Search Results (15)

(1) Background: This study investigates the impact of Quality Culture (QC) and Quality Management (QM) on Organizational Performance (OP) in the manufacturing sector, emphasizing their role in driving sustainability and competitiveness. (2) Methods: A theoretical model was validated to analyze direct and indirect relationships among QC, QM, and OP using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Data were collected from 204 employees across 16 manufacturing firms in Norte de Santander, Colombia, using Likert-scale surveys and secondary financial data. Analytical methods included Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA), polychoric correlations, and SEM, with rigorous reliability and validity testing. (3) Results: QC directly impacts OP, with its effect significantly amplified through QM as a mediator. The QC–QM relationship highlights leadership, participation, and customer focus as critical for implementing effective quality systems. Key QM practices, including strategic planning and performance monitoring, enhance financial and non-financial aspects of OP. (4) Conclusions: This study demonstrates the importance of integrating QC and QM to optimize OP, offering empirical insights for policies and organizational training to promote sustainability and competitiveness. Future research should validate the model in other sectors to extend its applicability. Full article

Background/Objectives: The NANDA International, Inc., (NANDA-I) diagnostic classification is the most widely used standardized nursing language internationally. The EVALUAN-I tool was developed to evaluate the NANDA-I diagnostic classification. The aim was to analyze the use of the NANDA-I diagnostic classification among Spanish nurses and assess its correlation with sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a non-probabilistic sample of Spanish nurses working in clinical, management, and academic settings using the EVALUAN-I tool (September 2019–December 2020). The analysis was conducted using R^® (version 3.6.3, Lavaan package; R Core Team, 2020), with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee (2019-190-1). Results: A total of 483 responses were obtained. There was a correlation between the intensity of use of NANDA-I and its application in practice (polychoric correlation = 0.50; p < 0.001). Nurses with a PhD degree considered nursing diagnoses to be less evidence-based (p = 0.037) but more useful (p = 0.035). Academic and research nurses stated that NANDA-I was more useful (p = 0.007), even for exclusive responsibilities (p = 0.034), and that it provided greater significance to diagnoses (p = 0.0012). Conclusions: NANDA-I is the most widely used standardized nursing language in Spain. Nurses’ academic qualifications and work environment significantly influence their perceptions and use of NANDA-I. Advanced education fosters a critical yet positive perspective, highlighting a relationship between the intensity of its use, its application in clinical practice, and the nurse’s educational background. Tools such as EVALUAN-I promote its integration and evidence-based practice, but challenges remain in improving perceptions, scientific evidence, and visibility in electronic health records to enhance its clinical impact and nursing recognition. Full article

Factor analysis, a staple of correlational psychology, faces challenges with ordinal variables like Likert scales. The validity of traditional methods, particularly maximum likelihood (ML), is debated. Newer approaches, like using polychoric correlation matrices with weighted least squares estimators (WLS), offer solutions. This paper compares maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) with WLS for ordinal variables. While WLS on polychoric correlations generally outperforms MLE on Pearson correlations, especially with nonbell-shaped distributions, it may yield artefactual estimates with severely skewed data. MLE tends to underestimate true loadings, while WLS may overestimate them. Simulations and case studies highlight the importance of item psychometric distributions. Despite advancements, MLE remains robust, underscoring the complexity of analyzing ordinal data in factor analysis. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, emphasizing the need for distributional analyses and careful consideration of data characteristics. Full article

Psychological distance from climate change has emerged as an important construct in understanding sustainable behavior and attempts to mitigate and/or adapt to climate change. Yet, few measures exist to assess this construct and little is known about the properties of the existing measures. In this article, the author conducted two studies of a psychological distance measure developed by Wang and her colleagues. In Study 1, the author assessed the test–retest reliability of the measure over a two-week interval and found the scores to be acceptably stable over time. In Study 2, the author conducted two exploratory factor analyses, using different approaches to the correlation and factor extraction. Similar results were observed for each factor analysis: one factor was related to items that specified greater psychological distance from climate change; a second factor involved items that specified closeness to climate change; and a third involved the geographic/spatial distance from climate change. The author discussed the results and provided recommendations on ways that the measure may be used to research the construct of psychological distance from climate change. Full article

