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COVID-19 is a pandemic that has affected over 170 countries around the world. Since the beginning of 2020 the world has witnessed dramatic changes in many sectors including the education system. The COVID-19 pandemic possesses a huge challenge in the way the traditional education system functions. In India, as the virus captured the community, students confined to their homes and academic community were forced to explore the medium of digital technology to provide education that reach beyond the school boundaries into the homes of millions of students. There are concerns from the stake holders in education about effectiveness of online teaching in comparison with social context of traditional class room learning. This study examines online learning in tourism higher education during the period of lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic. Study aims to identify the effectiveness of the online teaching during the lockdown period. It also discusses the possible benefits and disadvantages of using e-learning in higher education for tourism and identifies the effectiveness of various online platforms for e learning among tourism students. The reliability of the self made instrument used for data collection is measured using Cronbach's alpha. To identify the factors, the Exploratory Factor Analysis has been used. Exploratory factor analysis increases the reliability of the scale and the dimensionality of items constructed by analysing the existence of relationships between perception of respondents and online learning. To validate the instrument, Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used while AMOS was used to construct an online education model. The findings of this study offer useful suggestions to academicians to get more familiar with the main factors of the e-learning system. The study also helps student community by identifying shortcomings in the online learning trajectories so that the online learning can be strengthened. The study is predominantly focused in the state of Kerala, India [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PurposeEvaluation and comparison of the factor structure of the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS) using both confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with two samples of people living with HIV/AIDS in China.MethodsSecondary analyses were conducted with data from two comparable samples of 320 people living with HIV/AIDS from the same hospital using the same inclusion criteria. The first sample of 120 was collected in 2006, and the second sample of 200 was collected in 2012. For each sample, CFA was first performed on the original four-factor structure to check model fit, followed by EFA to explore other factor structures and a subsequent CFA for model fit statistics to be compared to the original four-factor CFA.ResultsIn both samples, CFA on the originally hypothesized four-factor structure yielded an acceptable model fit. The EFA yielded a two-factor solution in both samples, with different items included in each factor for the two samples. Comparison of CFA on the a priori four-factor structure and the new two-factor structure in both samples indicated that both factor structures were of acceptable model fit, with the four-factor model performing slightly better than the two-factor model.ConclusionFactor structure of the MOS-SSS is method-dependent, with CFA supporting a four-factor structure, while EFA yielded a two-factor structure in two separate samples. We need to be careful in selecting the analytic method when applying the MOS-SSS to various samples and choose the factor structure that best fits the theoretical model.

