Principal Axis Method Research Articles

İlkokul Dönemi Üstün Yetenekli Çocuklar İçin Aday Bildirim Ölçeği (İDABÖ) Geliştirme Çalışması

Introduction: The aim of this study is to develop a teacher nomination scale for gifted students in primary schools. The developed scale is theoretically based on Renzulli’s Three-Ring Conception of Giftedness Theory. Method: In this study, a Teacher Nomination Scale for Gifted Children in Primary Schools (TNSG-P) was developed to identify gifted children attending primary school. The descriptive survey design was used in this study. In study 1, the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using principal axis method was conducted. In study 2, the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using robust maximum likelihood estimation method was carried out. In study 3, the validity of the scale was tested. Findings: A pilot study involving 507 participants was carried out using the 89-item trial form. After the pilot phase, 50 items remained in the scale. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the 50-item scale in a sample of 225 participants. This showed that the fit indices of the scale had a perfect fit and the second level three-factor structure of the scale with 27 items was confirmed. In the validity analysis of the scale, gifted students and typical students were compared and a statistically significant difference was obtained in favor of the gifted students. Cronbach’s α and stratified Cronbach’s α, McDonald’s ω, composite reliability coefficients and average variance extracted (AVE) values regarding the reliability of the scale were also examined. The reliability coefficients for both the overall scale and its subscales were found to be above .95. Discussion: The findings have revealed that the Teacher Nomination Scale for Gifted Children in Primary Schools is a valid assessment instrument and gives reliable scores in identifying gifted children.

Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ): Validation of the Italian Translation.

The aim of this study is to develop an Italian translation of the 100-item Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) version and to validate its psychometric properties, in order to facilitate systematic, large-scale studies on dog behavior for Italian-speaking dog owners. A total number of 803 responses by dog owners were collected online. Using the Principal Axis Method and Common Factor Analysis with Quartimin oblique rotation (p < 0.05), a factorial structure was found including 13 factors composed of 62 items and explaining 53.5% of the total variance. Eight factors showed high reliability (Cronbach's alpha > 0.70), namely: stranger-directed aggression/fear, dog-directed fear, owner-directed aggression, separation-related behavior, chasing, dog-directed aggression, attachment/attention seeking, and elimination problems. Three factors were slightly under the threshold and two had only modest reliability (non-social fear, energy level, touch sensitivity, excitability and trainability). A potential explanation for factors with low reliability is that the composing items do not describe behaviors resulting from homogeneous stimuli or situations. Although our factorial structure resembled in most respects that of the most recently published Canadian version, some important exceptions are present regarding dog rivalry, intraspecific aggression, fear/aggression towards strangers, touch sensitivity and chewing inappropriate objects. Such differences may be due to demographic and/or cultural differences between the sampled populations. Overall, the results suggest that a 62-item Italian C-BARQ can be reliably used in studies on dog behavior.

Validation of the EPACODI-1 Scale: University Students' Perceptions of Inclusive Education.

In the last fifteen years, changes have been taking place in education systems at the international and national levels that aim to achieve, in the near future, the objectives set by the UN International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (hereafter CRPD). Spain is no stranger to these objectives, as recognized in the new Organic Law for the Modification of the Law on the Organization of Education. This situation makes it necessary to know the perceptions that professionals in training (about to graduate) from faculties of education have about the legal content established by articles 4.1.i and 24 of the CRPD on inclusive education. In order to ascertain these perceptions, the EPACO-DI-1 instrument was used in a quantitative and confirmatory study by means of a multivariate factor analysis (CFA), applying the parallel estimation method of ordinary least squares (OLS) and principal axes with polychoric correlation and promax oblique rotation. This study involved 552 fourth-year students between the ages of 21 and over 45 from the specializations offered by the Faculty of Education of the University of Murcia. The obtained results are consistent and show the validity of the EPACODI-1 scale for determining the perceptions of professionals in training on inclusive education.