Background: several strategies are used to assess adherence to ketogenic dietary therapies (KDTs), the most commonly used being ketonemia or ketonuria, despite their limitations. The purpose of this article is to carry out an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis on the proposed Keto-check (adherence’s KDT Brazilian questionnaire). Methods: there was a methodological study of a quantitative nature, complementary to the analysis realized previously, with a complimentary sample. The factorial analysis was performed with Factor software for parallel exploratory analysis, replicability, and confirmatory factor analysis. Graphical representation was created according to the number of factors resulting from the analysis. Results: 116 questionnaires were reached by complementary data collection (n = 69 actual data, complementing n = 47 previous data) through online forms. A polychoric correlation matrix suitability analysis resulted in a significant Bartlett statistic (p = 0.0001) and a Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) test of 0.56. The parallel factorial analysis resulted in two factors, graphically represented as “efficacy” and “adherence”. A confirmatory factor analysis, considered fair, indicated an RMSEA of 0.063, NNFI resulted in 0.872, CFI in 0.926, and GFI in 0.897. Conclusion: this study confirms the validity of Keto-check through a more detailed analysis. Adherence is the key to improving the effectiveness of KDTs; therefore, improving knowledge about it can lead to a better healthcare approach. Full article

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

Background: Ageing and its consequences on quality of life is one of the main issues to be addressed by public organizations; therefore the development of tools for its evaluation is a priority issue to orientate lines of action. Therefore, the objective of this research is to carry out cross-cultural adaptation and present the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Older People’s Quality of Life Questionnaire-Brief (OPQOL-Brief). Methods: a cross-cultural adaptation was carried out together with a process of translation and back-translation of the scale. The OPQOL-Brief and a sociodemographic questionnaire were administered to 120 older adults aged over 65 from a healthcare setting in the region of Extremadura. Results: the exploratory analysis revealed a factor structure through a matrix of polychoric correlations divided in two intercorrelated factors, consisting of 12 items and with excellent sample adequacy indices (KMO = 0.846’; Bartlett test = 1268.1; p = 0.000). Then, the confirmatory factor analysis established the definitive model with exceptional goodness-of-fit indices (NNFI = 0.99; CFI = 0.99; CMIN/DF = 0.96; Ρ (χ²) = 0.22; RMSEA = 0.037 and RMSR = 0.040). Finally, Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega for internal consistency reported good values of 0.830 and 0.851, respectively. Conclusion: our findings show that the OPQOL-Brief exhibits a solution with 12 elements and related constructs, providing stable goodness-of-fit indicators as well as good and remarkable consistency ratings. Full article

Background: There is a lack of tools to screen for health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in acute injury patients, despite the critical need for having a good understanding of the characteristics of mental health during the rehabilitation process. The SF-8 instrument, a shorter version of the SF-36, is the most widely used patient-based assessment of HRQoL. The aim of this research is to adapt the psychometric properties of the SF-8 to Swahili. Methods: This study is a secondary data analysis of previously collected and psychometric evaluation of the culturally adapted and translated SF-8. A cross-cultural adaptation committee carried out the process of translation to provide validity evidence based on test content. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the internal structure-based evidence. The validity based on relation to other variables (discriminant evidence) was tested using polychoric correlation with PHQ-2 (Patient Health Questionnaire-2). The reliability was tested using Cronbach’s alpha, Omega McDonald, and Composite Reliability. Results: 1434 adults who suffered an acute injury and presented to the emergency department between April 2018 and August 2020 were included in the study. The instrument demonstrated language clarity and domain coherence, showing validity evidence based on test content. The CFA (Confirmatory Factor Analysis) analysis showed good fit indices for both models (one- and two-factor models) of the SF-8. The discriminant evidence showed that SF-8 scores correlate strongly with the PHQ-2 instrument. These results supported the validity evidence in relation to other variables. All analyses of reliability were considered adequate with values above 0.90 for both models of the SF-8. Conclusions: The results show that the SF-8 instrument can provide relevant information about the health-related quality of life of acute injury patients, and allow practitioners to gain a better understanding of mental health, improving the treatment and follow-up of injury patients within Tanzanian culture. Full article

