Casual Path Research Articles

Risk perceptions of COVID-19, vocational identity, and employment aspirations of Chinese aviation students: a structural equation modeling approach

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the aviation and education sectors in China. This study examined the relationships between risk perceptions of the pandemic, vocational identity, and employment aspirations of Chinese aviation students.MethodsThe study used a convenience sampling approach to collect data (n = 276 respondents) from August 2 to 8, 2022. An online survey was sent via WeChat and QQ to Chinese students majoring in aviation service management who were under lockdown at six Chinese schools.ResultsIn spite of the strong support for the stringent COVID policies and full awareness of infection risk and protective measures, respondents were worried about the current unstable situation and felt fear for its severity and long-lasting symptoms. The casual path from career commitment to employment aspiration was supported, but high risk perceptions of the pandemic failed to have any psychological effect on the two constructs of vocational identity and employment aspirations.ConclusionsThe findings not only demonstrate the power of career commitment on employment aspirations but also reveal that a relatively high self-assessment of career proficiency may not necessarily lead to a clear career aspiration, possibly due to poor risk communication and insufficient career planning guidance. Thus, Chinese aviation students should improve their career proficiency and commitment, broaden their career options and adaptability, and have a clear career plan, in order to be well prepared for the fierce job market that will face the next wave of the ongoing pandemic.

Investigating and promoting health behaviors reactivity among Hong Kong older adults in the post-COVID-19 Era: An exploratory network analysis.

Physical distance has increased the risk of developing a variety of health problems, especially among older people. During the COVID-19 lockdown period, physical activity decreased, screen time increased, food consumption increased, as well as exposure to unhealthy behaviour, leading to poorer sleep quality and more negative emotions, which ultimately led to poorer physical health, mental health, and subjective vitality among older adults. Although there were numerous research studies on changes in health behaviours during COVID-19, only a few were targeted at older adults, and none were conducted in Asian countries. The current study is aiming to identify the changes in health behaviours, as well as their associations with older adults' mental health as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic among Hong Kong older adults, using exploratory network analysis. In this study, a random tele-survey was conducted among older adults. A total of 664 participants have been involved in the telephone survey, with 213 males and 451 females, of which mean age was 74.37. The explored network showed strong centrality and edge stability, thus enabling to reveal an overview of the associations between health behaviours and mental well-being of older adults. The lavaan model has also demonstrated the casual paths within the explored network, which indicated the significant impact of sleeping quality, eating habits and social networking on resilience. The outcomes of the study were able to identify the lifestyle changes of Hong Kong older adults due to COVID-19. Although the present study is not regarded as novel internationally, it may be representative of the Hong Kong community. In order to facilitate active aging during the pandemic, a user-friendly electronic platform for healthy living should include older adults in the future.

Association of maternal triglyceride responses to thyroid function in early pregnancy with gestational diabetes mellitus.

The prevalence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is increasing globally, and high levels of triglyceride (TG) and low levels of free thyroxine (FT4) in early pregnancy are associated with an increased risk of GDM; however, the interaction and mediation effects remain unknown. The aim of the present study is to examine the impact of FT4 and TG combined effects on the prevalence of GDM and the corresponding casual paths among women in early pregnancy. This study comprised 40,156 pregnant women for whom early pregnancy thyroid hormones, fasting blood glucose as well as triglyceride were available. GDM was diagnosed using a 2-hour 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) according to the American Diabetes Association guidelines, and the pregnant women were grouped and compared according to the results. An L-shaped association between FT4 and GDM was observed. The prevalence of GDM increased with increasing TG levels. After accounting for multiple covariables, the highest risk for GDM was found among pregnant women of lower FT4 with the highest TG concentrations (odds ratio, 2.44, 95% CI, 2.14 to 2.80; P<0.001) compared with mothers of higher FT4 with the TG levels in the lowest quartile (Q1). There was a significant interaction effect of maternal FT4 and TG levels on the risk for GDM (P for interaction = 0.036). The estimated proportion of the mediating effect of maternal TG levels was 21.3% (95% CI, 15.6% to 36.0%; P < 0.001). In the sensitivity analysis, the mediating effect of TG levels was stable across subgroups. This study demonstrated an L-shaped association between maternal FT4 levels and GDM and the benefit of low TG levels, in which maternal TG levels act as an important mediator in this association. Our findings suggested that pregnant women who treat hypothyroidism should also reduce triglycerides levels in early pregnancy to prevent GDM development.

