Exploratory Factor Analysis Method Research Articles

Elements affecting primary school teachers' digital competency in Vietnam’s northern mountainous areas

This study aims to identify the elements that contribute to the digital competencies of primary school teachers working in the mountainous region of Northern Vietnam and assess the significance of these factors. The research sample consisted of 260 primary school teachers from this region. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and multivariate regression methods are used. The results of this research indicate that seven characteristics have a substantial impact on the digital abilities of teachers: ability to incorporate digital technology into teaching,  conditions for digital transformation in teaching and learning activities are found to be influential, ability to create digital resources is highlighted as an important factor,  ability to select teaching content with opportunities for technology usage,  professional development needs of teachers,  school policy  and ability to select digital resources. These results offer education administrators a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing primary teachers' digital competencies and  enable them to implement strategic changes and prioritize each element. Moreover, this study provides a valuable reference for future researchers seeking to explore new research directions in this field and analyze the correlation between factors to propose solutions to develop digital competencies of primary school teachers suitable to specific contexts and conditions.

РАЗРАБОТКА И АПРОБАЦИЯ ИНСТРУМЕНТАРИЯ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ ГЕНДЕРНОЙ ИДЕНТИЧНОСТИ ЖЕНЩИН

The article describes the process of developing and testing a methodology for studying women's gender identity. The analysis of modern diagnostic tools for gender identity showed that the available diagnostic methods are based on the idea of a woman’s gender role, which is irrelevant in today’s rapidly changing world. The need to create a methodology for diagnosing women’s gender identity that corresponds to the gender norms of modern society has been identified. The team of authors developed and tested a methodology for studying women’s gender identity. At the first stage, based on the results of the association experiment and frequency analysis, 47 questionnaire scales were identified. Using the method of exploratory factor analysis, a three-factor structure of the questionnaire was identified, which showed acceptable fit indices. The content of the scales was clarified by confirmatory factor analysis. The statistical characteristics of this model turned out to be at the level of acceptable values. When assessing the empirical validity, the relationship between the results obtained on the three scales of the developed methodology and the results obtained using the scales of the questionnaire ‘Masculinity, femininity and gender personality type’ was assessed. The data obtained indicate the presence of significant positive correlations. It is concluded that the measurement model corresponds to the theoretical factor structure and has satisfactory indicators of reliability and validity. The tested methodology can be used both for research purposes to study the psychological portrait of a modern woman, and as a diagnostic tool in and as a diagnostic tool in counseling practice and psychotherapy.

Statistically Validating a Theory Represented by a Venn Diagram

To date, there has been no proposed method to statistically validate Venn diagrams. We seek to correct this shortcoming. This paper is a review of a proposed method that offers the possibility of statistically validating Venn diagrams through the lens of the management vs. leadership debate in business. Through this research, we demonstrate a way to statistically validate Venn diagrams by using a modified method of exploratory factor analysis (EFA). First, when performing EFA to validate a Venn, we suggest the scree plot of eigenvalues will indicate how many circles should be in the diagram. Additionally, when normally conducting EFA, cross-loaded items are removed. However, when using EFA to validate a Venn, we propose items that cross load should be retained and placed in the corresponding intersection of the two (or more) circles of the diagram. Applying this method to a sample of 431 (n=431) employees aged 25 years or older, we created a statistically validated Venn diagram that identifies those skills that are uniquely management, uniquely leadership, and the overlap as reported by employees. As a result, this research provides scholars with the opportunity to classify actions as leadership or management based on their placement within the statistically validated Venn diagram of management skills and leadership skills. Importantly, through the application of this new research method, we bring the possibility of statistical confirmation to many of our social science theories that are represented by Venn diagrams. In the Discussion section, we offer a critique of possible limitations of the method and mistakes that researchers can make when applying this method.

