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Development and validation of an intimate relationship security scale
Relationships form an integral part of our lives, a key function being attachment. While newlineromantic relationships have mainly been studied with attachment theories as the basis,collectivistic cultures like India emphasize on togetherness more than individualism. To understand and measure security in any intimate relationship, a tool was developed, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods. An initial thematic analysis helped develop a basic model of relationship security that guided item generation. Items were developed to help newlinemeasure the newly operationalized construct, using stakeholders, literature review and social media. 520 participants, including both, marital and pre-marital and 7 experts, helped cut down the 206 item pool to (in the first phase of data collection) to 84 items. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted the second time on a sample of 486 participants that further narrowed down the scale to 58 items. The final confirmatory factor analysis, using SPSS AMOS, involved data collected from 408 participants. Validity, Reliability analysis and norms were developed for the final scale of 43 items. -
Development and validation of a multi-dimensional scale to measure the factors influencing fintech firms capacity to impact digital financial inclusion
The purpose of the present study is to develop a multi-item scale to measure the factors that affect fintech firms capacity to impact digital financial inclusion. Fintech, or financial service delivery supported by advanced technology, has tremendously changed the financial services landscape. It has a potential to improve digital financial inclusion and help the poor. Digital financial inclusion is important since it ensures cost-saving digital mechanisms to provide financial services to the financially excluded and underserved populations. Following an inductive method, a qualitative study was undertaken among managerial staff in fintech firms. The scale development process involved the collection of primary data for pre-testing the questionnaire. The study identified four factors that affect a fintech firms capability of impacting digital financial inclusion: resources and capabilities, business models, networks and partnerships, and market and environment. Digital financial inclusion scale is composed of digital skills, access, and quality of access. The final scale consisted of sixty-four items. Though financial inclusion is usually measured from a demand-side perspective, this study provides a supply-side measure for digital financial inclusion. Thus, it can help in identifying and understanding the factors that may hamper fintech firms capability to attain desirable outcomes with respect to digital financial inclusion. 2024 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. -
Development and standardiztion of a tool to assess spirituality in families for family based interventions
The aim of the study was to develop and standardize a tool for family spiritual assessment. The sample consisted of 1502 Indian participants which included members from three religious backgrounds namely: Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. The data collected through face-to-face interview was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), t-test and ANOVA. A five-item Likert-type tool developed was named as Family Spiritual Assessment Scale (FSAS) through a process of item development. EFA revealed that the 26-item tool with 5-factor solution had an excellent internal consistency of and#945;= .816. Religious factor, Spiritual factor, Mental health factor I (Positive emotions), Mental health factor II (Forgiveness) and Mental health factor III (Negative emotions) are the five important factors of the scale. Gender differences were found in the Spiritual factor, Mental Health, and Total newlinescore of the Scale, where females had higher scores than males. Post-hoc analysis newline(Bonferroni) revealed that total scores of all the three religions differed significantly. The results provide a sound foundation for the future research on spirituality. Family Spiritual newlineAssessment Scale, being the first in India, can be very beneficial to mental health newlineprofessionals and practitioners. -
Development and standardization of a tool to assess spirituality in families for family based interventions /
The aim of the study was to develop and standardize a tool for family spiritual assessment. The sample consisted of 1502 Indian participants which included members from three religious backgrounds namely: Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. The data collected through face-to-face interview was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), t-test and ANOVA. A five-item Likert-type tool developed was named as Family Spiritual Assessment Scale (FSAS) through a process of item development. -
Development and standardization of a tool to measure direction, motive and affect of social comparison among adolescents
