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Research on female same-sex relationships has predominantly considered a single partner's perspective on couple satisfaction, and has compared same-sex couples with heterosexual couples. Drawing upon Personal Construct Theory, this study explores how identification, acceptance, commonality and sociality (mutual understanding) between two female same-sex partners are associated with the couple's satisfaction. Forty Italian women involved in same-sex relationships completed the Partnership Questionnaire and 160 repertory grids involving the exchange grid method. A mixed-method analysis was conducted. Higher couple's satisfaction was associated with higher identification with the partner but not with higher commonality and sociality, partner acceptance was associated with higher scores in tenderness. Perceived similarity was higher than commonality and sociality, and partner's acceptance was higher than identification with her. Qualitative analysis heightened the centrality of the participants' experience when compared with the dominant prejudice with regard to homosexuality and the tension between autonomy and fusion. This study revealed the importance of identification and acceptance in terms of couple's satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The overvaluation of weight and shape is a diagnostic criterion in eating disorders, except in binge eating disorder (BED), where it has received less attention. This aspect is also not usually analyzed in people with overweight or obesity without an eating disorder. This research aims to identify the indicators of symptomatology, as well as those of self-construction and cognitive structure, that are associated with overvaluation in obesity, either alone or in conjunction with BED. Method: A sample of 102 overweight or obese participants was accessed. The sample was divided into four groups: one without overvaluation or BED (n = 33); a second with overvaluation and without BED (n = 21); a third with BED, but without overvaluation (n = 15), and a fourth with BED and overvaluation (n = 33). The groups completed instruments regarding eating symptomatology, anxiety, depression, and stress. In addition, they were administered the Repertory Grid Technique, a semi-structured interview to evaluate the cognitive structure involved in the construal of the self and others. Results: The factors of overvaluation and the presence of BED independently explained eating symptomatology, and the latter also showed a tendency to influence anxiety, depression, and stress. In terms of cognitive structure, weight polarization was explained by overvaluation, while BED was associated with a high presence of cognitive conflicts. In self-construction, BED was the factor that explained the differences, particularly in Self-Ideal discrepancy. Discussion: The results highlight the importance of overvaluation in obesity, even in the absence of BED. Its evaluation and treatment are recommended. Furthermore, in the case of BED, it is also advisable to evaluate the overvaluation of weight and shape since it can be a severity specifier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hellenic Journal of Research in Education / Ereuna Stīn Ekpaideusī is the property of Laboratory of Research in Pedagogy & Educational Practices 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 Cukurova University Faculty of Education Journal / Çukurova Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Cukurova University, Faculty of Education 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 Journal of Sports Sciences Research / Spor Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of Journal of Sport Sciences Researches / Spor Bilimleri Arastirmalari Dergisi 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.)

Paying attention to users' emotional desires and facilitating user-product interaction have become an essential component in design, production and marketing. User experience includes user’s perceptions and feedback while using or anticipating the use of products. Optimizing user experience can increase the satisfaction of users, motivate customers to buy products and, consequently, improve the competitive position of manufacturers in the market. Product designers need to carefully identify and evaluate user’s needs in different groups of products to create different features, semantic, sensory, and behavioral functions in the product and improve the perceived user experience of the product. So far, different methods have been proposed to collect users' opinions and demands regarding different types of products. Surveying and focusing on groups are the traditional methods in market research, which have their own strengths and weaknesses. There are some integrated solutions proposed to solve problems by these methods. Designers and manufacturers face an urgent need to use the different proposed methods to accurately extract demands of users in practical examples, so that they can understand these methods and their application in real projects. This research seeks to identify the needs of users and evaluate the user experience with some types of these products. Methodology: This research is based on a practical approach that applies the repertory grid technique to extract factors involved in user experience in everyday products for chopping onion. This technique is a semi-structured method to define different aspects of a phenomenon from the personal viewpoints of subjects by minimizing the possible biases of the researcher. Based on this, a case study of that technique is conducted to extract the factors involved in the user experience in everyday onion chopping tools. The implementation of the technique has three main stages including element selection, construct extraction, and identifying element relationship to constructs by using content analysis. For this purpose, by interviewing 20 users of onion chopping tools, a conceptual model was presented on the factors affecting user satisfaction in this category of products. The reason for choosing the onion chopping tool was the daily use of these tools, and the target population consisted of 20 to 40-year-old female users who did daily cooking activities. Seven elements were arranged based on the subjects' suggestions for onion chopping tools. The interview was conducted in a kitchen with the presence of the mentioned onion chopping tools, and the subjects were allowed to do onion chopping by any of the tools they wished. To discover the constructs, the elements were provided to the subjects in the form of triple comparisons, and then an in-depth interview was conducted. Results and discussion: As many as 545 personal constructs were extracted in the initial stage. After the content analysis, they were reduced to 42 final constructs. The priority of the final constructs was extracted based on an online questionnaire, and the superiority of the elements was determined on the Likert scale. The obtained scores were entered and analyzed in the Idiogrid software version 2.4, and information was extracted in three stages including statistical information of structures, and statistical information of the elements and cognitive map of elements. Then, principal component analysis was done to understand the relationship between the structures and elements and their graphic expression showing the combination of the constructs and elements. In general, the range of the scores obtained in the structures was from 2.85 to 4.85, which has little dispersion according to the determined range (1 to 5). This result can indicate that the extracted structures have correctly identified the needs of users which are more or less important. Also, the results showed that the structures related to the safety criteria are the most important, and structures related to appearance and personal preferences of the subjects are the least important in this type of products. The results of the comparing the tools showed the strengths and weaknesses of each tool according to the extracted structures, the discovery of which will lead to the creation of new and optimized products. Conclusion: Since there are many dimensions in evaluating usercentric products, in order to achieve user’s satisfaction, it is necessary to pay attention to all of the effective items in user experience. The number and details of the structures obtained showed that the repertory grid technique can be used as a suitable solution for extracting the demands of users about different products. By using multiple comparisons, this method, brings up various cases in the minds of users, which are not