Application of structural equation model on validity assessment of the evaluation indicator system

This study explored the relationships of senior high school EFL students' motivation, strategy use, and English achievement. The first two attempts of the study were to investigate how well the senior high school EFL students' motivation and strategy use can predict students' English achievement respectively. The third attempt was to explore the causal relationship among senior high school EFL students' motivation, strategy use, and English achievement.Totally 132 senior high EFL school boy students took part in the study. Two questionnaires-Motivation Questionnaire (Chen, 2008; Lai, 2008) and Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL, version 7.0)-were used for data collecting.With SPSS for Windows Version 17.0, data analysis, including item analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), reliability analysis, and validity analysis, was used. Furthermore, Structural equation modeling (SEM) was adopted through second-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in LISREL 8.8 to confirm the causal relationships among senior high school EFL students' motivation, strategy use, and English achievement.The causal relationships between motivation and English achievement and between strategy use and English achievement were both proved. Motivation could account for 39% of the total variance toward English achievement while strategy use could account for 19% of the total variance toward English achievement. Intrinsic Motivation and Utilitarian Purpose took up the most variance toward English achievement, whereas Metacognitive Strategies was the only individual factor contributing to the total variance toward English achievement. The relationship among senior high school EFL students' motivation, strategy use, and English achievement was a full mediating model with a reciprocal relationship between strategy use and English achievement.

This was presented in August 2016 to the EARLI SIG 1 Assessment and Evaluation Summer School in Munich. It provides an introduction to CFA and SEM techniques. It presumes understanding of exploratory factor analysis and multivariate statistical techniques. It extends basic CFA into SEM and multigroup invariance testing. It illustrates procedures and problems that can occur in testing models (e.g., negative error variance, not positive definite covariance matrices) and suggests solutions to overcome these issues. All illustrations are given using AMOS software.

Safety is a major concern in the oil and gas industry due to accidents with the potential for catastrophic consequences. One of these was the Piper Alpha drilling platform disaster in 1988, which resulted in the loss of the Piper Alpha platform and the subsequently 167 lives; the worst disaster in the oil and gas industry. To foster a proactive approach in the prevention of workplace injuries, organisations have turned towards key predictors of safety, such as leadership. However, simply practising leadership behaviours is not enough to improve safety, especially in safety-critical organisations. An inability to move beyond the formal control inherent in traditional bureaucratic mindsets limits the applicability of mainstream leadership theories for safety-critical organisations. To address this challenge, this research study adopts a different paradigm for leadership, one which frames leadership as a complex interactive dynamic from which adaptive outcomes emerge as complexity science. Hence, the aim of this research study was to investigate the direct relationship between leadership behaviours and safety outcomes, and the mediating effect of complexity science principles. To accomplish this, a conceptual model was developed using theoretical foundation built from the literature review. The model comprises three main components: 1) leadership behaviours, 2) five complexity science principles (connectivity, interdependence, feedback, exploration-of-the-space-of-possibilities and co-evolution) and 3) three safety outcomes (safety participation, safety compliance and safety climate). These components were linked by the proposed hypotheses that were established based on assumed theoretical relationships. To assess and validate the conceptual model and test the hypotheses, a series of quantitative approaches were employed. A multivariate statistical approach was utilised for data collection through a questionnaire survey; 173 project managers participated in the survey. These individuals are responsible for emergency commands, as well as the day-to-day management of safety. Principal component analysis/Exploratory factor analysis was performed to identify the factor structures representing each underlying construct. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to validate the results obtained from the exploratory factor analysis, followed by multiple regression analysis. Next, structural equation modelling was applied to test the structural models for hypotheses testing. The regression analyses demonstrated that all three identified leadership behaviours — 1) empowering & engaging, 2) modelling & reinforcing, and 3) promoting & enabling — directly influenced the level of safety participation and safety compliance. Additionally, all five principles of complexity science mediated the relationship between empowering & engaging leadership behaviour, and safety participation and safety compliance. As for the hypothesised relationship between modelling & reinforcing leadership behaviour and safety outcomes, apart from the co-evolution principle, all other complexity science principles arbitrated the relationship with safety participation and safety compliance. Furthermore, the relationships between promoting & enabling leadership behaviour, and safety participation and safety compliance were mediated by all five principles of complexity science. Finally, structural equation modelling was used to refine and confirm the findings of the regression analysis, verifying both empowering & engaging, and promoting & enabling leadership behaviours have direct and indirect influences on safety participation and safety compliance levels as a result of all five complexity science principles. And established that modelling & reinforcing leadership behaviour has direct and indirect effects on safety participation and safety compliance levels under the influence of only four complexity science principles — namely, connectivity, interdependence, feedback and exploration-of-the-space-of-possibilities. On the basis of the research results, this study provides insight into the understanding of safety leadership by the empirical evidence that displayed the relationships between the three leadership behaviour constructs and their contribution to the effect of complexity science principles and safety outcomes within the oil and gas industry. From these results, the study provides a list of recommendations for research on the effect of leadership behaviours on complexity science principles and safety outcomes.

