scholarly journals OSTEOARTHRITIS AND DEPRESSION IN A MALE VA POPULATION

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S165-S166
Author(s):  
Christopher J Burant ◽  
Gregory Graham ◽  
Denise M Kresevic ◽  
Gary Deimling ◽  
Said Ibrahim ◽  
...  

Abstract Osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of disability among older adults. By 2050, approximately 60 million will suffer from arthritis adding up to a total societal cost of $65 billion. Chronic illnesses resulting in pain, and functional decline have been associated with depression in previous studies. The primary goal of this study is to investigate whether OA severity, as measured by the Western Ontario McMasters Arthritis Composite (WOMAC), impacts reported levels of depression and to what degree clinical and sociodemographic variables play a part. A causal model was developed and tested examining the antecedents of OA disease severity and depression. Information on clinical, demographic, socioeconomic, and psychosocial variables was collected on 596 male Veterans with moderate to severe symptomatic OA of the knee\hip. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis was conducted to determine the factor structure of the WOMAC. A 2nd order three factor solution (pain, stiffness, and function) fit the data well (TLI of .94, a CFI of .94 and a RMSEA of .058). The results of the Structural Equation Model reveal a final model that fit the data well (TLI of .95, a CFI of .97 and a RMSEA of .047). Depression was predicted by higher WOMAC scores (beta=.37 , p<.01); higher levels of comorbidity (beta= .11, p<.05); younger age (beta= -.29, p<.01); being white (beta=-.11, p<.05); lower levels of income (beta= -.12, p<.05); lower levels of religiosity (beta= 11, p<.05). Clinicians should be aware of the impact of disease severity when treating OA patients with depression.

Transport ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darja Topolšek ◽  
Dejan Dragan

The paper deals with studying the relationships between the motorcyclists’ thinking about proper behaviour and their actual behaviour in the traffic. The impact of some control variables, such as riders’ age, experience, driving history, and engine cubature, on actual behaviour, is also addressed here. For the purpose of research, two additional questionnaires were applied besides the well-known Motorcycle Rider Behaviour Questionnaire (MRBQ). To examine the causal relations between all-important latent factors present in this study, the structural equation model was designed. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were also engaged in the analysis and the statistical modelling process. The results show that the higher awareness about alcohol danger and benefits of protective equipment and helmet can noticeably contribute to the bigger traffic safety. Besides, from the results is evident that the control variables are in most cases also significantly interrelated with the actual behaviour factors. The findings of this research could be important for the planning of better traffic safety strategies for the motorcyclists to decrease the fatalities and related costs and traumas.


Author(s):  
Michael A. Rupp ◽  
Jessica R. Michaelis ◽  
Daniel S. McConnell ◽  
Janan A. Smither

Exercise has many health benefits, however, not enough Americans engage in physical activity which may be due to a lack of motivation and knowledge of how to do so. Wearable technologies, such as fitness trackers, can ameliorate this pervasive problem. The aim of this study was to examine trust and motivation as predictors of fitness tracker usage across several devices. Moreover, we developed trust and motivation scales specific to wearable fitness devices to determine the extent to which these factors may relate to individuals’ desire for continued use. A Confirmatory factor analysis and Structural equation model analysis was conducted on the data. Our results indicated that: 1) both technological trust and self-determined motivation are significantly related to each other and 2) both users’ perceived trust and motivation of the device are predictive of individuals' desire for continued use of wearable fitness devices. Therefore, considerations of how the technology can be transparent to the user and provide motivational support are important design considerations.


Author(s):  
EVA MOEHLECKE DE BASEGGIO ◽  
OLIVIA SCHNEIDER ◽  
TIBOR SZVIRCSEV TRESCH

The Swiss Armed Forces (SAF), as part of a democratic system, depends on legitimacy. Democracy, legitimacy and the public are closely connected. In the public sphere the SAF need to be visible; it is where they are controlled and legitimated by the citizens, as part of a deliberative discussion in which political decisions are communicatively negotiated. Considering this, the meaning of political communication, including the SAF’s communication, becomes obvious as it forms the most important basis for political legitimation processes. Social media provide a new way for the SAF to communicate and interact directly with the population. The SAF’s social media communication potentially brings it closer to the people and engages them in a dialogue. The SAF can become more transparent and social media communication may increase its reputation and legitimacy. To measure the effects of social media communication, a survey of the Swiss internet population was conducted. Based on this data, a structural equation model was defined, the effects of which substantiate the assumption that the SAF benefits from being on social media in terms of broadening its reach and increasing legitimacy values.


Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Bazyli Czyżewski ◽  
Agnieszka Sapa ◽  
Piotr Kułyk

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gbemi Oladipo Olaore ◽  
Bimbo Onaolapo Adejare ◽  
Ekpenyong Ekpenyong Udofia

Purpose Betting games have become a global industry worth billions of dollars providing employment to millions and contributing to the gross domestic product (GDP) of several countries. While there are debates and controversies surrounding betting games discourse, a growing body of literature shows that it has been exacerbated by growing unemployment rates. This paper aims to examine the nexus between the increasing involvement of youth in betting games and unemployment from the Nigerian perspective. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts simple random and stratified sampling techniques to select participants for the study. Three hypotheses were tested for this study and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation model (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses. Findings The three hypotheses tested in this study were coined from previous literature. The study established a direct link between technology advancement, promises of winning big coupled with bonuses while unemployment was not significant to youth involvement in betting games. The study also showed that playing betting games provides another source of income to the youth, who are already engaged in one form of work or another. Finally, youth involvement in betting games has created awareness regarding different sports in the world, while contributing to Nigeria’s economy. Practical implications As betting games centre as a business in Nigeria has contributed substantially and positively to unemployment in Nigeria; the Government of Nigeria are encouraged to streamline and regulate the activities of the sector such that they can contribute significantly to the country GDP and provide employment opportunities to the youths. Originality/value The research shows that the reason why betting games have a massive turnaround of youths in Nigeria is not majorly because of unemployment but as another means to a substantial financial individual/family income. Thus, Nigerian youths see betting games as an avenue to make more money. The study is the first of its kind to examine the nexus between betting games, technology and unemployment hence, its contribution to knowledge.


