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Little is known about physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) among nursing home residents although PA is known as a health promoter. This study examined PA, SB, and their predictors among nursing home residents (n = 63). Dependent variables were accelerometry-based PA and SB. Predictor variables included in a path analysis were age, sex, body mass index, Barthel Index, cognitive status (Mini-Mental State Examination), physical performance (hand grip strength and habitual walking speed), and well-being (World Health Organization-5 well-being index). PA was very low (M steps per day = 2,433) and SB was high (M percentage of sedentary time = 89.4%). PA was significantly predicted by age (β = −0.27, p =.008), body mass index (β = −0.29, p =.002), Barthel Index (β = 0.24, p =.040), and hand grip strength (β = 0.30, p =.048). SB was significantly predicted by body mass index (β = 0.27, p =.008) and Barthel Index (β = −0.30, p =.012). Results might be helpful for everyday practice to identify individuals at high risk for low PA and high SB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depression is one of the most common disorders worldwide, including in Mexico. Engagement coping and optimism promote mental health, so understanding the mediation of optimism between coping strategies with depression helps to identify the psychological resources that young people can use to mitigate depression. This study aims to test the direct and indirect effects of four coping strategies through three optimism factors on affective depression in a mediator path model in young people. In a cross-sectional study, 848 young Mexican people completed the evaluation instruments of the Trait Depression Inventory, Mexican Optimism Scale (MOS), and Coping Strategies (CSI-SF). Moderate mediation analysis was performed. Optimism and coping strategies significantly predict depression. Furthermore, optimism mediated the association between problem-focused engagement coping and depressive symptoms. Problem- and emotion-focused coping and optimism protect young people from depression. Likewise, young people with greater optimism use problem-focused engagement coping, which reduces depressive symptoms. Psychosocial interventions that promote positive outlook, affective resources, and hope combined with engagement coping strategies are suggested for the management of depression.

AbstractIn complex social-technical systems, human teams are required to handle automation errors to maintain system performance. This study developed two path models that connected the team process variables with the automation error management process, based on data collected from a previous experiment. The models show that trust has negative effects on most of the management activities. Team situation awareness could facilitate the whole process by supporting information selecting activity during the analysis and planning stage. Better teamwork could assist the stages of error detection and analysis and planning. Teams with more balanced decision making and workload would find it easier to understand and handle an automation error. The results also reveal that forming an interpretation of the error is helpful but not a necessity for error management. Path models developed in this study provide a technical basis for better team processes in the face of automation error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agendas of sustainable development, in the truest sense, seek pathways for equal and justified betterment for humans of all sects, benefitting every nook and corner of the territory. While public health is an indicator of social and economic well-being and contributes directly to sustainable development, public health services are utterly limited and rapidly heterogeneous, specifically across the rural part of India. Because the health condition of the rural population, specifically the economically weaker rural residences, is dependent largely on subsidised public health services, a gap in such services will inherently link it to producing unhealthy populations and increasing the burden of diseases, leading to a range of social and economic inequalities. This study employs the primary data collected from 173 neighbourhoods selected throughout the district of Purulia in West Bengal. Secondary datasets are also utilised. Selected thirteen predictor variables as indicators of certain parameters act as the determinants of public health are finalized. A combination of one indicator each from incidence-based, prevalence-based, and public-opinion-based measurement constructs the response variable. Randomly generated two sets of data are used to generate two separate PLS (Partial Least Square) Path Models. The SRMR (Standardized Root Mean Squared Residual) values of each of the two models confirm the goodness of fit of each model; the identical nature of the same model based on two parallel datasets assures the consistency of the PLS-Path model in mapping public health studies. The PLS-Path model successfully identifies the crucial actors of public health that are specific to locations throughout the district and that policymakers may take care of while framing strategies for mitigating public health inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to promote the creative transformation and innovative development of Chinese excellent traditional culture, based on the perspective of collective memory theory and taking Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County of Guangxi as a case, this study obtains the first-hand interview text through field research, and crawls the online travel notes about Dong's wood construction skills, and sorts out the effective original data of 152,800 words. The grounded theory is used to encode the data at three levels, and 609 reference points, 53 initial concepts and 14 initial categories are established, which are finally summarized into 4 main categories. This research finds that the integration of culture and tourism path of Dong's wooden construction skills can be summarized as the production, interaction, consumption, coding and transmission process of the subject, object, support and media of memory in the tourism symbol system. Based on this, the theoretical model is constructed. This paper explains the model through analyzing the integration of culture and tourism practice of Dong's wooden construction skills in Sanjiang and puts forward suggestions for path improvement from four aspects according to the coupling between them, aiming to realize the living inheritance and innovative development of Dong's wooden construction skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Border officers experience stressful moments during the working day at the border point at Lisbon airport (Portugal) that can lead to "emotional exhaustion," which is the core component of burnout, and relates with "cognitive fatigue (weariness)" and "physical fatigue." These theoretical concepts cannot be measured (or observed) directly by what are considered latent variables/constructs that are available in Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure (SMBM). These constructs are, however, operationalized by the questions available in the SMBM, which correspond to observed variables (or manifest variables) expressed in an ordinal scale of seven categories. This questionnaire, reliable and internationally validated, was used in our research and considering the specialized literature, we proposed a hypothetical structural path model that expresses a priori perceptions about the causal relationships between the mentioned latent constructs, where "physical fatigue" is the target construct. A reflective model was estimated based on the sample of primary data and using a Variance-Covariance estimator of Structural Equations Modeling (VB-SEM), the consistent Partial Least Squares (PLSc), that corrects for bias to consistently estimate SEM's with common factors. The results obtained allow a better understanding of the profile and characteristics of Portuguese border officers who work at Lisbon airport, as well as reveal that the latent exogenous construct "emotional exhaustion" has a high positive direct effect on the "cognitive fatigue," and through this latter (mediator construct), an indirect effect on the endogenous construct "physical fatigue." In turn, "cognitive fatigue" has the greatest positive direct effect on "physical fatigue." The biggest difference identified was between the direct effect of "Emotional exhaustion" on "Physical fatigue," which is higher for workers with more years of service, as expected. However, the multigroup analysis (using the nonparametric Permutation test) showed that this difference was not statistically significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The typical state empathy research used perspective-taking instructions and examined the effect of instructions on empathy-related variables. Empathy-arousing processes were generally not measured. The effect of perspective-taking instructions has been questioned recently. Observers could imagine targets’ feelings without such instructions. This study evoked empathy in Japanese undergraduates (N = 157) without instructional procedure, and based on participants’ responses to questionnaires, measured individual differences between antecedent, process, and intrapersonal outcome variables of state empathy, referring to the organizational model and theories of empathy-arousing processes. The purpose of this study was to measure these variables, examine the causal relationship between them using path analysis, and clarify how empathy occurs. In this way, we could suggest through which processes and antecedent factors intrapersonal empathic outcomes are produced. It is probably the first attempt to clarify how empathy occurs using a social psychological study framework and questionnaire method. This research was originally conducted in 2011 based on two similar studies not published internationally, when only some of the variables were used in our analyses. Afterwards, we constructed another analysis method, reanalyzed the data in 2019 and further reanalyzed in 2023 to obtain the final version of the results. Limitations and scientific and practical implications were discussed.