Development of the Food Related Environments at School and Home Questionnaire (FRESH-Q)

ObjectivesDelineating determinants of food choice within the school and home environments of adolescents might help to translate advocacy efforts to effective interventions. However, this will require the development of valid instruments that measure school and home food environmental factors systematically. We conducted a cross-sectional study to develop a valid questionnaire that evaluates the food-related environments at schools and homes (FRESH- Q) of adolescents aged 10–15 years in Mumbai, India. MethodsA preliminary draft was developed based on a review of literature, eleven focus group discussions (FGDs) with adolescents (n = 36) and parents (n = 27), and eight in-depth interviews (IDIs) with school supervisors followed by the identification of school food (SFE) and home food environment (HFE) constructs and an item pool generation. The content validity was evaluated by an expert panel and the item-wise content validity indices (I-CVI) for clarity and relevance were calculated. The questionnaire was pretested in 42 adolescents for face validity and further administered among 315 adolescents (mean age 13.2 (2.1) years) for psychometric evaluation. The principal axis method of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) established the construct validity and the internal consistency was determined using Cronbach alpha values > 0.7. A sub-sample (n = 108) completed FRESH-Q twice to estimate test-retest reliability. ResultsContent analysis of FGDs and IDIs revealed six SFE and eleven HFE constructs. The I-CVI for the majority of items were satisfactory (0.72–0.96) and the Cronbach alpha values were 0.88 for SFE and 0.92 for HFE items. The intra-class correlation coefficients ranged from 0.78–0.96 indicating good to excellent reliability. Four factors – availability, and affordability of school foods, adolescents’ perceptions of SFE, and cafeteria policies explained 76.2% of the variance in SFE items. The EFA model identified five underlying constructs for HFE items – availability, accessibility and visibility of foods at home, family dietary habits, food purchasing behaviors, parents’ perceptions and consumption patterns. ConclusionsA valid 36 item self-reported questionnaire was developed to evaluate the school and home food environments of urban adolescents in India. Further investigations in different settings are recommended. Funding SourcesNone.

Part point cloud segmentation method based on model registration

In order to analyze the machining errors of parts more accurately, a point cloud segmentation method based on model registration was proposed for mechanical parts. First, the surface information of the standard model of the part is extracted from the Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) file; then, the part point cloud is registered to the standard model using the method of the moment principal axis method and the Iterative Closest Point algorithm (ICP); then, by calculating the distance between each point in the point cloud and each surface in the standard model, it is used to determine the corresponding relationship between the model surface and the point cloud, and then the point cloud is segmented; finally, the segmentation results are surface-fitted and benchmarked to obtain a segmentation with better alignment quality. The experimental results show that this method can automatically segment the part point cloud according to the surface features of the part when only the IGES model and the point cloud model are input, without setting any empirical parameters, and obtain the segmentation result with clear boundaries.

Development and validation of a questionnaire measuring knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) to healthy eating and activity patterns in school children (HEAPS).

Development of culturally appropriate and psychometrically sound instruments that measure knowledge and health behaviors of children will help to inform appropriate interventions. To develop and test the validity and reliability of a questionnaire measuring knowledge, attitudes, and practices to healthy eating and activity patterns in school children in India. Review of literature, focus-group discussions, and theoretical constructs of the Health Belief Model guided the development of an item pool. Face and content validity were assessed by children and a panel of experts and the item content validity, item difficulty, and discrimination indices were calculated. Construct validity was determined using the principal axis method of exploratory factor analysis among a cross-sectional sample of children (n=252). Internal consistency (Cronbach α values >0.7) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient values >0.75) were estimated. Item content validity index for clarity and relevance were satisfactory (>0.80) and internal consistency for knowledge (Kuder-Richardson 20 = 0.832), attitude (Cronbach's α = 0.912), and practice items (Cronbach's α = 0.769) were good. Four factors (children's eating habits, family dietary practices, and consumption of healthy and unhealthy foods) and two factors (moderate to vigorous activities and sedentary activities) explained 67.7% and 48.2% of the total variance in practice items. Intraclass correlation coefficient estimates ranged from good to excellent (0.72-0.99). The results of the validity and reliability of the 84-item knowledge, attitudes, and practices to healthy eating and activity patterns in schoolchildren questionnaire were promising. The detailed description of the methodology employed may prove useful to researchers conducting similar studies in children.