expressed in traditional interview methods. Also, comparing the users of different products creates a situation that can include a wider range of user demands. This is the strong point of this method in comparison with the focus group method because, to uncover underlying hidden needs, approaching unusual or off-target users can provide an opportunity for product development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interpersonal perceptions have an impact on the quality of couple relationships but we want to examine the putative moderating role of gender considering personal meanings as the target of perception. We employed the Couple's Grid to measure interpersonal perception based on personal constructs and the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model (pooled regression) to analyze the mutual effects of partners' observations. We explore the dyadic effects of seven variables of interpersonal perception on relationship quality in a sample of 26 Spanish opposite‐sex couples. Idealization of the partner was associated with one's own and partner's relationship quality (actor and partner effects), while being accurate in the perception of the partner's self‐image was positively related to men's relationship quality but negatively related to women's (actor effects). The findings stimulate the existing debate regarding the benefits of being accurate or biased in a relationship and the need to take into account gender differences for guiding therapeutic interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Psicoterapia is the property of Revista de Psiquiatria y Psicologia Humanista, S.L. 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 is an observational exploratory study assessing self-concept and its association with depression, anxiety, satisfaction with life, and quality of life 6 months after experiencing a traumatic brain injury. Participants were 33 patients who suffered a traumatic brain injury 6 months before the assessment. The measures used in this study were the Repertory Grid Technique, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Satisfaction With Life Scale, and the Quality of Life after Brain Injury. We calculated Euclidean distances to assess differences in pre-and post-injury self-perception, as well as the proportion of opposed pole construct rating and polarization to understand how they are associated with the scores of the other offered measures. We found that the distance between the present and ideal self, as well as the distance between the present self and the self before the lesion showed moderate positive correlations with depression, and negative correlations with satisfaction with life and quality of life. Also, for the present and self before the lesion, the proportion of opposed pole ratings was correlated with depression symptoms, quality, and satisfaction with life, while for the present self and the ideal self this proportion was correlated with all the measures. The proportion of polarization of the present self and the total polarization was negatively correlated with symptom measures. The repertory grid might facilitate a greater understanding of self-concept after traumatic brain injury. This information could be used to guide treatments that address the emotions related to distances observed in the perception of the self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Pretexto is the property of Revista Pretexto 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.)

Lecture-free activities afford students with an engaging approach to knowledge acquisition and integration. When peppered throughout a course, experiential activities inject spontaneity, break up familiar patterns, and empower students to take responsibility of their learning. For an instructor, iteration is required to develop effective lecture-free engineering activities, necessitating thoughtful evaluation. The paper adopts Kelly's personal constructs theory, using repertory grid analysis to consider the effectiveness of six unordinary, lecture-free activities. Through a structured comparison of activities, 29 constructs were elicited with inherently subjective, dichotomous poles. The grid was populated ranking each activity between the poles of each construct such as directed learning or creative expression. Using a cluster analysis and descriptive statistics, various themes emerged revealing the author's preference, and connections between seemingly unrelated constructs such as how summative actives use the entire building whereas formative activities are in the classroom. Recommendations are made to generalize the tool to aid instructors in activity evaluation and development through understanding and challenging existing patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents and illustrates Interpretive Clustering, an innovative and original method of qualitative analysis of Repertory Grid data. Repertory Grids are a popular and flexible method of research, but they have primarily been used to gather data that are analysed quantitatively. Although many researchers have used Grids more qualitatively, this is often limited to a content analysis of the elicited constructs across a sample of participants. Interpretive Clustering is a participant-led method which uses the grid data idiographically to explore how a participant's construing may 'cluster' around one or more issues. We show how this is quite different from a thematic analysis, and discuss how Interpretive Clustering can provide insights that are complementary to those gained from methods like thematic analysis. We conclude with suggestions for how this method, which we argue bridges the qualitative/quantitative divide, might be used in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Culture plays an essential role in the success of product design, especially in the age of a global economy where there is a high probability of discrepancy between the designer's intention and the consumer's response. However, the role of culture is often challenging to identify and measure. In the current paper, we employed Repertory Grids to investigate differences in UK and Chinese participants' evaluations of designs, which were themselves from both UK and Chinese students. The techniques of Honey's Content Analysis and Principal Components Analysis were applied to integrate the analysis of both the collected qualitative and quantitative data. The results show that the two groups tended to focus on a similar range of design aspects (i.e. aesthetics, form/shape, usability, creativity, and functionality), but apply different criteria in evaluating such aspects.The UK and Chinese designs were found to be distinctive from each other and tended to appeal more to the people from the same cultural background. The findings reveal the interplay between culture and design and underline the importance of integrating culture into design education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brexit activists demonstrating outside the British Houses of Parliament were studied in situ to examine their potential for pro-group extreme behavior. This involved activists of two polarized, opposing views; those of Leave and Remain. The research engaged concepts linking the different theoretical perspectives of identity fusion and personal construct psychology. The study measured participants' degree of fusion to their group using a verbal measure. Willingness to undertake extreme acts was assessed in several ways: a measure of willingness to fight for the group, adaptations of the trolley dilemma and questions regarding political violence. Individual construing was examined using repertory grid technique and a semi-structured interview. Results were similar for both Leave and Remain participants. The majority of activists identified as "fused" to their group and, if so, were more likely to undertake hypothetical extreme behavior compared to those who did not identify as "fused." Repertory grid technique indicated that becoming an activist provided individuals with a clearer and more positive view of themselves. Opposition activists were construed more negatively and extremely than fellow activists, and this construal was associated with an increased willingness to undertake extreme pro-group behavior. This was consistent with the personal construct model of radicalization and was heightened in those who were "fused." Interview data provided support for the constructivist model and revealed characteristics and concerns of the two groups. Overall, the findings indicate that campaigning organizations contain fused individuals, who are more likely to undertake hypothetical pro-group