Over the past two decades there has been an upsurge in interest in structural equation modelling (SEM). Applications abound in the social sciences and econometrics, but the use of this multivariate technique is not so common in public health research. This dissertation discusses the methodology, the criticisms and practical problems of SEM. We examine actual applications of SEM in public health research. Comparisons are made between multiple regression and SEM and between factor analysis and SEM. A complex model investigating the utilization of antenatal care services (ANC) by migrant women in Belgium is analysed using SEM. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the results found and on the use of SEM in public health research. Structural equation modelling is recommended as a tool for public health researchers with a warning against using the technique too casually. / Mathematical Sciences / M. Sc. (Statistics)

Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) is a widely researched construct of corporate entrepreneurship. Despite long-standing research on EO, past studies on this construct have been unable to resolve issues related to its measurement. Innovation Intensity (II) is also a dynamic construct of corporate entrepreneurship but has received relatively less empirical attention. Previous research has reported an absence of an empirically validated quantitative scale of innovation, particularly innovation intensity. This research has addressed these gaps by proposing a refinement and validation of the Entrepreneurial Orientation scale and the development of an Innovation Intensity scale. The research proposes an Entrepreneurial Transformational Model (ETM) positing that EO impacts II. A predominantly quantitative research strategy supported by qualitative inputs, is employed to obtain empirical data from 404 corporate firms in Oman, drawing from a list of corporate firms registered with the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry. A mix of questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews was conducted with senior managers from firms representing various industries of the Omani corporate sector. Utilising exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modelling (SEM), a two-stage data analysis approach was adopted. Measurement and structural models were developed for EO and II measures, while a complete SEM model was developed to test the causal relationship between EO and II. The results indicate that EO is a second-order construct consisting of five first-order factors, namely ready to innovate, competitive aggressiveness, autonomy, risk taking and proactiveness, which are its reflective components. Similarly, II is a second-order construct consisting of two first-order factors, namely degree and frequency of incremental and radical innovation, which are its reflective components. The II scale developed through this study allows corporate firms to assess their innovation intensity on a two-dimensional four-celled grid with varying levels of degree and frequency of innovation. Finally, EO is found to influence II and the entire relationship is posited as Entrepreneurial Transformation Model. This study, by addressing the empirical irregularities, has brought clarity to the measurement of EO and II constructs and is an original contribution to the advancement of theoretical knowledge and improvement in professional practice.

(in English): This paper is devoted to indicator of subjective quality of working life (SQWLI) equivalence of measurement and testing of this instrument over time. The theoretical part introduces the concept of equivalence, from its inception, through the definition, types, methods used to test different kinds of equivalence and programs that can be used for this purpose. Furthermore the tested data files from 2009, 2011, 2013 to 2014 are presented. The analytical part contains a description of confirmatory factor analysis for multiple groups which is the most common method for testing equivalence of measurement. Presented are the results of several testing methods - analysis of reliability, exploratory factor analysis and the confirmatory factor analysis for multiple groups. According to the results it is shown how it is possible to approach comparisons over time and finally the development of SQWLI and it's individual changes in terms of the functionality of the whole tool is discussed. 2