A Scale Development Study to Determine University Students' Perceptions towards Distance Education

Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to develop a valid and reliable Likert-type measurement tool to determine how university students perceive distance education, which they experienced during the pandemic (COVID 19) period and is becoming more widespread day by day. In addition, in line with the main purpose answers were sought to the questions how university students perceive distance education and what the variables are that affect these perceptions. This research, which was conducted to determine how university students perceive the distance education they experienced during the epidemic process and the variables affecting this perception, is in a comparative type of relational screening model.
 Methodology: The scanning model is used to detect a situation, individual or object that occurred in the past or is still ongoing, in its own conditions and as it exists. In determining the sample size, the number corresponding to 95% confidence level and 5% acceptable margin of error according to the number constituting the research population and the number corresponding to 5 times the number of items in the scale were taken as the basis. According to these criteria, the sample must be at least 350. The participants of this research are 406 students studying in Anadolu University, Faculty of Health Sciences, and Social Work Undergraduate Programs Turkey in the spring semester of the 2021-2022 academic year. The data was collected with the “Distance Education Perception Scale” (DEPS) developed by the researcher and consists of two sections. The first part of DEPS includes 15 open and close-ended questions related to the demographic and personal information of students and their attitudes towards distance education. The second section of DEPS includes 71 statements related to perceptions towards the distance education of students on a 5-point Likert-type scale consisting of 5 choices, from 1=Strongly Disagree to 5=Strongly Agree. In the analysis of the data, the statistical package SPSS 21.00 was used. Exploratory Factor Analysis method and Varimax Rotation technique were used to understand whether the DEPS consists of measuring the same quality. The reliability coefficient α formula, and the relationship between the response given to each item in the scale and the total score obtained from the scale was calculated using the Item-Total Correlation technique. Students' perceptions of distance education were evaluated using the median, mode and arithmetic mean on the basis of all scales and subscales.
 Findings: The results revealed that the scale used in the collection of data in the research is valid and reliable, students are generally hesitant about distance education and these hesitations increase in terms of practice courses and internship practices, and their perception levels about the benefit and importance of distance education are lower than other dimensions of distance education such as learning and communication, technology and measurement-evaluation. Again, the results of the research show that classroom and opinions and attitudes about distance education are important variables that affect the perceptions of students towards distance education.
 Unique contributor to theory, policy and practice: It is expected that the research results will be guiding in terms of developing distance education policies and studies on improving the quality of education in universities, and will make a significant contribution to the national and international literature and researchers working in the field of distance education.

Consumer Literacy in Virtual Brand Communities: Dimension Exploration and Scale Development

Virtual brand communities are one of the most important ways for companies to strengthen ties with consumers and cultivate brand loyalty. Consumers, as the main participants of virtual brand communities, play an important role in their own literacy for the healthy and sustainable development of the communities. This study explores the connotation and structure of consumer literacy in virtual brand communities from the perspective of consumers, and develops and tests a scale. First, based on relevant literature, case studies, and semi-structured in-depth interviews with 38 consumers who have browsed virtual brand communities, the study defined the concept of consumer literacy and qualitatively summarized the potential dimensions. The study then used the SPSS26.0 and AMOS24.0 software to analyze the data obtained from the questionnaire survey, and combined the methods of exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and nomological validity analysis to identify the three dimensions of consumer literacy in the virtual brand community, including brand knowledge, engagement skills, and conceptual knowledge, and obtained a scale with good reliability and validity. The results provide a measurement tool for the study of consumer literacy in virtual brand communities and a scientific basis for further improving the management of the communities.