In this study, the broadband ground motions of the 2021 M7.4 Maduo earthquake were simulated to overcome the scarcity of ground motion recordings and the low resolution of macroseismic intensity map in sparsely populated high-altitude regions. The simulation was conducted with a hybrid methodology, combining a stochastic high-frequency simulation with a low-frequency ground motion simulation, from the regional 1-D velocity structure model and the Wang WM et al. (2022) source rupture model, respectively. We found that the three-component waveforms simulated for specific stations matched the waveforms recorded at those stations, in terms of amplitude, duration, and frequency content. The validation results demonstrate the ability of the hybrid simulation method to reproduce the main characteristics of the observed ground motions for the 2021 Maduo earthquake over a broad frequency range. Our simulations suggest that the official map of macroseismic intensity tends to overestimate shaking by one intensity unit. Comparisons of simulations with empirical ground motion models indicate generally good consistency between the simulated and empirically predicted intensity measures. The high-frequency components of ground motions were found to be more prominent, while the low-frequency components were not, which is unexpected for large earthquakes. Our simulations provide valuable insight into the effects of source complexity on the level and variability of the resulting ground motions. The acceleration and velocity time histories and corresponding response spectra were provided for selected representative sites where no records were available. The simulated results have important implications for evaluating the performance of engineering structures in the epicentral regions of this earthquake and for estimating seismic hazards in the Tibetan regions where no strong ground motion records are available for large earthquakes.

Many youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience co-occurring conditions, such as gastrointestinal (GI) problems and internalizing symptoms. However, the relationship among these co-occurring problems is not well-understood. We analyzed parent reports of GI problems and internalizing symptoms of 621 youth with ASD using path models in a structural equation modeling framework. The best-fitting model was a bidirectional model wherein internalizing symptoms, including withdrawn and anxious behavior, were correlated with GI problems, including constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and stomach pain. This study provides a better understanding of the relationship among co-occurring conditions in youth with ASD and should encourage clinicians to consider treatment of underlying internalizing symptoms or GI problems when providing services for individuals with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Snow cover has significantly changed due to global warming in recent decades, causing large changes in the vegetation ecosystem. However, the impact of snow cover changes on the spring phenology of different vegetation types in Northeast China remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the response of the start of the growing season (SOS) to different snow cover indicators using partial correlation analysis and stepwise regression analysis in Northeast China from 1982 to 2015 based on multiple remote sensing datasets. Furthermore, we revealed the underlying mechanisms using a structural equation model. The results show that decreased snow cover days (SCD) and an advanced snow cover end date (SCED) led to an advanced SOS in forests. Conversely, an increased SCD and a delayed SCED led to an advanced SOS in grasslands. The trends of SCD and SCED did not exhibit significant changes in rainfed cropland. The maximum snow water equivalent (SWEmax) increased in most areas. However, the proportion of the correlation between SWEmax and SOS was small. The impact of snow cover changes on the SOS varied across different vegetation types. Snow cover indicators mainly exhibited positive correlations with the SOS of forests, including deciduous broadleaf forests and deciduous coniferous forests, with positive and negative correlations of 18.61% and 2.58%, respectively. However, snow cover indicators mainly exhibited negative correlations in the SOS of grasslands and rainfed croplands, exhibiting positive and negative correlations of 4.87% and 13.06%, respectively. Snow cover impacted the SOS through the "temperature effect" in deciduous broadleaf forests, deciduous coniferous forests, and rainfed croplands, while it affected SOS through the "moisture effect" in grasslands. These results provide an enhanced understanding of the differences in snow cover changes affecting SOS in different vegetation types under climate change in Northeast China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The typical state empathy research used perspective-taking instructions and examined the effect of instructions on empathy-related variables. Empathy-arousing processes were generally not measured. The effect of perspective-taking instructions has been questioned recently. Observers could imagine targets' feelings without such instructions. This study evoked empathy in Japanese undergraduates (N = 157) without instructional procedure, and based on participants' responses to questionnaires, measured individual differences between antecedent, process, and intrapersonal outcome variables of state empathy, referring to the organizational model and theories of empathy-arousing processes. The purpose of this study was to measure these variables, examine the causal relationship between them using path analysis, and clarify how empathy occurs. In this way, we could suggest through which processes and antecedent factors intrapersonal empathic outcomes are produced. It is probably the first attempt to clarify how empathy occurs using a social psychological study framework and questionnaire method. This research was originally conducted in 2011 based on two similar studies not published internationally, when only some of the variables were used in our analyses. Afterwards, we constructed another analysis method, reanalyzed the data in 2019 and further reanalyzed in 2023 to obtain the final version of the results. Limitations and scientific and practical implications were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Insecure attachment is considered a general risk factor for eating disorders (ED). Emotion dysregulation has been proposed as one of the possible mechanisms by which attachment insecurity may affect ED psychopathology. Aim of the present study was to investigate whether difficulties in acceptance of emotions or emotional clarity may mediate the connection between insecure attachment and ED psychopathology. Method: One hundred and twenty patients participated and completed the Italian version of Eating Disorder Inventory‐2, Experience in Close Relationship questionnaire and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. A mediator path model was performed, in which insecure attachment dimensions were set as independent variables, ED specific psychopathology measures as dependent variables, and non‐acceptance of emotion and lack of emotional clarity as mediators. Results: The association between both attachment avoidance and anxiety and ED specific symptoms was mediated by emotional non‐acceptance, but not by emotional clarity. Conclusions: This study showed the importance to address emotion regulation in individuals with ED, focussing on improving emotional acceptance. Exploring early developmental processes which lead to non‐acceptance of emotions could improve this psychological trait in people with ED. Key points: Insecure attachment is considered a general risk factor for ED.Insecure attachment is associated with ED specific symptoms through emotional non‐acceptance.Emotional clarity does not mediate the association between insecure attachment and ED specific symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of social activity of young people is in the field of research attention of psychology, sociology, law, pedagogy and other sciences. The social activity of young people is an important basis for the dynamic and innovative development of society. Studying the factor structure and the role of socio-psychological characteristics in integral (combined) forms of social activity is an important task of modern social psychology. The aim of the study is to investigate the structure of social activity of young people and, based on a path analysis, to determine the role of civic identity, religiosity, sex, and education in commitment to various (combined) forms of social activity. The study involved 305 people aged M = 21.2; SD = 2.95 (men - 35.4%), 17.4% of the participants were married. A questionnaire aimed at fixing socio-demographic characteristics, civic identity, religiosity, attitudes of social activity, and developed scales aimed at measuring commitment to various types of social activity were used. To assess this commitment, previously developed scales were used. Civil identity was determined using A.N. Tatarko’s scale. Descriptive statistics methods, factorial, correlation, regression and path analyses were also applied. It has been shown that the four-component (civil-political, protest-subcultural, spiritual-educational, leisure) factor model of forms of social activity is acceptable for all the analyzed dimensions. As a result of modeling, a direct relationship between gender and education is established with the manifestations of educational-developing, civil-political and leisure, educational-developing activity respectively. Civil identity is a positive factor in civil-political activity and a negative factor in protest-subcultural activity. At the center of the model is the commitment to spiritual and educational activity, which contributes to the prediction of all the other forms of activity, i.e., civil-political and leisure (directly), and protest-subcultural (indirectly). The facilitating or hindering and mediating role of civic identity, religiosity, gender, and education in commitment to various forms of social activity can be used in organizing social activity of young people as well as in developing “guided” socialization programs.

