Paranormal beliefs: their dimensionality and correlates

2006 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 585-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjaana Lindeman ◽  
Kia Aarnio
Keyword(s):  
Structural Model ◽  
World View ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Psychological Phenomena ◽  
Intuitive Thinking ◽  
Analytical Thinking ◽  
Conceptual Clarity ◽  
Paranormal Beliefs ◽  
Order Factor

Lack of conceptual clarity and multivariate empirical studies has troubled research on superstitious, magical and paranormal beliefs. We defined paranormal beliefs as beliefs in physical, biological or psychological phenomena that feature core ontological properties of another ontological category. The aim was to bring together a range of beliefs and their potential correlates, to analyse whether the beliefs form independent subsets, and to test a structural model of the beliefs and their potential correlates. The results (N = 3261) showed that the beliefs could be best described by one higher‐order factor. There were also four lower‐order factors of paranormal beliefs but their explanatory power was low. Magico‐religious beliefs were best explained by high intuitive thinking, a humanistic world view and low analytical thinking. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Religious People and Paranormal Believers

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kia Aarnio ◽  
Marjaana Lindeman
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Religious People ◽  
Intuitive Thinking ◽  
Analytical Thinking ◽  
Paranormal Beliefs ◽  
Mystical Experiences ◽  
Self Transcendence ◽  
The Relationship

This study aimed at clarifying the relationship between religious and paranormal beliefs, on which previous studies have yielded varying results. It was examined whether the relationship varies by the level of religiousness, and individual differences between religious and paranormal believers and sceptics were compared. Finnish participants (N = 3261) filled in an Internet-based questionnaire. The results showed that the relationship between religious and paranormal beliefs was positive among paranormal believers and sceptics but negative among religious people. High intuitive thinking, low analytical thinking, mystical experiences, and close others' positive attitude toward the supernatural distinguished both kinds of believers from the sceptics, while conservation and self-transcendence values distinguished religious people from paranormal believers.

Integrating service quality as a second-order factor in a customer satisfaction and loyalty model

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (12) ◽  
pp. 2978-3005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Nunkoo ◽  
Viraiyan Teeroovengadum ◽  
Peta Thomas ◽  
Llewellyn Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Order Factor

Purpose The study conceptualizes service quality as a second-order factor and analyzes its influence on customer satisfaction, perceived value, image, consumption emotions and customer loyalty by testing a structural equation model. Design/methodology/approach The model is tested using data collected from 672 guests staying in accommodation establishments located in South Africa. The study follows a hierarchical approach using confirmatory factor analysis to test the second-order factor model and structural equation modeling to test the overall model. Findings The results indicate that the second-order factor model is acceptable both empirically as well as conceptually and performs better than other competing models of service quality. The findings provide support for all hypotheses and evidence of a structural model with a high explanatory power. Research limitations/implications The second-order factor model is less useful when fine-grained analyses are needed, such as when a detailed assessment of the level of quality of service offered by a hospitality organization is required. Practical implications The second-order factor model allows for an analysis of service quality at different levels of abstraction. Accommodation managers interested in customers’ evaluation of service on a cumulative basis can make use of the global measure to determine service quality evaluations. Practitioners can also use the findings to manage the different dimensions of service quality. Originality/value The study demonstrates that service quality is best represented as a second-order factor, and in doing so, it provides an improved measurement of the construct. More so, by integrating the variable in a nomological network, the research develops a more parsimonious model than the existing ones.

The Relative and Incremental Valuation Effects of Embedded Value Disclosure by Life Insurers: Evidence from Cross-Listed Firms in the U.S.

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir M. El-Gazzar ◽  
Rudolph A. Jacob ◽  
Scott P. McGregor
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Cash Flows ◽  
Market Prices ◽  
Joint Project ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Valuation Effects ◽  
Life Insurers ◽  
Embedded Value

SYNOPSIS European life insurers began disclosing embedded value information (EV) over a decade ago due to concerns with traditional local accounting standards. EV is an estimate of the present value of future net cash flows from in-force life insurance business. However, U.S.-based life insurers have yet to adopt this disclosure, although several surveys and empirical studies suggest that EV disclosure provides valuable information in assessing life insurers' performance. This paper examines the incremental valuation effects of EV disclosure in the presence of U.S. GAAP. We utilize a sample of cross-listed life insurers as surrogates to assess the valuation effects of EV disclosures for U.S. life insurers. Our empirical results show a higher association between EV and stock market prices than those of traditional accounting metrics such as earnings or book value. The results also show that EV has incremental explanatory power beyond those of traditional U.S. GAAP accounting measures. Our findings provide vital input to FASB and IASB as they currently engage in a joint project to develop uniform globally acceptable, comparable accounting standards for life insurers.

scholarly journals The application of social innovation in healthcare: a scoping review