Evaluation and continuous improvement of magnetic components material design skills in interdisciplinary switched-mode power supply

The design of switched-mode power supplies (SMPSs) is a material-electrical engineering interdisciplinary problem. The design of magnetic component materials can significantly affect SMPSs’ performances. In engineering education, the design and development of solutions is an important skill for engineering students. However, the traditional engineering experiments curriculum is shown as validation and single-disciplinary experiments as well as one-sided assessment results. To foster open-ended exploration, enhance students’ material design skills, and improve skills adaptation, students must tackle real engineering problems and develop practical design solutions. This paper proposes an exploratory factor analysis and knowledge graph-based method for evaluating and continuously improving magnetic components material design skills in the context of SMPS design tasks. First, we used the multiple imputation method to address the missing data. Each imputed data was analyzed to extract factors through parallel analysis, ordinary least squares estimation, and target rotation. Then, we identified four sub-skills: efficiency design skill, passive device design skill, power magnetic reduction design skill, and power economy design skill. The RMSEA for the four-factor model is 0.042, suggesting a good fit to the data. We established the relationships between these sub-skills and SMPS performance metrics. Furthermore, the average of the factor scores from each of the imputed datasets and the SMPS design constraints were combined to obtain the cut-off scores to evaluate engineering students’ achievements in these sub-skills. Finally, we constructed an SMPS magnetic components material knowledge graph, which could recommend specific experimental tasks, relevant knowledge areas, and SMPS performance metrics, providing personalized guidance to designers.

Analysing multifaceted barriers to modular construction in sustainable building projects: a comprehensive evaluation using multi-criteria decision making

Modular construction (MC) is recognized as pivotal for sustainable development in developed countries. However, its implementation faces barriers in residential projects in developing nations. This study aims to address the knowledge gap resulting from the limited uptake of MC in residential projects, mainly attributed to existing barriers. To accomplish this goal, a questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the significance of thirty adoption barriers. Subsequently, an exploratory factor analysis method was applied to categorize these barriers, followed by their assessment and ranking using fuzzy synthetic evaluation. A novel aggregation and ranking method that integrates the WASPAS and TOPSIS techniques for order preference, by similarity to an ideal solution approach, was employed. The rankings derived from different decision-making methods were combined using an ensemble approach based on half-quadratic theory. Our findings reveal that the adoption barriers can be grouped into five main categories, with cost, coordination, and standards emerging as the most prominent barriers. They are followed by technical and practical barriers, inflexibility and supply chain barriers, abilities and awareness barriers, and societal and desire-related barriers. The study results offer significant insights into the barriers impeding MC adoption in developing countries' construction sectors, providing recommendations to improve its uptake.

A Comprehensive Analysis of Multi-Factor Scale in Understanding the Perception of Mutual Fund Investors in Equity Schemes

One of the most important factors that determine whether or not an economy can expand and thrive is the degree to which it provides incentives for investment in the sector. Certain specialized organizations are required to be involved to successfully mobilize the finances of the general public for the goal of achieving beneficial outcomes. Therefore, mutual funds are the best option for the average investor since they can provide a cost-effective way to participate in a professionally managed and diversified collection of assets. This makes them the ideal alternative for the normal investor.
 The purpose of this research is to investigate the many aspects of investor perception and investigate the significance of these aspects to finance professionals working in the sector of investment. A conceptual model of the flow of mutual funds is built, operationalized, and verified with the help of a sample size of 131 investors. The findings demonstrate that each of the five dimensions—namely, risk, return, fund features, fund manager, and fund group—plays a significant role in determining the perspectives that investors have on their decisions to invest in mutual funds. Methods of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used to evaluate the dimensions.  

How does social learning influence Chinese farmers’ safe pesticide use behavior? An analysis based on a moderated mediation effect