Social comparison process is a pervasive social phenomenon (Suls, Martin and Wheeler, 2002). People very often make a comparison with others either intentionally or unintentionally in their daily life. This phenomenon of perceiving self in one s social standing in comparison to others can influence different outcomes including self-concepts, self-esteem, and distinct feelings.This evaluative method provides useful information to generate accurate evaluation about one s abilities and opinion, especially on self-related dimensions. This concepts is very relevant to study in the adolescent population, as children s development of self is largely shaped by social environment experience with family and friends. Social comparison plays an important role in adolescents development of one self-concept especially self-esteem in important dimensions of self. Having outlined the relevance of social comparison theory in the context of this research, it is imperative to attempt this type of exploration and developing a concept based assessment tool to measure different facet of social comparison theory-direction, motive and affect. newlineThis study followed mixed design to better set the context through theoretical and empirical approach for the development for a new tool. In the initial phase, concept exploration was done through literature review to understand the conceptual framework of the approach, followed by qualitative exploration using interview method on 12 adolescents and 4 school counselors. This exploration let to the development of items based on eight dimensions of self, identified in this study. In the second phase, a pilot test was conducted on a sample of 237 adolescents and fulfilled the initial psychometric cleansing of the tool. In the third phase, the main test was administered to sample of 531 adolescents age between (12-16 years). The initial construct analysis was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis and the scale satisfied the model fit hypothesis using structural equation model (SEM). -
Development and psychometric validation of the three dimensional grit scale
This manuscript reports the development and validation of the three-dimensional Grit Scale (3-D Grit Scale). The psychometric measure developed has three factors, Perseverance-Commitment (PC), Interest-Passion (IP), and Goal-directed Resilience (GR) through a series of five studies; study 1 (n = 409) for item analysis, study 2 (n = 334) for exploratory factor analysis, study 3 (n = 514) for confirmatory factor analysis and study 4 (n = 214) and 5 (n = 107) to assess the validity. The sample included students and working professionals aged between 18 and 25, residing in different parts of India. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the scale excellently fits in the three-correlated factor model and the two-level hierarchical model indexing grit as a total of three first-order factors. The final 17-item 3-D Grit Scale showed adequate internal consistency (Cronbachs ? = 0.86), and split-half reliability (Spearman-brown = 0.80, Guttman = 0.80). Validation studies showed that the scores of the 3-D Grit Scale were moderately correlated with (a) 12 item grit scale (Duckworth et al., 2007) and the brief resilience scale (smith et al., 2008), indicating good concurrent and convergent validities (b) conscientiousness revealing that both the constructs are mutually exclusive. 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. -
Development and Psychometric Validation of Teachers Receptivity to Change Scale
In this article, we report the development and psychometric validation of the Teachers Receptivity to Change Scale (TRCS). The sample included secondary school teachers of Kerala, India. In India, the teachers receptivity to change becomes important in the context of the newly drafted National Education Policy, (2020) which places teachers at the center of the reforms. The present study proceeded through five phases namely item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, validation of the scale, and testretest reliability. The development of the tool started with the generation of a pool of items followed by item analysis. The exploratory factor analysis extracted four factors and the confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the four-factors namely individual, organizational, educational, and bridging factors. The structural equation modelling established the four-correlated factor construct of teachers receptivity to change and an additive model indexing teachers receptivity to change as the sum of the four factors. Both the model fit indices indicated an excellent fit. The validity of the TRCS established by correlating the teachers receptivity to change and its factors with multidimensional work motivation scale and engaged teachers scale indicated a moderate correlation. The final 28 item TRCS showed adequate internal consistency (Cronbachs alpha = 0.897) and discriminant validity. The test re-test reliability analysis (Cronbachs alpha = 0.884) confirmed the temporal stability of the scale. The findings recommend a psychometric reliable and valid scale for assessing teachers receptivity to change with implications for teachers, researchers, and policy makers. De La Salle University 2023. -
Development and Implementation of Algorithm for Image Preprocessing of Microorganism
The digital revolution has changed most aspects of modern life. Nowhere has the change been more fundamental than in the field of microscopy. Researchers who use the microscope in their investigations have been newlineamong the pioneers who applied digital processing techniques to images. Vision is most powerful of the five senses of human being. Digitized visual information provides high impact on the subject. Digital image processing is concerned with the extraction of useful information from images. Visual newlineinformation from microscopic images of microorganisms is analyzed regularly. This has resulted in a need to understand and implement digital processing on microscopic images. The purpose of this thesis is to bring new digital image processing techniques for the noise removal of microscopic image of microorganisms. The digitized image processing includes image representation; improving image quality by removing noise; newlineand enhancing the quality of microscopic images. At the outset, the thesis elaborates on the concepts around microscopic images and their digital image processing. Various existing algorithms are studied for their efficacy. This thesis gives three different techniques of image processing based on the noise level in microscopic images. The thesis newlinedevelops the techniques of image processing through Simulation , which is well accepted tool in the field of engineering. MATLAB has been used in this study to simulate the image processing algorithms. The algorithms developed in the study will be helpful in everyday life through better analysis of microscopic images of microorganisms. The thesis is a contribution to the medical field with better analytical techniques. This research work overviews different image processing techniques used in the analysis of microscopic images and other type of images. After reviewing, use of microscopic imaging is presented. Special emphasis is on two types of noise called Gaussian noise and Impulsive noise is given. -