Application of Algorithm with Novel Successive Approximate Registration Method of Medical Image

Medical image registration is widely used in the clinical field. A simple and effective registration method for medical images is proposed, which is not only used images’ hierarchical information, but also the successive approximate method is used. It mainly includes two steps, which are the coarse registration and the fine registration. In the coarse registration procedure, the couple images’ edge features are extracted. Further more, the contour line features are extracted based on the edge features. The contour lines are selected as registration objects to accomplish the coarse registration based on the Principal Axis method. In the second registration procedure, i.e. the fine registration, the hierarchical information of the images are obtained by the convolution operator and pooling method firstly. Then these information are matched from the last scale to the first scale to obtain the last registration result. The proposed method’s validity is proved by different registration experiments, and the proposed method can also be applied to incomplete images’ registration. The error of registration is less than one pixel unit in the different registration experiments of the proposed method.

The Computational Thinking Scale for Computer Literacy Education

Computational thinking has received tremendous attention from computer science educators and educational researchers in the last decade. However, most prior literature defines computational thinking as thinking outcomes rather than thinking processes. Based on Selby and Woodland’s framework, this study developed and validated the Computational Thinking Scale (CTS) to assess all students’ thought processes of computational thinking for both general and specific problem-solving contexts in five dimensions: abstraction, decomposition, algorithmic thinking, evaluation and generalization. A survey including 25 candidate items for CTS as well as demographic variables was administered to 388 junior high school students in Taiwan. An explorative factor analysis using the principal axis method with the oblimin rotation was used to validate the scale. Finally, 19 items were extracted successfully under the designed five dimensions, with a total explained variance of 64.03% and an overall reliability of 0.91. Results of the demographic comparisons showed that boys had a greater disposition than girls in decomposition thinking when solving problems using computer programming. In addition, programming learning experience, especially self-directed learning and after-school learning, had significant positive effects on all dimensions of CTS. Several future studies are suggested using this tool.

Structural Equation Analysis of Microinsurance Dimensions

The objective of this research is centered on determining different microinsurance dimensions towards promoting the sustainability of the marginalized. This central objective leads to the assumption that microinsurance is a good tool to supplement the lack of or the unavailability of social protection programs intended for those who are socially excluded. Over the years, there have been increased calls among governments all over the world to end poverty. The call puts to order the use of all available means to attain the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As a background, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted in 2015 by all United Nations Member States. It encompasses 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is an urgent call for action for all developed and developing countries to form a global partnership in promoting peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. The very heart of this framework recognizes that ending poverty and other deprivations must have effective and efficient strategies. The research made use of purely quantitative methods to achieve its objectives. There were 600 questionnaires distributed all over the Philippines but only 422 questionnaires were retrieved. The indicators of microinsurance were factor analyzed using the principal axis method with varimax rotation to determine the underlying dimensions. Since its introduction to the market, microinsurance has been a tool that enables low-income households to become resilient against adversities. In fact, it has been found in various literature that microinsurance has functioned as a social protection mechanism when social services are inadequate or not available. It can be further concluded that microinsurance with its unprecedented growth is eyed as a primary contributor to achieving the majority of the SDG 2030. This monumental role of microinsurance calls for the support of various sectors. As indicated in the results, financial literacy has to increase among the marginalized to embrace the concept of insurance. The government likewise has to intervene in promoting microinsurance particularly in areas that are neglected by social services for whatever reasons.

Measuring the performance of private higher education institutions in Malaysia

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a comprehensive model using balanced scorecard (BSC) approach instead of the current ranking system to measure the performance of private higher education institutions (PHEIs) in Malaysia as the ranking system is deemed inaccurate and certain items in the system are redundant.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional survey was conducted involving 105 academicians from seven PHEIs in Malaysia. The data were analyzed for factor analysis using Principal Axis method with Promax rotation in IBM SPSS Statistics Version 20.FindingsThe result demonstrates that 22 items were successfully extracted into four dimensions that suited the BSC approach with acceptable range of composite reliability and factor loading values.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper reveals the issues of ranking system of the current method in measuring performance of PHEIs. The proposed BSC model should be tested on more PHEIs to increase its validity and reliability.Practical implicationsThis research analyzes the performance of PHEIs from academicians’ perspectives based on the four BSC perspectives. It can be considered as an alternative model for PHEIs’ managers to measure performance of PHEIs in Malaysia rather than the current ranking system.Social implicationsIn the midst of intense competition in private higher education industry in Malaysia, it is crucial to understand that a high performance PHEI is expected to deliver quality tertiary education. This research assists the society to evaluate the strength of a particular PHEI in Malaysia, and further enable them to make a deliberate choice on which PHEI to enter.Originality/valueA growing concern for sustainability of PHEIs requires a method to be undertaken by the authority to measure PHEIs’ performance. This paper addresses this concern by offering 22 items to measure PHEIs’ performance and dictating the need to manage PHEIs in a strategic manner, not by ranking system per se.