Green production in agriculture is a critical project for achieving the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Using pesticide safety as an entry point, this paper explores safe agricultural production and proposes initiatives from the origin source, which are essential to address multiple SDGs, including food security, health, and the environment. Using research data encompassing 612 peasant households in Sichuan province, China, this paper examines the mechanisms of social learning on farmers' safe pesticide use behavior employing exploratory factor analysis, Oprobit model, and Bootstrap method. The results show that social learning has significantly positive effects on farmers' safe pesticide use behavior, with each additional point of social learning contributing to a 3.411% increase in the chance of taking 6 safe pesticide use behavior. The effect sizes of different social learning styles were in the order of role demonstration, neighborhood communication, and participation in training, but proactive learning by consulting did not work significantly. Furthermore, perceived value has a positive mediation effect in social learning to impact farmers' safe pesticide use behavior, accounting for 34.53% of mediation effect. Finally, the market conditions can positively moderate the mediation effect of perceived value on farmers' safe pesticide use behavior, i.e., the better the accessibility to green production materials, marking and pricing stabilization, the stronger the effect of perceived value on safe pesticide use behavior. However, information access doesn't work that way. Therefore, in the future, the government must encourage farmers to participate in social learning and improve their perceived value, as well as play a macro-control role and fulfill market conditions.

Influence of absorptive capacity and emotion regulation on business performance through the mediating role of knowledge management

This study aims to explore the impact of absorptive capacity, emotion regulation, and knowledge management on performance, in Vietnam. The qualitative method is based on an overview of previous studies, the research team builds the first scale. For the quantitative research, data was collected using the convenience sampling method from a total of 536 Small and Medium Enterprises in the Mekong Delta. Owners, directors, and managers were targeted to be interviewed. The methods of exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM) are used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that the quality of the supervisor-employee relationship is a crucial factor in enhancing business performance. Specifically, the study found that absorptive capacity and emotion regulation have a positive influence on performance through the mediating role of knowledge management. The study suggests that enhancing absorptive capacity and emotion regulation in the enterprise and promoting the role of knowledge management can contribute to increasing business performance. This has great implications for firms looking to remain competitive in the market. By investing in these areas, firms can ensure that they are utilizing their resources effectively and efficiently to drive growth and success.

Specifics of Chinese students’ cognitive orientations in mastering technical disciplines

Introduction. Currently, the leadership of the People’s Republic of China pays special attention to the issues of technical vocational education. The learners from the PRC studying in Russia have specific cognitive orientations in mastering technical disciplines. The aim of the article is studying the specifics of academic resilience in mastering technical sciences by PRC students of Ural Federal University. Materials and methods. The academic resilience of PRC students from Ural Federal University in terms of mastering technical sciences was measured using the ‘Technics Resilience Scale for University Students’ (TRSUS). TRSUS aims to build Feedback literacy and Self-assessment with a view to help a student to pursue technical studies productively. The survey involved 659 students who had a technical science learning experience in one of the educational programmes: “Civil Engineering”, “Architecture”, “Geodesy and Remote Sensing”, “Steam Power Industry and Heat Engineering”, “Water Supply and Drainage”. The students assessed their resilience in technical sciences under a 5-score Likert response scale, with the use of Tencent Questionnaire in English. The statistical processing of measurement results was carried out using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) methodology with the use of SPSS 23.0 and Amos 18.0 software packages. Results. The statistical analysis of results of PRC students from Ural Federal University in terms of measuring resilience in technical sciences under the TRSUS scale showed that the wording of the questions was adequate to the measurement context. The primacy of students’ incremental beliefs/goals towards improving the efficiency of learning activities was revealed. A strong correlation between students’ answers with the TRSUS questions was found. Cronbachs alpha was equal to 0.977, which is evident of high internal consistency of students’ answers. The structural model of confirmatory factor analysis of TRSUS data including four indicators (factors) – “Persistence”, “Perceived Value”, “Cognitive Complexity” and “Incremental Beliefs” – has the best source data fitting criteria. The method of exploratory factor analysis of TRSUS data revealed the specificity of cognitive orientations of PRC students from Ural Federal University: the choice of educational programme influences most prominently the indicator “Perceived Value”, which is explained by the peculiarities of Chinese technological culture. Conclusion. An original methodology for measuring university students’ academic resilience in technical sciences – ‘Technics Resilience Scale for University Students’ (TRSUS) – is presented. The use of TRSUS makes it possible to determine the specifics of students’ cognitive orientations in mastering technical disciplines and to form their competent feedback and self-assessment for efficient continuation of education.