Development and implementation of algorithm for image preprocessing and microorganism
The digital revolution has changed most aspects of modern life. Nowhere has the change been more fundamental than in the field of microscopy. Researchers who use the microscope in their investigations have been among the pioneers who applied digital processing techniques to images. Vision is most powerful of the five senses of human being. Digitized visual information provides high impact on the subject. Digital image processing is concerned with the extraction of useful information from images. Visual information from microscopic images of microorganisms is analyzed regularly. This has resulted in a need to understand and implement digital processing on microscopic images. The purpose of this thesis is to bring new digital image processing techniques for the noise removal of microscopic image of microorganisms. The digitized image processing includes image representation; improving image quality by removing noise; and enhancing the quality of microscopic images. -
Development and Exploratory Factor Analysis of a United States Version of the International Survey of School Counselors Activities
This manuscript details the development and exploratory factor analysis of a United States version of the International Survey of School Counselors Activities (ISSCA-US), a 42-item instrument that identifies activities of school counselors. Responses were collected from 390 US school counselors. Separate EFAs were conducted for two distinct sections of the survey involving appropriateness of role activities and their actually being undertaken, both resulting in reliable 6-factor models. 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. -
Development and evaluation of the bootstrap resampling technique based statistical prediction model for Covid-19 real time data : A data driven approach
The objective of the article is to develop earlyR package based novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) forecasting model. The reported COVID-19 serial interval data is applied for obtaining maximum likelihood value of the reproduction number (R0) using maximum likelihood approach and projections package is applied for getting trajectories of epidemic curve. The minimum, median, mean and maximum projected value of R0 with 95% confidence interval (CI) is obtained by using bootstrap resampling strategy and the predicted cumulative probable count of new cases is also presented with different quantile. To validate the results with real scenario, the past COVID-19 data is considered. The % error rate ranges from -7.91% to 21.27% for the developed model for the five Indian States. 2022 Taru Publications. -
DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF PNEUMFC NET: A NOVEL AUTOMATED LIGHTWEIGHT FULLY CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORK MODEL FOR PNEUMONIA DETECTION
The aim of this study is to address the challenges of pneumonia diagnosis under constraint resources and the need for quick decision making. We present the PneumFC Net, a novel architectural solution where our approach focuses on minimizing the number of trainable parameters by incorporating transition blocks that efficiently manage channel dimensions and reduce number of channels. In contrast to using fully connected layers, which disregard the spatial structure of feature maps and substantially increase parameter counts, we exclusively employ only convolutional layer approach. In the study, X-ray image dataset is used to train and evaluate the proposed Convolutional Neural Network model. By carefully designing the architecture, the model achieves a balance between parameters and accuracy while maintaining comparable performance to pre-trained models. The results demonstrate the model's effectiveness in detecting pneumonia images reliably. In addition, the study examines the decision-making process of the model using Grad-CAM, which helps to identify important aspects of radiographic images that contribute to the positive pneumonia prediction. Furthermore, the study shows that the proposed model, Pneum FC Net not only has the highest accuracy of 98%, but the total trainable model parameters is only 0.02% of the next best model VGG-16, thus establishing the potential of this new robust Deep Learning model. This research primarily addresses concerns related to mitigating significant computational requirements, with a specific focus on implementing lightweight networks. The contribution of this work involves the development of resource-efficient and scalable solution for pneumonia detection. 2024 Little Lion Scientific. All rights reserved. -
Development and Evaluation of an Artificial Intelligence-Based System for Pancreatic Cancer Detection and Diagnosis
