Validating Islamic Financial Literacy Instruments among MUM Generation: Rasch Analysis Approach

Islamic financial literacy is an emerging term which is increasingly used in research and policy. Though a study in this area is growing, there is a lack of an accepted method to measure Islamic financial literacy. This study aims to develop a valid and reliable instrument to access Islamic financial literacy among MUM (Muslim Urban Millennial) generations using Rasch analysis. A comprehensive literature review and a qualitative study were initially performed to identify the construct of Islamic financial literacy. A total of 109 respondents from MUM generation completed the 18-item instrument with multiple-choice questions. However, only 85 final sample out of 109 data measured after eliminating the person with the extreme score. The dimensionality of the items was evaluated using WINSTEPS 3.73. Results show that the measurements model is highly reliable with a reliability alpha of 0.87 and 0.96 for person and item, respectively. There is also six misfit item that needs to be reviewed or removed. Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analysis shows that three items have a bias between gender. Overall, the developed Islamic financial literacy scale is a validand reliable instrument to measure Islamic financial literacy in MUM generation. This measure lays a solid empirical and theoretical foundation for future research in Islamic financial literacy among the MUM generation.

Differences in Guided Imagery between High and Low Self-Critical Participants: Consensual Qualitative Research Analysis

As self-criticism is considered to be the major underlying factor of all sorts of psychopathology, it is meaningful to explore the differences between how people deal with their self-criticism based on their level of self-criticism. The aim of this study was to categorise descriptions and investigate differences between 5 high and 5 low self-critical participants in their self-critical, self-protective and self-compassionate imageries. The total sample consisted of 10 university students, who were selected from a larger sample of 88 participants based on their extreme score from The Forms of Self-Criticising/Attacking and Self-Reassuring Scale. For analysis, we exploited Consensual Qualitative Research with two assessors and one auditor. The compassionate imagery was used to evoke the inner critic, protector and compassionate voice. The results showed differences in the imageries based on the level of self-criticism. Both high and low self-critics displayed difficulties in overcoming their self-criticism. Contrary to high self-critics, low self-critics showed more constructive and positive strategies for dealing with their self-criticism. Our study presented several different patterns between high and low self-critical participants in self-critical, self-compassionate, and self-protective imagery which could be used for diagnostic purposes in the future.

Analisis Tes Keterampilan Berpikir Kritis Remaja (TKBKR) pada Mahasiswa Pendidikan Biologi: Analisis Pemodelan Rasch

Konstruksi alat tes memerlukan uji coba sebelum tes diterbitkan. Perlu diketahui bahwa sebelum uji coba diperlukan adanya judgement instrumen kepada ahli. Tes keterampilan berpikir kritis yang dikonstruk bersifat generik. Tes ini memuat beberapa soal yang digambarkan dengan problematika kehidupan remaja dari segi ekonomi, sosial, budaya, dan pendidikan. Berdasarkan pernyataan tersebut, perlu adanya pengujian validitas eksternal kepada mahasiswa berlatar-belakang keilmuan saintifik. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah evaluasi deskriptif dengan pendekatan kuantitatif. Analisis data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah analisis pemodelan RASCH. Koefisien reliabilitas dalam analisis pemodelan RASCH dibagi menjadi tiga yang meliputi; 1) reliabilitas keseluruhan, 2) reliabilitas item, dan 3) reliabilitas responden dalam menjawab soal. Hasil penelitian ini menjadi acuan dalam pengembangan dan bahan revisi tes keterampilan berpikir kritis, serta sebagai hasil uji coba pertama. Dalam penelitian ini menggambarkan bahwa TKBKR pada uji validitas eksternal pertama menunjukkan reliabilitas pada kategori moderat dengan koefisien reliabilitas keseluruhan sebesar 0.65. Instrumen ini memuat 36 soal dengan soal yang termasuk maximum extreme score (soal yang sangat sulit dan tidak dapat dijangkau responden) hanya satu soal. Instrumen ini dapat dipergunakan untuk bidang keilmuan saintifik dengan catatan merevisi produk dengan melakukan penurunan tingkat kesulitan soal dan merevisi item.

Analysis of volcanic threat from Nisyros Island, Greece, with implications for aviation and population exposure

Nisyros island in the South Aegean volcanic arc, Greece, is a Quaternary composite volcano with a 3.8 km wide caldera that in 1996 entered a volcano-seismic crisis, which heralded the islands' return to a state of unrest. The caldera has been the locus of at least thirteen phreatic eruptions in historical times, the most recent in 1888, and the system is still presently affected by considerable hydrothermal activity. Although the recent unrest waned off without eruption, there are still open questions relating to the current threat of volcanic activity from the island. Here, we perform a detailed and systematic assessment of the volcanic threat of Nisyros using a threat analysis protocol established as part of the USGS National Volcano Early Warning System (NVEWS). The evaluation involves a methodical assessment of fifteen hazard and exposure factors, and is based on a score system, whereby the higher the score, the higher the threat is. Uncertainty in assessment criteria are expressed by allowing for a conservative and an extreme score for each factor. We draw our analysis from published data as well as from results of our research on Nisyros over the past years. Our analysis yields a conservative threat score of 163 and an extreme score of 262. The most adverse exposure factors include significant scores relating to aviation and population exposure to volcanic hazards from Nisyros. When looked at in comparison to US volcanoes both scores place Nisyros in the "Very High Threat (VHT)" category, grouping it with volcanoes such as Redoubt, Mount Ranier and Crater Lake. We identify a short-fall in recommended surveillance efforts for VHT volcanoes given existing monitoring capabilities on the island. We discuss potential pitfalls of applying the NVEWS scheme to Nisyros and suggest potential adaptation of analysis scheme to match industrial and societal conditions in Europe. At the same time, our findings indicate that that volcanic threat posed by Nisyros volcano may currently be underestimated.

Gender Differences in Variability in Intellectual Abilities: A Reanalysis of Feingold’s Results

The joint effects of gender differences in mean and variability on 28 cognitive ability scales were recently examined by Feingold (1992a) . He noted that gender differences in extreme score ranges (e.g., in the tails of the distribution of scores) may be influenced by differences in both mean and variability and offered subjective evaluations of effect sizes in the center and tails of these distributions. We provide an analytic evaluation of the effect sizes in the tails and show that the effect sizes in the tails of these distributions are typically smaller than Feingold assumed. We also evaluate the joint effect of gender differences in mean and variability via a different index: the number of females and males in the extreme score ranges. Males outnumber females in the upper tail of the score distribution of 22 of 28 ability scales, including 3 of the scales in which females have a higher overall mean.