Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques

2 1 The innovative transport systems and the CityMobil project 10 1.1 The research questions 10 2 The state of art in the field of automatic transport systems 12 2.1 Case studies and demand studies for innovative transport systems 12 3 The design and implementation of surveys 14 3.1 Definition of experimental design 14 3.2 Questionnaire design and delivery 16 3.3 First analyses on the collected sample 18 4 Calibration of Logit Multionomial demand models 21 4.1 Methodology 21 4.2 Calibration of the “full” model. 22 4.3 Calibration of the “final” model 24 4.4 The demand analysis through the final Multinomial Logit model 25 5 The analysis of interaction between the demand and socioeconomic attributes 31 5.1 Methodology 31 5.2 Application of Mixed Logit models to the demand 31 5.3 Analysis of the interactions between demand and socioeconomic attributes through Mixed Logit models 32 5.4 Mixed Logit model and interaction between age and the demand for the CTS 38 5.5 Demand analysis with Mixed Logit model 39 6 Final analyses and conclusions 45 6.1 Comparison between the results of the analyses 45 6.2 Conclusions 48 6.3 Answers to the research questions and future developments 52

The European commission

The Rise of the Creative Class

Motivational Interviewing: Preparing People for Change

It is increasingly acknowledged that ‘acceptability’ should be considered when designing, evaluating and implementing healthcare interventions. However, the published literature offers little guidance on how to define or assess acceptability. The purpose of this study was to develop a multi-construct theoretical framework of acceptability of healthcare interventions that can be applied to assess prospective (i.e. anticipated) and retrospective (i.e. experienced) acceptability from the perspective of intervention delivers and recipients. Two methods were used to select the component constructs of acceptability. 1) An overview of reviews was conducted to identify systematic reviews that claim to define, theorise or measure acceptability of healthcare interventions. 2) Principles of inductive and deductive reasoning were applied to theorise the concept of acceptability and develop a theoretical framework. Steps included (1) defining acceptability; (2) describing its properties and scope and (3) identifying component constructs and empirical indicators. From the 43 reviews included in the overview, none explicitly theorised or defined acceptability. Measures used to assess acceptability focused on behaviour (e.g. dropout rates) (23 reviews), affect (i.e. feelings) (5 reviews), cognition (i.e. perceptions) (7 reviews) or a combination of these (8 reviews). From the methods described above we propose a definition: Acceptability is a multi-faceted construct that reflects the extent to which people delivering or receiving a healthcare intervention consider it to be appropriate, based on anticipated or experienced cognitive and emotional responses to the intervention. The theoretical framework of acceptability (TFA) consists of seven component constructs: affective attitude, burden, perceived effectiveness, ethicality, intervention coherence, opportunity costs, and self-efficacy. Despite frequent claims that healthcare interventions have assessed acceptability, it is evident that acceptability research could be more robust. The proposed definition of acceptability and the TFA can inform assessment tools and evaluations of the acceptability of new or existing interventions.

/pdf/acceptability-of-healthcare-interventions-an-overview-of-20y65r8hg8.pdf

Acceptability of healthcare interventions: an overview of reviews and development of a theoretical framework

Background 
Financial incentive interventions have been suggested as one method of promoting healthy behaviour change.


Objectives 
To conduct a systematic review of the effectiveness of financial incentive interventions for encouraging healthy behaviour change; to explore whether effects vary according to the type of behaviour incentivised, post-intervention follow-up time, or incentive value.


Data Sources 
Searches were of relevant electronic databases, research registers, www.google.com, and the reference lists of previous reviews; and requests for information sent to relevant mailing lists.


Eligibility Criteria 
Controlled evaluations of the effectiveness of financial incentive interventions, compared to no intervention or usual care, to encourage healthy behaviour change, in non-clinical adult populations, living in high-income countries, were included.


Study Appraisal and Synthesis 
The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool was used to assess all included studies. Meta-analysis was used to explore the effect of financial incentive interventions within groups of similar behaviours and overall. Meta-regression was used to determine if effect varied according to post-intervention follow up time, or incentive value.


Results 
Seventeen papers reporting on 16 studies on smoking cessation (n = 10), attendance for vaccination or screening (n = 5), and physical activity (n = 1) were included. In meta-analyses, the average effect of incentive interventions was greater than control for short-term (≤six months) smoking cessation (relative risk (95% confidence intervals): 2.48 (1.77 to 3.46); long-term (>six months) smoking cessation (1.50 (1.05 to 2.14)); attendance for vaccination or screening (1.92 (1.46 to 2.53)); and for all behaviours combined (1.62 (1.38 to 1.91)). There was not convincing evidence that effects were different between different groups of behaviours. Meta-regression found some, limited, evidence that effect sizes decreased as post-intervention follow-up period and incentive value increased. However, the latter effect may be confounded by the former.