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindi van Niekerk ◽  
Lenore Manderson ◽  
Dina Balabanova
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Cost Of Care ◽  
Health Coverage ◽  
Conceptual Clarity

Abstract Background Social innovation has been applied increasingly to achieve social goals, including improved healthcare delivery, despite a lack of conceptual clarity and consensus on its definition. Beyond its tangible artefacts to address societal and structural needs, social innovation can best be understood as innovation in social relations, in power dynamics and in governance transformations, and may include institutional and systems transformations. Methods A scoping review was conducted of empirical studies published in the past 10 years, to identify how social innovation in healthcare has been applied, the enablers and barriers affecting its operation, and gaps in the current literature. A number of disciplinary databases were searched between April and June 2020, including Academic Source Complete, CIHAHL, Business Source Complete Psych INFO, PubMed and Global Health. A 10-year publication time frame was selected and articles limited to English text. Studies for final inclusion was based on a pre-defined criteria. Results Of the 27 studies included in this review, the majority adopted a case research methodology. Half of these were from authors outside the health sector working in high-income countries (HIC). Social innovation was seen to provide creative solutions to address barriers associated with access and cost of care in both low- and middle-income countries and HIC settings in a variety of disease focus areas. Compared to studies in other disciplines, health researchers applied social innovation mainly from an instrumental and technocratic standpoint to foster greater patient and beneficiary participation in health programmes. No empirical evidence was presented on whether this process leads to empowerment, and social innovation was not presented as transformative. The studies provided practical insights on how implementing social innovation in health systems and practice can be enhanced. Conclusions Based on theoretical literature, social innovation has the potential to mobilise institutional and systems change, yet research in health has not yet fully explored this dimension. Thus far, social innovation has been applied to extend population and financial coverage, principles inherent in universal health coverage and central to SDG 3.8. However, limitations exist in conceptualising social innovation and applying its theoretical and multidisciplinary underpinnings in health research. Graphic abstract

Drivers of sustainable entrepreneurial intentions among university students: an integrated model from a developing world context

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 659-680
Author(s):  
Agu Godswill Agu ◽  
Okwuagwu Okuu Kalu ◽  
Chidadi Obinna Esi-Ubani ◽  
Paul Chinedu Agu
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intention ◽  
Integrated Model ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intentions ◽  
Sustainable Entrepreneurship ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Event Model

Purpose The purpose of this study is to integrate and extend two models of entrepreneurial intention to investigate the drivers of sustainable entrepreneurial intention among intermediate undergraduate university students in Nigeria. Specifically, this paper aims to introduce education for sustainable entrepreneurship into the integrated model, thereby fitting the model into the context of sustainable entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach Data was gathered with the help of a structured questionnaire from 435 students of a university in Nigeria. The students passed through a special entrepreneurship training in which they were educated on the concept and practice of sustainable entrepreneurship. SmartPLS was used to test the proposed structural model. Findings The findings revealed that education for sustainable entrepreneurship significantly influences all variables of the integrated model, but has nonsignificant direct influence on sustainable entrepreneurial intention. Sustainable entrepreneurial intention is significantly driven by attitude and propensity to act. Therefore, the inclusion of education for sustainable entrepreneurship into the regression equation adds to its explanatory power. Originality/value This study contributes toward understanding of sustainable entrepreneurial intention of intermediate university students in a developing world context – Nigeria. Above all, it is among the few studies that shed light on the strength of education for sustainable entrepreneurship in the formation of sustainable entrepreneurial intention among students. This study proposes integration and extension (by adding education for sustainable entrepreneurship) of the theory of planned behavior and entrepreneurial event model in learning about students’ intentions to engage in sustainable entrepreneurship.

scholarly journals INTUISI SEBAGAI SALAH SATU SOLUSI MERAIH PRESTASI BELAJAR MATEMATIKA

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-33
Author(s):  
Sofia Sa’o
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Process ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Intuitive Thinking ◽  
Analytical Thinking ◽  
Mathematical Problems ◽  
Thinking Processes ◽  
Conventional Methods ◽  
Math Problems ◽  
Descriptive Qualitative

Mathematical problems are often solved without using conventional methods but using intuition thinking. Intuitive thinking is a cognitive process that leads to ideas as strategies for making decisions that produce spontaneous answers in solving problems. Spontaneous answers are written and spoken expressions that help a person solve math problems without using analytical thinking. This study aims to describe the various forms of intuition that arise when students solve math problems. The research method used is descriptive qualitative method to describe students' intuitive thinking processes through test instruments and interviews. The results showed that the form of intuitive thinking that emerged was (1) affirmatory intuition, namely direct cognition to understand the problem and (2) perceptual and global components, because students made perceptions of the answer solutions to be generated, then resolved until they got the results. In addition, it was also found that intuitive thinking that is raised as a strategy in making decisions is based on feelings, intrinsics and interventions to produce answers to solving the problems faced

scholarly journals Human Capabilities and Instrumental Freedoms Relationship: An Empirical Investigation