The study's goal was to evaluate the Hindi version of the Perceived Stress Scale-10's psychometric characteristics, factorial structure, and predictive validity in an Indian cultural environment. Five hundred participants aged 19 to 65 years from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, were given a 10-item Perceived Stress Scale and a Satisfaction with Life Scale in Hindi. Exploratory factor analysis (principal components) of PSS-10 with varimax rotation found two factors, 'Uncontrollable Perceived Stress' and 'Controllable Perceived Stress,' which explained 30.42 % and 17.78 % of variance, respectively, and 48.20 % of variation when combined. The quality of goodness of fit indexes for the twofactor model were found to be quite adequate (RMSEA = 0.06; TLI = 0.92; CFI = 0.94; GFI = 0.97; AGFI = 0.94; RMR = 0.08; SRMR = 0.06). The average item-total correlation coefficients for two subscales were found to be high, while split-half and Cronbach's alpha reliability values for two PSS-10 subscales were found to be acceptable. The Uncontrollable Perceived Stress subscale of the PSS-10 linked favourably with the BDI-II and negatively with Satisfaction with Life Scale, while the Controllable Perceived Stress subscale of the PSS-10 had the negative and positive correlations with BDI-II and Satisfaction with Life Scale, indicating its convergent validity. On both PSS- 10 subscales, no significant gender differences were found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to test the reliability of the Perceived Severity and Response to Bullies and Victims of Bullying Questionnaire (PSRBVBQ) for middle school teachers (N=322 teachers), using exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis. PSRBVBQ assesses teachers' responses to bullying using situational scenarios. It includes two vignettes for each type of bullying (physical, verbal and relational) to analyze the perceived severity, likelihood of responding to the bully, likelihood of responding to the victim. Exploratory factor analysis indicated a three-factor solution: perceived severity (a =.73), the likelihood of responding to the bully (a = .84), the likelihood of responding to the victim (a = .89). These results indicate a good internal consistency of the items in each scale, especially for the likelihood of responding to the victim and for the likelihood of responding to the bully scales. The results show that the PSRBVBQ has good psychometric properties and can be successfully used in research regarding Romanian teachers' perceptions and their response to bullying. Also, more than one-third of teachers perceive verbal aggression as serious, while much less perceive relational aggression as very serious. At the same time, we found that the perceived severity predicts the probability of the teacher's reaction to the incidents of aggression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is aimed to identify the factors which lead to psychological pressure and simultaneously check the anxiety level among working females in the Education Sector, during the COVID 19 pandemic. A sample of 200 females working as teachers was taken for the study. To identify the Psychological factors that lead to Anxiety EFA was run. Multiple regression was run to find out the factors that are affecting the anxiety level significantly. The results of the study found that Four factors are influencing the anxiety in working women i.e. Job Security, Work Life balance, Future Planning and Social Support & belongingness out of these Job security has the highest impact on anxiety. Further result finds that out of the sample 19% show symptoms of severe anxiety, 23% of respondents are showing symptoms of moderate level of anxiety and 58% of the respondents are under mild anxiety level during this pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Basis dari pemodelan permintaan aktivitas adalah keputusan perjalanan yang merupakan bagian dari proses penjadwalan aktivitas. Permintaan perjalanan terjadi akibat adanya partisipasi aktivitas rumah tangga oleh pekerja dan non pekerja di luar rumah dan waktu yang dihabiskan untuk melakukan aktivitas tersebut hingga kembali ke rumah. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mendapatkan model partisipasi aktivitas oleh pekerja berdasarkan durasi aktivitas, mengetahui hubungan antar variabel eksogen dan variabel endogen serta hubungan antar variabel endogen akibat adanya variabel eksogen. Penelitian ini terdiri dari 16 variabel eksogen dan 6 variabel endogen untuk pekerja. Daerah penelitian meliputi seluruh kecamatan di Kota Banda Aceh. Survey yang dilakukan adalah membagikan kuisioner dengan home interview, metode survey yang digunakan adalah Stratified Random Sampling. Untuk memperoleh hasil dipakai metode Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) model exploratory factor analysis (EFA) dengan menggunakan software statistic AMOS. Hasil dari EFA untuk pekerja pada aktivitas mandatory, aktivitas maintenance dan aktivitas discretionary, menunjukkan bahwa variabel eksogen yang dominan berpengaruh adalah tujuan perjalanan, mempengaruhi secara langsung, positif, dan signifikan terhadap variabel endogen. Hal ini berarti bahwa lamanya durasi aktivitas individu tergantung pada tujuan perjalanannya. Sedangkan hubungan antar variabel endogen pekerja untuk setiap jenis aktivitas berpengaruh secara langsung, negatif dan signifikan.

Researchers, over the world, often create very brief measures of Big Five personality dimensions, so that they can assess people’s personality in a reasonably short period of time. The most prominent and well-established measure among all brief personality measures is the ‘Ten Item Personality Inventory’ (TIPI). The present study aimed to translate, adapt, and validate the TIPI for use in the Bangladeshi culture. After completing the standardized translation procedure, the Bangla version of the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI–B) was examined in a study including 662 Bangladeshi adults. Though an exploratory factor analysis with one half of the sample (n = 330) had explained 77.53% of the total variance, it did not show the scale’s five dimensions as independent with two items for each. Acceptable goodness of fit indices (χ2/df = 3.177, GFI =.960, CFI = .935, TLI = .937, SRMR = .061, and RMSEA = .76) were found for the scale through a confirmatory factor analysis performed on the second half of the sample (n = 332). Acceptable internal consistencies, significant test-retest reliabilities, and convergent and discriminant validities were established in the scale through different statistical analyses. Thus, the TIPI–B with its five dimensions can be used as a valid and reliable measure to assess the personality of Bangladeshi people.

Educational and healthcare professionals need to develop emotional communication with schoolchildren and patients, respectively. This study aims to analyse the psychometric properties of an instrument that evaluates emotional communication among these professionals. A total of 406 professionals and students of education and health sciences took part in the study. They were administered a questionnaire using a Google Form that collected different elements of emotional communication. An exploratory factor analysis was carried out from which three factors were extracted: Communicative Proactivity, Openness and Authenticity, and Listening. These were supported by confirmatory factor analysis. The internal consistency of the scale is also adequate, ranging from 0.69 to 0.82. This instrument is valid, and, in a self-reported, straightforward and time-efficient manner, can assess the emotional communication of professionals and students of education and health sciences.

Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs) to benefit biodiversity became mandatory in intensively farmed landscapes after the reform of the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2013. The implementation of EFAs as uncropped field margins has been criticized as ineffective but created a window of opportunity to test if augmenting them with annual flower strips can benefit biodiversity. In this study, we investigated if annual flower strips on EFAs benefited functional biodiversity in intensively farmed landscapes. To this end we established eleven annual flower strips with a seed mixture targeted for both natural enemies and pollinators, on areas were farmers had planned for EFAs. We determined effects on aphids and their natural enemies in cereal fields close to six of the flower strips, and for solitary bees and wasp close to and in the surroundings of all eleven flower strips. We found that annual flower strips benefited the abundance of hoverfly larvae and possibly also that of solitary bees. However, there were neither any significant effects on natural enemies (other than hoverfly larvae), nor any difference in natural pest control as shown by lack of differences in aphid numbers and parazitation rates. Abundances of solitary bees and wasps in the surrounding landscapes were unaffected, although there was a tendency for more solitary bee cells closer to the strips. We suggest that the critical issue leading to the mostly negative results is the lack of permanent structures to sustain populations of arthropods that in turn can benefit from annual flower strips. Hence, future agri-environmental policies need to carefully consider if and how annual agri-environmental measures should be implemented in intensively managed agricultural landscapes, e.g., by combining them with more permanent structures.

Introduction Risk perception of COVID-19 is potentially a significant determinant of the pandemic evolution and the public’s response to it. Acceptable levels of risk perception can be considered good for people to effectively fight the pandemic and adopt preventive health behaviors while high levels of risk perception may be damaging. Recently, Yıldırım&Güler (2020) developed the Covid-19 Perceived Risk Scale (C19PRS) to measure this construct. Objectives To analyze the psychometric properties of the C19PRS Portuguese version, namely construct validity, internal consistency and convergent validity. Methods A community sample of 234 adults (75.6% women; mean age= 29.53±12.51; range:16-71) completed an on-line survey with the Portuguese versions of the CPRS and the Fear of Covid-19 Scale (FCV-19S; Cabaços et al. 2020). The total sample was randomly divided in two sub-samples: sample A (n=117) was used to perform an exploratory factor analysis/EFA; sample B (n=117) to make a confirmatory factor analysis/CFA. Results EFA resulted in three components. CFA revealed that the second-order model with three factors presented good fit indexes (X2/df=1.471; CFI=.959; GFI=.948; TLI=.932; p[RMSEA≤.01]=.065). CPRS Cronbach alphas was α=.687; for F1 Worry, F2 Susceptibility to Covid-19 and F3 Susceptibility to Overall Morbimortality were α=.747, α=.813 and α=.543, respectively. The total and dimensional scores significantly correlated with FCV-19S (r>.30, p