Conclusions 
The available evidence suggests that financial incentive interventions are more effective than usual care or no intervention for encouraging healthy behaviour change.


Trial Registration 
PROSPERO CRD42012002393

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0090347&type=printable

The effectiveness of financial incentives for health behaviour change: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Financial incentive interventions are increasingly used as a method of encouraging healthy behaviours, from attending for vaccinations to taking part in regular physical activity. There is a growing body of research on the effectiveness of financial incentive interventions for health behaviours. Wide variations in the nature of these interventions make it difficult to draw firm conclusions about what makes an effective incentive, for whom and under what circumstances. Whilst there has been some recognition of the theoretical complexity of financial incentive interventions for health behaviours, there is no framework that categorises these interventions. This limits the research community's ability to clearly establish which components of financial incentives interventions are more and less effective, and how these components might interact to enable behavioural change. We propose a framework for describing health-promoting financial incentive interventions. Drawing on our experience of a recently completed systematic review, we identify nine domains that are required to describe any financial incentive intervention designed to help individuals change their health behaviours. These are: direction, form, magnitude, certainty, target, frequency, immediacy, schedule and recipient. Our framework should help researchers and policy-makers identify the most effective incentive configurations for helping individuals adopt healthy behaviours.

/pdf/carrots-sticks-and-health-behaviours-a-framework-for-4pbylc0k0o.pdf

Carrots, sticks and health behaviours: a framework for documenting the complexity of financial incentive interventions to change health behaviours

The literature on public perceptions of, and attitudes towards, nanotechnology used in the agrifood sector is reviewed. Research into consumer perceptions and attitudes has focused on general applications of nanotechnology, rather than within the agrifood sector. Perceptions of risk and benefit associated with different applications of nanotechnology, including agrifood applications, shape consumer attitudes, and acceptance, together with ethical concerns related to environmental impact or animal welfare. Attitudes are currently moderately positive across all areas of application. The occurrence of a negative or positive incident in the agri-food sector may crystallise consumer views regarding acceptance or rejection of nanotechnology products.

/pdf/consumer-attitudes-towards-nanotechnologies-applied-to-food-jnc2bpdjr2.pdf

Consumer attitudes towards nanotechnologies applied to food production

https://eprints.ncl.ac.uk/file_store/production/208911/6CD533A5-D7F9-476B-95DE-4907C28D32A2.pdf

Acceptability of financial incentives for encouraging uptake of healthy behaviours: A critical review using systematic methods.

Consumer's attitudes to, and acceptance of, emerging technologies and their applications, are important determinants of their successful implemen- tation and commercialisation. Understanding the range of socio-psychological, cultural and affective factors which may influence consumer responses to applica- tions of nanotechnology will help ''fine-tune'' the development of consumer products in line with their expectations and preferences. This is particularly true of applications in the food area, where consumer concerns about technologies applied to food production may be elevated. This research applied systematic review methodology to synthesise current knowledge regard- ing societal acceptance or rejection of nanotechnology applied to agri-food production. The objective was to aggregate knowledge derived from different research areas to gain an overall picture of consumer responses to nanotechnology applied to food production. Relevant electronic databases of peer-reviewed literature were searched from the earliest date available, for peer- reviewed papers which reported primary empirical data on consumer and expert acceptance of agri-food nanotechnology, using a formal systematic review protocol. Inclusion criteria for papers to be included in the review were: empirical peer-reviewed papers written in English; a population sample of adults aged 18 years and over used in the research; a research focus on consumer and expert acceptance of agri-food nanotechnology; and research on attitudes towards, and willingness to pay for, different applications of agri- food nanotechnology. Two researchers independently appraised the papers using NVivo 10 QSR software. Studies examining consumer and expert acceptance were thematically analysed, and key information was collated. The results were synthesised in order to identify trends in information relevant to consumer acceptance of nanotechnology applied to food produc- tion. Eight key themes were identified from the 32 papers which were extracted from the literature. These themes were applied to understand the determinants of consumer acceptance of agri-food nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is more likely to be accepted by consumers when applied to development of novel packaging with distinct benefits rather than when integrated directly into agri-food products. Trust and confidence in agri-food nanotechnology and its gover- nance need to be fostered through transparent regulation and development of societally beneficial impacts to increase consumer acceptance.

/pdf/consumer-acceptance-of-and-willingness-to-pay-for-food-3tflgdzjmp.pdf

Emma L. Giles

Papers

The effectiveness of financial incentives for health behaviour change: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Carrots, sticks and health behaviours: a framework for documenting the complexity of financial incentive interventions to change health behaviours

Consumer attitudes towards nanotechnologies applied to food production

Acceptability of financial incentives for encouraging uptake of healthy behaviours: A critical review using systematic methods.

Consumer acceptance of and willingness to pay for food nanotechnology: a systematic review