2020 ◽  
pp. 12-21
Author(s):  
Nour Eddine Aguenane
Keyword(s):  
Latent Variables ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Group Analysis ◽  
Human Capabilities ◽  
Indicator Method ◽  
Endogenous Variables ◽  
Social Opportunities ◽  
Political Freedoms ◽  
Instrumental Role

Purpose of the study: In Development as freedom, Amartya Sen confirmed the crucial "instrumental" role of five kinds of freedoms in the promotion of capabilities and therefore in the process of human development in general. These are political freedoms, economic facilities, transparency guarantees, social opportunities, and protective security. This paper has three empirical objectives: 1) to measure the effect of instrumental freedoms on capabilities, 2) to verify if this effect becomes stronger once instrumental freedoms are interconnected, and 3) to verify whether this relationship is moderated by the level of economic development achieved by each country. Methodology: To achieve these three objectives, this article confronts the second-order construct of "instrumental freedoms" (as an exogenous variable) with five first-order constructs (as endogenous variables). The five endogenous latent variables reflect the capabilities of health, education, housing, employment, and communication and mobility at the level of the sixty countries selected as the analysis samples. The estimation of the hierarchical structural model is done using the partial least squares approach and the repeated indicator method. Main Findings: This study highlights three major results: 1) The existence of a significant effect of instrumental freedoms on the five relevant capabilities selected. 2) When instrumental freedoms interconnect, they reinforce each other and their effect on human capabilities becomes stronger. 3) The multi-group analysis suggests that instrumental freedoms positively and significantly impact human capabilities in the same way in both developed and developing countries. Research implications: Freedom plays a "constitutive" and "instrumental" role in the development process. To provide people with the freedom to live according to their aspirations, public policies must be empowering. In other words, they should improve the instrumental perspective of at least three essential freedoms: political freedoms, economic facilities, and transparency guarantees. Novelty/Originality of this study: Apart from the works which attempted to operationalize Amartya Sen's capability approach, the relationship between instrumental freedoms and human capabilities has not been the subject of empirical studies. This paper is intended as a contribution to this field of investigation.

scholarly journals A critical revision of the empirical literature on Chinese outward investment: A new proposal

2011 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 715-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Rodríguez ◽  
Ricardo Bustillo
Keyword(s):  
Global Economy ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Market Size ◽  
Foreign Investors ◽  
Manufacturing Location ◽  
Critical Revision ◽  
Key Drivers ◽  
Large Host

Research on China?s role in the globalization of economic activity focuses mainly on its involvement in trade and on its competitiveness as a manufacturing location for foreign investors. However, since the mid-1990s China?s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) has become an important part of its integration into the global economy. This dimension is poorly understood, and few empirical studies about the drivers behind Chinese OFDI have been published thus far. After reviewing critically the empirical literature, which provides ambiguous results about the explanatory power of some of the large list of determinants put forward, we aim to provide a more accurate description of the motives behind Chinese OFDI. Using a panel data approach for the period 1995 to 2009 and for a large host country sample, we identify some key drivers. We find that host market size, natural resources and FDI openness are of paramount relevance. However, the asset seeking hypothesis is not confirmed.

scholarly journals Students’ Intuitive and Analytical Thinking in the Mathematics Study through the Integration of STAD and Environmental Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh)

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-60
Author(s):  
Abdillah Abdillah ◽  
Ajeng Gelora Mastuti ◽  
Muhammad Rijal ◽  
Muhajir Abd. Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Learning Process ◽  
Mathematical Problem ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Effective Learning ◽  
Intuitive Thinking ◽  
Analytical Thinking ◽  
Research Problems ◽  
Interest And Motivation

The success of a learning process depends on the teacher’s mastery of materials, strategies, and media. Teachers need to possess high creativity to maintain their students’ interest and motivation in learning. The integration of effective learning models and appropriate media, such as using plastic waste as realia, can be one of the alternatives to improve the quality of learning. This study also aimed to examine students' awareness of environmental issues. The quantitative and qualitative data of the study were collected simultaneously to answer the research problems. Interviews were conducted during the implementation of the learning process and quizzes. A pre-experimental one-shot case study design was employed to gather the quantitative data which were then analyzed descriptively. The results of the current study showed that the students' intuitive thinking started to develop in phase 3, where they were asked to identify the type of plastic glass they were holding. Phase 4 that allowed the students to separate parts constructing the glass, determine the name of each part, and set a point of view or the purpose underlying the material presented was the phase where the students performed an analytical thinking process. In phase 5, the students were allowed to solve a mathematical problem using analytical thinking. The interaction between students' intuitive and analytical thinking shown in the identification and labeling of each type of three-dimensional form will be discussed in this article  

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