The Facets Of Job Satisfaction: A Nine-Nation Comparative Study Of Construct Equivalence

Archival data from an attitude survey of employees in a single multinational organization were used to examine the degree to which national culture affects the nature of job satisfaction. Responses from nine countries were compiled to create a benchmark against which nations could be individually compared. Factor analysis revealed four factors: Organizational Communication, Organizational Efficiency/Effectiveness, Organizational Support, and Personal Benefit. Comparisons of factor structures indicated that Organizational Communication exhibited the most construct equivalence, and Personal Benefit the least. The most satisfied employees were those from China, and the least satisfied from Brazil, consistent with previous findings that individuals in collectivistic nations report higher satisfaction. The research findings suggest that national cultural context exerts an effect on the nature of job satisfaction.

The Effects Of Estimator Choice And Weighting Strategies On Confirmatory Factor Analysis With Stratified Samples

Survey researchers often design stratified sampling strategies to target specific subpopulations within the larger population. This stratification can influence the population parameter estimates from these samples because they are not simple random samples of the population. There are three typical estimation options that account for the effects of this stratification in latent variable models: unweighted maximum likelihood, weighted maximum likelihood, and pseudo-maximum likelihood estimation. This paper examines the effects of these procedures on parameter estimates, standard errors, and fit statistics in Lisrel 8.7 (Jöreskog & Sörbom, 2004) and Mplus 3.0 (Muthén & Muthén, 2004). Options using several estimation methods will be compared to pseudo-maximum likelihood estimation. Results indicated the choice of estimation technique does not have a substantial effect on confirmatory factor analysis parameter estimates in large samples. However, standard errors of those parameter estimates and RMSEA values for assessing of model fit can be substantially affected by estimation technique.

An Interpersonal Circumplex/Five-Factor Model Analysis Of The Eating Disorders Inventory-3

A combined interpersonal circumplex/five-factor model approach was used to investigate personality correlates of Eating Disorders Inventory-3 (EDI-3; Garner, 2004) scales for a non-clinical sample of 234 college women. EDI-3 non-symptom scales and composites had appreciable loadings in the two-dimensional interpersonal circumplex space, with angular locations ranging mainly from Cold (180°) to Submissive (270°). In the five-factor analyses, Neuroticism made significant positive contributions to all of the EDI-3 scales and composites; Conscientiousness made contributions (all negative, save one) to 11 of the 18 scales. The results affirm the centrality of negative affect (i.e., Neuroticism) in disordered eating, but highlight also the importance of assessing interpersonal deficits, which in previous studies have been associated both with the etiology of eating-related problems and increased risk of dropout from treatment. Finally, collapsing or “weighting” EDI-3 item scores may compromise unnecessarily the psychometric properties of the scales—particularly in non-clinical populations—and we recommend derivation of additional EDI-3 norms, based on unweighted item scores.

An Item Response Theory Analysis Of The Self-Monitoring Scale

The Self-Monitoring Scale (SMS) was investigated utilizing item response theory (IRT). First, IRT models that constrained each of the subscale items to have equal discrimination were fitted to the three subscales of the SMS (Acting, Extraversion, and Other-Directedness). These models were then contrasted with separate models that allowed the discriminations to be estimated freely. For all three subscales, model comparison tests of significance indicated that the unconstrained models were a better fit. Thus, the items of each subscale are differentially related to their respective underlying construct. Implications and recommendations are offered for future psychometric development and implementation of the SMS.

Generalized Procrustes Analysis: A Tool for Exploring Aggregates and Persons

Gower (1975) introduced Generalized Procrustes Analysis (GPA) as a multivariate statistical technique for analyzing three-dimensional data matrices. The current paper presents a non-technical introduction to the logic underlying GPA and then presents a completely worked example using genuine data. Specifically,self and peer ratings obtained from students attending a Summer Science Academy are analyzed and discussed. It is shown that GPA offers a powerful set of tools for exploring data at both the aggregate and individual level. A number of issues regarding the current analysis methods are also discussed.

Three-way Hierarchical Classes: A Comparison of the Indclas and Tucker3-Hiclas Models

Hierarchical classes (HICLAS) models for multi-way multi-mode data constitute a unique family of classification models in that (a) they simultaneously induce a hierarchical classification (of the elements) of each mode and (b) they link the hierarchical classifications together by an association relation that yieldsa predicted (or reconstructed) value for each cell in the data array. For the case of three-way three-mode binary data, the most prominent HICLAS models include INDCLAS and Tucker3-HICLAS. In this paper, we compare the latter two models, introducing the underlying theory of both in substantive terms and showing how a Tucker3-HICLAS analysis may result in a simpler model than that yielded by INDCLAS, although the former is mathematically more complex than the latter (which it includes as a special case). We illustrate by two applications: astudy on anger responses in frustrating situations and a case-study on emotions in interpersonal relations.

Analysing Three-way Profile Data Using the Parafac and Tucker3 Models Illustrated with Views on Parenting

In this paper two major models for three-way profile data, i.e., the Parafac model and the Tucker3 model are discussed from the point of view of application. Topics treated are handling the data before analysis, model choice, choice of dimensionality, model fit, algorithmic hazards during the analyses, and interpretation and validation of the results. These issues are discussed in some detail so that prospective users can take guidance for analysing their own data. The data provided by Japanese girls and their parents about the parenting style in their family are the major vehicle for demonstrating the issues touched upon. The general results from these data are that parental styles consisted of three groups of behaviours: Acceptance, Control and Rejection, and Discipline. Within families the parenting behaviours of fathers and mothers are seen as parallel rather than at cross purposes, both by the daughters and the parents themselves. Moreover, daughters and parents largely agree about the parenting style itself. Notwithstanding, there are also families in which daughters and parents disagreeabout the parenting style in particular about Acceptance and Control, but not about Discipline.

Analyzing Structural Relations in Multivariate Dyadic Binary Data

In social network studies, most often only a single relation (or link) between the actors is investigated. When more than one link has been recorded, the two-way sociomatrix becomes a three-way array with the set of links being the third way. In this paper, we present a model which simultaneously accounts for the three ways in the data. Random effects are used to model the between-actor variability, both on senders and receivers side. In addition, structural relations between the linking variables are investigated. The model is applied to a study of popularity and strength in a class of students. It is shown that popularity can be seen as a linear function of strength on the receivers’ side, but not on the senders’ side.

Getting Published: An Editor’s Perspective

The process of publishing journal articles is examined from the perspective of an editor. Suggestions are given for starting the writing process, producing a good manuscript, and improving your chances of having your manuscript accepted. The manuscript review process is discussed as well as reasons why editors reject manuscripts.