violence including self-sacrifice. This has broader implications which may be particularly pertinent, given the violent impact of extremist activists around the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal learning environments such as Natural History Museums can introduce visitors to a variety of topics in evolution by providing accessible representations of concepts like geological time, evolutionary mechanisms, biological diversity, geological time, and fossil dating. Our study examined sixth‐grade students' conceptualization of evolutionary ideas following four extracurricular, evolution‐themed "Science Days" at Nature Campus—an informal learning environment that employs an extensive combination of resources, including fossils, mounted specimens, and labs, as well as zoological and botanical gardens. The purpose of this study was to identify changes in the students' personal constructs over time, in order to determine which aspects of what they had learned during the Science Days had been retained. I, therefore, conducted two sets of interviews, which employed Kelly's Repertory Grid technique to elicit "personal constructs" representing these students' perceptions of evolution and the concepts and ideas associated with it. The first round of interviews was held immediately after the program's conclusion, and the second was conducted 3 years later (ninth‐grade). I then compared the results of the two sets of interviews. Our results showed that multiple elements of the Nature Campus learning experience were retained by the students, emphasizing the contribution of its characteristics as an authentic learning environment that uses visualization, tactile, physical examples, and interactive, inquiry‐based activities to promote meaningful learning. They also showed changes in the prominence and complexity of certain constructs that reflect the nature of the relationship between what the students learned in the informal environment of the Nature Campus and what they have since been taught (or not been taught) in the formal environment of their school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is believed that stimulating the inspiration of short video consumers might be an effective way to attract and maintain the attention of consumers so that they are willing to respond positively to short video ads. Therefore, in order to explore the source of customer inspiration in short video and its cognitive psychological process, the text and grid data collected from an interview among 25 short video users have been qualitatively analyzed by Kelly Grid Technology in order to construct the formation path model of short video customer inspiration, and find out its source, triggering mechanism, and influencing factors. It is found that the inspiring informational content characteristics include richness, reliability, vividness, and fluency of emotional content characteristics, fun, novelty, and narrative. However, the characteristics of commercial content in short video ads hinder the inspiration of consumers. The study also reveals that an internal mechanism of inspiration stimulation is built on some cognitive processes (i.e., presence, processing fluency, perceived innovation, perceived convenience) generated by informational content, and emotional responses by emotional content (i.e., curiosity, surprise, enjoyment, etc.). In addition, it is shown that personal involvement enhances the relationship between the inspiring content characteristics and consumer inspiration. As a result, customer inspiration and engagement in short video ads are highly enriched. Findings provide implications for short video platforms and online marketers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various perspectives are being studied to increase the usability and persistence of voice assistants (VA) as the use is rapidly expanding to various domains. Particularly, many studies note that users personify VA. Systems designed to suit users differing mental models while using specific systems can provide a positive user experience, increasing usability and persistence. Therefore, we tried to structure the mental model of users using personified VA and proposed these results as an important factor to consider in personifying VA. To determine important factors to consider in personifying VA, this research structures the mental model of users using personified VA. Furthermore, we used two types of psychological approaches that were not applied in previous studies to analyze users' mental models. Using two types of psychological approaches that were not applied in previous studies, this research analyzed users' mental models. In Study 1, each user's thinking process is derived through ZMET (Zaltman metaphor elicitation techniques) as a consensus map. Afterward, in Study 2, correlations between the key components analyzed in Study 1 are validated through RG (repertory grid technique). As a result, the research found that there are three different psychological structures. The first structure is of users who feel human-like empathy and warmth in the use of VA. Meanwhile, the second structure is of users who seek help with problem-solving. The last is the psychological structure of users who regarded anthropomorphic VA as just a machine. Users with this mental model expect the potential for development as a machine rather than the personification of VA. Ultimately, this research is meaningful in that it analyzes each user's psychological mechanism for personified VA through a psychological approach and derives three new mental models in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many manufacturers look to business solutions to provide growth; however, success is far from guaranteed, and it is unclear how such solutions can create superior perceived value. This article explores what constitutes value for customers from solutions over time--conceptualized as "value in use"--and how this arises from quality perceptions of the solution's components. The authors develop a framework for solution quality and value in use through 36 interviews combining repertory grid technique and means-end chains. The findings significantly extend the extant view of quality as a function of the supplier's products and services, and show that customers also assess the quality of their own resources and processes, as well as the quality of the joint resource integration process. The authors report that value in use corresponds not just to collective, organizational goals but also to individuals' goals, a finding that strongly contrasts with prior research. Four moderators of the quality-value relationship demonstrate customer heterogeneity across both firms and roles within what the authors term the "usage center." When shifting toward solutions, manufacturers require very different approaches to market research; account management; solution design; and quality control, including the need for value-auditing processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The way that individuals perceive themselves and others may be relevant in understanding difficulties with self‐harm. Repertory grids provide a relatively underutilized means of investigating self‐concept in people who self‐harm. This study aimed to examine the association between self‐concept, captured through a repertory grid method, and self‐harm. Method: Ninety‐eight participants with a history of self‐harm took part in the study. A repertory grid was used to derive distances between four elements ('current self', 'ideal self', 'self‐harming self', and 'others who self‐harm'). Associations between these distances and measures of self‐harm behaviour, well‐being and perceived recovery, were estimated. Results: Repertory grid distances were significantly associated with self‐harm. When adjusting for covariates, self‐harm in the past year was positively associated with a greater distance (or less perceived similarity) between current and ideal self, and a smaller distance (greater perceived similarity) between current self and others who self‐harm. Repertory grid distances were also associated with well‐being and perceived recovery. Conclusions: The results are consistent with the idea that self‐perception is associated with self‐harm and related difficulties. The results also highlight the potential utility of repertory grids as a tool for exploring self‐concept. The cross‐sectional nature of the study precludes inferences about directionality or the temporal characteristics of associations. Practitioner points: More recent experiences of self‐harm may be reflected in the way individuals perceive or construe themselves.The way