Numerous studies were carried out to investigate factors influencing students' mathematics achievement. It is, therefore, undeniable that a variety of factors influence how well students learn mathematics. As such, this study aimed to construct a path model on the factors influencing the mathematics achievement of Senior High School students. In particular, this study focuses on five subject components: Junior High School (JHS) math experience, JHS grade point average, attitudes toward mathematics, self-efficacy, and anxiety. The causal relationships and relative strengths of the direct and indirect relationships were explored for the sets of exogenous and endogenous variables using path analysis. The results unveiled an acceptable fit for the path model of the mathematics achievement in Senior High School. It indicated that students' mathematics achievement was influenced directly by JHS math general point average and mathematics anxiety; and indirectly by JHS math experience, attitudes, and self-efficacy. Moreover, the path model revealed that the JHS math grade point average exhibited the strongest influence on students' mathematics achievement. This suggests that a greater emphasis on developing basic mathematics skills and building a solid foundation at the Junior High School level leads to a better comprehension of higher mathematics. Keywords: path analysis, mathematics achievement, path model, Senior High School

Adverse childhood experiences are associated with risky health behaviors and adverse health outcomes worldwide, including substance use; yet, relatively fewer studies have examined linkages between adverse childhood experiences and health behaviors and outcomes in low- and middleincome countries, including countries in sub-Saharan Africa and large portions of Asia. Furthermore, fewer studies of adverse childhood experiences have examined the pathways or processes connecting adverse childhood experiences to health behaviors and outcomes. This study addressed these gaps by investigating three competing models of associations between adverse childhood experiences, psychological well-being, and substance use in 595 Pakistani University students (40.5% female; Meanage = 21.96, Standard deviation = 2.37) using path analysis. Controlling for the effects of age, sex, and socioeconomic status, adverse childhood experiences were associated with both diminished psychological well-being and higher levels of substance use. However, psychological well-being and substance use were unrelated and neither accounted for indirect effects of adverse childhood experiences on adjustment. Suggestions for furthering research on adverse childhood experiences, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, it is argued that quantitative empirical legal research can support understanding public legal awareness of the implementation of human rights protection in Indonesia. The public legal awareness is analyzed using the Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling to provide flexibility for exploring the link of the ideals of human rights law with elements of the legal system as research variables. This research is a literature study on the importance and use of empirical quantitative research methods through the establishment of a path model called Regulatory Status Analysis. The model positions legal ideals (justice, certainty, and expediency) as an independent variable; while the two elements of the legal system: substantive law and legal structure, are mediating variables. Based on the trial run, the path model can picture the relationship between ideal law and legal culture as the dependent variable in the form of public awareness to comply with legal norms that protect human rights. Substantive law also has a positive influence on awareness to obey the law. However, the legal structure has no influence, either directly or indirectly. It might be because respondents consider law enforcement against human rights violations less than optimal. The test result determines what kind of human rights legal system should be developed for national and global legal scholarship.

With the full-scale implementation of facility agriculture, the laying of a water distribution network (WDN) on farmland plays an important role in irrigating crops. Especially in large areas of farmland, with the parameters of moisture sensors, the staff can divide the WDN into several irrigation groups according to the soil moisture conditions in each area and irrigate them in turn, so that irrigation can be carried out quickly and efficiently while meeting the demand for irrigation. However, the efficiency of irrigation is directly related to the pipe length of each irrigation group of the WDN. Obtaining the shortest total length of irrigation groups is a path optimization problem. In this paper, a grouped irrigation path model is designed, and a new greedy adaptive ant colony algorithm (GAACO) is proposed to shorten the total length of irrigation groups. To verify the effectiveness of GAACO, we compare it with simple modified particle swarm optimization (SMPSO), chaos-directed genetic algorithms (CDGA) and self-adaptive ant colony optimization (SACO), which are currently applied to the path problem. The simulation results show that GAACO can effectively shorten the total path of the irrigation group for all cases from 30 to 100 water-demanding nodes and has the fastest convergence speed compared to SMPSO, CDGA and SACO. As a result, GAACO can be applied to the shortest pipeline path problem for irrigation of farmland groups.