Due to its aggressive nature and late-stage manifestation, pancreatic cancer is a difficult illness to find and diagnose. The creation of a pancreatic cancer detection and diagnosis system based on artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to increase early detection and improve treatment results. We have described the creation and assessment of an AI-based system in this paper that is intended for the identification of pancreatic cancer. A large dataset including a variety of medical pictures, including CT scans, MRI scans, and PET scans, as well as the related clinical information, was gathered for the study. With the help of the annotated dataset, a deep learning model built on convolutional neural networks was created. The proposed AI-based solution was then assessed using a separate test dataset made up of control cases and known pancreatic cancer patients. A significant effectiveness for the early diagnosis of the disease was shown by the systems excellent precision as well as sensitivity in identifying pancreatic tumors. The outcomes of this investigation demonstrate the promise of AI-based systems for pancreatic cancer detection and diagnosis. 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG. -
Development and Efficacy of Parenting Skill Training for Mothers of Adolescents in Kerala
The primary objective of this research is to develop and assess the effectiveness of an intervention program tailored for mothers of adolescents in Kerala to strengthen their parenting skills. The digital age and unique socio-cultural context present new challenges in child-rearing, and existing parenting programs fall short of addressing these evolving issues. The study employed a mixed-method framework with specific objectives to fill this research gap. The research unfolded in three phases. The initial stage encompassed comprehensive interviews with ten mothers and their adolescents, utilizing a constructionist model for thematic analysis. It unveiled five main and 22 sub-themes, shedding light on mothers' and adolescents' needs and challenges in Kerala. The second phase focused on designing an intervention module specifically suited to address the needs and challenges identified in the qualitative phase. The study used a pre-test, post-test, and experimental design with a control group for the third phase. The researcher used the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, the Family Environmental Scale, and the Parental Satisfaction Scale to measure the efficacy of the training. The results presented significant improvements in parenting practices in the experimental group, particularly in positive parenting and mothers' involvement with their children. Corporal punishment and inconsistent discipline decreased, while family environment and parenting satisfaction increased. This study contributes substantially to the mental health field by offering an evidence-based program to assist mothers in navigating parenting challenges during adolescence. This intervention aims to improve family dynamics and adolescent well-being. It is a valuable resource for trainers seeking to facilitate behavioral changes within the target groups. -
Development and efficacy of creativity enhancement programme for adolescents with specific learning disability
Adolescents with Specific Learning Disability (SLD) face academic and emotional challenges in their school life. Creativity is a skill which helps adolescents to approach problems of daily life differently. That would help them to explore and nurture their self-esteem. Though there is a debate on whether creativity is innate or learned, activities are still required for children to recognize and nurture the creative skills in children. Studies show that creative tasks develop self-esteem in children and also decrease depression in children with SLD. Creativity newlineEnhancement Programme (CrEP) is developed as part of the study in consultation with experts in the field based on Torrance s Theory of Creativity. The Programme tested newlinethe efficacy in improving the creativity and the self-esteem as well as reducing anxiety and depression of 100 adolescents with SLD. The adolescents with SLD, studying in class sixth to ninth in five schools that follow newlinethe state syllabus and English medium of instruction, which are situated in South Bengaluru were selected. Initial screening consisted of an assessment of SLD and newlineintelligence to select participants. Out of 100 students with SLD, 50 students each were randomly allocated to experimental and control groups. The intervention programme consisted of creativity enhancement activities such as drawing, bridge construction, sand art, best out of waste, and find a friend. Baqer Mehdi Test of Creative Thinking and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale at were used as assessment tools and measured the study variable before, after and three months after the intervention. newlineResults showed CrEP could improve non-verbal newlinecreativity: Elaboration and Self-esteem. Similarly, this intervention could reduce depression. CrEP is useful in helping adolescents with SLD to explore and nurture their creativity, which would help them build their self-esteem and reduce the risk of mental health problems. -
Development and efficacy of creativity enhancement programme for adolescents with specific learning disability