Confirmatory factor analysis is some of the most widely used statistical techniques in the social sciences. Frequently, variables (i.e., items) stemming from questionnaires are analyzed. Two competing approaches for estimating confirmatory factor analysis can be distinguished. First, ordinal variables could be treated as in the case of continuous variables using Pearson correlations, and maximum likelihood estimation method would be applied. Second, an ordinal factor analysis based on polychoric correlations can be fitted. In the majority of the psychometric literature, there is a preference for the ordinal factor analysis based on polychoric correlations because the continuous treatment of variables results in biased factor loadings and biased factor correlations. This article argues that it is not legitimate to speak about bias when comparing the two competing factor analytic approaches because it depends on how true model parameters are defined. This decision can be made individually by a researcher. It is shown in simulation studies and analytical derivations that treating variables ordinally using polychoric correlations instead of continuous using Pearson correlations can also lead to biased estimates of factor loadings and factor correlations. Consequently, it should only be stated that different model parameters are defined in a continuous and an ordinal treatment, and one approach should not generally be preferred over the other. Full article

The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) is an assessment tool to evaluate cognitive emotion regulation strategies. The main objective of this study is to provide new empirical evidence about the validity and reliability of the CERQ via a sample of 271 Spanish adolescents (136 female, 135 male) aged from 15 to 18 years (M = 15.7, SD = 0.76). The analytical process was carried out in two phases. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the polychoric correlation matrix between items. Four possible alternative models were contrasted: two models with nine factors and two models with two second-order factors and nine first-order factors, with 36 and 27 items, respectively. The model with nine correlated factors and 27 items obtained the best indices of overall fit. Subsequently, the reliability of the measurements was estimated on this model. The results reaffirm the validity of the 27-item version of the CERQ over the original 36-item structure. The findings also confirm that the CERQ is a reliable instrument for the evaluation of emotion regulation strategies in adolescents. Full article

The association between two ordinal variables can be expressed with a polychoric correlation coefficient. This coefficient is conventionally based on the assumption that responses to ordinal variables are generated by two underlying continuous latent variables with a bivariate normal distribution. When the underlying bivariate normality assumption is violated, the estimated polychoric correlation coefficient may be biased. In such a case, we may consider other distributions. In this paper, we aimed to provide an illustration of fitting various bivariate distributions to empirical ordinal data and examining how estimates of the polychoric correlation may vary under different distributional assumptions. Results suggested that the bivariate normal and skew-normal distributions rarely hold in the empirical datasets. In contrast, mixtures of bivariate normal distributions were often not rejected. Full article

For a long time, competitive sport has focused only on aspects related to performance. However, studies in social psychology have indicated the importance of focusing on the human development of athletes, which can occur through training environments that promote psychological well-being. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the impact of the coach-athlete attachment style, mediated by the coach’s leadership style, on the mental toughness of athletes in the world beach volleyball context. Elite beach volleyball athletes (n = 65), participants of the World Tour 2018, were part of the study. The Coach-Athlete Attachment Scale (CAAS), Mental Toughness Index (MTI) and Leadership Scale for Sport (LSS) were used as instruments. For data analyses we used polychoric correlation and a bias-corrected factor score path analysis. Path analysis showed that perceived secure attachment was positively associated with athletes’ mental toughness (0.24; 0.31; 0.25), but leadership styles did not mediate this relationship. For athletes with anxious attachment profiles, the perception of autocratic leadership style was associated with athletes’ mental toughness (1.01; p = 0.03), when their interaction style is focused on coaching-instruction. It concludes that the secure attachment relationship can bring increases in levels of athletic mental toughness, whereas for athletes with insecure attachment, the autocratic style was shown to be associated with the highest levels of mental toughness. Full article