In the globalized world, the complicated relationship between macroeconomic variables has resulted in several challenges that have a diversified influence on renewable energy intensity and sustainable development. Accordingly, maintaining a desirable level of renewable energy intensity necessitates comprehensive research into the numerous impacts of its elements and the implementation of proactive strategies to address them. However, studies focusing on assessing the influence of industrialization and trade openness on China's renewable energy intensity are limited. To address this research gap, this study seeks to develop a path model to examine this relationship by accommodating the mediating role of technical innovations and economic development. Empirical results reveal that industrialization positively influences renewable energy intensity, while trade openness negatively affects it. On the flip side, the mediation results demonstrate that technical innovation negatively mediates the linkage between industrialization and renewable energy intensity. In a similar vein, economic development negatively mediates the association between trade openness and renewable energy intensity. Based on empirical findings, essential and valuable policy considerations related to renewable energy intensity and its variables' penalties are put forward while simultaneously improving sustainable development practices. • Investigate the impact of industrialization and trade openness on renewable energy. • Analyzed the mediating role of technical innovations and economic development. • Industrialization positively influences renewable energy intensity. • Trade openness negatively influences it. • Mediating variables also negatively influence this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the land use and vertical patterns of the soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil inorganic carbon (SIC) pools in the subalpine grassland of the Guizhou Plateau with experienced extensive landuse changes. We investigated Unused natural grassland (UG), Buffalo grazing grassland (BG), Mosaic grassland (MG), Shrubland (SL), Afforest land (AL), Secondary forest land (SF) and Cropland (CL) to depict the land use- and depth-related patterns of SOC and SIC in the upper half-meter soils. The results displayed that MG had the highest SOC stocks (16.21 kg m-2), but BG had the lowest SOC stocks (3.62 kg m-2). BG had the highest SIC stock (2.01 kg m-2), but SL had the lowest SIC stock (0.93 kg m-2). SOC stock was more affected by land use and SIC stock was more affected by soil depth. In addition, land use impacted the SOC stock within specific soil chemical ranges, land use indirectly changed the SIC stock via its influence on soil chemical properties. This study provided interesting snapshots on the effects of land use and soil depth on soil physicochemical properties, enzyme activities and SOC and SIC stocks with the regulations of soil factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effects of learner variables on Chinese bilingual undergraduates' intercultural sensitivity and effectiveness. A total of 439 students from different universities answered a battery of questionnaires. Major findings were: (a) the participants reported a moderate to high level of intercultural sensitivity and a moderate level of intercultural effectiveness; (b) no significant gender difference occurred in intercultural sensitivity and effectiveness, except for Interaction Engagement and Respect for Cultural Differences; (c) intercultural sensitivity and effectiveness were significantly positively related to and predicted each other; (d) confidence in learning English, self-efficacy in learning English and English classroom anxiety significantly predicted students' intercultural sensitivity; and (e) English classroom anxiety, English learning motivation, and self-efficacy in learning English significantly predicted students' intercultural effectiveness. Based on these findings, a path model was constructed which explains the relations among affect, intercultural communication sensitivity, effectiveness and competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the attributes related to the software development process (SDP) that affect software reliability (SR). In addition, the impact of management review (MR) on SR during testing period is studied. An interactive path model is developed to examine interrelationships between SDP factors, MR and SR. Partial Least Square is used for examining the consistency of factors within the model and to test predictive validity based on the hypothesis developed for relationships among factors. The survey-based research study is conducted to validate the model by collecting data from software professionals working at different job positions. The statistical results reveal that there is a direct positive influence of SDP factors on SR and MR positively moderates the relation between testing and SR. This means that management's frequent assessment of the testing process, together with better planning and execution of SDP components, improves SR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Snow cover has significantly changed due to global warming in recent decades, causing large changes in the vegetation ecosystem. However, the impact of snow cover changes on the spring phenology of different vegetation types in Northeast China remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the response of the start of the growing season (SOS) to different snow cover indicators using partial correlation analysis and stepwise regression analysis in Northeast China from 1982 to 2015 based on multiple remote sensing datasets. Furthermore, we revealed the underlying mechanisms using a structural equation model. The results show that decreased snow cover days (SCD) and an advanced snow cover end date (SCED) led to an advanced SOS in forests. Conversely, an increased SCD and a delayed SCED led to an advanced SOS in grasslands. The trends of SCD and SCED did not exhibit significant changes in rainfed cropland. The maximum snow water equivalent (SWEmax) increased in most areas. However, the proportion of the correlation between SWEmax and SOS was small. The impact of snow cover changes on the SOS varied across different vegetation types. Snow cover indicators mainly exhibited positive correlations with the SOS of forests, including deciduous broadleaf forests and deciduous coniferous forests, with positive and negative correlations of 18.61% and 2.58%, respectively. However, snow cover indicators mainly exhibited negative correlations in the SOS of grasslands and rainfed croplands, exhibiting positive and negative correlations of 4.87% and 13.06%, respectively. Snow cover impacted the SOS through the “temperature effect” in deciduous broadleaf forests, deciduous coniferous forests, and rainfed croplands, while it affected SOS through the “moisture effect” in grasslands. These results provide an enhanced understanding of the differences in snow cover changes affecting SOS in different vegetation types under climate change in Northeast China.

Contact tracing apps (CTAs) were deployed worldwide in 2020 to combat COVID-19. Due to their low uptake, a growing amount of empirical research is being conducted to understand the factors that drive their adoption. For CTAs to be adopted, users must, first and foremost, find them persuasive. However, there is little research to understand the role user experience (UX) plays in their perceived persuasiveness. Consequently, we conducted an online study on Amazon Mechanical Turk among Canadian and American residents (n = 446) to investigate the most important UX design attributes associated with the perceived persuasiveness of CTAs. The study was based on two app designs (control and persuasive), each of which comprises three use cases: no exposure, exposure, and diagnosis report interfaces. One interface (screenshot) was randomly presented to a participant to view and provide their responses on the perceived UX design attributes and perceived persuasiveness of the interface. In the overall model, we found that perceived usefulness is the most important and consistent UX design attribute that influences perceived persuasiveness (β = 0.29, p < 0.001), followed by perceived trustworthiness (β = 0.24, p < 0.001) and perceived privacy protection (β = 0.16, p < 0.05). Respectively, the three predictors were consistently significant in two-thirds, half, and one-third of the 12 submodels based on app design, adoption status, and country of residence. The relationships regarding the persuasive designs are more likely to be significant, with the variance of the target construct explained by the predictors ranging from 71% to 89% compared with 54% to 69% for the control designs. The three significant attributes will help designers know which UX design attributes to focus on when designing CTAs for future epidemics. More importantly, in predictive modeling, if their ratings are known, they hold potential in predicting new users' responsiveness to multiple persuasive strategies/messages featured in behavior-change support systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The necessity for intelligent welding robots that meet the demand in real industrial production, according to the objectives of Industry 4.0, has been supported owing to the rapid development of computer vision and the use of new technologies. To improve the efficiency in weld location for industrial robots, this work focuses on trajectory extraction based on color features identification on three-dimensional surfaces acquired with a depth-RGB sensor. The system is planned to be used with a low-cost Intel RealSense D435 sensor for the reconstruction of 3D models based on stereo vision and the built-in color sensor to quickly identify the objective trajectory, since the parts to be welded are previously marked with different colors, indicating the locations of the welding trajectories to be followed. This work focuses on 3D color segmentation with which the points of the target trajectory are segmented by color thresholds in HSV color space and a spline cubic interpolation algorithm is implemented to obtain a smooth trajectory. Experimental results have shown that the RMSE error for V-type butt joint path extraction was under 1.1 mm and below 0.6 mm for a straight butt joint; in addition, the system seems to be suitable for welding beads of various shapes.

