Psychometric validation of the PERMA-profiler as a well-being measure for student veterans

Abstract

Objective: The current study aims to validate the PERMA-Profiler, a well-known well-being measure, among a sample of student veterans. Participants: A sample of 205 student veterans were recruited from universities across the United States. Method: Cross-sectional research design was used in this study. Measurement structure of the PERMA-Profiler was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Convergent, divergent, and criterion-related validity was tested using Pearson correlation coefficients and Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: The EFA results yielded a two-factor solution for student veterans. Factors are named as emotional character strengths and performance character strengths. Conclusions: The PERMA-Profiler is a multidimensional scale with good reliability and acceptable levels of convergent, divergent, and criterion-related validity. The PERMA-Profiler can help researchers and practitioners better gauge well-being in student veterans. Implications will be discussed.     

Personality, Perceived Luck and Gambling Attitudes as Predictors of Gambling Involvement

A quantitative observational study was undertaken to examine the relationship between individual factors and level of gambling involvement, in particular problem gambling (PG). The specific factors under study were personality, perceived luck, and attitudes towards gambling. A sample of university students (N = 185) completed a battery of questionnaires, consisting of the 16PF, Canadian Problem Gambling Index, Belief in Good Luck Scale (BIGL), Gambling Attitudes Scale (GAS), and the Impulsive Non-Conformity subscale (ImpNon) from the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences. Four groups were formed (Non-PG, Low-Risk, Moderate-Risk, and PG). Personality profiles varied between groups, and there were significant main effects and interaction effects on gender and personality factors. The PG group was higher on impulsivity, and belief in luck, and had more positive attitudes towards gambling. Multiple Regression Analysis and Discriminant Functions Analysis, using variables including some 16PF factors, BIGL and GAS variables, produced models that were highly predictive of gambling severity and gambling membership. In both models, impulsivity was the strongest predictor. These results were discussed in terms of their implications for future research and treatment of PG.     

CYNICISM ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN HONG KONG

ABSTRACT

In Hong Kong, the years since the handover of the territory to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997 have been a dispirited period characterized by open cynicism toward the government. Against this widespread social discontent and dissatisfaction, the government has tried to promote social cohesion and community spirit as a way forward to resolve social conflicts. How people respond to this call for more community involvement and whether they have faith in the ability of community engagement to make a change are questions that should be addressed. This article focuses on cynicism about community engagement in terms of taking part in social services and community affairs, and explains the variation in this attitude. It is found that perceptions of social disadvantage, social trust, and the presence of dependent children have significant effects on cynical attitudes toward community engagement. This article is concluded by an argument for a “broader” definition of community responsibility that includes the fulfillment of family and work obligations, and the avoidance of passing moral judgment on burdened individuals with limited resources.     

Distribution lot-sizing models for arborescent supply chains with discrete-period variable demand

This study formulates a novel mixed-integer programming lot-sizing model for arborescent supply chains with discrete-period variable demand and then develops an efficient two-phase heuristic method, in which a combined multi-period demand ordering policy, rather than the lot-for-lot ordering policy usually assumed in previous papers, is adopted. Two important properties are introduced and used to obtain a better initial feasible solution. The good performance of the proposed heuristic method is verified through a comparison with the optimal solution method. It is also shown that the performance of the proposed combined multi-period demand ordering method is superior to that of the lot-for-lot ordering method. Sensitivity analysis is conducted to explore the impacts of changing the values of relevant parameters on the total supply chain cost, the total number of orders and the total number of opened members. Finally, a well-known logistics company in Taiwan is chosen to demonstrate the excellent performance and the aptness of the proposed ordering method.     

Understanding learning behavior using location and prior performance as moderators

This study proposes and validates a research model that examines individuals’ learning behavior. Drawing on social cognitive theory (SCT), this study postulates self-efficacy, outcome expectations, social influence, and facilitating conditions as the key drivers of individuals’ learning behavior. Learners’ residential location and prior performance are also considered as moderators in the proposed model. This study contributes to the education literature by extending traditional SCT models to examine the previously unexplored area of environmental factors containing social influence and facilitating conditions, by validating idiosyncratic drivers of learning behavior and by presenting an operationalization of location and prior performance as two moderators in the learning behavioral formation. Finally, implications and limitations of the research are also provided.     

Modern East Asia in World-Systems Analysis*

Applying the large-scale, holistic, and long-time-span heuristic devices of world-systems analysis, this article highlights the crucial role played by regional geopolitics in East Asian development, In regard to large-scale analysis, this article studies interstate dynamics in East Asia and shows how the strategic locations of China, Japan, and Korea greatly influenced one another's development. This article shows, through holistic analysis, that geopolitics often intertwines with emerging cultural constructs and changing regional dynamics and, through long-term analysis, that contemporary East Asia must be understood in terms of its pre-World War II geopolitical development. This study contributes to the existing literature by reintroducing the often neglected geopolitical context into reinterpreting the roles of the market, Confucianism, the state, and dependency in the contours of East Asian development.     

Modeling perceived job productivity and its antecedents considering gender as a moderator

This study proposes a conceptual model for examining the formation of perceived job productivity and its antecedents. In the model, leader–member exchange and job satisfaction both directly and indirectly influence perceived job productivity, with the latter effect occurring through the mediation of organizational commitment. Gender moderates each model path. The moderating effects are simultaneously tested using data from 344 engineering staff of a large Taiwanese high-tech manufacturer. Lastly, the empirical findings and their implications are discussed.     

Intersecting Lorenz Curves, the Degree of Downside Inequality Aversion, and Tax Reforms

This paper clarifies the conceptual distinction of downside inequality aversion (or transfer sensitivity) as a normative criterion for judging income distributions from the Pigou-Dalton principle of transfers. We show that when the Lorenz curves of two income distributions intersect, how the change from one distribution to the other is judged by an inequality index exhibiting downside inequality aversion often depends on the relative strengths of its downside inequality aversion and inequality aversion. For additive inequality indices or their monotonic transformations, a measure characterizing the strength of an index’s downside inequality aversion against its inequality aversion is shown to determine the ranking by the index of two distributions whose Lorenz curves cross once. The precise condition under which the same result generalizes to the case of multiple-crossing Lorenz curves is also identified. The results are particularly useful in understanding the distributional impact of tax reforms. I received exceptionally helpful comments from Mike Hoy, Peter Lambert, the Editor, Buhong Zheng, and an anonymous referee. The remaining errors and shortcomings are my own – W.H. Chiu