Adolescents with Specific Learning Disability (SLD) face academic and emotional challenges in their school life. Creativity is a skill which helps adolescents to approach problems of daily life differently. That would help them to explore and nurture their self-esteem. Though there is a debate on whether creativity is innate or learned, activities are still required for children to recognize and nurture the creative skills in children. Studies show that creative tasks develop self-esteem in children and also decrease depression in children with SLD. Creativity Enhancement Programme (CrEP) is developed as part of the study in consultation with experts in the field based on Torrance’s Theory of Creativity. The Programme tested the efficacy in improving the creativity and the self-esteem as well as reducing anxiety and depression of 100 adolescents with SLD. The adolescents with SLD, studying in class sixth to ninth in five schools that follow the state syllabus and English medium of instruction, which are situated in South Bengaluru were selected. Initial screening consisted of an assessment of SLD and intelligence to select participants. Out of 100 students with SLD, 50 students each were randomly allocated to experimental and control groups. -
Development and effectveness of a screening measure and a computerized cognitive remediation program for children with reading and arithmetic difficulties
Reading and arithmetic skills are considered as the foundation skills necessary for educational and vocational success. Research has outlined the important role of specific cognitive functions for efficient reading, comprehension of text and arithmetic processes. Learning difficulties have been shown to have a tremendous impact on later life, both in academics and social relationships. It therefore becomes newlineimperative that we identify, as early as possible, children at risk for learning newlinedifficulties and attempt to assess the relevant cognitive skills and plan and execute intervention programs to improve the efficacy of these cognitive skills. This present study has attempted to do this, keeping the Right to Intervention (RTI) model as the rationale and has focussed on designing an assessment tool along with a remediation program based on the cognitive viewpoint.The two objectives of this research were: development of a screening measure newlinefor identification of children with reading and arithmetic difficulties and development newlineof a computer based cognitive intervention program for improving reading and newlinearithmetic skills. The research was conducted in two stages. Stage one involved the newlinecompiling of the screening measure which consisted of three domains: cognitive newlineabilities, reading comprehension and arithmetic ability. The assessment measure was administered on 1091, third, fourth and fifth grade children from English medium newlineschools in South Bangalore, following the ICSE syllabus. The data obtained was newlinesubjected to item analyses and the final screening tool - Arithmetic and Reading Test newline(ART) - was developed, which comprised of tests for reading comprehension, arithmetic ability and cognitive functions, i.e., attention and concentration, visual newlineperception, visuo-spatial ability, processing and working memory. Psychometric properties were established and the ART was found to be reliable and valid. Test-retest reliability of the ART was 0.76. -
Development and effectiveness of an art therapy application for children
This study involved developing an art therapy app and explored the effectiveness of art therapy using the app on enhancing children's self-esteem. Digital technology has become a part of human life and has also influenced mental health services. There is a recommendation to use digital technology in low-resource countries to bridge the mental health service gap for individuals with mental health problems. To meet the needs of art therapists and clients, an app called Art about Me was designed as a new medium/tool in art therapy intervention by the researcher, an art therapist. Confidentiality, security, documentation, and a backing up system were the primary features considered while developing the app. Three school counselors who participated in an art therapy workshop provided art therapy intervention using the app for children in school settings to improve their self-esteem. The results indicated that art therapy using the app was significantly effective in enhancing their self-esteem. This study concluded that the app could replace traditional art materials and work as a substitute medium. It helped build a therapeutic alliance with clients, develop self-growth and potential for children, and was appreciated by counselors. The art therapy app would be an adequate solution to provide therapeutic services and overcome the limitation of art materials for art therapy, especially in low- resource countries. -
Development and effectiveness of an art therapy application for children
This study involved developing an art therapy app and explored the effectiveness of art therapy using the app on enhancing children's’ self-esteem. Digital technology has become a part of human life and has also influenced mental health services. There is a recommendation to use digital technology in low-resource countries to bridge the mental health service gap for individuals with mental health problems. To meet the needs of art therapists and clients, an app called ‘Art about Me’ was designed as a new medium/tool in art therapy intervention by the researcher, an art therapist. Confidentiality, security, documentation, and a backing up system were the primary features considered while developing the app. Three school counselors who participated in an art therapy workshop provided art therapy intervention using the app for children in school settings to improve their self-esteem. The results indicated that art therapy using the app was significantly effective in enhancing their self-esteem. This study concluded that the app could replace traditional art materials and work as a substitute medium. It helped build a therapeutic
alliance with clients, develop self-growth and potential for children, and was appreciated by counselors. The art therapy app would be an adequate solution to provide therapeutic services and overcome the limitation of art materials for art therapy, especially in low resource countries.