Review of the employee performance evaluation system at the Directorate General of Taxes

This quantitative research seeks to determine the effectiveness of the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) performanceevaluation system, measure how satisfied the employees are, and to prove differences among different categories ofemployees. This research is an extension of the study by Widiatmanti (2020) on 1,587 DGT employees. Analysis ofVariance (ANOVA) and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) were used to analyze the data in addition to descriptive dataanalysis. Generally, respondents feel the system is quite effective, and they are quite satisfied, except for three variablesthat most respondents strongly disagree with and relate to the performance status of SABCD and the level 1 and level2 ranking sessions. ANOVA method indicates that there are indeed differences among different categories of employees,while EFA method reveals that despite seven insignificant variables, none of them suggests the need to change DGTRegulation 12/PJ/2018, including its SABCD performance status. However, the need for change or adjustments arisesbecause there are provisions at higher levels of regulation: Government Regulation and two ministerial decrees.Therefore, we suggest that the use of forced rank in the SABCD performance status is abolished and replaced mainlydue to excellent, moderate, and poor performances.

Construction and Assessment of the Psychometric Characteristics of the Sahm-based Lifestyle Questionnaire

Aim: The present research was conducted with the purpose of designing and determining some psychometric characteristics of the Sahm-based lifestyle questionnaire, and this study was done with a practical goal. Methods: The statistical population of the research included all people aged 18 to 60 living in Tehran in 2023, of which 389 people were selected through available sampling and answered the questionnaire. In order to check the validity of the questionnaire, the method of exploratory factor analysis was used, and the content validity of the instrument was confirmed by consulting experts. In order to check the reliability of the tool, Cronbach's alpha method was used. All statistical analyzes were performed by SPSS-25 software. Findings: Based on the findings of the research, exploratory factor analysis with principal components showed that the Sahm-based lifestyle questionnaire is a 13-component tool that explains 57.24 percent of the “Sahmgozari” (partake or sharing) variance. Cronbach's alpha of the whole questionnaire is 0.93 and for components such as meaning-based (0.78), responsibility-based (0.74), agency (0.73), security-based (0.71), principle-based (0.73), respect-based (0.71), intention-based (0.73) , personal peace (0.80), the best role-playing (0.72), formative relationships (0.67), bond-making (0.63), harmonization with goals (0.63), and selectiveness (0.65) were reported. Conclusion: According to the findings, it can be concluded that the Sahm-based lifestyle questionnaire has appropriate and acceptable validity and reliability in the sample of participants in the research.

The competitive advantage of enterprises from the customer perspective

The ability to achieve and maintain a competitive advantage in the long term is one of the most valuable abilities of a company in the modern economy. Companies strive to achieve a competitive advantage in order to be recognised by customers, which is expected to lead to increased revenues and profits. It is important to choose factors serving to achieve a competitive advantage. More desirable are factors that are difficult to copy by competitors and adapted to the opinions and needs of consumers. The aim of the article is to identify the sources of competitive advantage of enterprises in the opinion of consumers from Slovakia and Poland. The article analyses the literature on the subject and uses the methods of descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The analysis of the results is based on surveys conducted on a group of consumers from Slovakia and Poland using statistical software. A questionnaire assesses the importance of competitive factors utilised by companies. The obtained results confirm that quality is an important source of competitive advantage and country is a variable differentiating the selection of sources of competitive advantage. The research contributes to the ongoing scientific discussion, more specifically taking into account the consumer focus. To summarise, gaining a competitive advantage is a complex task influenced by a number of factors. To a large extent, they are related to the capacity for innovation, to the resources possessed, including human capital, and to the ability to respond to market needs and the use of marketing tools. The research contributes to the development of theories in the field of enterprise competitiveness, and its results can serve as recommendations for enterprise managers to identify the key sources of enterprises’ competitive advantage.