Purpose This study aims to find evidence of a possible relationship between three constructs that are generally investigated separately: entrepreneurial orientation, understood as entrepreneurship on the organizational level; marketing capability, seen as a highly competitive factor for the organization; and business performance, highlighted as a focus of the entire organization. Design/methodology/approach A survey-based quantitative approach was adopted with a cross-sectional temporal perspective. To arrive at results that can be compared, the study uses factor analysis and structural equations modeling techniques, with estimations of maximum likelihood for testing the quality of fit of the measures to the structural models, using SPSS 21 and AMOS 16 software. Data were collected at the 27th EXPOSUPER, which is a trade fair at which 35,000 visitors were present. The data collection instrument used is a questionnaire previously validated by Reis Neto et al. (2013a). The first section covers control variables chosen to profile the firms, the second contains entrepreneurial orientation variables, the third comprises marketing capability variables and the fourth section contains business performance variables, all using seven-point Likert response scales. Findings Tests of the entrepreneurial orientation measurement scale produced interesting results in this application within the retail supermarket industry. The results of exploratory factor analysis indicated that a scale with three dimensions was significant. The relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and marketing capability (H1) is positive, through the intermediate dimensions of innovation, proactiveness and risk-taking, used by firms’ management, contributing to their efforts to research and manage the market, to develop products and services and to offer better prices. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis showed that four of the scale’s dimensions of the marketing capability were significant: market research, market management, new product development and pricing. Comparison of these results with those of Reis Neto et al. (2013a) reveals a difference, as although their result, achieved using structural equations modeling, also had four factors; the promotion dimension was the most significant and absorbed the other variables. Despite these differences, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equations modeling demonstrated that this construct met the minimum conditions for adequacy, where (H2), formulated to test the relationship between the marketing capability construct, was confirmed. The final construct analyzed in this study was business performance, initially suggested by González-Benito et al. (2009), and also used by Reis Neto et al. (2013a). They used the dimensions profitability, market value and market response, and in the present study, after exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equations modeling, the results were identical to those authors results, in that (H3), formulated with the objective of testing the relationship between the entrepreneurial orientation construct and business performance, was confirmed, and although this was not the most robust of the relationships postulated in the three hypotheses, but was of lower significance. Research limitations/implications Although this study has achieved its objective, one of the study’s limitations relates to the data collection instrument, which was subject to failures in terms of the number of variables to be analyzed in each dimension. This led to elimination of certain dimensions during the analyses. Another limitation is related to the method used in the study. When questionnaires are used as data collection instruments, respondents often may not understand the true meaning of questions, which could lead them to choose any option, thereby stripping the results of credibility. In view of this limitation, it is suggested that future researchers conduct qualitative studies, using the case study method, which could offer greater clarity and increase understanding of the results related to these subjects. Even considering that this study has certain limitations and restrictions affecting generalization, it is hoped that it raises new questions, interests and inspirations, improving and complementing understanding of this strong social and economic sector. Originality/value It is identify the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and marketing capability, since to date there is no evidence from studies confirming the existence of such a relationship. This statement was based on the results of a bibliographic survey conducted using the ProKnow-C, knowledge development process-constructivist methodology, in which, this originality was positive and significant, offering new studies from this point of view.

