Search

The doctor of business administration (DBA) degree is widely considered as a professional doctorate or professional doctoral degree that is designed to prepare business practitioners. The doctor of philosophy (PhD) in business, by contrast, is thought to prepare research scholars and higher education faculty members. Prior research conducted by the authors comparing the curriculum of DBA and PhD programs, analyzing accreditation and regulation of the degree programs and examining the terminal degrees of business faculty, did not support the theoretical difference between the two degrees. This study consisted of an analysis of 147 DBA versus 151 PhD dissertations. The analysis indicated a significant group mean difference in the number of PhD versus DBA dissertations in institutions with an R1 classification by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education. However, no significant correlations nor group mean differences were found in methodology choice, sample size, or research type (applied vs. basic), based on the degree type (DBA vs. PhD). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Patient-Specific Functional Scale (PSFS) questionnaire was developed by Stratford and colleagues to provide a method for eliciting, measuring and recording descriptions of patients' disabilities. It can be used to guide treatment and assess patient outcome. The aim of the study was to translate and validate a Finnish version of the internationally used PSFS questionnaire, by testing its content validity and responsiveness, and to conduct a cross-cultural adaptation of the measure. Methods: The final version of the Finnish questionnaire underwent a cross-cultural adaptation before the validation study. The subjects of the study were patients receiving physiotherapy for low back pain ( n = 78). They completed the PSFS questionnaire prior to physiotherapy treatment and after treatment series. Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) and the visual analogue scale (VAS) were recorded before and after the treatment series. Results: For content validity, a good correlation of the scores between baseline measures of PSFS and RMDQ were 0.65 (Pearson's rho) ( p < 0.01). For responsiveness, moderate to good correlation among the measures between changes of the PSFS, RMDQ and VAS (0-100 mm) scores were analysed. Conclusions: The Finnish translation of the PSFS questionnaire performs as the original, is proven to have adequate content validity and responsiveness, and could be recommended as an assessment tool for clinical and research use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]