Validity Of Dimensions Research Articles

Evaluating Collective Action for Effective Land Policy Reform in Developing Country Contexts: The Construction and Validation of Dimensions and Indicators

Although land reform can be motivated by different policy objectives, it always involves the participation of many actors. Insights from New Institutional Economics suggest that individual interests that are not aligned with collective interests tend to undermine the goals of reform. This study provides a viable framework and measures for social capital, trust, and cooperation performance and their interrelationships to compensate for the existing separate analysis of these three factors and their rare application in achieving goals of collective action. We also build a strong and deepening theoretical foundation for the indicator design, providing a rich representation of social capital, trust, and cooperation performance. After being presented with variables, indicators are used to further elaborate on the variables to enhance the richness and science of the indicator design. The validation results of indicators from 12 experts and 223 respondents are to yield an average reliable coefficient as a positive sign of reliability and validity of the evaluation process with Kendall’s Co-efficient of Concordance (W) through R programming. This study emphasizes the importance of collective action for sustainable land use and effective land policy reform, a topic that remains underrepresented in most land reform analyses.

Tailor-made design, fabrication and validation of SrO doped nanostructured ZTA ceramic Femoral head – Acetabular socket liner assembly

An established commercial grade SrO doped ZTA composition has been considered to design, fabrication through uniaxial pressing followed by sintering and polishing, validation of dimension, 3D surface profile, 3D microstructure, and compressive load bearing capacity of femoral head – acetabular socket liner prototypes for the hip prosthesis. While design and dimensions are concerned, both the steel (HRC60) molds were designed and machined to achieve precious dimensions of femoral head (FH; OD – 30 ± 0.01 mm) and acetabular socket liner (ASL; ID – 30.15 ± 0.01 mm). A close variation in the range of ±0.01 mm was confirmed the precision geometry of polished FH and ASL with consideration of 22 points coordinate measuring method (CMM). 3D surface profile ensures the surface characteristics of Ra = 0.2 ± 0.01 μm and Rq = 0.5 ± 0.01 μm for outer surface of FH and an inner surface of ASL, respectively. Structure integrity and fabrication defects including cracks and pores free bulk structures were confirmed by Micro CT. The compressive load resistance known as burst strength for independent FH and FH-ASL assembly were measured 16.2 KN and 17.6 KN, respectively. The developed ceramic prototypes have an economic advantage and can be adopted as artificial hip prosthesis after extensive in-vitro and in-vivo analysis.

LACUNAE IN LEXICO-SEMANTIC FIELD OF HUMOUR: lexicographic modus

The article in question deals with lacunicon in the English discourse. The properties of the object are being analyzed in the lexicographic experiment. The authentic dictionary entries make the investigation go. The paper verifies the taxonomy of active and marginal synsets. The statistic data are objectivized by the dimension validity. The abstract notions are being explained properly by basic metasigns. Their terminological paradigm mirrors the macrosystem of a language. The key units of humour are funny, amusing, queer, ridiculous, mind, liquid. The last two words (mind, liquid) refer to historical saga of humour, nowadays they are diachronically adherent. Tautology works mostly with marginal units which serve three masters – genres of humor, irony and satire. Humour is an aesthetic thinking category of anthropocentric and mentalese nature. It brings people high spirits and merry making. Humourous words transmit to irony and satire. Perspective vistas of scientific picture envisage the deeper investigation of irony and satire genre on lexicographic modus. Tautology is frequently considered with humourous elements in the entries, but it badly needs synsets company. The lexicographic analysis of the humour clusters raise many problems of perspective vistas. Processes of convergence and divergence go alongside in the genre triad – humour, irony, satire. The latter are highly anthropocentric with the polar author’s intentions – to help people, to comfort them and make a hard blow on them or destroy them. There works the law (tendency) of attraction and repelling. The humour marginal allonyms are not repellers with irony and satire. They are attractors herein. The intentions of the authors are being explicated by the language potentialities. The processes of convergence and divergence are volumous: synsets work wonders with allonyms, tautology yields poor results. Stylistic devices are highly beneficial: zeugma, oxymoron, periphrases.