Although there have been some studies on the success factors for IT software projects, there is still a lack of coherent research on the success factors for IT service projects. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and understand the factors and their relationships that contribute to the success of IT service projects. For this purpose, multivariate regressions and structural equation models (SEMs) were developed and analyzed. The regression models included six project management success criteria used as dependent variables (quality of the delivered product, scope realization and requirements, timeliness of delivery, delivery within budget, customer satisfaction, and provider satisfaction) and four independent variables (agile techniques and change management, organization and people, stakeholders and risk analysis, work environment), which had been identified through exploratory factor analysis. The results showed that not all success factors were relevant to all success criteria, and there were differences in their importance. An additional series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses along with appropriate statistical measures were employed to evaluate the quality of these four factors. The SEM approach was based on five latent constructs with a total of twenty components. The study suggests that investing in improving people’s knowledge and skills, using agile methodologies, creating a supportive work environment, and involving stakeholders in regular risk analysis are important for project management success. The results also suggest that the success factors for IT service projects depend on both traditional and agile approaches. The study extensively compared its findings with similar research and discussed common issues and differences in both the model structures and methodologies applied. The investigation utilized mathematical methods and techniques that are not commonly applied in the field of project management success modeling. The comprehensive methodology that was applied may be helpful to other researchers who are interested in this topic.

Organizational commitment is an attitude. It is a mental state, which indicates a desire, need and obligation to continue employment in an organization. Interests and desires of the heart 's desire to continue to serve the organization and the individual's need for investment in the organization, and have continued to serve in it, and the religious obligation, responsibility or duty that the person is the finds himself obliged to stay another vision, commitment and a sense of belonging and attachment to the organization. The current study aimed to determine the relationship of eight intelligence and organizational commitment among employees of Azad university Kermanshah region, to conduct research, 256 people, the staff, simple random sampling, selection and testing of the eight intelligences Gardner Allen test organizational commitment and Meyer will run on it. After data collection, the research hypotheses using SPSS21 software and Amos21 assessed and evaluated. For the reliability study, Alfa Cronbach coefficient for the validity of face validity and construct validity using factor analysis were used. Pearson correlation methods, and analysis of variance for testing hypotheses, regression techniques and structural equation model was used for evaluation. The results show that, between the two variables (multiple intelligences and levels of employee engagement), there is a significant relationship. The relationship with the 0.19 level at least 0.95 is acceptable. Results of structural equation models and measurements show that the fit is appropriate. The theoretical model developed in the exogenous variables and the latent variables, such as multiple intelligences, as exogenous variables and organizational commitment variables as endogenous latent variables were defined. The chi-square as a bad indicator fitted with 82.147 was calculated.(RMSEA), equal to 0.060, goodness of fit index (CFI) against 0.981, and adjusted goodness of fit index (PCFI) versus 0.678, we can conclude that, when data were largely modeled measuring the structural supports.

The structure of mentors' behaviour in clinical nursing education: Confirmatory factor analysis

