Attitude assessing

There are a number of technical solutions to the problems of positivity bias. One path for enhancing satisfaction studies lies in using expanded scales, such as 0 to 10 rating scales rather than 1 to 5 scales. While the expanded scales are not normally used in attitude assessment the careful labelling of each scale point can offer a route for enhancing the discriminatory power of a single satisfaction item. Typical scale point labels for a 0 to 10 scale would read ... 

Keywords Affect Attitude Assessment Interest Motivation Morals Self-concept Values... 

Assessing the different groups against these knowledge, skill and attitude requirements, i.e. conducting a training needs analysis (see Chapter 8 for a more detailed explanation of this topic). 

Interviews and/or questiormaires to identify the areas in which training is needed using this method, you can assess deficits in knowledge, skill and attitude. 

A critical attitude towards the results obtained in analysis is necessary in order to appreciate their meaning and limitations. Precision is dependent on the practical method and beyond a certain degree cannot be improved. Inevitably there must be a compromise between the reliability of the results obtained and the use of the analyst s time. To reach this compromise requires an assessment of the nature and origins of errors in measurements relevant statistical tests may be applied in the appraisal of the results. With the development of microcomputers and their ready availability, access to complex statistical methods has been provided. These complex methods of data handling and analysis have become known collectively as chemometrics. 

The risk asses sment may include an evaluation of what the risks mean in practice to those effected. This will depend heavily on how the risk is perceived. Risk perception involves peoples beliefs, attitudes, judgements and feelings, as well as the wider social or cultural values that people adopt towards hazards and their benefits. The way in which people perceive risk is vital in the process of assessing and managing risk. Risk perception will be a major determinant in whether a risk is deemed to be acceptable and whether the risk management measures imposed are seen to resolve the problem. 

While both a consumer s risk attitudes and risk perceptions individually influence their behavior, it has been shown—in the context of BSE—that it is the combination of risk attitude and risk perception that has the biggest influence on behavior (Pennings et al., 2002). That is, regardless of one s risk attitude, there will be no change in one s behavior if a person perceives no risk in a situation. However, if a person does believe a behavior has some risk involved (such as eating beef during the BSE scare), it is their attitude toward risk (it is worth the risk to eat beef vs. it is not worth the risk) that eventually determined their behavior and not simply their assessment of the risk itself. 

As in the continuation phase, the antidepressant that successfully achieved remission should be continued at the same dose during the maintenance phase of treatment. A collaborative decision between patient and physician is crucial to the success of the maintenance phase of treatment. These collaborative assessments should be repeated every 1-2 years and will require exploration of the patient s attitudes toward prolonged treatment. 

Describe the change in citizens attitudes toward the federal government in the last decade. Explain what you believe to be the causes of this change. Finally, assess the impact of this attitude on the power of the government. 

Shaping a personal way of assessing one s knowledge is an important commitment to continuous professional development and demonstration of personal competence. Self-assessment that is taken seriously has the capacity to identify areas where further sharpening is needed. It also provides the capacity to validate what one knows related to the competence requirements of one s practice. Such assessment is not a comparison of what one knows compared with others but rather, focuses on the skills, knowledge and attitudes that are relevant to an individual s practice. 

Clearly, the commercial or consultancy laboratory that tests sub-samples of a marketed product worth millions of pounds, or assesses the purity of pharmaceuticals, or analyses forensic samples, must have far higher levels of both accuracy and verifiability than student practical classes. There should, however, always be an effort to produce the most accurate and reliable results within the constraints of the laboratory facilities available, otherwise a lax attitude will produce work of doubtful interpretation that could mislead others, as well as giving little job satisfaction. Several books, which are more suited to the commercial sector, have been written on the quality of laboratory analysis, however some quality assurance practices could be beneficial in the smaller laboratory. A useful open-learning style book on basic concepts of quality in the analytical laboratory has been co-authored by staff at the Laboratory of the Government Chemist (Crosby et ai, 1995). 

---