require local or federal mandate for implementation, adapting processes to local contexts, and employing SRC stipulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Omran for Social Sciences is the property of Arab Center for Research & Policy Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Understanding our learning needs is fundamental for safe, effective and knowledge-based medical practice and facilitates life-long learning. A mixed methods study investigated fourth-year medical students' self-perceived understanding of their learning needs using 1] a visual scale, before and after a four-week module in Ageing and Health (A&H) and 2] through focus group discussions. During 2013–14 academic year, all students (252) were invited to use a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) tool to self-assess their learning needs that were linked to Ageing and Health curriculum learning outcomes. Assenting students (197 at pre-self-assessment, 201 at post-assessment) returned anonymous Visual Analogue Scales, self-assessing history-taking skills, examination skills, knowledge of medication use, co-morbidity, nutritional and swallowing assessment responses, before and after the A&H module. Three student focus groups explored whether completion of the VAS self-assessment had prompted improved self-awareness of their learning needs. The VAS responses increased for each curriculum domain with significant differences between the pre-and post responses – for the student-year-group. Nutritional and swallowing knowledge showed the greatest improvement from a self-assessed low baseline at entry. Focus-group students generally viewed the VAS tool positively, and as an aid for prompting consideration of current and future clinical practice. Some students recognised that 'a need to be ready-for-work' focused engaged learning; others demonstrated self-regulated learning through self-motivation and an action plan. The Visual Analogue Scale quantitative responses showed increased student-self-perceived learning for each curriculum domain at fourth-year completion of the A&H module, suggesting that prompting self-assessment had increased students' knowledge and skills. Focus group students saw the VAS tool as useful for prompting awareness of their current and future learning needs. Additional educational strategies should be explored to enable all students to self-reflect and engage effectively on their learning needs, to gain the skills for the maintenance of professional medical competence. Abbreviations: A&H: Ageing and Health Module; e-portfolio: an electronic version of an evidence portfolio, which allows medical students and graduates to reflect and document learning and competencies; F1: year1 of post-graduate medical clinical training; GMC: General Medical Council-the regulation organisation for maintaining standards for doctors in UK; Logbook: usually a written document which can be used to record procedures and attendance at clinics or case-based discussions and can be used to set learning outcomes and to structure teaching in clinical settings for medical students and doctors; PDP: personal development plan is used to plan future learning and skills needs for work and education with an plan for action/s outcome; SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Sciences; VAS: Visual Analogue Scale is a visual method of describing an experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This descriptive study explored and analyzed the quality living conditions and the boarding preferences of UM college students who were renting in temporary shelters in Davao City, Philippines at the time of the investigation. Through a random sampling method, 300 students from ten colleges participated in the survey using validated questionnaires. Informal interviews were also conducted to 20 randomly selected boarding house operators for the triangulation of results. This mixed methods research obtained the initial interrelated ideas in the survey and informal interviews by means of open coding and exploratory analysis. Aside from accessible means of transportation, the student-participants favored affordable rental fees, organized house rules, provision of basic amenities and proper waste management. And on top of all these basic services, they desired a friendly atmosphere while they live, study and / or work in the land of promise, the metropolitan Davao. In general, UM college boarders prefer practicality, safety and security in a supportive environment. It was discovered likewise that some managers were non-compliant of specific boarding house ordinances such as the provision of safe and secure boarding house boarding house/dormitories. In compliance with the basic ordinances on boarding hose operations, it is hereby recommended that owners be closely monitored and evaluated based on their planning and implementation of the rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the process of adapting of libraries to the dynamically changing environment, extremely relevant among the Bulgarian Library College, becomes the question of their place on the public agenda. The situation in the library sphere in the country requires a clear answer what is the attitude of the authorities, the media and the public towards the problems of libraries - their financing, the construction of new library buildings, creating conditions for encouraging their activity. These questions are subject to intense discussion in the specialized library press and in various scientific conferences. The questions about the public vision of libraries and their future, of libraries as "third place" on the agenda of the individual and others become more recent. The main problem, related with the clarification of the attitudes of different audiences (users and non-users) as well as the place of libraries on the public agenda, is the need for relevant information about the attitudes of different public and professional circles to