in which individuals who self‐harm perceive or construe themselves may also be related to their current well‐being and perceived recovery.Repertory grids may be a useful tool in clinical practice for investigating self‐concept in those who self‐harm.Repertory grids may provide a more idiographic, clinical outcome assessment in those who self‐harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study illustrates the use of the repertory grid in identifying and assessing effective teaching competencies. Design/methodology/approach: The data were collected from two subsamples that consist of business management students and engineering students. The systematic repertory grid (RepGrid) method was performed to identify broad effective teaching competencies. Findings: Broad effective teaching competencies found in the study include teaching approach, behavioral orientation, subject expertise, and communication skills among others. Research limitations/implications: Interestingly, the responses of the subsamples differ in the competencies identified and the weights assigned to a particular competency. Further, the results indicate the importance of having a "context" and thereby challenge the concept of generic teaching competencies. Practical implications: The universities are encouraged to use RepGrid technique to assess effective teaching competencies of their faculty members. Originality/value: The techniques for developing teaching competency models by some prior studies have several inherent flaws including the efficiency and effectiveness of data collection. The study takes forward the suggestions of scholars to use a rigorous technique, repertory grid, to overcome several of these flaws to a large extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital game‐based learning (DGBL) is a frequently adopted mode for facilitating teaching and learning, where learners are immersed in game contexts to engage in gameplay and to construct meaningful knowledge. However, without guidance, students might have difficulties organizing what they have experienced in gaming contexts. Thus, in this research, a multidimensional repertory grid (MDRG) approach was proposed, and a digital game was implemented accordingly. Moreover, an experiment was executed in a geography course to examine the effectiveness of the strategy. A total of 83 high school students (15.5 years old on average) participated in the experiment. The experimental group learned with the multidimensional repertory grid‐based educational game, while the control group learned with the conventional gaming mode. The analysis results revealed that the experimental group had better learning achievement as well as higher learning motivation, self‐efficacy and metacognition awareness. In addition, the behavioral analysis and interview results revealed that those learning with the proposed strategy had a greater tendency to promote higher order thinking. Accordingly, the limitations and suggestions for future research are provided. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Digital game‐based learning is an effective teaching approach that enables learners to effectively acquire knowledge in joyful contexts, hence enhancing their learning achievement and learning motivation.Suitable strategies should be embedded in games to enable students to have a higher level of thinking ability and to improve their academic performance.In view of guiding students to observe from multi‐dimensional perspectives, a repertory grid is believed to be a suitable tool since it enables students to observe different learning objects according to different aspects and elements.What this paper adds A multi‐dimensional repertory grid‐based educational game (MDRG game) was developed to facilitate students' learning achievement, learning motivation, and self‐efficacy as well as their metacognition awareness.In addition to promoting students' learning outcomes, students' learning behavioral transition diagrams were presented and interview results were analyzed in this study.Implications for practice and/or policy Traditional graphs or tables could help students memorize and understand features of learning objects; however, it is not easy to promote students' higher order thinking skills of making comparisons and reflections from multiple dimensions.The multi‐dimensional repertory grid‐based feedback provides students with systematically organized information to make comparisons and reflections, which furthermore enhances students' higher order thinking competences.Embedding suitable strategies (e.g., multi‐dimensional repertory grid‐based feedback) in games can effectively improve students' learning performance without increasing their cognitive load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Introduction: People with psychosis show impairments in cognitive flexibility, a phenomenon that is still poorly understood. In this study, we tested if there were differences in cognitive and metacognitive processes related to rigidity in patients with psychosis. We compared individuals with dichotomous interpersonal thinking and those with flexible interpersonal thinking. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis using two groups with psychosis, one with low levels of dichotomous interpersonal thinking (n = 42) and the other with high levels of dichotomous interpersonal thinking (n = 43). The patients were classified by splitting interpersonal dichotomous thinking (measured using the repertory grid technique) to the median. The groups were administered a sociodemographic questionnaire, a semi-structured interview to assess psychotic symptoms [Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS)], a self-report of cognitive insight [Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS)], neurocognitive tasks [Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)], and the repertory grid technique. We used a logistic regression model to test which factors best differentiate the two groups. Results: The group with high dichotomous interpersonal thinking had earlier age at onset of the psychotic disorder, higher self-certainty, impaired executive functioning, affected abstract thinking, and lower estimated cognitive reserve than the group with flexible thinking. According to the logistic regression model, estimated cognitive reserve and self-certainty were the variables that better differentiated between the two groups. Conclusion: Cognitive rigidity may be a generalized bias that affects not only neurocognitive and metacognitive processes but also the sense of self and significant others. Patients with more dichotomous interpersonal thinking might benefit from interventions that target this cognitive bias on an integrative way and that is adapted to their general level of cognitive abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the ratification of the 1981 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) the role of Voice of the Child (VoC) in education has gained significance. Despite various VoC models and methods existing to collect and understand it, it is often critiqued for being tokenistic, rather than meaningful. Personal Construct Psychology (PCP) is a relevant psychological theory which provides a range of methods for exploring VoC. Previous PCP research has utilised art methods to explore primary school pupil's views about various aspects of their educational experience. The current research sought to extend the application of PCP to explore VoC by employing the repertory grid interview method to represent and understand a sample of Year Five pupils' opinions and perspectives on their social relationships. The repertory grid interview method was proposed as a method that would lead to meaningful rather than tokenistic VoC. The findings demonstrated that participants had a strong sense of self in relation to others and reported positive social relationships. Relationships with family members were found to be the most reported and hypothesised to be the most important relationships in participant's social worlds. Participants predominantly utilised the construct categories of 'extroverted/introverted', 'pleasant/unpleasant' and 'sympathetic/unsympathetic' with regards to their social relationships and interactions. These findings are discussed in relation to the argument that repertory grid interviews offer a meaningful rather than tokenistic method for engaging in VoC. Limitations and implications for future research and professional practice are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of German Journal of Exercise & Sport Research 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.)