2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-40
Author(s):  
Pascale Benoliel ◽  
Anit Somech

Background/Context Increasingly, educational leadership research has stressed that leadership is not solely embedded in formal roles but often emerges from relationships between individuals. Senior management teams (SMTs) are an important expression of a formal management structure based on the principle of distributed leadership. Such structures may require a reconceptualization of school leadership and the role of the principal in such a way as to better meet new challenges and enable principals to manage SMTs more effectively. Accordingly, it is proposed that to improve effectiveness, principals engage in boundary activities, the principals’ internal activities directed toward the SMT aimed at dealing with internal team matters and the principals’ external activities directed toward external agents in the team's focal environment to acquire resources and protect the team. Purpose/Objective The present study attempts to advance a theoretical model of principals’ internal and external activities toward their SMTs. This study's purpose is twofold: First, the study tries to determine which of the internal and external activities principals engage in more frequently and less frequently and to what extent. Second, the study attempts to determine how these activities are related to the SMT effectiveness outcomes: in-role performance and innovation. Taking on a distributive perspective to school leadership, our goal is to extend our knowledge about the activities that might facilitate SMT effectiveness, by highlighting the principal boundary activities as fundamental. Research Design Quantitative study. Data Collection and Analysis Data were collected from two sources to minimize problems associated with same source bias: 92 SMTs and their principals from 92 public schools in Israel. Principals evaluated the SMTs’ effectiveness through validated surveys of team in-role performance and team innovation, and SMT members evaluated the internal and external activities of the principal. Findings/Results ANOVA analyses indicate significant mean differences between the principal's internal and external activities. Results from Structural Equation Model indicate that internal activities were related to SMT performance, whereas external activities were related to SMT innovation. Conclusions/Recommendations Principals who manage both the internal SMT dynamic by promoting SMT identity and building team trust, while also promoting a common mission, serve the role of coordinator between SMT members and constituencies external to the SMT, enhancing SMT effectiveness. It may be, then, that studying new models of school leadership and management, including the relationship of the principal and the SMT, may deepen our understanding of the increasingly complex role of principals today.


2022 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 0-0

This study examined the impact of E-CRM on customer loyalty with the mediating effect of customer satisfaction in the banking industry. Customer satisfaction is important for loyalty because when the customers are satisfied with the services offered by their service providers, the relationship gets stronger which further leads to positive word-of-mouth. The data was collected using purposive sampling from 836 banks’ customers who were using E-CRM services and the data was analyzed using structural equation model (SEM) through AMOS. The results revealed that E-CRM and customer satisfaction had a significant positive impact on customer loyalty and also customer satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between E-CRM and customer loyalty. This study would offer useful acumen to both academicians and marketers and would help the bank managers to improve the quality of the services provided to their customers.


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 380-391
Author(s):  
John C. Reed ◽  
George E. Higgins

This study examines complexity as a measure of support for organizational redirection. This study considers whether 16 items (culture, mission, values, decentralization, policies and procedures, administrative reporting practices, weapons, contract, pay, benefits, patrol boundaries, equalization of workload, size of boundaries, communications, 10-codes, and car numbers) appropriately characterized a suppressed measure of complexity related to complex organizational change, a police department merger. The current study utilizes data collected from 390 sworn officers from two merged law enforcement agencies in Kentucky. The results of the structural equation model analysis supported the view that four factors (mission, logistics, benefits, and policy) fashion an underlying construct for measuring complexity related to organizational change/redirection. The implications of these findings are also considered.


2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 717-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-Chang Lee ◽  
Yun-Ling Wu ◽  
Wen-Hsin Huang ◽  
Yu-Chen Lee ◽  
Pei-Ru Chen ◽  
...  

We applied a linear structural equation model to explore the impact of information disclosure, social responsibility, trust, and attitude on consumers' loyalty to housing agents. Participants were 466 consumers and potential consumers of housing agency industry services, who completed a survey assessing the variables of interest. Results showed that information disclosure had a direct and significant impact on trust, and an indirect impact on trust through the mediator of corporate social responsibility (CSR), and that trust had an indirect and significant impact on loyalty through the mediator of attitude. The structural relationships among information disclosure, CSR, trust, and attitude should be acknowledged when discussing consumers' loyalty to housing agents.


Author(s):  
I Gede Hendry Kamanjaya ◽  
Wayan Gede Supartha ◽  
IG.A. Manuati Dewi

This study is focused to analyze the impact of servant leadership on employee performance in relation to the organizational commitment mediation. It is a causality research, providing an explanation and understanding about the impact of servant leadership on employee performance and the impact of servant leadership on organizational commitment. The sample of the research are 90 civil servants in Wangaya General Hospital as the respondents. In this study questionares are used as instuments of the research. Descriptive and inferential analysis were applied as method of analysis and Structural Equation Model-Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS) as a tool. The result is that servant leadership does not have any significant effect on employees performance, servant leadership has a positive and significant effect on organizational commitment, organizational commitment has positive and significant effect on employee performance, and the impact on servant leadership and employee performance through the role of organizational commitment as mediating variable is supported.


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