libraries. This raises highly the question of the need to conduct various quantitative and qualitative researches. They are the only means of gathering information about the priorities of different public environments to respond what is the attitude towards the libraries and their activities, and where libraries are in the priorities of society. The observations over the Bulgarian practice show the existence of certain difficulties in analyzing the regard of the public, related to the nature of the information about the public attitudes which is available in the libraries. This indicates conducting of systematic surveys of individual segments of the audiences with purpose to answer what the public libraries can provide to the society to satisfy their different needs. Some preliminary observations of the public moods show, that especially in the small settlements, libraries have a significant potential to become an important place on the agenda of the individual by satisfying his needs for information and social contacts. The conducted separate quantitative and qualitative researches confirm the possibility of transforming the libraries into the small settlements into public- informational centers. The practice of using quantitative and qualitative method to examine the library audiences gives a possibility to extend the range of other activities that libraries conduct: cultural programs, self-education programs, lifelong learning, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Where does the International Political Science Review (IPSR) stand in relation to the hierarchies of knowledge in the discipline? IPSR is the journal of the International Political Science Association and a well-established journal in the discipline of Political Science. The journal has been published since 1980 and in 2016 ranked 54 out of 163 journals in the field. Mapping IPSR’s profile can help us understand the changing thematic, epistemological and methodological preferences within the world of political science. This report maps the distribution of methodological techniques across 152 issues of IPSR, by analysing the abstracts of every article published between 1980 and 2015. In doing so, it aims to provide a clearer picture of the methodological approaches used by political scientists and endorsed by the political science community as acceptable scientific modes of knowledge making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has found evidence of an almost universal public desire for democracy, even in autocratic regimes. However, a single word may evoke different associations for different people. As such, the term democracy is unlikely to trigger the same or equivalent associations between different people. Inspired by the Anchoring Vignettes Approach, I qualify people’s stated desire for democracy with their representative, direct, social, or authoritarian perception of democracy. Using the Analytical Hierarchy Process, I obtain idealized priorities of institutional configurations to determine the membership a specific perception has with regard to a procedural-liberal, participatory-liberal, or social-liberal normative benchmark. I perform a mixed-model analysis on World Values Survey Wave 5 data to test the empirical consequences of my conceptual calibration concerning explanatory factors for people’s democratic desires. Popular support for representative democracy has been consistently overstated, particularly in nondemocratic countries. The design of political institutions is the most important factor in predicting a person’s actual desire for democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Psychotherapie Forum is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A growing body of evidence confirms that mobile digital devices have key potentials as assistive/educational tools for people with autism spectrum disorders. The aim of this paper is to outline key aspects of development and evaluation methodologies that build on, and provide systematic evidence on effects of using such apps. We rely on the results of two R+D projects, both using quantitative and qualitative methods to support development and to evaluate developed apps (n=54 and n=22). Analyzing methodological conclusions from these studies we outline some guidelines for an 'ideal' R+D methodology but we also point to important trade-offs between the need for best systematic evidence and the limitations on development time and costs. We see these trade-offs as a key issue to be resolved in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Psychotherapy Research is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Research in Drama Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper focuses on the development of an integrated risk assessment system to increase the safety of gas refinery plants. This integration is important in managing the design and the operation of chemical plants and it requires significant time, effort and specialized expertise. We propose a systematic procedure to apply quantitative and qualitative hazard identification methods before constructing the refinery plants. Advantages of this assessment procedure are 1) systematic method in identifying most of the important hazards, 2) complete and rigorous analysis, and 3) reducing budget and time. The qualitative and quantitative assessment method consists of two and three steps, respectively. After these five steps, the risk of the same plant was calculated and analyzed. This method can identify risk and potential hazards from local gas refinery plants effectively and systematically. We applied the integrated qualitative and quantitative risk assessment method to remove the risk of a local gas refinery plant with 160 P&ID sheets. The result of this work confirmed that no residential population existed within the bounds of the 1×10 per annum risk contour. Therefore, the risk to the public from the gas refinery plants should be considered acceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In major infrastructure projects, experts are usually regarded as responsible for producing and evaluating facts, whereas the public plays a role as far as values are concerned. In this study, we investigate the potential of values and value-related concepts in explaining acceptance of a deep ground repository for high-level radioactive waste in Switzerland. The study was in two parts, first, screening for relevant values using a questionnaire (N = 500) and, second, face-to-face interviews with 42 participants from the first part. Although the questionnaire could not predict overall acceptance on the basis of value concepts, interesting relative differences were nevertheless revealed between participants who were or were not affected by the potential siting of a deep geological repository in their own community. Additionally, the interviews offered insights into how values are related to the participatory process designed by the Swiss authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the complex and contradictory processes of establishing and legitimating quantitative and qualitative methods; these processes are assumed to be logically derived from the development of the concepts of sociological method in two main paradigmatic traditions - the positivist and the phenomenological. The author shows how the very logic of the two paradigmatic approaches presupposes the formation and development of fundamentally different competing methodological traditions in understanding the nature, epistemological grounds, ontological constraints, and functions of the quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection in the social survey. In the context of challenges to sociology arising in the postmodern age, the multi-method approach appears to be a both rational and relevant methodological solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers various arguments in support of the idea that the usual division of research methods of information gathering, processing, and analysis into quantitative and qualitative is incorrect. It would be closer to the truth to refer to numerical and non-numerical methods, where the non-numerical may be called qualitative, and the numerical may be divided into quantitative and qualitative. Moreover, in social surveys, due to the nature of traits and dependencies involved in the analysis, we should only refer to qualitative methods. For a number of reasons, the usually applied statistical means of data processing and data analysis in surveys involve a number of constraints and make substantial generalization more difficult. Moreover, a genuinely sociological explanation of the surveyed phenomena or social processes that are the topic of study is not attained through them. Interpretation of survey information usually comes down to a superficial interpretation of the formal processing results. This situation requires the application of methods that are qualitative in the commonly accepted sense. They include the methods of so-called „warm“ sociology. The author briefly discusses the use of some of these methods and their substantial results. However, the interpreting, and especially the generalizing, of results is done in a quite subjective way. The liberty of interpretation rather leads to unscientific arguments that only serve to ground the researcher's own authority. A possible way to at least partially overcome the subjective interpretation of „qualitative“ survey results is to „mathematize“ them. The author points out some possible and available means for such a procedure: by building scales; shifting from percentages to score values; „digitizing“ (shifting from non-metric to metric scales); through expert assessments, viewed as a variant of the „operations analysis“ methods. Once the scales are built, it becomes possible to use various statistical methods, for instance „path“ analysis. In any case, the application of mathematical means would lead to more precise grounding of sociological conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In thü study, we explored the mle of heaüh-enhanängphysical activity (HEPA; Miilunpalo, 2001) in women's eudaimonic well bang (i.e., psychological flourishing at one's manmal potential; Ryff, 1989). We used a quantitative approach (N = 349) to explore the relationship betiueen HEPA and eudaimonic well bang. While HEPA was not related to eudaimonic well bang, experienang eudaimonia through HEPA contributed uniqu£ variance in eudaimonic well being beyond HEPA and experiencing hedonia through HEPA. As quality of activity was more important than quantity, a qualitative component (N= 10) provided further insight on if and how HEPA contributes to xvomen 's eudaimonic well being. Participants supported HEPA in fulfilling their potential through goal setting/striving, providing bonding experiences, allowing far self-reflection, and developing a physical/able body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article begins with the assumption that the research and study of geographical, historical, socio-economic and cultural factors of a local community are prerequisites for intervention or developmental policies. Based on the views of Descartes and Hamann, it then goes on to look at the suitability of the methods, tools and techniques a researcher needs to use today in order to get a complete picture. A positive approach of social phenomena claims that social structures decisively affect an individual's thought and action, and therefore focuses on the study of external factors. In contrast, an interpretative approach aims at understanding the meanings and motives that govern an individual's life and behavior. The author concludes that research on both macro and micro levels are necessary for the understanding of social phenomena in a local society and the use of methodological pluralism (both quantitative and qualitative methods) is necessary for effective research as it takes into