Pre-service physics teachers often do not recognise the relevance for their future career in their university content knowledge courses. A lower perceived relevance can, however, have a negative effect on their motivation and on their academic success. Several intervention studies have been undertaken with the goal to increase this perceived relevance. A previous study shows that conceptual physics problems used in university physics courses are perceived by pre-service physics teachers as more relevant for their future career than regular, quantitative problems. It is however not clear, what the students' meaning of the construct 'relevance' is: what makes a problem more relevant to them than another problem? To answer this question, N = 7 pre-service teachers were interviewed using the repertory grid technique, based on the personal construct theory. Nine physics problems were discussed with regards to their perceived relevance and with regards to problem properties that distinguish these problems from each other. We are able to identify six problem properties that have a positive influence on the perceived relevance. Physics problems that are based on these properties should therefore potentially have a higher perceived relevance, which can have a positive effect on the motivation of the pre-service teachers who solve these problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Living in a competitive world requires teachers to be aware of their potentials and reflect them on their daily practices. Autonomous teachers can think and act on their own rather than sticking to the established patterns. Current studies mostly deal with perceptions about learner autonomy and focus on local environment. However, what teachers understand from autonomy and their classroom practices are very important. Therefore, this study aims to investigate teachers' autonomy perceptions from cross-cultural perspective. The data was collected by using (1) Repertory Grid Technique with three teachers, (2) semi-structured interviews with15 teachers and (3) classroom observations of 24 lessons for data triangulation to validate each other. Findings suggest that teachers from various cultural backgrounds interpret autonomy with different constructs, yet these differences complete each other in classroom practises. This is also corroborated with semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current research and clinical practice in person‐centred approaches highlight the importance of self, identity, and personal meanings in psychosis. Previous research has focused on dimensions of self, but less attention has been paid to the personal meanings involved in identity. The personal construct theory framework and the repertory grid technique (RGT) allow the study of identity and personal meanings within person‐centred approaches of psychopathology and treatment in psychosis, as suggested by studies that began more than 40 years ago. However, their contributions have not yet been reviewed. We aimed to systematically review the evidence for the role of identity and personal meanings in psychotic disorders. We performed a systematic search using personal construct and RGT terms in PsycINFO, Web of Science, PubMed, EBSCO, Scopus, and Google Scholar. After identifying 2,574 articles, 15 were included. Nine studies followed an idiographic assessment, and six were nomothetic. Patients reported their subjective experience of isolation in terms of high self‐ideal discrepancy and high perceived discrepancy with their significant others, which some studies associated with a lower degree of recovery or with the way in which positive symptoms were construed. Self‐fragmentation either decreased with interventions or was associated with recovery. Evidence regarding interpersonal construing was less consistent, but there was a tendency for patients to show a more rigid cognitive structure than controls. To conclude, we found some evidence that self‐discrepancies, fragmentation of self, and interpersonal construing are affected in psychosis and potentially modifiable through psychotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article identifies common features of existing models of radicalization and deradicalization, such as the transition from uncertainty to certainty, before integrating these in a model based upon personal construct theory. It is proposed that the personal construct concepts of validation and invalidation are particularly relevant to processes of identity change such as radicalization and deradicalization. Thus, it is argued that radicalization occurs when major invalidation of an individual's construing is followed by the development of a new radicalized view of the world that provides a turning point in his or her sense of identity and a more structured and certain view of the world. There is likely to be seeking out of validation for this view in interactions with others who share similar views or by extorting evidence for the individual's radical constructions. These constructions are likely to involve extreme negative views of another group, by contrast to members of which, and possibly by taking extreme action against this group, the individual's new self-construction may become further defined. These same processes can be seen to operate in deradicalization, and it will therefore be argued that the model has implications for the development of deradicalization programs. A further advantage of the model is that it has an associated personal construct methodology, particularly repertory grid technique, that may be used to investigate processes of radicalization and deradicalization. As illustrations of such investigations, results will be summarized from a repertory grid study of Salafist Muslims in Tunisia, some of whom had returned from fighting in Syria, and an analysis of the writings of the Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik. The findings of these investigations are argued to be consistent with the personal construct model of radicalization and deradicalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In today's Russia, questions about national identity, nation-building, and nationwide integration are among the most discussed issues at the highest possible political levels. The issues become more acute in borderland regions, where more trans-border movement creates an environment for double or multiple cultural identities and diffuse representations about "ownness" and "otherness". Sociological surveys conducted in four regions of Russia (the Altai region, the Amur region, the Republic of Karelia, and the Jewish Autonomous Region, n=400) explored national identification, structuring ethnic diversity in Russia, and giving grounds for generalizations and stereotypes from the data collected with repertory grids and using hierarchical cluster analysis, PCA, Proctrustes analysis, and psychosemantic space building. Main results included elaboration of the original research tool, tested in the Russian borderland, description of Russians as they are perceived by borderland inhabitants, their relations with meta-ethnic groups associated with the Russian nation, and latent factors, influencing the assessment of people of different nationalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many of the world's iconic ecotourism attractions reside in heterogeneous rural localities (or places). Over time the nature of these settings evolve, which can lead to tourism and other industry sectors (e.g. forestry, mining, agriculture etc.) at different times coming to hold positions of legitimacy in the eyes of local people. Local people will form opinions on the merits of ecotourism development on the basis of an evolving interplay of economic, environmental and social forces. These forces are framed on the basis of a locality's history, as well as on the basis of current conditions. In the present paper the authors will explore the merits of employing Personal Construct Theory based repertory grids as a methodological tool to understand the subjective realities of local people. Drawing on the results an expanding body of scholarship that has used repertory grid methodologies in destination image studies; the authors will offer comment on the merits whereby repertory grids can be taken out of an academic led research setting and used within communities themselves to shed light on the individual perceptions that variously cause support or opposition to ecotourism development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Iberoamericana de Diagncstico y Evaluacicn Psicolcgica is the property of Asociacion Iberoamericana de Diagnostico y Evaluacion Psicologica 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.)