Symmetric and Asymmetric Modeling to Understand Drivers and Consequences of Hotel Chatbot Engagement

Drawing on action identification and complexity theories, this study explores lifestyle congruency and chatbot identification as drivers of engagement, leading to chatbot advocacy. Data collected from 304 individuals were assessed symmetrically through PLS-SEM. Moreover, configuration causal paths were assessed through fsQCA. Findings reveal the role of chatbot identification in the relationship between lifestyle congruency and customer chatbot engagement. Lifestyle congruency and chatbot identification significantly influence all the dimensions of chatbot engagement. Nevertheless, only customer referrals and customer influence lead to chatbot advocacy. Findings from fsQCA reveal six and seven different paths, leading to high and low levels of chatbot advocacy, respectively. This is one of the first studies to apply both symmetrical and asymmetrical analysis to examine different casual paths to chatbot advocacy.

Risky behavior analysis for cross-border drivers: A logit model and qualitative comparative analysis of odds of fault and injury vulnerability in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau

Introduction: Due to globalization and the acceleration of cross-border exchanges, cross-border risk behaviors have received widespread attention. Previous research has concluded that foreign cross-border drivers engage in relatively more risk-taking behavior patterns and are likely to experience a higher crash rate or be more inclined to cause severe crashes. However, there is little evidence on the comparison of drivers who belong to the same ethnic group driving across within-country borders. Method: Based on the cross-border motor-vehicle crash reports in 2006–2010 from the Road Traffic Accident Database of the China Ministry of Public Security, this paper examines the risk factors of being at fault and getting killed or seriously injured in cross-border traffic crashes and casual paths toward crash liability and injury severity for Hong Kong and Macao drivers driving in the Chinese mainland. Results: There are extremely complex factors behind drivers from Hong Kong and Macao causing at-fault crashes or sustaining fatal and serious injuries in the Chinese mainland. Factors such as gender, age, illumination, and weather conditions do not individually affect the risk of driver at-fault crashes or severe casualties in the crashes among Hong Kong and Macao drivers driving in the Chinese mainland. Nonetheless, collectively, these factors influence them along with different vehicle types, roads, and environmental factors. Conclusions: This paper provides more theoretical findings for understanding the compound effect of multiple risk factors involving cross-border at-fault crashes or serious casualties. The conclusions of this research are valuable as representative references for cross-border risk management policies. Practical applications: To reduce the effects of different factors on cross-border risky driving behaviors and/or injurious crashes, various measures should be focused on, including specialized driver training, enhancement of the roads/environment, development of effective road safety campaigns, and directives facilitating cross-border cooperation in the field of road safety.

Revisiting the Dichotomy between Abusive Supervision and Work Performance of Subordinates in Private Organizations in Kenya: An Empirical Search for Correspondence between Theory and Practice

This systematic and empirical review attempted to expand the frontiers of knowledge on abusive supervision against employee performance using private sector as a case sample. Using no mediating model between X and Y, the study focused on the assumed and observable linearity between the two variables under investigation whilst using available quantitative and qualitative data as point of reference. Hypothetically, it is assumed that, abusive supervision has a negative correlation with employee performance across organization. This kind of reasoning is guided by observable longitudinal data, feelings and opinions drawn from various categories of individuals over time. Important to note, is the fact that, these observations are in conflict with many research works and reports whose conclusions seem to suggest that abusive supervision has a direct positive causal impact on employee performance. This empirical review is borne out of this contradiction as an attempt to contribute to the ongoing debate and systematically direct reasoning to the desired end. A statistically selected sample of 80 respondents from 101 total population was drawn from 10 private organizations across Kenya for quantitative data and a team of key informants (10) one from each organization was selected for interviews. A mixed method approach was adopted which gave birth to descriptive statistics and thematic approach for analysis. A casual path linking the supervisor mindfulness, supervisor hostility, supervisor attitudes and organizational leadership structures was established. Supervisor hostility and attitudes negatively affected employee performance in the private sector organizations whilst supervisor mindfulness and organizational leadership structures positively affected employee performance in the same context. Important to note is that, although the associations between perceptions of abusive supervision and employee performance appear to be universally negative, the magnitude of the relationship between perceptions of abusive supervision and employee performance varies according to the study design, context, culture and timing. Great need is sought to continuously harmonize the synergy between theory and practice for the future of the practitioners rests entirely on this evaluation.