The study was conducted with the objective to construct a scale to measure quality of sleep in Hindi language and to assess its psychometric properties, factorial structure, and predictive validity in Indian cultural context. Two hundred 20 to 67 years old participants from Varanasi city of Uttar Pradesh were administered a 15-item Sleep Quality Scale in Hindi language. Exploratory factor analysis (principal components) revealed two factors, 'Primary Sleep Disturbances' and 'Nocturnal Sleep Disturbances and Daytime Sleepiness', and these two factors respectively explained 27.273% and 10.292% of variance, and together the two factors explained a total of 37.565 % of variance. Confirmatory factor analyses were done for both single factor and two factors models, and the observations indicated a better goodness of fit indexes for two factors as compared to single factor model. The split-half, Cronbach's alpha and Guttmann lambda 2 reliability coefficients two subscales and whole Sleep Quality Scale have been found to be fairly high. The subscales of Sleep Quality Scale and whole scale strongly associated with BDI-II and worry engagement. No gender differences emerged on the subscales and whole scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child abuse has become an area of global interest recently. However, a valid Bangla child abuse measure is missing to assess abusive behavior toward children in the Bangla-speaking population. Therefore, this research investigated the factor structure and psychometric properties of the child abuse scale (CAS) in Bangladeshi context. This scale is originally developed in Pakistan. The first step of the present study involved translating the original CAS into Bangla and translating it back to English. Then, a panel consisting of experts reviewed and validated the back-translation to corroborate the translation was compatible with the original meaning. Eventually, the final version of the CAS was administered on 132 children. The results of exploratory factor analysis (using maximum likelihood) yielded three factors of the Bangla CAS, including emotional neglect, abusive behavior, and physical neglect. These factors accounted for 34.91% of variance. The confirmatory factor analysis also showed adequate goodness of fit in the three-factor structure. Results further demonstrated that the Bangla CAS and its three factors showed an acceptable level of internal consistency. Concerning convergent and divergent validity, the Bangla CAS was positively correlated with the three dimensions of PARQ: hostility/aggression, indifference/neglect, and undifferentiated rejection, and negatively correlated with another dimension of PARQ: warmth/affection. Therefore, the Bangla CAS displayed satisfactory psychometric properties. This implies that the CAS might be viable in investigating abusive behavior toward children in clinical and research settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Risk denotes a situation in which the probabilities are known, whereas uncertainty denotes a situation in which the probabilities are unknown to the decision maker. Agriculture risk differs from farmer to farmer and from farming system to farming system. The study's major goal is to look at the elements that impact a farmer's risk behaviour. Principal Component Analysis was used to examine the scale's eighteen positive and negative items (PCA). These factors account for 19.288, 18.328, 16.284, 8.309, and 5.918 percent of the variation, respectively. After seeing a definite split in the Scree Plot graphical depiction Following the five components, it was agreed to keep the five components for future exploration. The five-component Each item/variable has a considerable loading on each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aimed to determine normative values for the Tonsillectomy Outcome Inventory 14 (TOI-14) in a healthy middle-European cohort. We also compared these generated values with TOI-14 scores from a patient population with recurrent tonsillitis (RT) and explored the factorial structure of the TOI-14. Methods: We systematically studied the responses of healthy individuals (reference cohort) and patients with RT (clinical cohort) to the TOI-14 survey. The reference cohort contained 1000 participants, who were recruited using the Respondi panel for market and social science research. This subsample was quoted to the population distribution of the German Microcensus and selected from a non-probability panel. Tonsillitis patients were assessed before and 6 and 12 months after tonsillectomy. Data were analysed using principal component and exploratory factor analyses. Results: The PCA revealed three TOI-14 domains (physiological, psychological and socio-economic), which explained 73% of the total variance. The reference cohort perceived a good quality of life (QOL) with a TOI-14 total score of 11.8 (physiological: 8.0, psychological: 5.8, and socio-economic subscale score: 13.9). TOI-14 scores were higher in the patient cohort, indicating that the TOI-14 discriminates between patients with RT and healthy individuals with no RT. Age and female gender significantly influenced the total TOI-14 score, especially in the psychological (age) and socio-economic (gender) subscales. Conclusion: We have developed a set of normative values that, together with the TOI-14, can determine the disease burden indicating tonsillectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Espacios is the property of Talleres de Impresos Oma 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 study aims to examine the structural validity of the mobile phone usage behaviors of the daily life of an adolescent in Thailand. The participants in this study were 400 adolescents. The data analysis techniques used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results of exploratory factor analysis were classified into seven groups of parameters: capacity, communication, social, education, commercial, aesthetic, and entertainment factors with mobile phone usage behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A price drop is a very common promotional tool used by brands and marketers to stimulate impulse buying as well as to improve stagnant sales. This study is primarily directed to study the effect of the price drop on the customer's perceived evaluation across selected product categories. For this study, the top three product categories based on the category wise sales data revealed by various online as well as offline shopping players during price drop sales have been selected, namely apparel, footwear, and electronics, as these product categories were most preferably shopped by customers and witnessed frequent price drop during festival seasons. For collecting data in National Capital Region (NCR), using purposive sampling 250 shoppers were surveyed who shopped for these product categories at Big Bazaar, Pantaloons, Spencer, Reliance trends, Amazon, Flipkart during discount days. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) has been run to identify the factors of customers' perceived evaluation in case of a price drop. Further Multivariate Analysis Of Variance (MANOVA) has been used to check the effect of a price drop on identified perceived evaluation across selected product categories. This study explored that in case of price drop customers become concerned about the product quality, value, brand reputation, and innovativeness. Based on the mean value, the study found that customers were more concerned about perceived quality in case of price drop followed by perceived innovativeness, perceived value, and perceived brand reputation. The research further demonstrated that product categories were significantly related to perceived evaluators in case of a price drop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to review and provide new perspectives for academic goal orientation. The study introduces first chronological history of goal orientation and depicts how goal orientation evolved into a new construct in learning from the discussion on motivational factors. At first, this study isolates goal orientation from motivation and provides novel insights into goal orientation as a separated factor affecting learning. Then, this study provides analyses of the adaptation work of the academic goal orientation questionnaire into the Turkish language. The translated scale was applied to a sample of 729 undergraduate students, 376 (51.6%) of which were female and 353 (48.4%) of which were male students at a state university in Turkey. For the structure validity of the translated scale, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were carried out. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a three-factor structure of thirteen items accounting for 66.5% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis results suggested that the tested model of the translated scale yielded satisfactory goodness of fit. The total score of the translated academic goal orientation instrument is reliable (Cronbach’s α = .84). The literature and the results from the application of the instrument suggest that the translated instrument offers valuable input into the curricula and syllabi in higher education in addition to providing insights to lecturers about the perceptions of the students towards the courses.