Schizotypy constitutes a susceptibility to beneficial and deleterious schizotypal traits, ranging from coping mechanisms to schizotypal personality disorder on a psychosis continuum. Growing evidence indicates a relationship between childhood adversity and trauma and schizotypy. However, the exact influence of childhood adversity and trauma on schizotypy and its relation to sex is not sufficiently understood. Therefore, we investigated sex-adjusted connections between childhood adversity and trauma subdomains (emotional/physical/sexual abuse, emotional/physical neglect) and positive (magical ideation, perceptual aberration) as well as negative schizotypy (physical/social anhedonia). In total, 240 outpatients of the Early Detection and Intervention Centre of the University Hospital Cologne were assessed with the Trauma and Distress Scale for childhood adversity and trauma and the Wisconsin Schizotypy Scales for schizotypy. Path analyses were performed to investigate sex-adjusted correlations. The well-fitting path model of the total sample linked emotional abuse to magical ideation (p = 0.03; SE = 0.20) and emotional neglect to social anhedonia (p = 0.01; SE = 0.26). In females, physical abuse predicted magical ideation (p = 0.01; SE = 0.33), while emotional neglect forecasted physical anhedonia (p = 0.03; SE = 0.34) and social anhedonia (p = 0.03; SE = 0.32). In males, sexual abuse predicted perceptive aberration (p = 0.04; SE = 0.19) and emotional abuse forecasted magical ideation (p = 0.03; SE = 0.27). Overall, the significance of sex-specific interrelations between trauma and schizotypy were highlighted. Magical ideation and perceptive aberration occurred prominently in the absence of negative and disorganized schizotypy, thus positive schizotypy could be discussed as a beneficial expression of coping with emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Furthermore, emotional neglect should be addressed particularly to prevent deleterious negative schizotypy in females. Trial registration number (20-1243), date of registration (May 19th 2020), retrospectively registered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mileage of high-speed rail (HSR) is expected to grow in the foreseeable future. Fierce international competition and HSR business uniqueness have facilitated the broad application of international joint ventures (IJVs) globally. However, the interaction between competition and cooperation complicates IJVs, and IJVs partners' implementation has rarely been informed concerning the fluent operation of IJVs for HSR projects. This study aims to examine the determinants of IJVs coopetition for HSR projects. We identified 35 variables along with their clusters through literature review and pilot study, and collected data from the international HSR industry using a questionnaire survey. Eight clusters verified by the confirmatory factor analysis come from three levels: macro-level, project-level, and firm-level. Based on the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), a path model for the coopetition relationship has been established, demonstrating that macro-level and project-level determinants affect the coopetition relationship via the firm-level determinants. Furthermore, the path model indicates recommendations corresponding to various situations (isolating situation, partnering situation, contending situation, and adapting situation) for IJVs members to find a way to improve the coopetition relationship. Thus, this study not only contributes to the existing knowledge body on coopetition theory, but also enhances HSR contractors' comprehension of the coopetition relationship determinants as well as the interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to investigate the mediation of social support in the association between school bullying and suicidal risk among a large group of Chinese children and adolescents.Method: In this two-wave cross-sectional study, we analyzed 6,063 children and adolescents from southwest China. A two-stage simple random clustering sampling method with probability proportionate to sample size design had been used to select study subjects. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression models were adopted to determine the inter-associations between school bullying, suicidal risk indicators, and social support. Path models were further fitted to estimate the mediation of social support.Results: Compared with students who were not involved in school bullying, only victimization was associated with increased suicidal risk, the adjusted ORs for suicidal ideation, suicidal plan, and suicidal attempt were 2.06 (95% CI: 1.61-2.65), 2.07 (95% CI: 1.62-2.64), and 2.41 (95% CI: 1.90-3.05), respectively. Path model indicated that parental social support significantly mediated the association between bullying victimization and suicidal risk. For different types of victimization, only relational bullying victimization was associated with increased suicidal risk, social support from classmates and close friends presented as significant mediators.Limitations: Causal inference cannot be made because of cross-sectional study design. Information was collected by using self-reporting method, the possibility of information bias exists. Generalization of study results could be limited.Conclusions: Intervention measures on improving parental and peer social support may be effective in reducing school bullying victimization associated suicidal risk for Chinese children and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to Global Co-working Growth Study 2020 (Coworking resources, 2020), the numbers of co-working spaces are growing. However, gaining new customers still is challenging, referring to the DeskMag’s report (Kowrk Blog, 2017). From a practical standpoint, this is problematic. This research assumes that if current customers intend to recommend co-working space to new customers, the problem would become less problematic. However, there is no theoretical model that could explain the phenomenon of interest from previous researches. This is a problem from a theoretical standpoint. Therefore, a model, as such, is needed. Thus, this paper develops a conceptual model that could explain what factors drive intention to recommend. The model includes antecedents, overall satisfaction, and intention to recommend. Four statistical analyses were required to analyse the proposed model. Regression analysis was used to test all the relationships, all supported. This becomes a new model that could explain the phenomenon of interest. Then, path analysis was conducted to calculated direct, indirect, and total effects of paths leading to intention to recommend. Then, testing of the indirect effects were carried out to test the effects of antecedents on intention to recommend, all significant. Finally, the total effects were, then, ranked.