“Appreciate me and i will be your good soldier”. The exploration of antecedents to consumer citizenship

Abstract Customer citizenship behaviour (CCB) is an important consumer trend observed in the contemporary market. It may be described as an extra-role, voluntary behaviour performed in favour of other customers or companies. One of the CCB dimensions, namely, providing customer feedback to company offering, overlaps with value co-creation as a booming marketing concept. Our knowledge about factors determining this behaviour is relatively week. Trying to fill the gap, this paper discusses inclination for value co-creation among customers on the basis of literature review and explorative research. This explorative study aims to identify some company-related and customer-related antecedents to customer citizenship behaviour in the form of value co-creation in favour of companies. The theoretical deliberation is based on a critical literature review. The empirical part of the paper is based on explorative research in the form of a survey of 105 non-randomly selected customers. Aiming to identify the key drivers for customer inclination to participate in value co-creation, the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted; next, the quality of factor structure was assessed with the help of SmartPLS 3.0 using standard measures of validity; and finally, structural links between the inclination to co-create and distinct antecedents were estimated using the partial least square structural equitation modelling technique (PLS_SEM). The factor analysis suggested distinguishing two aspects of customer co-creation, i.e., either initiated by companies (Organised Co-Creation) or by customers (Spontaneous Co-creation). The estimated PLS structural model shows that only some casual paths were found statistically significant, i.e., the appreciation showed by companies towards customers engaging in the organised co-creation process (as extrinsic motivation) and customer innovativeness, as well as the fulfilment of the need for stability (as intrinsic motivation) with regards to spontaneous co-creation. The ex-post moderation analysis with the help of the PLS_MGA algorithm enabled to identify gender as the factor potentially explaining inter-group differences in the structural model.

How agenda setting works: A dual path model and motivated reasoning

This study examines whether agenda-setting effects occur along dual paths and what role motivated goals play in that process. Based on an experimental design that employed a specially constructed news website, this study examined whether dual paths of agenda setting – a casual path and deliberative path – depend on types of motivated goals, that is, whether individuals have motivations to look for accurate news or like-minded news. The role that motivated goals play in the agenda-setting process is important, especially in the new media environment, because audiences’ news consumption has become politically polarized and aligned with their prior beliefs, which may lead them to have perceptions that are contradictory to those of the media about what issues are important and how to think about those issues. Findings of this study showed that a deliberative path – that is, reading more articles – was likely to result in higher agenda-setting effects. A deliberative path also led to even greater agenda-setting effects for individuals with accuracy goals compared to individuals with directional goals. A casual path led to greater agenda-setting effects for individuals with directional goals than for those with accuracy goals.

A study on knowledge sharing behavior among academicians in India

The intention of this paper is to present the concept of knowledge sharing practices among faculty members in academic institutions through the theory of planned behavior (TPB). This paper examines survey results collected on academician’s knowledge sharing. A theory of planned behavior is used as a source model to develop two models: one with the causal path from subjective norms to attitude and the other with a causal path from subjective norms to perceived behavioral control. From the results of the significance of the subjective norms to the attitude path, it is possible to conclude that there is a similarity in faculty attitude toward knowledge sharing and what they feel about knowledge sharing due to social pressure. Similarly, the casual path created from subjective norms to perceived behavioral control reveals that the academician's behavior in knowledge sharing depends upon his/her feelings about the views of others. Further analysis of the three models resulted in the emergence of a new model.

Tower crane safety on construction sites: A complex sociotechnical system perspective

Tower crane is the lifeline of the construction industry, but tower crane accidents are still too frequent. Despite the significant progress in tower crane safety research, system thinking-based approaches are lacking. The aim of this paper is to analyze tower crane safety from a complex sociotechnical system perspective through implementing both qualitative and quantitative analysis methods. Characteristics of five tower crane safety system components are summarized with a new framework comprised of five system-based levels based on Rasmussen’s risk management theory. Fifty-six contributing factors of tower crane safety were identified. The AcciMap technique was applied to qualitatively build a generic model for tower crane safety, which comprehensively presents the systems levels and casual paths of the contributing factors. A survey was conducted to quantitatively research the tower crane safety system. Nine main dimensions and 25 critical factors were found pertaining to the tower crane safety system. These results provide a new lens for tower crane safety and contribute new systems thinking applications in tower crane safety management.