BackgroundGait impairment is a risk factor for falls in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Gait can be conveniently assessed by electronic walkways, but there is need to select which spatiotemporal gait variables are useful for assessing gait in PD. Existing models for gait variables developed in healthy subjects and patients with PD show some methodological shortcomings in their validation through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and were never confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The aims of this study were (1) to create a new model of gait for PD through EFA, (2) to analyze the factorial structure of our new model and compare it with existing models through CFA.ResultsFrom the 37 variables initially considered in 250 patients with PD, 10 did not show good-to-excellent reliability and were eliminated, while further 19 were eliminated after correlation matrix and Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure. The remaining eight variables underwent EFA and three factors emerged: pace/rhythm, variability, and asymmetry. Structural validity of our new model was then examined with CFA, using the structural equation modeling. After some modifications, suggested by the Modification Indices, we obtained a final model that showed an excellent fit. In contrast, when the structure of previous models of gait was analyzed, no model achieved convergence with our sample of patients.ConclusionsOur model for spatiotemporal gait variables of patients with PD is the first to be developed through an accurate EFA and confirmed by CFA. It contains eight gait variables divided into three factors and shows an excellent fit. Reasons for the non-convergence of other models could be their inclusion of highly inter-correlated or low-reliability variables or could be possibly due to the fact that they did not use more recent methods for determining the number of factors to extract.

Objective To structure one equation model on the relationship of the psychological stress re-sponse and its influential factors of inpatients. Methods This cross-sectional designed study used a stratified-ran-dom-clnster method to recruit 754 inpatients, who were asked to fill out a series of questionnaires assessing hospital stressor, social support, personality, coping style, serf-efficacy, and stressful mental response. Statistic description,analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlations, multiple linear regressions, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation model analysis (SEM) were conducted using SPSS 13.0 and LISREL8.70. Results The final model showed good fit index(χ /df = 3.24, CFI, IFI, GFI above 0.90, RMSEA = 0. 056 ). Factors included in the SEM were social support, neuroticism, extraversion, avoidance, resignation, self-efficacy, course of disease and economic status. Self-efficacy significantly impacted mental status;hospital stress can influence patients'mental status direct-ly and indirectly. Conclusion The psychological health status of inpatients can be improved by enhancing posi-tive mediate factors such as self-efficacy and reducing such negative factors as avoidance coping style and disease duration and so on. Key words: Psychological stress; Meditate factors; Self-efficacy; Structural equation model

<p>Job satisfaction of early-career employees has a significant effect on employee work behavior and work attitude. This study investigated the influence factors of job satisfaction and its relationship with turnover intention. Early-career employees were selected as the research subject. Questionnaires were distributed and the stratified random sampling method was used to analyze the 418 samples collected. The dimensions of job satisfaction were analyzed by exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, and a structural equation model was constructed to discuss the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention. First, for early-career employees, job satisfaction as a higher order factor consists of 6 first-order factors; personal growth’s influence on job satisfaction is the greatest, with a path coefficient reaching .918. Next come salary and welfare, work itself, interpersonal relationships and leader behavior. Additionally, job competency has a minimal effect on job satisfaction; its path coefficient is only .214. Second, job satisfaction has a significantly negative effect on turnover intention, indicating that the job satisfaction structure of early-career employees has its unique characteristics because they focus more on personal growth and development space. Through improving job satisfaction, turnover behavior of early-career employees can be effectively controlled.</p>

Neural Topologies of Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory: A Latent Variable Approach to Magnetic Resonance Imaging Data.

In order to improve the level of civil aviation cabin safety management and achieve a comprehensive and rapid assessment of cabin safety, this study is based on a sample of 359 valid cabin unsafe events by the Civil Aviation Administration of China from 2006 to 2019. Systems engineering theory of the three elements of "human-machine- environment" as the basis . Processing the data from the questionnaire survey by using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and combining with the results of interviews with experts in related fields . 14 secondary indicators and 30 tertiary indicators were selected to evaluate cabin safety from the four aspects of personnel, environment, management and loading. In order to ensure the correctness and reliability of the cabin safety assessment index system, quantify its path coefficients and determine its degree of influence, based on the established assessment index system, construct a structural equation model (SEM) and The AMOS software is used to perform a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the relationship between cabin safety assessment indicators.Finally, the concept of establishing a cabin safety assessment system was proposed, and two sets of assessment methods and assessments including comprehensive (including 17 secondary indicators and 40 tertiary indicators) and quick (including 14 secondary indicators and 30 tertiary indicators) were provided Specific method.