According to Global Co-working Growth Study 2020 (Coworking resources, 2020), the numbers of co-working spaces are growing. However, gaining new customers still is challenging, referring to the DeskMag’s report (Kowrk Blog, 2017). From a practical standpoint, this is problematic. This research assumes that if current customers intend to recommend co-working space to new customers, the problem would become less problematic. However, there is no theoretical model that could explain the phenomenon of interest from previous researches. This is a problem from a theoretical standpoint. Therefore, a model, as such, is needed. Thus, this paper develops a conceptual model that could explain what factors drive intention to recommend. The model includes antecedents, overall satisfaction, and intention to recommend. Four statistical analyses were required to analyse the proposed model. Regression analysis was used to test all the relationships, all supported. This becomes a new model that could explain the phenomenon of interest. Then, path analysis was conducted to calculated direct, indirect, and total effects of paths leading to intention to recommend. Then, testing of the indirect effects were carried out to test the effects of antecedents on intention to recommend, all significant. Finally, the total effects were, then, ranked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Alexithymia is common among people who abuse alcohol, yet the mechanisms by which alexithymia exerts its influence remain unclear. This analysis tested a model whereby the three subscales of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale exert an indirect effect on alcohol problems through difficulties with emotion regulation and psychological distress. Method: Men and women (n = 141) seeking alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatment completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale, the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Short Inventory of Problems, and the Alcohol Dependence Scale. Results: The Difficulty Identifying Feelings subscale of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale was positively associated with alcohol problems through emotion dysregulation and psychological distress. The other two subscales, Difficulty Describing Feelings and Externally oriented Thinking, were not associated with any other variables. Conclusion: People with alexithymia may consume alcohol to help regulate undifferentiated states of emotional arousal. Given the prevalence of alexithymia among people who abuse alcohol, treatment supplements that enhance the identification of emotions are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The necessity for intelligent welding robots that meet the demand in real industrial production, according to the objectives of Industry 4.0, has been supported owing to the rapid development of computer vision and the use of new technologies. To improve the efficiency in weld location for industrial robots, this work focuses on trajectory extraction based on color features identification on three-dimensional surfaces acquired with a depth-RGB sensor. The system is planned to be used with a low-cost Intel RealSense D435 sensor for the reconstruction of 3D models based on stereo vision and the built-in color sensor to quickly identify the objective trajectory, since the parts to be welded are previously marked with different colors, indicating the locations of the welding trajectories to be followed. This work focuses on 3D color segmentation with which the points of the target trajectory are segmented by color thresholds in HSV color space and a spline cubic interpolation algorithm is implemented to obtain a smooth trajectory. Experimental results have shown that the RMSE error for V-type butt joint path extraction was under 1.1 mm and below 0.6 mm for a straight butt joint; in addition, the system seems to be suitable for welding beads of various shapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Endometriosis have a negative influence on women’s sexual life. The aim of the current study was to test a conceptual model considering the interrelated role of anxiety, depression, sleep quality, physical activity, BMI, stage of endometriosis, the intensity of dyspareunia and pelvic pain on sexual function (SF) in infertile women with endometriosis. Also test the mediating role of sleep quality, anxiety, and depression. Method In the present cross-sectional study, 220 infertile women with a laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis were recruited. Data were collected using a socio-demographic checklist, Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Results We found that anxiety, depression, sleep quality, BMI, level of education, stage of endometriosis, and dyspareunia have a direct effect on women’s SF. In our study, sleep quality, anxiety, pelvic pain, and depression were the four major mediators that the higher scores lead to a decrease in the SF of endometriosis patients. The intensity of pelvic pain with an effect on sleep quality (SQ) and dyspareunia change women’s SF. The lower level of physical activity, and higher BMI with indirect effect thorough anxiety, and SQ can worsen SF. Also, a higher level of anxiety leads to poor SQ and depression. Anxiety with both direct and indirect effect impress women’s SF. Conclusion It seems that the main risk factors for sexual dysfunction in women with endometriosis are higher rates of anxiety, depression, poor sleep quality, pelvic pain, and dyspareunia. In the care of women with endometriosis, not only laparoscopy and medical treatment should be performed but also psychotherapeutic and psychosexual help should be offered.

This study used a sample of salespeople at various companies to substantiate a path model of innovativeness, customer orientation, and performance; thus, it offers a multi-disciplinary framework. Results indicated a moderating influence of company training programs on the relationship between customer orientation and performance, which can have several implications for human resource managers and sales contact employees. Two features, testing the influence of training activities and measuring customer orientation from the employees' perceptions, distinguish this study from previous studies.

This study investigated the effects of learner variables on Chinese bilingual undergraduates’ intercultural sensitivity and effectiveness. A total of 439 students from different universities answered a battery of questionnaires. Major findings were: (a) the participants reported a moderate to high level of intercultural sensitivity and a moderate level of intercultural effectiveness; (b) no significant gender difference occurred in intercultural sensitivity and effectiveness, except for Interaction Engagement and Respect for Cultural Differences; (c) intercultural sensitivity and effectiveness were significantly positively related to and predicted each other; (d) confidence in learning English, self-efficacy in learning English and English classroom anxiety significantly predicted students’ intercultural sensitivity; and (e) English classroom anxiety, English learning motivation, and self-efficacy in learning English significantly predicted students’ intercultural effectiveness. Based on these findings, a path model was constructed which explains the relations among affect, intercultural communication sensitivity, effectiveness and competence.

Contact tracing apps (CTAs) were deployed worldwide in 2020 to combat COVID-19. Due to their low uptake, a growing amount of empirical research is being conducted to understand the factors that drive their adoption. For CTAs to be adopted, users must, first and foremost, find them persuasive. However, there is little research to understand the role user experience (UX) plays in their perceived persuasiveness. Consequently, we conducted an online study on Amazon Mechanical Turk among Canadian and American residents (n = 446) to investigate the most important UX design attributes associated with the perceived persuasiveness of CTAs. The study was based on two app designs (control and persuasive), each of which comprises three use cases: no exposure, exposure, and diagnosis report interfaces. One interface (screenshot) was randomly presented to a participant to view and provide their responses on the perceived UX design attributes and perceived persuasiveness of the interface. In the overall model, we found that perceived usefulness is the most important and consistent UX design attribute that influences perceived persuasiveness (β = 0.29, p < 0.001), followed by perceived trustworthiness (β = 0.24, p < 0.001) and perceived privacy protection (β = 0.16, p < 0.05). Respectively, the three predictors were consistently significant in two-thirds, half, and one-third of the 12 submodels based on app design, adoption status, and country of residence. The relationships regarding the persuasive designs are more likely to be significant, with the variance of the target construct explained by the predictors ranging from 71% to 89% compared with 54% to 69% for the control designs. The three significant attributes will help designers know which UX design attributes to focus on when designing CTAs for future epidemics. More importantly, in predictive modeling, if their ratings are known, they hold potential in predicting new users’ responsiveness to multiple persuasive strategies/messages featured in behavior-change support systems.