Leadership, learning and organisational culture as antecedents for innovative behaviour: the case of Russia

This paper discovers the particular characteristics of leadership, learning, organisational culture and innovative behaviour among employees in large and medium-sized manufacturing companies in Russia, and presents empirical evidence of relationships between three factors as antecedents for innovative behaviour. The constructs for dependent and independent variables are developed drawing on a literature review. The model of casual path dependencies is tested on a database collected in 2013-2014 containing the responses of 143 employees from 26 companies. The partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique is applied. The study reveals the low rate of innovative behaviour among Russian employees. The findings suggest that to facilitate innovative behaviour managers should stimulate learning processes and exhibit transformational leadership that in turn enhances learning processes and creates organisation culture.

Learning and Work Context as Antecedents of Innovation Behavior: Empirical Evidence from Russian Companies

The paper explores the relationship between learning process and innovative behaviour of employees in large and medium-sized manufacturing companies in Russia. The authors assume that intrinsic motivation, leadership, flexible organizational structure, culture of self-organization and self-development are supporting factors for employees’ learning. The constructs for dependent and independent variables are developed drawing on a literature review. Hypotheses on casual path dependence were put forward. The model is tested on a database collected in 2013 containing the responses of 95 employees from 15 companies. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique is applied. This methodology provides evidence that suggests that for Russian companies the learning process and work context are the antecedents of innovative behaviour. The findings suggest that to facilitate innovative behaviour managers should build a supportive environment for learning processes. This environment should be based on intrinsic motives, encouraging leadership, self-organization and self-development principles.

A review of abusive supervision research

SummaryThis paper reviews studies concerned with abusive supervision and provides a constructive revision of Tepper's 2007 model. As a result of our review of the recent research, we revised the 2007 Tepper model and added additional variables and casual paths to increase its explanatory potential. The model we propose distinguishes between abusive supervisory behavior and abusive supervisory perceptions, suggesting that each of these variables needs to be studied separately until we know more about how they are related. The revised model also explicitly recognizes possibilities for reverse causation and stresses the importance of subordinates' individual differences such as attribution style, negative affectivity, and implicit work theories, which have the potential to account for significant variability in subordinates' perceptions of abuse. Suggestions for future research based on the original relationships identified by the Tepper review as well as the variables and causal paths suggested in the revised model are provided. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

It's the thought that counts: The role of hostile cognition in shaping aggressive responses to social exclusion.

Prior research has confirmed a casual path between social rejection and aggression, but there has been no clear explanation of why social rejection causes aggression. A series of experiments tested the hypothesis that social exclusion increases the inclination to perceive neutral information as hostile, which has implications for aggression. Compared to accepted and control participants, socially excluded participants were more likely to rate aggressive and ambiguous words as similar (Experiment 1a), to complete word fragments with aggressive words (Experiment 1b), and to rate the ambiguous actions of another person as hostile (Experiments 2-4). This hostile cognitive bias among excluded people was related to their aggressive treatment of others who were not involved in the exclusion experience (Experiments 2 and 3) and others with whom participants had no previous contact (Experiment 4). These findings provide a first step in resolving the mystery of why social exclusion produces aggression.

Cognitive Factions in a Top Management Team: Surfacing and Analyzing Cognitive Diversity using Causal Maps

Cognitive diversity has been shown to positively affect team performance, especially in the early stages of strategic planning. We report on a process that explicitly identifies cognitive factions; sub-groups of individuals with diverse views and beliefs within a top management team (TMT). Our group-driven causal mapping process provides greater clarity to understanding the underlying belief structures of the cognitive factions through the adoption of givens-means-ends (GME) and casual path analysis. We achieve this clarity by having members of the TMT define and agree on the strategic factors before they construct their individual cause maps. Through this process, based on the relationships shared among the team members, we can readily merge individual cause maps into cognitive faction maps. By employing GME and casual path analysis to the cognitive faction maps, we can surface the differences in beliefs among the different cognitive factions within the TMT. We demonstrate our process using a 13-person TMT from an information technology services firm. The cause maps of the cognitive factions directly represent some of the issues and assumptions that need to be discussed and debated among the members of the TMT, thus increasing the potential for cognitive faction beliefs to enhance decision-making. We also find that cognitive factions relate to task roles of the team members, providing further evidence that different beliefs develop in different areas of the organization.