Principal components of variables hypothesised to cause project delays and cost overruns in Ghana

Many construction projects in developing countries suffer delays because timely completion, within budget, and being of desired quality is dependent on many variables, many of which are not properly managed in these environments. Attempts to get a good grip on reduced (or major) variables or factors to pay attention to have been varied and have yielded varied results. This paper argues that approaches to identifying the number of important variables that affect project delays can be improved further. It uses principal components analysis to identify components of 13 variables hypothesized to affect construction delays and quality in Ghana. A questionnaire was administered to industry stakeholders. The principal axis method was used to extract components which were then subjected to oblique rotation. Five components that explained two-thirds of the variance in the original 13 variables were retained. The study finds that the State of Industry, Infrastructure Availability, and Legal Issues, which proxy industrywide state of affairs in delivering projects load onto Component 1. Consultant Related and Labour Related issues, which speak to the state of human capital load onto Component 2. Project Preparation and Construction Methods load onto Component 3. These variables speak to preparations for specific projects and the methods by which they are undertaken. Change in Government Regulation and Force Majeure, which are exogenous to the industry, load onto Component 4. Finally, Construction Material issues and Equipment Related issues load onto Component 5. We see these variables as inputs to projects.Keywords: construction projects, principal components; Ghana; project delays; eigenvalues; cost overruns

Analysis of Different Tool Path Strategies for Free Form Machining with Computer Aided Surface Milling Operations

Free form surfaces are commonly used to generate aesthetic parts. These parts can be manufactured directly by material removal techniques or indirectly with molding or forming techniques. In any case, these surfaces must be commonly machined with traditional processes, at least until certain degree of surface finishing, and the tool path must be generated with computer aided applications. In doing so, developers are implementing new theoretical strategy operations for controlling tool path and trajectories. These new options have so many combinations that it is difficult to know which is the best one to choose when defining the tool movements. Apart from the traditional strategies fixed angle method, principal axis method and multipoint machining, combined with tool orientation, there are many other strategies to explore due to machine tool and numerical control improvements. What is need now is a validation of these new strategies in computer aided applications regarding time minimizing and how the cutting parameters affects in the surface final result.

A convolutional neural network Cascade for plantar pressure images registration

BackgroundPlantar pressure image (PPI) recorded in high spatial and temporal resolution is very useful in clinical gait analysis. For functional analysis of PPI, image registration is often performed to maximally correlate source image with a template image. Previous methods estimate the registration parameters by iteratively optimizing different objective functions. These methods are often computational expensive to achieve satisfactory registration accuracy. Research questionCan we develop a single PPI registration technique that performs more rapidly than previous methods, and that also maintains adequate PPI correspondence as defined by various (dis)similarity metrics? MethodsA cascaded convolutional neural network (CNN) was proposed for the registration of PPIs. Our model was trained to learn a regression from the difference between the template and misaligned images to the registration parameters. The registration performance was evaluated by three different metrics, i.e. the mean squared error (MSE), the exclusive or (XOR), and the mutual information (MI). For comparison, four previous methods were also implemented. These included the principal axes (PA) method, the center of pressure trajectory (COP) method, the MSE method, and the XOR method. ResultsExperimental results on a dataset with 71 PPI template-source pairs showed that the proposed CNN-based method could obtain comparable registration accuracy to the MSE and XOR method. With regards to the registration speed, registration durations (mean ± sd in seconds) per image pair were: MSE (30.584 ± 2.171), XOR (24.245 ± 1.596), PA (0.016 ± 0.003), COP (25.614 ± 0.341), and the proposed model (0.054 ± 0.007). SignificanceOur findings indicate that the proposed registration approach can achieve high accuracy but less computational time. Thus, it is more practical to utilize our pre-trained CNN-based model to develop near-real time applications for plantar pressure images registration.

Startle reflex modulation by affective face "Emoji" pictographs.