許多研究證實企業落實企業社會責任（CSR），有助增進與利害關係人關係。然而，不同利害關係人對不同面向之CSR的態度因重視程度高低而有差異，若企業能以特定利害關係人所注重之CSR面向進行溝通，溝通效果將事半功倍。「天下企業公民獎」是國內CSR獎項的先行者，透過將CSR分為「公司治理」、「企業承諾」、「社會參與」與「環境保護」，邀請專家學者對參獎企業進行各構面的評比。此獎深耕台灣，許多企業視此獎為自身CSR的年度總體檢。 本研究以民眾角度，探討天下企業公民獎四大構面是否為衡量CSR的顯著指標，及各構面之衡量題項是否能真實反應該構面意涵。其次，探討四大構面在消費者心中的相對重要性，並進行跨產業比較：探討是否因產業不同，使民眾對四大構面的重要性排序發生改變。最後透過重要性－績效分析法，找出各產業之代表企業（玉山金控、華碩電腦與中華電信）在民眾心中仍可加強的CSR構面。本研究之有效網路問卷共344份（金融業115份、製造業117份、服務業112份），透過LISREL進行二階驗證式因素分析。研究結果歸納如下： 一、四大構面皆為衡量企業社會責任的顯著指標。 二、「環境保護」、「社會參與」、「公司治理」之題項皆為衡量構面的顯著指標。「企業承諾」構面下則有兩題項對該構面的解釋能力不足。 三、民眾對於企業社會責任之四大構面的重要性排序為「企業承諾」＞「公司治理」＞「環境保護」＞「社會參與」。 四、「企業承諾」在民眾心中屬於相對重要性高的構面。若企業透過企業承諾構面的CSR作為與民眾溝通，推測能夠有達到較佳的溝通效果。 五、對於三間代表企業而言，「企業承諾」皆為民眾較重視的構面，但玉山金控與華碩電腦在民眾心中的表現績效偏低，建議可列為優先改善重點。 六、企業的「社會參與」績效佳，但民眾認為重要性低，故可將資源重分配。 / Companies nowadays face an ever more difficult environment and more demanding stakeholders. This means corporate social responsibility has become a new area offering opportunity for reducing risks and developing new competitive advantages. Previous research has shown that corporate social responsibility helps companies better communicate with stakeholders and increase brand value as well as reputation. “CommonWealth Magazine Corporate Citizen Award” is the pioneer in domestic corporate social responsibility awards. Its corporate social responsibility (CSR) framework takes four dimensions into account, including Corporate Governance, Corporate Commitment, Community Involvement, and Environmental Protection. Annually, experts and scholars are invited to grade on these four dimensions, and awards are given out to the top 100 corporate citizens. The award is in its 11th consecutive year. With its long tradition and reputation, many companies regard this award as the annual examination for their corporate social responsibility practices. From the customers’ perspective, this study examines whether the four dimensions given by CommonWealth Magazine Corporate Citizen Award can be significant indicators for corporate social responsibility, and whether the measuring questions truly reflect each dimension. Next, it moves on to examine the relative importance for consumers of the four dimensions, including cross-industry comparison. By including the financial industry, the manufacturing industry and the service industry, it examines whether people would rank the four dimensions in a different order according to different industries. Finally, by applying Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA), it analyses the dimensions for three representative corporations in each industry (E. Sun Financial Holdings Company, ASUSTEK Computer Inc, and Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd.) Based on these findings, suggestions for improvement are made. With 344 valid online questionnaires (115 in the financial industry, 117 in the manufacturing industry, 112 in the service industy) and using second-order CFA in LISREL, the research findings are summarized as below: 1. All four dimensions are significant indicators for measuring corporate social responsibility. 2. The measuring questions for “Environmental Protection”, “Social Involvement” and “Corporate Governance” dimensions are all significant indicators for their respective dimensions. However, two measuring questions in “Corporate Commitment” do not provide sufficient explanation of this dimension. 3. People rank in the order of importance the four dimensions of corporate social responsibility as follows: Corporate Commitment, Corporate Governance, Environmental Protection, and Community Involvement. 4. In the cross-industry comparison, “Corporate Commitment” ranks the most or second most important dimension for consumers. Companies are advised to communicate with consumers through activities in this dimension. 5. Consumers place great value on “Corporate Commitment”, while E. Sun Financial Holdings Company and ASUSTEK Computer Inc perform poorly in this dimension. Suggestions are given as to better prioritize the practice of this dimension. 6. “Community Involvement” shows high performance, while consumers actually do not place that much importance on it. Thus, it is recommended that resources should be reorganized.