Hindering and fostering factors SMEs performance in the Western Province of Sri Lanka

It is very significant to understand what factors affect the failure of Small and Medium Scale Industries (SMEs). The study is to empirically identify factors effecting on SMEs for the success and it’s an exploratory using a sample form Western province in Sri Lanka. To study the failure factors of SMEs in Western province in Sri Lanka., forty six (46) samples were selected through systematic random sampling throughout the year of 2010 to 2016. A questionnaire is used for collecting primary data for this study and it includes five point of Likert scale questions. Researcher gives more weight to failed ventures because this research main objective is find out factors affecting the rate of failure of small business enterprises. Reliability of dimensions is test using with the support of Cronbach’s Alpha Value. Validity of dimensions is test using convergent validity using KMO values. The results of the study revealed that out of eight factors affecting to failure such as Owner manager’s attitude, Financial Issues, Raw material availability, Labor Availability, Technology Issues, Entrepreneurial knowledge, Feasibility study and Government Support ; the raw material availability and the government support are the most important factors for the success.

The Impact of Brand Personality and Students’ Self-Concept on Brand Engagement

<p>The objective of this study is to investigate how brand personality and customers’ ‘self’ affects brand engagement. This has become necessary because the focus of most research into brands has often neglected how brand personality and customers’ ‘self’ can be harnessed to achieve brand engagement. This study used Aaker’s brand personality, Keller’s brand engagement, and Sprott et. al. self-concept measurement scales. The research methodology includes the following steps: adaptation of the measurement scales to suit the research context, assessment of reliability and validity of dimensions, and test of goodness-of-fit of model. In all 252 valid responses out of 302 questionnaires distributed were used for the study. The research found that brand personality and customers’ ‘self-concept’ have positive effect on brand engagement. Sincerity has negative relationship with brand engagement and self-concept whiles hedonism has negative relationship with self-concept only. Competence, sophistication and excitement dimensions have significant effects on customers’ self-concept and brand engagement. Sincerity and hedonism also have negative effects on self-concept and brand engagement. Competence, sophistication and excitement can be used as differentiate strategy by Private Universities to deal with the growing competition in Ghana. The findings suggest that Private Universities can differentiate themselves by developing brand personality that is competent and exciting, whereby they can successfully engaged their customers. The authors’ investigations also suggest that self-concept can be measured by splitting Sprott et al measurement scale into two (self-congruence and value-congruence). In the same way, brand engagement can be measured by splitting Keller’s measurement scale into two (identification and ambassador dimensions) for theoretical insight. In addition, hedonism has been identified as a useful measure of brand personality but not clear with faith-based Private Universities’ brand personality. Private Universities’ differentiation strategy should be based on competence, sophistication and excitement.</p>

Hindering and fostering factors SMEs performance in the Western Province of Sri Lanka

It is very significant to understand what factors affect the failure of Small and Medium Scale Industries (SMEs). The study is to empirically identify factors effecting on SMEs for the success and it’s an exploratory using a sample form Western province in Sri Lanka. To study the failure factors of SMEs in Western province in Sri Lanka., forty six (46) samples were selected through systematic random sampling throughout the year of 2010 to 2016. A questionnaire is used for collecting primary data for this study and it includes five point of Likert scale questions. Researcher gives more weight to failed ventures because this research main objective is find out factors affecting the rate of failure of small business enterprises. Reliability of dimensions is test using with the support of Cronbach’s Alpha Value. Validity of dimensions is test using convergent validity using KMO values. The results of the study revealed that out of eight factors affecting to failure such as Owner manager’s attitude, Financial Issues, Raw material availability, Labor Availability, Technology Issues, Entrepreneurial knowledge, Feasibility study and Government Support ; the raw material availability and the government support are the most important factors for the success.