Background: The SF-36 questionnaire is perhaps the most widely used quality of life instrument in the world today, while the PROMIS instruments continue to gain popularity. Given their continued use in chiropractic research and practice, we examined their latent domain structure using exploratory factor analysis (EFA).Methods: To uncover latent structures of a large series of measured variables from the PROMIS-29, PROMIS Global Health and RAND SF-36 domains, we defined a factor analysis model represented by the equation [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is the matrix of random vectors corresponding to the domains with a mean of [Formula: see text] and the covariance matrix [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] denotes the matrix of factor loadings, [Formula: see text] denotes the matrix of unobserved latent variables that influence the collection of domains and [Formula: see text] is the vector of latent error terms. The matrix of item responses X was the only observed quantity with restrictions such that variable scores were uncorrelated and of unit variance with the latent errors being independent with the variance vector [Formula: see text]. The inherited structure of X was expressed simply by [Formula: see text]. Orthogonal and oblique rotations were performed on the [Formula: see text] matrix with this equation to improve clarity of the latent structure. Model parameters [Formula: see text] were optimized using the method of minimum residuals. Each EFA model was constructed with Pearson and Polychoric correlation.Results: For the PROMIS-29, domains were confirmed to be strongly correlated with Factor 1 (i.e., mental health) or Factor 2 (i.e., physical health). Satisfaction with participation in social roles was highly correlated with a 3rd factor (i.e., social health). For the PROMIS Global Health Scale, a 2-factor EFA confirmed the GPH and GMH domains. For the RAND SF-36, an apparent lack of definable structure was observed except for physical function which had a high correlational relationship with Factor 2. The remaining domains lacked correlation with any factors.Conclusion: Distinct separation in the latent factors between presumed physical, mental and social health domains were found with the PROMIS instruments but relatively indistinguishable domains in the RAND SF-36. We encourage continued efforts in this area of research to improving patient reported outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Techno.com is the property of Universitas Dian Nuswantoro, Fakultas Ilmu Komputer 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.)

The current work tests different theoretical models of belongingness and acceptance as fundamental needs for human motivation. In the current study, 372 participants were presented with 52 different items measuring five different theoretical models of belongingness (with a total of 32 items) and three different theoretical models of acceptance (with a total of 20 items). In a first step, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) failed to provide support for these eight theoretical models. In a second step, we therefore applied Exploratory Factor Analysis yielding three factors, which we interpreted as communicating: (1) Belongingness, (2) Emotion-Acceptance, and (3) Social Self-Representation. In a third step, these three factors were corroborated by a CFA. We discuss how these two factors of "belongingness," "emotion-acceptance" respond to the literature on the need to belong and be accepted, and we reflect on how 'social self-representation' seems to be an alternative motivation for how we present ourselves to our social relations to fulfill our needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achievement goals is based on having goals as motives. It is imperative that educators can comprehend the motivation of their students to better help them perform well academically. This study thus explored the dimensions associated with the achievement goals of Filipino college students. 288 respondents participated in the study. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to extract the factors associated with achievement goals. Four (4) factors were extracted, namely: future orientation goals; performance goals; social orientation goals and mastery goals. The first factor is new to achievement goals. An added component to social orientation goals was studying well to give thanks to a higher being. Another new dimension to mastery goal was not just studying for the sake of learning but adding a goal that is oriented towards being of service to others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Chronic constipation is a common symptom among the elderly, and it may affect their quality of life (QoL). A lack of available research focused on the elderly means that this effect is not well understood. This study aimed to develop and validate a new scale (Elderly-Constipation Impact Scale (E-CIS)) to measure the impact of chronic constipation on QoL among the elderly. Methods A pool of items was generated from a qualitative study, literature reviews, and expert reviews. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on the original 40 items of the E-CIS and followed by 27 items for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). A total of 470 elderly people with chronic constipation were involved. Results The mean age of the participants was 68.64 ± 6.57. Finally, only 22 items were indicated as appropriately representing the E-CIS, which were grouped into seven subscales: ‘daily activities’, ‘treatment satisfaction’, ‘lack of control of bodily function’, ‘diet restriction’, ‘symptom intensity’, ‘anxiety’ and ‘preventive actions’. The scale was confirmed as valid (root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.04, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.961, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.952 and chi-square/degree of freedom (chiSq/df) = 1.44) and reliable (Cronbach’s alpha: 0.66–0.85, composite reliability (CR) = 0.699–0.851) to assess the impact of chronic constipation on the elderly’s QoL. Conclusions The E-CIS is useful to measure the impact of chronic constipation on the elderly’s QoL. A further test is needed to determine the validity and reliability of this scale in other elderly population.