Mapping Brand Equity and Service Quality Perceptions

This study aims to create a map of brand equity and service quality perceptions of Bank C relative to four other banks in Indonesia, namely Bank KBMI Category 3. Customer perception maps were constructed by asking customers to provide overall similarity ratings for Brand Equity and Service Quality pairs on a metric scale. The study included Bank A, Bank B, Bank C, Bank D, and Bank E customers in Indonesia. One hundred eight respondents were sampled using the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) method, which groups many variables into several factors with similar characteristics. Additionally, the Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) method was used, a data analysis technique used to explore the data structure based on similarities or dissimilarities. Based on the analysis results, it was found that according to the perceptions of Bank C customers, the bank scored low in the Reliability factor. At the same time, Bank B had the lowest scores in Brand Loyalty and Brand Awareness factors. This indicates that the strengths of both banks lie in these factors. Subsequently, Bank A, Bank E, and Bank D followed in sequential order.

Factors Influencing the Development of Logistics Services in Lao Cai Province, Vietnam

This paper aims to investigate the main determinants of logistics development in Lao Cai Province, Vietnam. Logistics is an important service industry a country’s economic structure. It is also one of the topics that Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee was very interested in for the socio-economic development strategy for the period 2021-2025. The analysis of the factors influencing the development of logistics services in Lao Cai province has high theoretical and practical significance. The author used the exploratory factor analysis method through the primary data set from the survey results of 100 enterprises providing and using logistics services in Lao Cai Province in 2022 to analyse the factors affecting the development of this type of service in Lao Cai Province. The research results showed the role of logistics services in the socio-economic development of the province and the degree of influence of logistics services on the development of this service in Lao Cai Province in many different aspects. The degree of influence of the given factors are: (1) technical infrastructure (CSHTKT); (2) ability to access and mobilise capital of enterprises (HDV); (3) experience and management capacity of enterprises (NLQL); (4) facilities of logistics enterprises (CSVC); (5) human resourcess of enterprise (NNL); (6) factors of market economy (KTTT); and legal factors (PL). On this basis, the author proposed some policy recommendation for the development of logistics services in the province in the coming period.

EXAMINING STUDENTS’ EVALUATION OF SIGNIFICANT TEACHING CRITERIA AT THE MALAYSIAN DEFENCE UNIVERSITY

This paper used an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) method to inquire about student evaluations of teaching (SET) among a batch of foundation students. A total of 504 students completed the lecturer evaluation questionnaire at the end of the semester. The current study was prompted by several factors, including teaching quality, lecturer characteristics, personal traits, knowledge evaluation and students’ ratings which provided the impetus for the present study. Lecturers were evaluated using a Likert scale ranging from one to five, with the numbers labelled very poor, poor, medium, good, and excellent, respectively. Two phases of exploratory factor analysis conducted in the study to determine whether the importance ratings students regarded formed separate domains with the mean and the standard deviation of the questionnaire results. The first phase of exploratory factor analysis (Study 1) evaluated 23 criteria attributes listed by Vevere and Kozlinskis (2011). The attributes are seven personal trait items; 11 knowledge transfer items, followed by five knowledge evaluation items. Besides, participants were also asked to indicate any additional attributes they considered important to be possessed by their lecturers, the strand of the course they were enrolled in, and their gender. The purpose of the second study (Study 2) is to provide a contrast to the first study based on the data with an improved version of the SET instrument and with a different cohort of students. We discovered that all the proposed attributes of a lecturer were important to the students, and the categories proposed by Vevere and Kozlinskis (2011) for evaluating lecturers did not correspond to the importance of categories evaluated by the students.