Effective natural resource management (NRM) often depends on collaboration through formal and informal relationships. Social network analysis (SNA) provides a framework for studying social relationships; however, a deeper understanding of the nature of these relationships is often missing. By integrating multiple analytical methods (including SNA, evidence ratings, and perception matrices), we were able to investigate the nature of relationships in NRM social networks across five service types (e.g., technical advice, on-ground support) in our case study region, Daly catchment Australia. Only one service type was rated as highly associated with free choice in establishing relationships: technical advice/knowledge. Beneficial characteristics of NRM organizations, such as collaborative and transparent, were associated with the presence of freely chosen relationships between organizations. Our results suggest a need to improve our understanding of organizational roles and characteristics, in particular for use in applied NRM contexts, such as network weaving or disseminating information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of education, the international trend is to turn to criterion-referenced grading in the hope of achieving accountable and consistent grades. Despite a national criterion-referenced grading system emphasising knowledge as the only base for grading, Swedish physical education (PE) grades have been shown to value non-knowledge factors, such as students’ characteristics and behaviour. In 2011, a new national curriculum was implemented which attempts to deal with the problem by prescribing specific knowledge requirements with a clear progression as the only basis for different grades. The aim of the present study is to explore the impact of the new knowledge requirements on what teachers consider important when assigning grades. It is also to discuss what non-knowledge-related aspects (if any) teachers continue to look for and why these seem to remain resilient to the reform. The Repertory Grid technique was employed to interview the teachers before (2009) and after the implementation (2013). During the interviews, the grading of 45 students was discussed, which generated 125 constructs. After the implementation, there was a near doubling of knowledge constructs, half as many motivation constructs and an almost total elimination of constructs based on confidence and social skills. While motivational factors were still considered valuable for the award of a higher grade, clear criteria seemed to be important, but too limited for the teachers’ needs. In order to understand the persistence of motivational factors, we discuss the results in relation to Bernstein’s interrelated message systems of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. We emphasise the need to discuss how valid grades can be achieved and, at the same time, give value to the regulative discourse in order to realise the overarching national goals of values and norms in education and PE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmented reality (AR) offers potential advantages for intensifying environmental context awareness and augmenting students’ experiences in real-world environments by dynamically overlapping digital materials with a real-world environment. However, some challenges to AR learning environments have been described, such as participants’ cognitive overload and the ways to provide assistance in constructing the presented learning materials. In this study, a mindtool-based AR learning system was developed, based on the repertory grid method and the contiguity principle of multimedia learning, for assisting students in constructing their knowledge in a natural science course. Furthermore, an experiment was carried out on an elementary school natural science course to compare the influences of this method with those of the conventional AR learning system on students’ learning effectiveness. The experimental results show that the designated approach effectively promoted the students’ learning achievements, and no significant difference existed between the mindtool-based AR learning system and the conventional AR learning system in terms of students’ cognition load and satisfaction degree; moreover, both the experimental group and the control group perceived low cognition load during the learning activity and rated their own AR learning systems as being highly satisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Many protocols assessing social communication skills of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are based on behavioral observations. It has been suggested, however, that social cognition encompasses processes underlying observable behaviors. Such processes include personal constructs, which can be assessed using repertory grids. Personal constructs of five adolescents with ASD with average or above average intelligence and receptive and expressive language skills were explored using repertory grids in this study. With visual structure and verbal scaffolding, all participants successfully engaged in the repertory grid process. Data suggest participants had well organized, complex construct systems, a significant understanding of social roles, and were interested in social interactions. Repertory grids may provide additional person-centered information for assessing social communication skills in ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have recognized the potential of educational computer games in improving students’ learning engagement and outcomes; however, facilitating effective learning behaviors during the gaming process remains an important and challenging issue. In this paper, a collaborative knowledge construction strategy was incorporated into an educational computer game to facilitate students’ knowledge sharing and organizing during the game-based learning process. An experiment was conducted to examine the students’ learning behavioral patterns, group efficacy, and problem-solving awareness. The experimental results revealed that the proposed approach improved the students’ learning achievements and awareness of problem-solving. Moreover, from the analysis of the students’ behavior sequences, it was found that, with the collaborative knowledge construction mechanism, the students revealed significantly more aggressive learning behavioral patterns, such as “comparing and observing the learning targets” and “seeking clues and answers” during the gaming process. This implies that integrating the collaborative knowledge construction mechanism into the gaming process has great potential for helping students effectively learn and organize knowledge as well as fostering their awareness of applying the acquired knowledge to dealing with problems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the organizational impacts of enterprise mobility and the configurations of mobile information technology (IT) impacts in companies with various value creation logics.Design/methodology/approach An exploratory approach combining semi-structured interview and repertory grid method was used to evaluate managers’ perspectives on the effects of mobile technologies.Findings The qualitative findings unearth managers’ perspectives about the organizational impacts of enterprise mobility, which are categorized into six intermediary dimensions and two fundamental impacts. A further analysis of material collected from interviews also shows the differential context-related configurations of mobile IT impacts in companies.Research limitations/implications This