Framing the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, the present study deepened how trait emotional intelligence (TEI, i.e., perception about one's own emotional realm) contributes to the work-related well-being of healthcare professionals. A total of 302 healthcare professionals were involved in the study and completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire. The results of the structural equation modeling revealed that TEI was directly and indirectly—mediated by end-user job demands—negatively associated with burnout, and directly and indirectly—mediated by coworkers related job resources— associated with work engagement. According to the health impairment and motivational processes of JD-R, the present study highlights that TEI could targets burnout and work engagement through different paths. The first path revealed that TEI would reduce burnout protecting by the insurgence harmful relationships with service end-users and the second showed that TEI would support work engagement sustaining the development of positive relationship with coworkers.

The teaching programming mode and offline programming mode of welding robot are essential parts in today’s manufacturing industry. However, these modes can’t meet the automation requirements and adaptive ability of welding robot. To achieve 3D path acquisition of weld seam for robot autonomous programming, a fast and accurate offline 3D seam extraction method is proposed based on monocular structured light sensor. In this method, gray code and phase-shift code raster images are projected to the workpiece, and the 3D coordinates of the weld are calculated by collecting the workpiece images with raster patterns. The path fitting of robot is completed by polynomial fitting method. The novel monocular structured light sensor used by this paper has compact structure and small volume, and can adapt to a variety of welding working scenes. The combination of gray code and phase shift code makes the measurement accurate and fast, and achieves the effect of full resolution decoding. The experimental results show that the proposed method can complete the task of 3D weld extraction and path fitting, which has the characteristics of high efficiency and strong robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulses are essential multifunctional crops whose biological and nutritional properties play an important role in making our diet “healthier” and improving the sustainability of agroecosystems. The aim of our research was to explore the pulse consumption habits of Hungarians and to map the development possibilities of pulse-based products. An internet-based survey was conducted among Hungarian respondents (n = 1023). The survey included questions about the frequency of pulse consumption, the intention to increase their consumption, socio-demographic background factors and perceptions, and knowledge of various pulses. Beans, green beans, lentils, red lentils, green peas, yellow peas and chickpeas were selected for detailed evaluation. The results showed that the most purchased products were green peas and dry legumes in their frozen and canned forms. The five favourite ready-made pulse-based dishes were sandwich spreads, croquettes, crackers, bread, croissants, buns and pasta. Based on the survey, we also developed a path model in which nine factors were introduced with exploratory factor analysis. Among Hungarians, consumer habits, the image of pulses and consumer preference were the most important factors in increasing the consumption of pulses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Framing the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, the present study deepened how trait emotional intelligence (TEI, i.e., perception about one's own emotional realm) contributes to the work-related well-being of healthcare professionals. A total of 302 healthcare professionals were involved in the study and completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire. The results of the structural equation modeling revealed that TEI was directly and indirectly—mediated by end-user job demands—negatively associated with burnout, and directly and indirectly—mediated by coworkers related job resources— associated with work engagement. According to the health impairment and motivational processes of JD-R, the present study highlights that TEI could targets burnout and work engagement through different paths. The first path revealed that TEI would reduce burnout protecting by the insurgence harmful relationships with service end-users and the second showed that TEI would support work engagement sustaining the development of positive relationship with coworkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study explored causal relationships between post-treatment 12-step attendance and abstinence at multiple data waves and examined indirect paths leading from treatment initiation to abstinence 9-years later. Adults (N = 1945) seeking help for alcohol or drug use disorders from integrated healthcare organization outpatient treatment programs were followed at 1-, 5-, 7- and 9-years. Path modeling with cross-lagged partial regression coefficients was used to test causal relationships. Cross-lagged paths indicated greater 12-step attendance during years 1 and 5 and were casually related to past-30-day abstinence at years 5 and 7 respectfully, suggesting 12-step attendance leads to abstinence (but not vice versa) well into the post-treatment period. Some gender differences were found in these relationships. Three significant time-lagged, indirect paths emerged linking treatment duration to year-9 abstinence. Conclusions are discussed in the context of other studies using longitudinal designs. For outpatient clients, results reinforce the value of lengthier treatment duration and 12-step attendance in year 1.