Establishment of the management effectiveness assessment system of world natural heritage and empirical analysis—a case study of Fanjingshan

Although there are more than 270,000 protected areas worldwide, there is currently little data on their protection and management effectiveness. As a kind of protected area, natural world heritage (WH) sites are small but represent some of the most important natural landscapes, covering a very large area. But natural WH is threatened by climate change, natural disasters and human activities. Therefore, to achieve the sustainable development of WH sites, it is very important to analyze the management status of WH sites. Based on this, the study extracts inspiration from Enhancing our Heritage Toolkit: Assessing management effectiveness of natural World Heritage sites. An assessment system of the management effectiveness (ME) of natural WH sites has been established, which has three dimensions (including management foundation, management measures, and management performances) and 21 indexes. The reliability and validity of the index system are tested using the exploratory factor analysis method, and the results show that the index system has good reliability and validity. Then principal component analysis and comprehensive assessment methods are used to analyze the ME of the Fanjingshan WH site. The results show that the management effectiveness of the Fanjingshan WH Site is relatively excellent, but it still faces challenges from tourism development and community participation.

Innovative hydrogeophysical approach for detecting the spatial distribution of hydraulic conductivity in Bahri city, Sudan: A comparative study of Csókás and Heigold methods

Hydraulic conductivity is one of the crucial parameters used to identify the potentiality and productivity of groundwater aquifers. This research employs an integrated approach using geophysical well logging, exploratory factor analysis and surface electrical resistivity methods to detect the vertical and horizontal variation of hydraulic conductivity in Bahri city, Sudan. Based on the geophysical well logs of Spontaneous potential (SP), natural gamma ray (GR), and electrical resistivity (RS), Csókás method is used to determine the continuous variation of hydraulic conductivity along the aquifer. Csókás method is an experimentally modified version of the Kozeny–Carman equation and is based on the formation factor of the groundwater aquifer and the effective grain size. This approach is performed in three groundwater boreholes, and the obtained hydraulic conductivities showed a close agreement with that of the pumping test analysis. Furthermore, the hydraulic conductivity is measured using multivariate statistical factor analysis. This statistical approach relies on the correlation between the extracted factors and petrophysical and hydrogeological parameters. In this research, a strong negative linear correlation between the first factor and hydraulic conductivity is indicated. Consequently, a site-specific equation is suggested for continuous estimation of hydraulic conductivity along the aquifer. In the last stage, the results obtained from the Csókás method are interpolated with vertical electrical sounding (VES) measurements using to detect the horizontal variation of hydraulic conductivity throughout the studied area. This was achieved by combining the hydraulic conductivities of geophysical well logging and vertical electrical soundings to obtain a consistent estimation. As a result, the variation of hydraulic conductivity is obtained, and the average was 1.9 m/day which shows a close agreement with the average of the previous investigations (1.5 m/day). This approach is highly recommended since it can enhance data coverage, cutting down the expense of hydrogeological investigations and lowering the uncertainty of the hydrogeological models.

Analyzing Underlying Factors of Rework in Generating Contractual Claims in Construction Projects

Claim management plays an essential role in the success of construction contracts. The enhancement of the contractual claim process in construction projects improves the relationship between parties and impacts conflicts and disputes. Previous studies related to contractual claims focused primarily on general causes with relatively little attention paid to reasons associated with reworking. Rework in construction contracts generates cost overruns and delays, resulting in claims, conflicts, and disputes. Given the causal relations of rework, contractual claims, and disputes in construction projects, the necessity to implement rework management has become more critical. Although construction reworks lead to claims and disputes, a quantitative approach has not been undertaken to analyze the relationship between rework causes and contractual claims. This study aims to identify the key causes of rework that affect construction contracts and categorize them as rework factors in generating contractual claims by apprising the correlative rework causes and contractual claims. A quantitative approach is considered an appropriate method for data collection. Based on a review of the literature, a questionnaire including a comprehensive list of rework causes was developed, and the collected data were then analyzed using the exploratory factor analysis method. The results provided evidence of categorizing the causes of rework under four underlying factors: process, management and planning, material and equipment, and human resources. This study bridges the knowledge gap of dimensionality between rework and contractual claims, which can create measures to address rework causes in generating contractual claims. The paper suggests that effective rework management could reduce contractual claims through attention to the causes of rework at the early stages of contracting.