study contributes to literature on the business value of IT in general and mobile IT in particular by examining managers’ cognitive constructions of the organizational impacts of enterprise mobility and highlighting the complexity and context-related variety of mobile IT impacts.Practical implications This study provides valuable insights for managers and decision makers that enterprise mobility shows promise in enhancing a firm’s operational and marketing performance.Originality/value Different from prior literature, this study is an exploratory attempt to investigate complex enterprise-mobility-performance relationship and preliminarily uncovers that the mechanisms with which mobile IT influences firm performance vary in different organizational contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of information technology (IT) depends on its embeddedness into its contingent context. Thus, enabling adequate knowledge management (KM) system design requires awareness of the characteristics of the knowledge that is created. Since related insights are missing, we explore what software developers learn on their projects by conducting interviews based on the Repertory Grid Technique. We assess the characteristics of the identified knowledge and skills and derive suggestions for KM system design accordingly. Our study gives rise to challenge the common idea that KM design should be chosen according to the type of knowledge (explicit versus tacit) to be managed. Incorporating further knowledge characteristics (task domain and volatility of knowledge), our results indicate that organisations should implement a codification strategy or a strategy between codification and personalisation, depending on the knowledge at hand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we examine the complex relationship between accountability and organizational learning through a case study with the UK Royal Air Force (RAF). Accountability is a complex and contradictory construct that has both positive and negative implications for organizational learning. Within the same organization we observed positive effects of accountability in one organizational learning system, and negative effects of accountability in another. This case study adds to the organizational learning and accountability literatures, showing that accountability to hierarchy, rather than preventing learning, can actually promote effective learning, making it more likely that people will report problems quickly and accurately and take follow-up action. This only applies if the learning objectives align with the broader accountability framework, and if reporting on failures will enhance individual reputation. If not, then people will tend to avoid reporting negative events in order to avoid punishment and reputation damage. Accountability to hierarchy is only negative if it conflicts with the learning objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is an increasing trend of services being traded across borders, quantity surveying (QS) firms in the construction sector remain under-researched. The triggers for the increasing globalization of QS firms are not clear, nor how these triggers are perceived by managers at different levels. A questionnaire was administered in over 84 QS consultancy firms, and the results were analyzed using the repertory grid technique, allowing a comparison between the general respondents and a focus group of senior managers. The findings show that senior managers with significant experience realize the importance of a strong internal capability of the QS firm and the capability to develop innovative offerings, coupled with an awareness of the target market and the ability to secure revenue through key contracts. Firm- and location-specific factors were more important than other competitive advantages or foreign markets' characteristics when deciding to globalize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper aims to introduce and demonstrate a new model for service quality that separates out the measurement of service quality in ways grounded in psychological theory and methodological symmetry.Design/methodology/approach A review of experience in service quality management suggests that new approaches are needed. By seeking a way of managing service at different levels, with symmetry between data collection and data analysis, a model is presented that has more potential applicability and flexibility than is found in traditional models.Findings A national study in Namibia, Africa provided data that successfully demonstrate the method of working and illustrate the contextual, analytical and data management issues and the reporting potential out of complex service management data.Research limitations/implications This new approach to the design of service quality measurement and assessment extends the capability that is generally found in other existing approaches. It provides a new foundation for further research into complex patterns of service success and that will establish more clearly the inter-dependencies between service encounters, service attributes and service measures at the survey item level.Practical implications Studies of multiple service sectors and multiple service recipient groups can now gather and manage large complex data sets and analyse and report that data in ways appropriate to the needs of different stakeholders.Social implications In any context where service quality is a socio-economic or development issue, it is now possible to take a more careful and nuanced approach to the collection and aggregation of data, which will inform policy makers and other stakeholder groups at the national or regional level.Originality/value This new model addresses a range of problems that have been reported with historical approaches such as SERVQUAL and related methods of working. It also provides foundations for new designs for large-scale service management data collection, organisation and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rail disruption management is central to operational continuity and customer satisfaction. Disruption is not a unitary phenomenon – it varies by time, cause, location and complexity of coordination. Effective, user-centred technology for rail disruption must reflect this variety. A repertory grid study was conducted to elicit disruption characteristics. Construct elicitation with a group of experts (n = 7) captured 26 characteristics relevant to rail disruption. A larger group of operational staff (n = 28) rated 10 types of rail incident against the 26 characteristics. The results revealed distinctions such as business impact and public perception, and the importance of management of the disruption over initial detection. There were clear differences between those events that stop the traffic, as opposed to those that only slow the traffic. The results also demonstrate the utility of repertory grid for capturing the characteristics of complex work domains. Practitioner Summary:The aim of the paper is to understand how variety in rail disruption influences socio-technical design. It uses repertory grid to identify and prioritise 26 constructs, and group 10 disruption types, identifying critical factors such as whether an incident stops or merely slows the service, and business reputation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose Recent innovations in payment instruments have fundamentally changed the ways we pay. These innovations, such as mobile/SMS payments and online banking, contain features that are likely to influence how people choose to