The year 1959 is the first twinning between French Communist municipalities and East German cities under the auspices of the World Federation of Twin Cities. The Franco-German Exchanges (EFA) were created in 1958. The twinnings with the GDR and the EFA are controlled by the French Communist Party. The testimonies of French visitors to the GDR reflect very different impressions, from total seduction to rejection. East Germany tries to export until the disappearance in 1990 an image of socialist Bismarckism or Red Prussia: socialist and bourgeois ,democratic and authoritarian, pacifist and militarist against the so-called West German fascism.

This study uses a hybrid scale to identify the factors contributing to internal and external service quality at employer-employee interface in the SMEs of emerging economies like India. 144 shop floor workers and executives working in different SMEs situated in northern India participated in an interview schedule to rate the quality of services being offered to (and delivered by) the employees in such units on 1-5 Likert scale. Application of factor analysis followed by Structural Equation Modelling developed a model showing how organization’s HR practices influences employee service quality which consequently leads to Satisfaction and Loyalty which are the established indicators of competitive advantage for such firms. The model is empirically validated using model fit indices and is found satisfactory. This paper thus proposes an empirical framework for the measurement of employee service quality in a relatively less explored sector. This study finds support for strengthening relationships with employees to achieve a culture of achievement in SMEs. The two scales proposed in this study can be used as benchmarks by SME practitioners for evaluation of services being offered to (and delivered by) their employees. The methodology used may be applied in more such settings for evolving a generic and tailor-made scale.

This study uses a hybrid scale to identify the factors contributing to the services delivered by the suppliers working with SME units in Indian setting. Application of EFA, CFA followed by GTA brings out a numerical measure of service quality index. 120 executives working at top/middle management levels in different SMEs of northern India responded to a questionnaire survey related to the assessment of services being delivered by their suppliers. The executives evaluated performance of their suppliers on the 1-5 Likert scale. Application of EFA followed by CFA revealed an interpretable latent structure comprising of five factors viz., Credibility, Relationship, Understanding, Alignment, and Dependability with 17 indicator items. Further, application of GTA resulted in an index value of Supplier Service Quality. This paper thus provides a framework for the measurement of SSQ in a previously less explored manufacturing sector. The proposed scale can be used as a benchmark by SME units for evaluation of supplier service quality. This methodology used may be applied in more such situations so that generalizations can be contemplated.

The objective of the present study is to bring out a multidimensional metric to measure service quality delivered by employees serving in Indian small & medium manufacturing enterprises. 144 executives working at top/middle level in different small-medium manufacturing units of north India responded to a questionnaire survey. The respondents were asked to assess service quality being delivered by the shop-floor workers serving their respective units on the 1-5 perception scale. Application of exploratory factor analysis resulted in an interpretable latent structure comprising of 5 determinants and 22 indicator items. Confirmatory factor analysis condensed this scale to bring out the final scale 4 determinants viz., Dependability, Agility, Professionalism and Understanding with 13 indicator statements. This scale thus emerged is tested for validity and reliability using established tools. The study provides a framework to SME managers to assess services of their workforce. It also contributes to researchers to build up more such metrics for similar situations in other sectors so that more concrete generalizations can be made.

India has turned out to be one of the most favorite destinations for the patients who want to undertake cost effective medical care for various medical problems and who have infuriated from the long waiting lists for medical and diagnostic procedures in their home countries. This research aims to analyze different factors along with their intensity affecting medical tourism industry in a developing country like India so that managers and policymakers can take better decisions which will help in growth & promotion of Indian health tourism market. The study has been done by performing a cross-sectional survey within major hospitals in India and exploratory factor analysis and graph theory and matrix approach have been used to evaluate the intensity of variables affecting Indian medical tourism sector. Nineteen variables have been identified through review of literature, and four factors have been extracted including cost, quality of treatment and care, availability of experts, competitive advantage and political, legal and visa related factors. With the understanding of the intensity of different variables suitable precautions can be taken by the healthcare managers so that these variables can be handled very carefully.

The “Teaching European Cinema” dossier has grown out of the European University Film Award (EUFA) project that was initiated in 2016 by Filmfest Hamburg in collaboration with the European Film Academy (EFA) and the European Network for Cinema and Media Studies (NECS). In its second edition in 2017, the EUFA connected twenty European universities in a common teaching project in which five nominated films were analysed and discussed in courses of the respective universities. Subsequently, one student representative per country joined the three-day student jury deliberation in Hamburg and voted for the final EUFA winner. In 2016, Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake (2016) won the inaugural EUFA; in 2017, Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson’s Heartstone (Hjartasteinn, 2016) was awarded the prize. The dossier works on different levels: first, it aims to present the EUFA project to a wider public; second, it promotes an exchange among the participating colleagues; and third, it operates as a teaching dossier for scholars within the wider field of European film and media studies to discuss questions of how best to teach contemporary European cinema.

