Smile Intensity in Volleyball Players' Profile Photographs is Unrelated To Sports Performance

Studies indicated that individuals who tend to smile while taking their photographs tend to experience more positive emotions in their life and, in turn, achieve superior outcomes in several life domains. However, little is known whether positive emotionality revealed in players' profile photographs is related to sports performance. This study examined whether the smiling intensity in volleyball players' profiles (full, partial, and no smile) predicted individual (e.g., points scored, service, and reception errors) and team performance (winning a match). Building upon previous studies on positive emotions, we expected that players presenting full (Duchenne) smiles would achieve better results. We analyzed 196 volleyball players' profiles from the Polish highest-level professional league competition (PlusLiga). Raters coded smile intensity. Using three-level path models, we found that teams with more frequent Duchenne smiles performed as well as those who presented Duchenne smiles less often. We conclude that positive emotionality (as reflected in profile photo smiling) might be independent of male volleyball accomplishments.

Modelling the Impact of Chess Game on Students’ Sports Accomplishment

Tibetan chess, a traditional Chinese ethnic sport, is a treasure of Tibetan culture. It takes various forms, adopts different playing methods, and involves a simple suite of equipment to interest people and impart wisdom. In order to study the positive impact that Tibetan chess exerts on students’ sports accomplishment, cognition, interest, intelligence, inheritance, and changes in their awareness of the protection of traditional sports in western Tibetan areas, this study uses correlation and single factor analysis to compare relevant indicators and dimensions. At the same time, it constructs regression models and path models for teaching experiments, investigations, and analyses. Research shows that the learning of Tibetan chess has obvious and significant influence on promoting students’ sports accomplishment in western Tibetan areas. Further research finds that the traditional sports of ethnic minorities, combined with the development of Tibetan chess and students’ sports accomplishment, establish the cognition of traditional sports culture, cultivate lifelong sports awareness, and allow students to enjoy the physical and mental education brought by ethnic cultures.

Moderated mediation and J-curve emergence in path models: an information systems research perspective

Purpose J-curve relationship analyses can provide valuable insights to information systems (IS) researchers. This paper aims to discuss moderated mediation in IS research and the related emergence of J-curve relationships. Design/methodology/approach Building on an illustrative study in the field of IS, the author Lays out three steps to combine moderation and J-curve analyses, with the goal of more fully understanding the underlying moderated mediation relationships. The paper proposes a new segmentation delta method to test for J-curve emergence, as part of this framework. Findings The paper shows, in the context of this study, the complementarity of moderation and J-curve analyses. Research limitations/implications Currently, IS researchers rarely conduct moderation and J-curve analyses in a complementary way, even though there are software tools, and related methods, which allow them to do so in a relatively straightforward way. Originality/value The analyses were conducted with the software WarpPLS, a widely used tool that allows for moderated mediation and J-curve analyses, in a way that is fully compatible with the set of steps presented in this paper.

Morphological Awareness in L2 Chinese Reading Comprehension: Testing of Mediating Routes

This study aims to examine the contribution of morphological awareness to second language (L2) Chinese reading comprehension through potential mediating factors. Adult L2 Chinese learners (n = 447) participated in the study and completed two morphological awareness tasks (segmentation and discrimination), two vocabulary knowledge tasks (character knowledge and word-meaning knowledge), one lexical inference task, and one reading comprehension task. By testing alternative path models, this study identified the preferred model assuming the covariates of morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge. Morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge jointly contributed to L2 Chinese reading comprehension through lexical inference. The written modality of morphological awareness induced the activation of both morphological and orthographic information in print. The result suggests that morphological awareness (in the form of grapho-morphological knowledge) and vocabulary knowledge seem to be two parallel components under the same construct predicting Chinese reading comprehension. More importantly, this study underscores the intermediary effect of lexical inference in associating morphological awareness and reading comprehension in L2 Chinese learners.