The purpose of the present study was to provide a causal model of digital leadership factors in the formation of an innovative organizational culture in the universities of Mazandaran Province. The research method was applied in terms of purpose and descriptive–survey in nature. The statistical population included all employees of Islamic Azad University branches in the cities of Sari, Babol, Tonekabon, Chalous, Neka, and Behshahr in Mazandaran Province (1,030 individuals). The sampling method was proportional cluster random sampling based on university units, and the sample size was determined to be 280 individuals using Cochran’s formula. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data for the two variables of digital leadership and innovative organizational culture. The face, content, and construct validity of the instrument were examined and confirmed by academic supervisors, advisors, and subject-matter experts. In descriptive statistics, the mean, standard deviation, frequency distribution tables, and charts were presented for each variable, and this process was performed using SPSS software. In inferential statistics, the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test was used to examine the normality of data distribution, and to address the research questions, single-sample and independent t-tests, correlation coefficients, exploratory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling (including exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis) were employed. In the inferential section, the research hypotheses were tested using SPSS as well as AMOS. The results obtained from AMOS software were interpreted using the structural equation modeling approach. Path analysis results indicated that digital leadership has a positive, direct, and significant effect on innovative organizational culture.

BackgroundThe Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) is a tool that helps in the assessment of the readiness of the students to pursue Self-Directed Learning (SDL). There are no documented studies on the validation of internal structure of the SDLRS among Indian medical students. Hence, the objective of this study is to validate the internal structure of SDLRS among Indian medical students using factor analysis and the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach.MethodsWe administered Fisher’s 40-item SDLRS to 750 students after receiving the ethics clearance and the author’s permission and taking written informed consent from all the study participants (response rate: 92%). The exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and Cronbach’s alpha were performed using SPSS version 25 and the Lavaan package of R version 3.1.2.ResultsThe values of the comparative fit index (CFI), standardised root-mean-square residual (SRMR), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) were ≥ 0.9, ≤ 0.08, and ≤ 0.08, respectively, for a model fit to be acceptable. EFA showed that except for Q2 (loading score: 0.210), Q12 (loading score: 0.384), Q13 (loading score: 0.362), and Q25 (loading score: -0.219), all the items loaded well. After the exclusion of the aforementioned items, the factor loading scores for the items in the self-management, desire for learning, and self-control factors ranged from 0.405 to 0.753 (Cronbach α: 0.775), 0.396 to 0.616 (Cronbach α: 0.730), and 0.427 to 0.556 (Cronbach α: 0.799), respectively. The updated model was used for CFA, which displayed a good model fit.ConclusionsThe resultant model consisting of 36 items is shown to have internal structure validity for Indian version of SDLRS, which can be used to assess medical students.

Digital competences represent essential skills for adapting to 21st-century conditions; encompassing the safe and critical use of information society technologies for work, daily life, and communication. Determining the digital competence levels of individuals is crucial to guide interventions aimed at enhancing these competences. This study presents the development process of a Digital Competence Scale for Faculty Members (DCS-FM), designed specifically to assess the digital competence levels of higher education instructors. The data collection process took place during the 2020–2021 academic year among faculty members working at ... University in ... province of Türkiye. Researchers collected the data themselves to ensure consistency and reliability throughout the process. As part of the validity studies, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted, yielding a six-factor structure. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the six-factor structure demonstrated good model fit indices. In the process of developing the scale and conducting validity and reliability studies, data were collected from a total of 740 unique faculty members. The scale development process involved two pilot applications and one main application, with exploratory factor, confirmatory factor, and item analyses conducted throughout. Confirmatory factor analysis of the collected data yielded a 30-item scale encompassing six factors. These factors align with the European Framework for Digital Competence of Educators (known as ‘DigCompEdu’) developed by the European Commission Joint Research Centre. Based on the validity and reliability analysis results and findings, it can be concluded that the scale possesses the sufficient psychometric properties sought in the literature.