Observation is a powerful tool for assessing teachers to ensure teachers' professional growth. Used well, it can provide a clear and accurate picture of teachers and teaching. The aim of this study is to assess the underlying structure and psychometric properties of the Language Teacher's Observation Scale (LTOS) among Iranian EFL teachers. So, a six component model of English teacher observation, encompassing preparing for the lesson, cognitive considerations, metacognitive considerations, social‐interaction considerations, classroom management, teacher behavior and personality, and teacher knowledge was developed. Data was obtained from 540 Iranian English teachers. Half the sample was used for exploratory factor analysis, with the holdout sample used for confirmatory factor analysis. EFA was conducted via SPSS and CFA was conducted via Partial least squares (PLS) estimation method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Face masks are an avenue to curb the spread of coronavirus, but few people in Western societies wear face masks. Social scientists have rarely studied face mask wearing, leaving little guidance for methods to encourage these behaviours. In the current article, we provide an approach to address this issue by developing the 32‐item and 8‐dimension Face Mask Perceptions Scale (FMPS). We begin by developing an over‐representative item list in a qualitative study, wherein participants' responses are used to develop items to ensure content relevance. This item list is then reduced via exploratory factor analysis in a second study, and the eight dimensions of the scale are supported. We also support the validity of the FMPS, as the scale significantly relates to both face mask wearing and health perceptions. We lastly confirm the factor structure of the FMPS in a third study via confirmatory factor analysis. From these efforts, we identify an avenue that social scientists can aid in preventing coronavirus and illness more broadly – by studying face mask perceptions and behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electronic-banking (e-banking) system face a serious concern related to the cyber-security. Most of the e-banks around the globe faced cyber-security related issues that result in billions of dollar loss and adverse impact on the image of the banks. As per the seriousness related to cyber security issues till yet the limited amount of studies was conducted to measure the cyber security investment influence on product innovation performance and e-banking financial performance. Therefore, the study objectives are a) to measure the causal relationship of cyber security costs on the product innovation performance and financial performance of e-banking and b) to find the intervening/mediating effect of product innovation performance in a relationship with cyber security costs and financial performance of e-banking in Pakistan. The targeted population was a managerial cadre staff member of e-banks working in Pakistan. The consequence exhibited that the cyber security costs put considerable influence on product innovation performance and e-banking financial performance and product innovation performance considerably mediates in an association with cyber security costs and e-banking financial performance. The study concluded that the introduction of emerging technology and creative services and products has obviously had a positive effect on banks' operations. The recommendations and future area are also included in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory (MPFI) is a recently-developed measure of the Hexaflex/Inflexahex conceptualization of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. The replicability of the factor structure has yet to be independently investigated, and the factor structure of the short form has not been investigated at all. A sample of 314 college undergraduates provided MPFI data. A confirmatory factor analysis replicated the putative 12-factor structure for the long form of the measure. An exploratory factor analysis of the short form revealed a 12-factor structure consistent with that reported for the long form, and a subsequent confirmatory factor analysis of the short form provided further support. The present study supports the proposed factor structure of both the full scale and short form of the MPFI. • The subscales of the MPFI reflect the Hexaflex/Inflexahex conceptualization of ACT. • The current study replicated the 12-factor structure of the long form of the MPFI. • The factor structure of the short form of the MPFI reflected that of the long form. • A cross-loading of defusion with psychological inflexibility was also replicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to develop a scale that determines the factors that affect the satisfaction of citizens who benefit from justice services. In this context, opinions were received from faculty members working in law faculties, lawyers registered in Ağrı Bar Association and some citizens who received service from Ağrı Courthouse. Based on the information obtained, a scale consisting of 24 questions was prepared. The scale, which was organized after the pilot application, was applied face-to-face to 552 people who received service from the Ağrı Courthouse. In order to test the construct validity and reliability of the scale, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis were performed. SPSS 23.00 and AMOS 22.00 programs were used for analysis. As a result of the analyzes, a three-dimensional "scale of satisfaction from justice services", consisting of 15 statements, was developed. The dimensions of the scale were determined as "services and applications", "physical environment and hardware" and "communication". The study also included findings on the participants' relationship with the courthouse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Subjective quality of life is a central patient-reported outcome in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. The Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life (MANSA) is an established and widely used instrument for its assessment. The present study is a secondary analysis of large schizophrenia studies and aims to establish the factorial structure of the MANSA with a rigorous two-step methodology.Methods: A sample of 3120 patients was randomly split into two datasets; the first