Role of Emotion in Child Maltreatment Risk during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Purpose: Preliminary research early in the COVID-19 pandemic suggested children appeared to be at increased risk for child maltreatment, particularly as parents struggled with mental health and economic strains. To identify the potential affective elements that may contribute to such increased maltreatment risk, the current study focused on whether maternal worry about children’s behavior specifically and maternal anger were related to increased risk for neglect or physical or psychological aggression six months into the pandemic. Method: The racially diverse sample included 193 mothers who completed an online survey during late September-early October 2020. Results: Mothers’ reported increases in neglect and physical and psychological aggression during the pandemic were significantly related with established measures of maltreatment risk. Furthermore, path models indicated that maternal anger and worry about children’s behavior, as well as their interaction, were significantly related to indicators of physical aggression risk and neglect during the pandemic, but only maternal anger related to increased psychological aggression during the pandemic. Conclusions: Maternal worry and anger about children’s behavior may be exacerbating risk for maltreatment under the stressful conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings suggest affective reactions of both parental worry and anger focused on child behavior warrants greater empirical attention and consideration in intervention efforts.

The Cumulative Risk of Prenatal Exposures to Chemical and Non-Chemical Stressors on Birth Outcomes in Suriname

The cumulative exposure to chemical and non-chemical stressors may have an impact on birth outcomes. The aim of this study is to examine the cumulative exposure of a mixture of chemicals (mercury, lead, selenium and tin) and non-chemical stressors (social support, perceived stress, probable depression and BMI) on birth outcomes (birthweight, gestational age at birth, and Apgar score at 5 min). The study population is a subset (n = 384) of the Caribbean Consortium for Research in Environmental and Occupational Health–MeKiTamara prospective cohort study. Associations between the latent chemical construct, non-chemical stressors and birth outcomes were assessed using path models. The results showed a significant direct relationship between perceived stress and birthweight (β = −0.17), however even though the relationship between perceived stress and depression was significant in all three path models (β = 0.61), the association between depression and birth outcomes was not significant. Perceived stress was significantly associated with community engagement (β = −0.12) and individual resilience (β = −0.12). BMI (β = 0.12) was also significantly directly associated with birthweight. The latent chemical construct did not show an association with the birth outcomes. Our data indicate the need for the development of a support system for pregnant women by involving them in prenatal care programs to reduce maternal stress, which may also influence depression and (in)directly improve the birth outcomes. Interventions regarding weight management for women of childbearing age are necessary to halt obesity and its negative effects on birth outcomes.

Empirics vs. art theory: Exploring a factor structure of pictorial expression based on contemporary artworks

As a transdisciplinary questionnaire combining psychometrics and art theory, RizbA enables a quantitative measurement of pictorial expression in terms of a formal image analysis. This study explores its factor structure and a potential gap between theory and empirics.The sample consists of 275 contemporary pictorial works by artists and nonprofessionals, rated by 179 experts in a randomized online survey. Three path models were specified and computed as CFA: models A and B based on the results of the two previous studies, model C on the theoretical framework of the initial study. Model C was additionally tested on a combined dataset of all three studies.While models A and B did not converge, model C was associated with fit indices as follows: χ2 = 1299.752, df = 278, p = .000, RSMEA = .122 (90% CI = .116, .129), CFI = .712, TLI = .679, SRMR = .135 and for the combined dataset: χ2 = 6860.824, df = 278, p = .000, RSMEA = .086 (90% CI = .084, .088), CFI = .740, TLI = .696, SRMR = .084.Studies implicate reliability, but there might not be a globally stable factor structure across artworks. Only model C partly suggests an acceptable fit for the combined data. The results speak to a methodological gap between empirics and theory due to art being highly ambiguous with various analysis options. Further postdisciplinary approaches are needed to develop a theory-based measurement model for pictorial expression, which might to do justice to the arts.

Applied Structural Equation Modeling for Cross-Cultural Comparison

In this chapter, we focus on the use of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to compare path models across two or more cultural groups. SEM can be used to test the goodness of fit of a causal model, as well as to test equivalence of causal relationships among variables of interest across various cultural groups. We will demonstrate SEM through the use of Stata for these purposes. We begin with a rationale for path mode analysis, move on to provide context for the construction of theories in path models using SEM, and provide examples of SEM models for various cultural groups for comparison. We provide examples of Stata commands for examining differences in direct and indirect effects along with goodness of fit statistics across various cultural groups using SEM.