Exploring the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Scale in India: Item Analysis, Factor Structure and Refinement

Researchers have raised concerns regarding the applicability of original New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) scale proposed by Dunlap and Van Liere (1978) and validity of dimensions in the context of cultures other than US where the study was originally carried out. Thus, there is a need to test the applicability of the original NEP scale from the point of view of Indian consumers. In the light of the above, the present study attempts to refine and validate original NEP scale keeping in mind the Indian audience. With this objective, data were collected using self-administered structured questionnaire from 429 office-goers in Delhi and Mumbai. The cities were chosen because of their rank as no. 1 and 3, respectively, among the most polluted metropolitan cities of India. Test of reliability and dimensionality of the original NEP scale was carried out with the help of SPSS 18.0. The data were further subjected to Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). It was found that the original scale lacked unidimensionality. As against the three dimensions of the original NEP scale, four dimensions emerged in the case of Indian consumers. The new dimension has been duly identified and named. Due to heavy cross-loadings, three items from the original NEP scale were dropped, reducing it to be a 9-item scale. The scale developed has been named as Indian New Environmental Paradigm (I-NEP) scale or I-NEP in short. The I-NEP fared better in terms of the psychometric properties in comparison to the original NEP scale. It is expected that the proposed I-NEP scale would help in measuring the environmental attitudes of Indians in a more reliable and efficient manner, resulting in savings in terms of time and cost, too.

Teachers’ perceptions of tolerance in teacher–administrator relationships in Turkey

The concept of tolerance is closely related to education. There has been a growing body of literature on the issue of tolerance in schools, since it directly influences the school climate. This study has investigated teacher perceptions of tolerance in teacher–administrator relationships in state schools in Turkey. A sample of 308 teachers was surveyed. The validity of dimensions of tolerance was established. Teacher perceptions were found to differ according to experience; no significant differences were found regarding participants’ gender and age. A significant difference was found according to whether participants had previously received human rights training and there was a negative relationship between administrator tolerance/administrator intolerance and administrator intolerance/teacher tolerance. The study concluded that there should be a balance in teacher–administrator and teacher–teacher relationships. The suggestion is made that high levels of tolerance may yield intolerance.

Comparing the external validity of the DSM-1V and Two-Factor models of childhood behavior problems

This study of 132 clinic-referred 6to 12-year old boys with behavior problems examined the concurrent external validity of dimensions of the DSM-IV and Two-Factor diagnostic models. Both models used parent responses to the same DSM structured interview, focusing the study on conceptual differences between the models. Age at evaluation accounted for major variation and was held constant in all analyses. Both models, in both twoand three-dimension versions, had considerable external validity. The Two-Factor inattention-overactivity (10) dimension predicted more external variables than the DSM-IV inattention (IN) dimension. DSM oppositional/conduct (OD/CD) accounted for some variation that is usually misattributed to DSM-IV hyperactivity-impulsivity (HI). In hierarchical analyses, the 10 and AG dimensions of the Two-Factor model predicted more variation in more dependent variables than did the IN and HI dimensions of the DSM model of ADHD. However, when the often-ignored third dimension (OD/CD) was included, the complete three-dimension DSM-IV model accounted for more variation in more dependent variables than did the Two-Factor model. When the excluded third dimension (HI) was added to the Two-Factor model, the two three-dimension models were essentially equal in external validity.

Psychometric and edumetric validity of dimensions of geomorphological knowledge which are tapped by concept mapping

The validity of several dimensions of knowledge which were inferred from concept maps was assessed for its psychometric and edumetric aspects. Data were collected from 14 students who enrolled in the university first-year introductory geomorphology course and in its prerequisite introductory geology course. They took an objective geomorphology test, the tree construction task, and the Standardized Concept Structuring Analysis Technique (SConSAT) version of concept mapping. Comparisons among these dimensions of knowledge before and after the geomorphology course yielded convergent evidence. For the psychometric perspective, the SConSAT version of concept mapping and tree construction had similar knowledge structure representations, and the cognitive map correctness was moderately positively correlated with the objective test but not with the geomorphology course test. For the edumetric perspective, the majority of the dimensions of knowledge structures from the SConSAT showed large improvements following the geomorphology course. This evidence shows that the knowledge structure dimensions have moderate to good construct validity which warrant their widespread use for evaluating learning outcomes in both experimental and classroom settings. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34: 925–947, 1997.