pay. The purpose of this paper is to understand the factors that impact payers’ choice of payment instruments.Design/methodology/approach Through in-depth interviews using the repertory grid technique, the authors explored 15 payers’ perceptions of six payment instruments, including coins, banknotes, debit cards, credit cards, mobile payments, and online banking. The approach draws heavily on organizational systematics to better understand payers’ choice of payment instruments.Findings A four-category taxonomy of payments was developed. The authors refer to the taxonomy as the 4Ps: the purchase, the payer, the payment instrument, and the physical technology. The taxonomy comprises 16 payment characteristics consisting 76 payment features that influence payers’ instrument choice. One characteristic not known in prior research was identified – that is, “cancellation” – a characteristic more frequently associated with digital payment instruments than with cash or checks.Research limitations/implications The findings suggest that payers view payment instruments in a much broader sense, including context, control, or cultural beliefs. Consequently, the authors suggest that researchers try to understand the essence of an innovation before assuming any economic rationalism in human or organizational behavior. The authors also urge researchers to understand the underlying meaning behind constructs of interest; as this study has shown that concepts like context and convenience have many different interpretations.Practical implications According to McKinsey (2014) there are over 12,000 startups in the payment arena. For them, the taxonomy can function as a template for the design of payment instruments, as well as understanding the various factors that influence payer choice of payment instruments.Originality/value The main contribution of this paper is the 4Ps taxonomy of payments. The taxonomy builds on and extends the work by Hirschman (1982). Since this work, and despite recent trends in payments, there has not been a comprehensive investigation that takes into account more recent innovations in payment instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are an increasing, but limited, number of studies investigating the benefits of mindfulness interventions for people experiencing psychosis. To our knowledge, changes following mindfulness for psychosis have not yet been explored from a personal construct perspective. This study had two main aims: (i) to explore changes in the way a person construes their self, others and their experience of psychosis following a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) group; and (ii) to replicate the findings of other studies exploring the feasibility and potential benefits of MBCT for psychosis. Sixteen participants, with experience of psychosis, completed an 8-week MBCT group. Participants completed pre-group and post-group assessments including a repertory grid, in addition to a range of outcome measures. There was some evidence of changes in construing following MBCT, with changes in the way participants viewed their ideal self and recovered self, and an indication of increased self-understanding. Improvements were found in participants' self-reported ability to act with awareness and in recovery. This study demonstrates the feasibility and potential benefits of MBCT groups for people experiencing psychosis. Furthermore, it provides some evidence of changes in construal following MBCT that warrant further exploration. Large-scale controlled trials of MBCT for psychosis are needed, as well as studies investigating the mechanisms of change. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message MBCT may contribute to change in individuals' perceptions and increase self-understanding., The study highlights the importance of measuring change in recovery following MBCT., Findings support the need for person-centred approaches to assessment and monitoring of personal change following therapy., Similar studies using a control group are needed in order to identify whether the changes found are attributable to participation in an MBCT group., Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessible summary Dialectical behaviour therapy ( DBT) can be adapted for individuals with learning disabilities. DBT aims to teach people how to control their feelings, communicate with other people, manage distress and be more self-aware., This article presents the case studies of two adults with learning disabilities who completed DBT and shows how their opinions of themselves and others changed., The results discussed include overall change in construing, changes in self-esteem and changes in dilemmas they had about themselves before DBT., Abstract Background: Government strategy indicates that individuals with learning disabilities should have access to adapted psychological therapies. Dialectical behaviour therapy ( DBT) is recommended for the treatment of borderline personality disorder ( BPD); however, there is little published research regarding whether it can be appropriately adapted for adults with learning disabilities. The research available primarily focuses on measures of behavioural and psychiatric change, with little emphasis on the psychological changes that occur. Materials and Methods: Two case studies are presented that using repertory grid technique, based on personal construct psychology ( PCP). Both individuals completed repertory grids prior to, and following, adapted DBT for adults with learning disabilities within a specialist community psychology service in the United Kingdom. Results: The case studies show some of the psychological changes that have occurred within adults with learning disabilities who received adapted DBT within a community psychology service. Changes included altered self-esteem and dilemmas individuals have about themselves. Conclusion: The contrasting case studies demonstrate the complexity and idiosyncrasy of the experiences of individuals with learning disabilities who receive DBT, and discuss how this information can be integrated into clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly popular in the West is hummus, a spread that is made with pureed chickpeas and other healthful ingredients. The changes in texture measurements and sensory properties in a novel chickpea flour-based product occurring when water is partially replaced by common ingredients of hummus were investigated. Eleven chickpea gels containing different amounts of minced garlic, lemon juice, curry powder, and inulin were prepared and compared with two control gels. These ingredients were chosen to make the product tastier, appealing, and similar to hummus. Instrumental texture tests were carried out: uniaxial compression, stress relaxation, and texture profile analysis. Quantitative descriptive analysis was used to describe differences in sensory properties perceived by a trained panel, whereas repertory grid method combined with free choice profile was used to determine differences perceived by untrained consumers. Gels with higher curry powder content presented lower force to breakdown, whereas increasing inulin content led to gels with higher hardness. Principal component analysis was applied to instrumental parameters and quantitative descriptive analysis data, whereas generalized Procrustes analysis was applied to free choice profile data. This newly developed chickpea gel may make a nutrition claim with respect to protein (“high in protein,” or at least a “source of protein”). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]