The measurement of reliable and valid indicators of early child development is necessary for assessing phenomena and is useful in the monitoring of ongoing efforts to eradicate inequalities in the social determinants of health. There is an increasing awareness of the contextual, cultural, and developmental influences on constructs used in early child development (ECD) research. Using a measurement perspective, this dissertation examined the issue of measurement invariance and psychometric validity in early child development research. A construct violates the principle of invariance when two persons from different populations who are theoretically identical on the construct being measured have different scores on it. This dissertation consists of three journal-style manuscripts (published or under review) that were used as examples to address the importance of the issue of measurement invariance and psychometric validity in ECD research using data from two unique areas: autism and executive functioning. The three data sets were collected on pre-school children with parents and or teachers as informants and were chosen to represent different levels of data collection – clinical, community, and population. These data sets allowed for the examination of measurement invariance by type of informant, sex, and age of child. The results from the three studies illustrate the importance of assessing measurement invariance in ECD and whether or not the instruments examined can be used to assess sub-group differences with confidence. A lack of measurement invariance found for two of the studies, suggests that observed group differences in latent constructs could be attributed, in part, to measurement bias. More importantly, bias in the measurement of the constructs of severity of social impairment symptoms in autism, and executive functioning across groups could have an impact on services such as patient treatment. These biases could also influence public policy development, particularly when there may be an underlying need for a cross-group approach where belief systems may affect the meaning and structure of constructs. In summary, measurement invariance should be a prerequisite for making any meaningful comparisons across groups. A requirement of establishing measurement invariance should be included in the guidelines for comparative research studies as a necessary first step before an instrument is adopted for use.

Dans le cadre d’une réflexion sur la mobilité internationale, nous nous intéressons dans cette thèse aux motivations des cadres français dans leur intention d’accepter une affectation internationale. Notre étude nous permet de soutenir que cette intention ne dépend pas uniquement des attitudes. Le contrôle comportemental perçu contribue également à la détermination de cette intention. Ce travail s’appuie sur la Théorie du Comportement Planifié (TCP). L’apport théorique de notre recherche est d’appliquer le modèle de la TCP auprès des cadres français pour savoir dans quelle mesure ils ont l’intention d’accepter une affectation internationale. L’apport managérial est de proposer aux entreprises des clés de compréhension leur permettant d’améliorer leurs pratiques de mobilité en identifiant les motivations des cadres pour une affectation internationale. L’apport méthodologique est la proposition de scénarios en fonction du pays de destination pour mettre en évidence la contribution des trois déterminants de cette intention en termes d’attitudes, de normes sociales et de contrôle perçu. / In the context of international mobility, we aim to explore in this thesis the motivations of the French executives regarding their intentions to accept an international assignment.Our study is based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and enabled us to conclude that the intentions to accept international assignment does not depend solely on the attitudes. The perceived behavioral control also contribute to the determination of this intention. The theoretical contribution of our research is to apply the model of TPB on the French executives who have the intention to accept an international assignment. The managerial contribution is to offer the firms some key guidelines to broaden their understanding pertaining to the improvement in their practices of mobility by identifying the motivations of the executives for an international assignment.The methodological contribution is the proposition of scenarios based on country of destination for exhibiting the contribution of three determinants of this intention in terms of attitudes, social norms and perceived control.

Esta investigación tuvo como objetivo analizar las propiedades psicométricas de la Escala Personalidad Resistente (EPR) en estudiantes pertenecientes a universidades privadas de Lima. La muestra quedó compuesta por 300 alumnos (52% mujeres y 48% hombres) con edades entre 18 y 28 años. Se aplicaron los instrumentos EPR, para medir la personalidad resistente, y la Escala de Percepción Global del Estrés (EPGE), que mide la percepción ante situaciones estresantes, con el fin de realizar un análisis convergente y divergente. Se realizó un análisis factorial confirmatorio, que demostró que la escala puede ser explicada como tres factores relacionados y como un factor con tres dimensiones. En cuanto a la confiabilidad, el EPR muestra una alta consistencia interna al identificarse un Coeficiente de Omega mayor a .90. Así, en base a los resultados, se concluye que el EPR evidencia propiedades psicométricas adecuadas para ser aplicado a estudiantes de universidades privadas de Lima. / This research aimed to analyze the psychometric properties of the Hardy Personality Scale (HPS) in students belonging to private universities in Lima. The sample is made up of 300 students (52% women and 48% men) with ages between 18 and 28 years. The HPS, to measure hardy personality, and Global Stress Perception Scale (GSPS), that measures the perception of stressful situations, in order perform a convergent and divergent analysis, were the instruments applied. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed as part of the internal structure analysis, which showed that the scale can be explained as a three related factors and as a factor with three dimensions. Regarding reliability, the HPS shows high internal consistency since it has an Omega Coefficient greater than .90. Thus, based on the results, it is concluded that the HPS evidences adequate psychometric properties to be applied to students of private universities in Lima. / Tesis