includes two thirds of the patients and serves as the calibration sample (N = 2071) and the second includes one third of them and serves as the validation sample (N = 1049). We performed an exploratory factor analysis with the calibration sample followed by a confirmatory factor analysis with the validation sample.Results: Our results for both samples revealed a model with adequate fit comprising two factors. The first factor encompasses eight items measuring satisfaction with a variety of life and health-related aspects of quality of life, whereas the second consists of four items assessing satisfaction with living environment comprising living alone or with others, accommodation, family, and safety. These two factors correlate in a different way with socio-demographic characteristics such as age and living conditions.Conclusions: Future trials and service evaluation projects using the MANSA to measure quality of life should take into account that satisfaction with living environment may be distinct from satisfaction with other life and health-related aspects of quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Chronic constipation is a common symptom among the elderly, and it may affect their quality of life (QoL). A lack of available research focused on the elderly means that this effect is not well understood. This study aimed to develop and validate a new scale (Elderly-Constipation Impact Scale (E-CIS)) to measure the impact of chronic constipation on QoL among the elderly. Methods. A pool of items was generated from a qualitative study, literature reviews, and expert reviews. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on the original 40 items of the E-CIS and followed by 27 items for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). A total of 470 elderly people with chronic constipation were involved. Results. The mean age of the participants was 68.64 ± 6.57. Finally, only 22 items were indicated as appropriately representing the E-CIS, which were grouped into seven subscales: 'daily activities', 'treatment satisfaction', 'lack of control of bodily function', 'diet restriction', 'symptom intensity', 'anxiety' and 'preventive actions'. The scale was confirmed as valid (root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.04, comparative fit index (CFI) D 0.961, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) D 0.952 and chi- square/degree of freedom (chiSq/df)D1.44) and reliable (Cronbach's alpha: 0.66-0.85, composite reliability (CR) D 0.699-0.851) to assess the impact of chronic constipation on the elderly's QoL. Conclusions. The E-CIS is useful to measure the impact of chronic constipation on the elderly's QoL. A further test is needed to determine the validity and reliability of this scale in other elderly population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to obtain validity and reliability of several research items in the teachers' training evaluation intstrument for teachers in Sekolah Rendah Agama (SRA) JAIS, trained under the Intergrated Holistic Education System program (IHES).This instrument had been tested for validity and reliability using the Content Validity Index (I-CVI) and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). A total of 122 JAIS Islamic Education teachers from Hulu Langat and Sepang district were selected as respondents in the pilot study.The face validity and content instrument were evaluated by ten field experts and I-CVI was used to determine the reliability score. The result of the value of item Content Validity Index (S-CVI) showed a high score for both constructs with 0.99 and 0.98 value. Four factors for teachers'attitude construct and three factors for teachers' performance construct were developed through the use of EFA. Meanwhile an anti image showed the value of coefficient correlation exceeded 0.5 value ,which was between 0.77 to 0.92. Furthermore, the Eigen value was bigger than 1. While the item correlation value of the overall score (item-to-total correlation) exceeded 0.30 in between 0.38 to 0.77. Both constructs showed internal consistency values (Cronbach's Alpha) of 0.90 and 0.94 , which values fell under acceptable range. All items showed load factor values exceeding 0.5.The overall items for this research consisted of 38 items for two research constructs. The conclusion from the EFA result showed that the teachers' training evaluation instrument for JAIS Islamic Education teachers on the aspects of attitude and teachers' performance has fulfilled the validity and reliability criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

background In order to adequately assess aggression in adolescence, the Peer Conflict Scale (PCS) was developed. It evaluates both forms and functions of aggression (i.e. proactive overt, proactive relational, reactive overt and reactive relational aggression). The goal of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the Croatian version of the Peer Conflict Scale. participants and procedure The total sample consisted of 656 high school students from the City of Zagreb (age range 16-17, 55.33% boys). Independent exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted to determine the factor structure, and the best fitting model of the PCS on a Croatian sample. results Both results of EFA and CFA support a proposed fourfactor model of the instrument. Reliabilities of the instrument's scales were acceptable. The measurement invariance across gender was established. In order to analyse the construct validity of the PCS, relations between aggression subtypes and the theoretically meaningful variable, i.e. anxiety, were assessed. Reactive relational aggression had the highest correlation with anxiety, while proactive overt aggression did not correlate significantly with anxiety. Furthermore, gender differences in aggression subtypes were assessed, and were in accordance with past research. conclusions Our study verifies the reliability, factor structure and construct validity of PCS in a sample of Croatian adolescents. However, the results of this study suggest that the response format should be changed. Furthermore, some items did not match well with corresponding factors and the best fitting model was the one in which those items were excluded. Therefore, we suggest that two items should be replaced with new ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]