Admission Temperature of Low Birth Weight Infants: Predictors and Associated Morbidities

There is a paucity of information on the maintenance of body temperature at birth for low birth weight infants. We examined the distribution of temperatures in low birth weight infants on admission to the NICUs in the Neonatal Research Network centers and determined whether admission temperature was associated with antepartum and birth variables and selected morbidities and mortality. Infants without major congenital anomalies born during 2002 and 2003 with birth weights of 401 to 1499 g who were admitted directly from the delivery room to the NICU were included. Bivariate associations between antepartum/birth variables and admission temperature and selected morbidities/mortality and admission temperature were examined, followed by multivariable linear or logistic regressions to detect independent associations. There were 5277 study infants and the mean (+/-SD) birth weight and gestational age were 1036 +/- 286 g and 28 +/- 3 weeks, respectively. The distribution of admission temperatures was 14.3% at < 35 degrees C, 32.6% between 35 and 35.9 degrees C, 42.3% between 36 and 36.9 degrees C, and 10.8% at > or = 37 degrees C. The estimate of birth weight on admission temperature with and without intubation was +0.13 degrees C and +0.04 degrees C per 100-g increase in birth weight, respectively. The mean admission temperature for each center varied from 1.5 degrees C below to 0.3 degrees C above a reference center. On adjusted analyses, admission temperature was inversely related to mortality (28% increase per 1 degrees C decrease) and late-onset sepsis (11% increase per 1 degrees C decrease) but not to intraventricular hemorrhage, necrotizing enterocolitis, or duration of conventional ventilation. Preventing decreases in temperature at birth among low birth weight infants remains a challenge. Associations with intubation and center of birth suggest that assessment of temperature control for infants intubated in the delivery room may be beneficial. Whether the admission temperature is part of the casual path or a marker of mortality needs additional study.

Stories of war origins: a narrativist theory of the causes of war

All history is tendentious, and if it were not tendentious nobody would write it. R. G. Collingwood, The Idea of History , rev. edn, ed. Jan Van Der Dussen (Oxford, 1994), p. 398. History is therefore never history, but history-for. C. Levi-Strauss, The Savage Mind (La Pensee sauvage) (London, 1972), p. 257. This is reminiscent of Robert Cox's much-quoted statement that '[t]heory is always for someone and for some purpose'. See his 'Social Forces, States and World Order: Beyond International Relations Theory', Millennium , 10 (1981), pp. 126-55, at p. 128. Introduction War is a multi-causal phenomenon, not only in the oft-noted sense that a variety of factors contribute to the making of a war, but also in the perhaps less obvious sense that there are multifarious casual paths to war. Some of the more idiographically minded are adamant, therefore, that 'the only investigation of the causes of war that is intellectually respectable is that of the unique origins ... of the particular past wars'. A. Seabury and A. Codevilla, War: Ends and Means (New York, 1989), p. 50; emphasis in original. And even one of the more nomothetically minded has conceded, some dissentign voices notwithstanding, that 'the hope that there are a few necessary conditions that must always be present in order for war to occur is probably not going to be fulfilled'. J. A. Vasquez, The War Puzzle (Cambridge, 1993), p. 48. For a dissenting voice, see B. Bueno de Mesquita, The War Trap (New Haven, CT, 1981). Vasquez, however, goes on to suggest three necessary conditions of 'world wars'. For a brief, critical discussion of Bueno de Mesquita and Vasquez, see my On the Causes of War , pp. 74-9.

Candidate biomarkers for application as intermediate end points of lung carcinogenesis.

The need for validated intermediate end point markers to facilitate lung cancer chemointervention research is compelling. Three major classes of lung markers are relevant for this application. Since lung cancer includes four distinct histologies, markers that map degrees of histologic differentiation are important. Many of the markers for squamous differentiation overlap with the candidates for application in the study of head and neck cancer. Production of tissue-specific cell products especially for surfactant or CEA is of interest, because the gene structure is known and many differentiation-related polymorphisms exist. This strategy would be useful for adenomatous type tissue. A second type of marker is the broad group of differentiation markers. The carbohydrate or blood group-like antigens comprise a representative example. Carbohydrate structures are expressed in a specific sequence during fetal processes, and this sequence appears to reverse with the development of a cancer. Retrodifferentiation of specific differentiation markers is the basis of a major effort to effect earlier lung cancer detection using sputum immunocytochemistry. The final class includes markers which affect either positive or negative aspects of growth. Candidates in this area include growth factors or their receptors, or genes that regulate growth. If the intermediate end point marker reflects tumor biology and that biology is in the causal path of tumor progression, serial observation of that parameter should indicate the success of the intervention. In all three of these examples, the clinical material to be analyzed could be sputum specimens, bronchial biopsies or resected lung tissue. Systematic analysis of these markers in context of intervention trials is required to validate their utility.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)