• Gratitude is related to body appreciation and intuitive eating. • The gratitude model is tested with Japanese women for the first time. • All paths in the original model are replicated in the current model. • Two unique paths are added, which may be related to Japanese cultural values. Culture is believed to play a central role in body image and eating problems, and for this reason, it is important to conduct cross-cultural investigations of relevant theoretical models. This study involves a non-Western replication of one of the few existing models of positive body image, the gratitude model of body appreciation , which was originally developed using American women. The model postulates that a grateful attitude is associated with body appreciation and intuitive eating via reduced contingent self-worth and social comparison. The current study aims to examine the applicability of the model to Japanese women. A sample of 648 Japanese women (age range = 15–69, M = 42.1, SD = 15.7) completed online measures of gratitude, contingent self-worth, social comparison, body appreciation, and intuitive eating. In general, all paths in the original model were replicated in the current model. However, two new paths were added to achieve good fit, including a path from basing one's self-worth on others' approval to body appreciation and another path from gratitude directly to intuitive eating. These differential pathways are discussed in the context of Japanese culture that emphasizes appreciation towards foods and self-definition based on social approval. In addition, implications for intervention are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tourism Tribune / Lvyou Xuekan is the property of Tourism Institute of Beijing Union University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As higher education has made the transition from elite to mass enrolments, the student body has become more diverse and online and blended learning have become more common. This study aimed to examine the impacts on attrition of admitting a more diverse student body with the shift towards online and blended learning. A hypothesised path model of attrition was tested with structural equation modelling. The model contained four presage variables related to the changed demographic of the student body and alternative modes of study; attendance mode, admission basis, remoteness and socio-economics status. There were two intervening variables; age and year of study. The two outcome variables were dropout and GPA value. The model was tested against a large sample of data from a student record system of a regional Australian university. The model showed a good fit to the data predicting that the expansion of higher education, along with the increasing use of online and blended learning, will impact on attrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let g be a hyperbolic Kac-Moody algebra of rank 2, and set λ = Λ 1 − Λ 2 , where Λ 1 , Λ 2 are the fundamental weights. Denote by V (λ) the extremal weight module of extremal weight λ with v λ the extremal weight vector, and by B (λ) the crystal basis of V (λ) with u λ the element corresponding to v λ. We prove that (i) B (λ) is connected, (ii) the subset B (λ) μ of elements of weight μ in B (λ) is a finite set for every integral weight μ, and B (λ) λ = { u λ } , (iii) every extremal element in B (λ) is contained in the Weyl group orbit of u λ , (iv) V (λ) is irreducible. Finally, we prove that the crystal basis B (λ) is isomorphic, as a crystal, to the crystal B (λ) of Lakshmibai-Seshadri paths of shape λ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficacy beliefs have been suggested to protect children from many risky health behaviors. However, the relationships between parent-child dyads' coping and efficacy beliefs are not clear. Therefore, this study examined the relationships between parent-child dyads' coping patterns and their association with collective family efficacy, adolescent filial efficacy, parenting efficacy, family satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and parents' perceived adolescent health risks. Guided by the Bandura's efficacy framework, we surveyed 158 parent-adolescent dyads from the midwestern U.S. on coping, collective family efficacy, adolescent filial efficacy, family satisfaction, parenting efficacy, depressive symptoms, and parent perceived adolescent health risks. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, multiple regression, and path modeling were performed. Parent-adolescent dyads spiritual coping was positively correlated, but other coping subscales were not. The path models revealed that adolescents collective family and filial efficacy were positively related to their overall coping. Adolescent family satisfaction both directly and indirectly protected adolescents from depressive symptoms. Parents' parenting efficacy and family satisfaction were directly and indirectly associated with lower parents' perceived adolescent health risks. It seems that parents' constructive coping mechanisms were more collective-focused, while adolescents' coping strategies were more individual-focused (venting and humor). Promoting parent-adolescent dyads' efficacy beliefs could enhance their coping strategies and minimize depressive symptoms and adolescent health risks. adolescents' collective coping mechanisms (self-reliance and family problem solving) can be promoted within the family context. In fact, when helping adolescents develop family problem solving skills, it is important to consider parents' ability/efficacy and their emotional status. • Although parent-adolescent dyads' spiritual coping was positively correlated, other coping subscales were not • The path models revealed that adolescents' collective family and filial efficacy were positively related to their overall coping. • Adolescent family satisfaction direct and indirectly protects adolescents from depressive symptoms. • Parents' parenting efficacy and family satisfaction are directly and indirectly associated with lower perceived adolescent health risks. • Compared to parents, adolescents' overall coping strategies were highly influenced by their perceived efficacy beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigated the relationship among some environmental factors and research attitude of post-graduate students in Nigeria using a path model approach. The researchers were poised at filling the gap in the type of multivariate statistical tools that have hitherto been used in comparing these variables by authors in the research area. One research question was formulated to guide the study. Survey research design was adopted for the study. The study area, which was south-south Nigeria, is one of the geo-political zones in the country with six federal universities. The population of the study was made up of 1,299 post graduate students of education faculties in the six universities. A sample of 520 students (40% of the population) was selected for the study through stratified random sampling method. The study instrument was a questionnaire titled Environmental and Attitude variables Questionnaire (EAVQ) prepared by the researchers. Result of the study showed that 14 out of 15 pathways in the hypothesized model for the relationship between environmental variables and research attitudewere significant and meaningful, withfive direct and nine indirect pathways. Based on the finding, the study recommends an improvement in those environmental factors to bring about corresponding improvement in research attitude. The study suggests that a study of the relationship between other environmental variables not included in this study on graduate students‟ research attitude in federal universities in south-south Nigeria should be carried out by future researchers. Such research can be extended to cover more geo-political zones in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatigue is a common and disabling symptom in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS). Its pathogenesis, however, is still not fully understood. Potential psychological roots, in particular, have received little attention to date. The present study examined the association of childhood adversities, specific trait characteristics, and MS disease characteristics with fatigue symptoms utilizing path analysis. Five hundred and seventy-one PwMS participated in an online survey. Standardized psychometric tools were applied. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) served to assess childhood adversities. Trait variables were alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale; TAS-26) and early maladaptive schemas (Young Schema Questionnaire; YSQ). Current pathology comprised depression (Beck’s Depression Inventory FastScreen; BDI-FS) and anxiety symptoms (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; STAI-state), as well as physical disability (Patient determined Disease Steps; PDDS). The Fatigue Scale for Motor and Cognitive Functions (FSMC) was the primary outcome variable measuring fatigue. PwMS displayed high levels of fatigue and depression (mean FSMC score: 72; mean BDI-II score: 18). The final path model revealed that CTQ emotional neglect and emotional abuse remained as the only significant childhood adversity variables associated with fatigue. There were differential associations for the trait variables and current pathology: TAS-26, the YSQ domain impaired autonomy and performance, as well as all current pathology measures had direct effects on fatigue symptoms, accounting for 28.2% of the FSMC variance. Bayesian estimation also revealed indirect effects from the two CTQ subscales on FSMC. The final model fitted the data well, also after a cross-validation check and after replacing the FSMC with the Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire (CFQ). This study suggests an association psychological factors on fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis. Childhood adversities, as well as specific trait characteristics, seem to be associated with current pathology and fatigue symptoms. The article discusses potential implications and limitations.

The motivation of this study is to analyze the impact of corporate culture, management commitment, and Human resources management on operational performance and the mediating effect on those relationships from JIT implementation. A questionnaire-based survey was used to investigate the research questions. Data from a sample of 410 manufacturing plants were analyzed using a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) procedure. Study findings unveil direct effect running from corporate culture, management commitment, HRM, and JIT to operational performance. Considering the indirect effect i.e. the mediating role of JIT, findings suggesting that there is partial mediation available in the estimation. On the other hand, the direct effects of corporate culture, management commitment, and HRM on JIT is positive and statistically significant. It is advocated that the effective implementation of JIT in manufacturing units can contribute to increasing operational performance side by side the presence of other key organizational attributes.