The current research was designed to assess possible differences in the emotional content of pleasant and unpleasant face emoji using acoustically evoked eyeblink startle reflex response. Stimuli were selected from Emojipedia Webpage. First, we assessed these stimuli with a previous independent sample of 190 undergraduate students (46 males and 144 females) mean age of 21.43years (SD 3.89). A principal axis method was performed using the 30 selected emoji faces, extracting two factors (15 pleasant and 15 unpleasant emoji). Second, we measured the acoustic startle reflex modulation in 53 young adult women [mean age 22.13years (SD 4.3)] during the viewing of each of the 30 emoji emotional faces in the context of the theory of motivation and emotion proposed by Lang (1995), but considering only the valence dimension. We expected to find higher acoustically evoked startle responses when viewing unpleasant emoji and lower responses for pleasant ones, similarly to the results obtained in the studies using human faces as emotional stimulus. An ANOVA was conducted to compare acoustic startle responses associated with pleasant and unpleasant emoji. Results yielded main effects for picture valence (λ = 0.80, F(1, 50) = 12.80, p = .001, η2 = 0.20). Post-hoc t test analysis indicated significant differences in the startle response between unpleasant (50.95 ± 1.75) and pleasant (49.14 ± 2.49) emoji (t (52) = 3.59, p = .001), with a Cohen's d = 0.495. Viewing affective facial emoji expressions modulates the acoustic startle reflex response according to their emotional content.

Escala de percepção de política na organização: adaptação e validação para o contexto brasileiro

This study aimed to provide a Perception of Organizational Politics (POP) Scale adapted and validated for the Brazilian context from the original of Hochwarter, Kacmar, Perrewe and Johnson (2003). The purpose of the instrument is to capture general political behavior involving actions in self-benefit and behind-the-scenes maneuvers. The Portuguese version has undergone successive translations and semantic, cultural e conceptual adaptations. The samples came from the public sector (N = 137) and from the private sector (N = 122). The construct validity was verified by Principal Axis method of factor extraction and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The adapted scale proved to be easy to understand and with reliable structure and psychometric characteristics for future applications in the two researched segments. Preliminary descriptive statistics showed high perceptions of politics when compared to international studies, besides a more pronounced presence in the public sector. The product of this research contributes academically with the provision of an instrument of measurement for a scenario that, although historically described as political, lacks of quantitative approaches about organizational politics. As a practical contribution the scale may help in diagnoses and management actions that consider minimizing the negative effects that the POP brings to the working world.

The torsional barriers of two equivalent methyl internal rotations in 2,5-dimethylfuran investigated by microwave spectroscopy

The microwave spectrum of 2,5-dimethylfuran was recorded using two pulsed molecular jet Fourier transform microwave spectrometers which cover the frequency range from 2 to 40 GHz. The internal rotations of two equivalent methyl tops with a barrier height of approximately 439.15 cm−1 introduce torsional splittings of all rotational transitions in the spectrum. For the spectral analysis, two different computer programs were applied and compared, the PAM-C2v-2tops code based on the principal axis method which treats several torsional states simultaneously, and the XIAM code based on the combined axis method, yielding accurate molecular parameters. The experimental work was supplemented by quantum chemical calculations. Two-dimensional potential energy surfaces depending on the torsional angles of both methyl groups were calculated and parametrized.

County community health associations of net voting shift in the 2016 U.S. presidential election

ImportanceIn the U.S. presidential election of 2016, substantial shift in voting patterns occurred relative to previous elections. Although this shift has been associated with both education and race, the extent to which this shift was related to public health status is unclear.ObjectiveTo determine the extent to which county community health was associated with changes in voting between the presidential elections of 2016 and 2012.DesignEcological study with principal component analysis (PCA) using principal axis method to extract the components, then generalized linear regression.SettingGeneral community.ParticipantsAll counties in the United States.ExposuresPhysically unhealthy days, mentally unhealthy days, percent food insecure, teen birth rate, primary care physician visit rate, age-adjusted mortality rate, violent crime rate, average health care costs, percent diabetic, and percent overweight or obese.Main outcomeThe percentage of Donald Trump votes in 2016 minus percentage of Mitt Romney votes in 2012 (“net voting shift”).ResultsComplete public health data was available for 3,009 counties which were included in the analysis. The mean net voting shift was 5.4% (+/- 5.8%). Of these 3,009 counties, 2,641 (87.8%) had positive net voting shift (shifted towards Trump) and 368 counties (12.2%) had negative net voting shift (shifted away from Trump). The first principal component (“unhealthy score”) accounted for 68% of the total variance in the data. The unhealthy score included all health variables except primary care physician rate, violent crime rate, and health care costs. The mean unhealthy score for counties was 0.39 (SD 0.16). Higher normalized unhealthy score was associated with positive net voting shift (22.1% shift per unit unhealthy, p < 0.0001). This association was stronger in states that switched Electoral College votes from 2012 to 2016 than in other states (5.9% per unit unhealthy, p <0.0001).Conclusions and relevanceSubstantial association exists between a shift toward voting for Donald Trump in 2016 relative to Mitt Romney in 2012 and measures of poor public health. Although these results do not demonstrate causality, these results suggest a possible role for health status in political choices.