consideration the weight of history and allows the understanding of those factors which govern people's lives and determine their behavior and interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed methods research involves the combined use of quantitative and qualitative methods in the same research study, and it is becoming increasingly important in several scientific areas. The aim of this paper is to review and compare through a mixed methods multiple-case study the application of this methodology in three reputable behavioural science journals: the Journal of Organizational Behavior, Addictive Behaviors and Psicothema. A quantitative analysis was carried out to review all the papers published in these journals during the period 2003-2008 and classify them into two blocks: theoretical and empirical, with the latter being further subdivided into three subtypes (quantitative, qualitative and mixed). A qualitative analysis determined the main characteristics of the mixed methods studies identified, in order to describe in more detail the ways in which the two methods are combined based on their purpose, priority, implementation and research design. From the journals selected, a total of 1,958 articles were analysed, the majority of which corresponded to empirical studies, with only a small number referring to research that used mixed methods. Nonetheless, mixed methods research does appear in all the behavioural science journals studied within the period selected, showing a range of designs, where the sequential equal weight mixed methods research design seems to stand out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Making changes to software systems can prove costly and it remains a challenge to understand the factors that affect the costs of software evolution. This study sought to identify such factors by investigating the effort expended by developers to perform 336 change tasks in two different software organizations. We quantitatively analyzed data from version control systems and change trackers to identify factors that correlated with change effort. In-depth interviews with the developers about a subset of the change tasks further refined the analysis. Two central quantitative results found that dispersion of changed code and volatility of the requirements for the change task correlated with change effort. The analysis of the qualitative interviews pointed to two important, underlying cost drivers: Difficulties in comprehending dispersed code and difficulties in anticipating side effects of changes. This study demonstrates a novel method for combining qualitative and quantitative analysis to assess cost drivers of software evolution. Given our findings, we propose improvements to practices and development tools to manage and reduce the costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this contribution we discuss how, when observing social interactions, qualitative and quantitative research can each enrich the other. First, we highlight the usefulness of qualitative research for subsequent quantitative studies. We also mention some possible misunderstandings in the way qualitative researchers view quantitative research. We discuss criticisms regarding 'natural' units of analysis, the use of 'pre-defined' categories, the sequential context, the multifaceted aspect of interaction and the role of transcripts. Second, we present two research examples - one based on time series graphs, the other on similarity maps - that demonstrate how quantitative analysis can be used to identify points in interaction that require further qualitative analysis (eg particular phases of interaction, critical points such as positive/negative shifts, unique cases). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been criticism of systematic reviews and meta-analyses that have shown little evidence of effect of interventions to improve teenage sexual health. Moreover, there is considerable controversy surrounding the validity of outcomes and rigour of design in evaluation methods for community-based programmes. In this climate, Scotland launched Healthy Respect, one of four community-based national Demonstration Projects, to address teenage sexual health. Healthy Respect is a complex and multi-stranded intervention in Lothian Region that includes education and health-promotion activities and alternative ways to provide sexual health services for young people. A multidisciplinary research team at the University of Aberdeen was appointed to undertake an independent evaluation of this demonstration project. Challenging some aspects of theory-based evaluation, it is argued that adopting both quantitative and qualitative methods will provide an understanding of both the context and process of this Health Demonstration Project, as well as tracking outcomes, including behavioural change, in the target population. The authors' evaluation includes: examining the process of implementation; comparative regional mapping of the service context including inter-agency partnership working; and assessing effectiveness using a quasi-experimental design and adjusted, population-based, behavioural and sexual health outcomes. Evaluation from these key perspectives contributes to a balanced appraisal of a complex, community-based health promotion and service delivery intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Sociology is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Italian Journal of Neurological Sciences is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents an open letter written by a groupwork manager which was replied by a commissioning manager. The groupwork manager details the randomized controlled trials of self-esteem workshops he conducted for mental health professionals using quantitative methods and detailed statistical analysis. In his reply, the commissioning manager details the problems with the quantitative approach to studying groupwork and votes for more qualitative methods.