Objectives: Munich Functional Developmental Diagnosis (MFDD) is a scale for assessing the psychomotor development of children in the first months or years of life. The tool is based on standardized tables of physical development and is used to detect developmental deficits. It consists of eight axes on which the following skills are assessed: crawling, sitting, walking, grasping, perception, speaking, speech understanding, social skills. Methods: The study included 110 children in the first year of life examined with the MFDD by the same physician. The score obtained on a given axis was coded as a negative value (defined in months) below the child’s age-specific developmental level. Next, we examined the dimensionality of the scale and the intercorrelation of its axes using polychoric correlation and principal component analysis. Results: Correlation matrix analysis showed high correlation of MFDD axes 1–4, and MFDD 6–8. The PCA identified three principal components consisting of children’s development in the areas of large and small motor skills (axis 1–4), perception (axis 5), active speech, passive speech and social skills (axis 6–8). The three dimensions obtained together account for 80.27% of the total variance. Conclusions: MFDD is a three-dimensional scale that includes motor development, perception, and social skills and speech. There is potential space for reduction in the number of variables in the scale. Full article

The fuzzy TOPSIS (The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) is an attractive tool for measuring complex phenomena based on uncertain data. The original version of the method assumes that the object assessments in terms of the adopted criteria are expressed as triangular fuzzy numbers. One of the crucial stages of the fuzzy TOPSIS is selecting the fuzzy conversion scale, which is used to evaluate objects in terms of the adopted criteria. The choice of a fuzzy conversion scale may influence the results of the fuzzy TOPSIS. There is no uniform approach in constructing and selecting the fuzzy conversion scale for the fuzzy TOPSIS. The choice is subjective and made by researchers. Therefore, the aim of the article is to present a new, objective approach to the construction of fuzzy conversion scales based on Item Response Theory (IRT) models. The following models were used in the construction of fuzzy conversion scales: Polychoric Correlation Model (PM), Polytomous Rasch Model (PRM), Rating Scale Model (RSM), Partial Credit Model (PCM), Generalized Partial Credit Model (GPCM), Graded Response Model (GRM), Nominal Response Model (NRM). The usefulness of the proposed approach is presented on the example of the analysis of a survey’s results on measuring the quality of professional life of inhabitants of selected communes in Poland. The obtained results indicate that the choice of the fuzzy conversion scale has a large impact on the closeness coefficient values. A large difference was also observed in the spreads of triangular fuzzy numbers between scales based on IRT models and those used in the literature on the subject. The use of the fuzzy TOPSIS with fuzzy conversion scales built based on PRM, RSM, PCM, GPCM, and GRM models gives results with a greater range of variability than in the case of fuzzy conversion scales used in empirical research. Full article

Human capital (HC) plays an important role in modern agriculture. The difference in efficiency of assets explains only about a half of the economic performance of agricultural farms, while the other half relies on HC. Although education and training are the main components of HC, it may also be viewed from the perspective of behavioral theories that were taken under consideration in this study. The role of HC in sustainable farming has not been sufficiently explained when it comes to contractual governance (CG). In this study, the meaning of contractual governance was extended and the eco-contractual governance (ECG) concept was proposed, which stands for CG induced by agri-environmental contracts. The main objective of the article is to confirm the latent concepts of HC and ECG and to verify their correlation in view of the standards imposed by the agricultural policy. To achieve this goal, a structural equation model was developed and simultaneous confirmatory factor analysis with ordinal variables was carried out based on the sample of 674 small farms in Poland. The analysis has confirmed a relatively strong correlation between HC and ECG. It was revealed that training plays a crucial role in this relationship, while economic dependence on agricultural policy weakens the effectiveness of both HC and ECG. Full article