Social impact and social preference as determinants of children's peer group status.

Three sociometric procedures, which utilize a two-dimensional social-impact and social-preference framework, were evaluated on three independent samples of fourthand fifth-grade children (N = 334, 173, 89). The stability and distribution of classification, the relationship between dimensions, the validation of dimensions, and the validation of classificatio n groups were considered. Overall, the Peery (1979) method appeared most problematic, due to both conceptual and practical drawbacks. The Coie, Dodge, and Coppotelli (1982) procedure was found to have nonexhaustive groups and had the potential of misrepresenting children's social networks when standardized scores were used. Furthermore, little support was found for the proposed controversial group in the Coie et al. classification system. An alternative two-dimensional sociometric model based on probability theory was proposed and was found to have excellent performance characteristics while still providing a constant frame of reference across social networks. The social reputational correlates of the impact and preference dimensions and the sociometric groups proposed by each model were also investigated. Although social impact and social preference are found to be reliable and valid determinants of peer group status, the need for alternative indicators of children's social standing in the peer group is discussed. The current empirical interest in children's friendships and peer relations has resulted in the increased use of sociometric classification schemes to categorize children both for nomothetic research and for clinical interventions. The further development of sociometric procedures and their appropriate use are important concerns for developmental and clinical psychologists because of the association between children's peer relations and subse

Dimensions of interpersonal behavior: A convergent validation within a cognitive interactionist framework

In the sphere of interpersonal behavior, R. F. Bales and others have taken the position that the analysis of interpersonal situations best proceeds by way of the dimensions of dominance-submissiveness, friendliness-hostility, and taskorientedness-expressivity. This study offers a convergent validation of those dimensions. On the basis of descriptions of the conceptual content of the Bales dimensions and of the scales of the Jackson Personality Research Form (PRF), predictions were made as to convergence based on the degree of conceptual overlap. Fifty-five members of 4 small groups rated their peers on the three Bales dimensions and also completed the self-report Jackson PRF. As predicted, peer ratings of dominance-submissiveness correlated with dominance and exhibitionism (p < .001), friendliness-hostility with affiliation, nurturance (p < .001) and aggression, and taskorientedness-expressivity with play. The findings represent a substantial convergent validation of the Balesian dimensions. Implications of the dimensional approach for emerging cognitive interactionist models of personality are discussed.

Construct Validation of the Personal and Sociopolitical Dimensions of Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale

The construct validity of two dimensions of the Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale was investigated. Subjects (102 females and 63 males) completed measures of state and trait depression, a political activity inventory, and the locus of control scale. While the sociopolitical cluster of items showed evidence of construct validity, the personal cluster was not construct-validated. The need was stressed for further investigation of the validity of dimensions of locus of control.

Global Self-Rating Validation of the Measurement of Extraversion and Neuroticism

To contribute to the estimation of the validity of Eysenck's major personality dimensions of extraversion and neuroticism, as measured by the newly developed P-E-N inventory (Eysenck and Eysenck, 1972), 122 university students completed the P-E-N as well as global self-ratings of these dimensions. The correlations between the two techniques were 0.61 and 0.67 for extraversion and neuroticism, respectively. Individuals identified by the personality inventory as extravert or introvert also differed significantly in the expected direction on the global self-ratings. This result also obtained for neuroticism. The two dimensions themselves were significantly correlated in the personality inventory, contrary to Eysenck's theory, but not in the global self-ratings. The results, which were in accord with previous work supporting the self-rating validation of these dimensions, extend that work to the most recently developed measures of extraversion and neuroticism.