Effects of Domain Partitioning on Parallel Computing of Atrium Airflow Simulation

The accurate numerical simulation of large space airflow needs large computational quantity and long computation time usually. However, parallel computing is a good method to increase the speed of simulation. In this paper, the indoor airflow and thermal environment of a ventilated atrium with large space is simulated using the paralleling solver of FLUENT software, and the effect of two domain partitioning methods and various number of subdomains after domain partitioning on the simulated results are discussed. The calculated results show that the calculation time significantly reduced and the speedup rises from 1 to about 3 when the number of cores increases from 1 to 5. Furthermore, Principal Axes method has smaller wall times and higher speedups than Cartesian Y-Coordinate method. In addition, the number of subdomains should be controlled reasonably according to the number of cores because parallel computing needs the added boundary conditions through artificial hypothesis.

Microwave spectra of the SiH4-H2O complex: A new sort of intermolecular interaction

Microwave spectral patterns observed for the silane-water complex were found much different from those of the methane-water complex. The SiH4-H2O complex is likely to have a tightly bound structure. The effective rotational and centrifugal distortion constants: B = 3621.1193 (45) MHz and DJ = 49.84 (30) kHz led to the distance between the Si and O atoms in the complex to be 3.3 Å, much shorter than the C and O separation in the CH4-H2O of 3.7 Å, and to the silane-water stretching force constant and stretching frequency to be 2.88 N/m and 65 cm−1, respectively, which are to be compared with 1.52 N/m and 55 cm−1 of the CH4-H2O. The characteristic features of the spectra observed for the main species 28SiH4-H2O are common to those of isotopic species: 29SiH4-H2O, 30SiH4-H2O, 28SiH4-H218O, 28SiH4-D2O, 29SiH4-D2O, 30SiH4-D2O, 28SiH4-HDO, 29SiH4-HDO, 30SiH4-HDO, 28SiD4-H2O, 28SiD4-D2O, and 28SiD4-HDO. The observed spectra also indicate that the silane executes a threefold internal rotation about one of its four Si–H bonds, while the C2 symmetry axis of the water is bent away from the internal-rotation axis. An internal axis method analysis yielded an estimate of the internal-rotation potential barrier V3 to be 140 ± 50 cm−1, and those based on diagonalization of a principal axis method Hamiltonian matrix and on the extended internal axis method resulted in V3 ranging from 180 to 100 cm−1, depending on the isotopic species studied. All the measurements were done by using a pulsed nozzle Fourier transform microwave spectrometer, and the spectral assignments were made with the aid of the Stark effect, which yielded the dipole moment to be 1.730 (10) D. Transitions in higher energy states of the SiH4 internal rotation were observed, clearly resolved from the main lines, when the carrier gas was replaced from Ar to Ne.

A Statistical Analysis of Heterogeneity on Labour Markets and Unemployment Rates in Colombia

In this paper, we study the structural factors that determine the differences in unemployment rates and in labour market performance for Colombian cities. Using cross-sectional data for 23 metropolitan areas, we apply an extension of a principal axes method—Multiple Factor Analysis for Multiple Contingency Tables (MFACT)—in order to identify unobservable factors that are relevant when disentangling the heterogeneity observed among groups of variables considered explanatory of regional unemployment differentials. Our findings suggest that differences in qualified labour supply levels, participation incentives and age structure are important when it comes to understanding regional heterogeneity in terms of labour markets and unemployment rates in Colombia. In addition, clustering methods reveal that cities that display high unemployment rates do not necessarily share the same structural characteristics; that is, labour market frictions that give rise to unemployment are not the same across Colombian cities.