Background Demands placed on individuals in occupational and social settings, as well as imbalances in personal traits and resources, can lead to chronic stress. The Trier Inventory for Chronic Stress (TICS) measures chronic stress while incorporating domain-specific aspects, and has been found to be a highly reliable and valid research tool. The aims of the present study were to confirm the German version TICS factorial structure in an English translation of the instrument (TICS-E) and to report its psychometric properties. Methods A random route sample of healthy participants (N = 483) aged 18–30 years completed the TICS-E. The robust maximum likelihood estimation with a mean-adjusted chi-square test statistic was applied due to the sample’s significant deviation from the multivariate normal distribution. Goodness of fit, absolute model fit, and relative model fit were assessed by means of the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), the Comparative Fit Index (CFI) and the Tucker Lewis Index (TLI). Results Reliability estimates (Cronbach’s α and adjusted split-half reliability) ranged from .84 to .92. Item-scale correlations ranged from .50 to .85. Measures of fit showed values of .052 for RMSEA (Cl = 0.50–.054) and .067 for SRMR for absolute model fit, and values of .846 (TLI) and .855 (CFI) for relative model-fit. Factor loadings ranged from .55 to .91. Conclusion The psychometric properties and factor structure of the TICS-E are comparable to the German version of the TICS. The instrument therefore meets quality standards for an adequate measurement of chronic stress.

El objetivo del presente estudio fue evidenciar propiedades psicométricas del cuestionario de Autocontrol Breve (BSCS) en adultos de la provincia de Lima y Arequipa, Perú. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 280 adultos jóvenes entre las edades de 20 a 40 años de los cuales fueron de Lima (58%) de Arequipa (42%) de forma no probabilística del tipo intencional. Se aplicó el Cuestionario de Autocontrol breve (Tangney, Baumeister y Luzio, 2004) y el cuestionario de Agresividad (Matalinares, Yaringaño, Uceda, Fernández, Huari, Campos y Villavicencio, 2012). Se realizó un AFC, el cual dio como resultado 4 dimensiones con χ²/gl = 3.16(< 3), p < .001 el CFI = .95 (>.95), SRMR = .05, la RMSEA = 0.088 (0.068, 0.109) (<.08) y el TLI = .93 (>.95). Se calculó la consistencia interna omega que oscila entre .49 y 73. Se utilizó la prueba no paramétrica de Spearman para el análisis de validez discriminante. El análisis de correlaciones entre BSCS y el cuestionario de Agresividad dio como resultado que todas son negativas y significativas (p < .05), con magnitud entre moderada (rs > .62) y baja (rs >.18). Concluyen que el BSCS brinda evidencias suficientes para seguir siendo estudiado en la población. / The objective of this study was to demonstrate psychometric properties of the Brief Self-Control Questionnaire (BSCS) in adults from the province of Lima and Arequipa, Peru. The sample consisted of 280 young adults between the ages of 20 to 40 years of which were from Lima (58%) of Arequipa (42%) in a non-probabilistic way of the intentional type. The brief Self-Control Questionnaire (Tangney, Baumeister and Luzio, 2004) and the Aggression questionnaire (Matalinares, Yaringaño, Uceda, Fernández, Huari, Campos and Villavicencio, 2012) were applied. An AFC was performed, which resulted in 4 dimensions with χ² / gl = 3.16 (<3), p <.001 the CFI = .95 (> .95), SRMR = .05, the RMSEA = 0.088 (0.068, 0.109) (<.08) and the TLI = .93 (> .95). The omega internal consistency ranging between .49 and 73 was calculated. Spearman's non-parametric test was used for the discriminant validity analysis. The correlation analysis between BSCS and the Aggression questionnaire showed that all of them are negative and significant (p <.05), with a magnitude between moderate (rs> .62) and low (rs> .18). They conclude that the BSCS provides sufficient evidence to continue being studied in the population. / Tesis

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