No description available.

No description available.

The dissertation aims to classify drivers based on driving and environmental behaviors. The research determined significant factors using factor analysis, identified different driver types using k-means clustering, and studied how the same drivers map in each classification domain. The research consists of two study cases. In the first study case, a new variable is proposed and then is used for classification. The drivers were divided into three groups. Two alternatives were designed to evaluate the environmental impact of driving behavior changes. In the second study case, two types of data sets were constructed: driving data and environmental data. The driving data represents driving behavior of individual drivers. The environmental data represents emissions and fuel consumption estimated by microscopic energy and emissions models. Significant factors were explored in each data set using factor analysis. A pair of factors was defined for each data set. Each pair of factors was used for each k-means clustering: driving clustering and environmental clustering. Then the factors were used to identify groups of drivers in each clustering domain. In the driving clustering, drivers were grouped into three clusters. In the environmental clustering, drivers were clustered into two groups. The groups from the driving clustering were compared to the groups from the environmental clustering in terms of emissions and fuel consumption. The three groups of drivers from the driving clustering were also mapped in the environmental domain. The results indicate that the differences in driving patterns among the three driver groups significantly influenced the emissions of HC, CO, and NOx. As a result, it was determined that the average target operating acceleration and braking did essentially influence the amount of emissions in terms of HC, CO, and NOx. Therefore, if drivers were to change their driving behavior to be more defensive, it is expected that emissions of HC, CO, and NOx would decrease. It was also found that spacing-based driving tended to produce less emissions but consumed more fuel than other groups, while speed-based driving produced relatively more emissions. On the other hand, the defensively moderate drivers consumed less fuel and produced fewer emissions. / Ph. D.

This research examined the validity of the 2-factor (e.g., Button, Mathieu, and Zajac, 1996) and 3-factor (e.g., VandeWalle, 1997) models of goal orientation. These models differ in specifying the dimensionality, measurement, and nomological network for learning goal orientation and performance goal orientation constructs. This study specifically tested the factorial and nomological validity of each model of goal orientation. The factorial validity was examined through a series of nested models and evaluating model fit parameters. The nomological validity of goal orientation was examined testing theoretically-derived relationships with the self-concept traits (e.g., core self-evaluations) of self-esteem, internal locus of control, generalized self-efficacy, and emotional stability. In addition, goal orientation relationships with need for achievement, fear of negative evaluation, and social desirability were also examined. Results of this study yielded mixed findings for the a priori models. Data from a student sample (N=314) and an employee sample (N=114) resulted in mixed findings across models and across samples. Although there was general support for both factor structures, several psychometric weaknesses were noted in the scales including low factor loadings, low factor variances, and low inter-item correlations. Additionally, results of the test-retest stability of goal orientation constructs were lower than desired across both models. Results of the hypothesized relationships found consistent support for learning goal orientation relationships, while the results for performance goal orientation were mixed. Learning goal orientation reflected positive and moderate levels of associations (i.e., r >.20) with self-esteem, internal locus of control, generalized self-efficacy, emotional stability, need for achievement and negatively related to fear of negative evaluation. Learning goal orientation also reflected positive but smaller levels of association with social desirability. Hypothesized relationships were supported for VandeWalle's (1997) performance avoid goal orientation reflecting negative relationships with the same correlates, except for a positive association with fear of negative evaluation. In general, the hypothesized relationships for Button et al.'s (1996) performance goal orientation and VandeWalle's (1997) performance prove goal orientation were not supported. These relationships resulted in near zero-correlations. Implications for future research addressing the conceptual framework, measurement and nomological relationships for goal orientation are discussed. / Ph. D.

Over the past two decades, cigarette smoking has decreased among teenagers and young adults, but nicotine vaping has increased dramatically. Liquid vape products contain harmful chemicals ingested when vapor is inhaled, and vaping is associated with lung damage and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. There has been relatively little research on nicotine vaping and effective prevention and intervention methods have yet to be developed. Changing expectancy processes has been successful in preventing early alcohol use and cigarette smoking, but little is known about nicotine vaping expectancies. An appropriately developed nicotine vaping expectancy measure is necessary to better understand vaping behavior and to provide a foundation for the development of effective prevention and intervention methods. In the present study, the Nicotine Vaping Expectancy Questionnaire (NVEQ) was developed using items collected from 8th graders, 12th graders, and college students. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and Rash analysis were used to select items and create subscales. The NVEQ was found to have good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity.

No / The factor structure of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were investigated in 376 individuals with facial disfigurement. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to determine the underlying factor structure of the instrument. Competing one-factor, two-factor and three-factor models were evaluated to identify best model fit. The best model fit to the data was found to be consistently provided by three-factor models. However, further research into the factor structure of the HADS is suggested, particularly in terms of developing and scoring the instrument as a three-dimensional affective state screening tool.

The present study was designed to empirically validate six theoretically derived cognitive domains (verbal memory, visual memory, working memory, attention-concentration, executive functions, and visuospatial abilities) assessed by a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests used in the Geriatric Memory Clinic at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, Texas. The study examined the extent to which various cognitive dimensions are tapped by this battery in a heterogeneous geriatric sample of 114 patients with cognitive impairments. The proposed six-factor model of cognitive functioning has not been supported. Further exploratory factor analysis arrived at a five-factor solution. Factor pattern of the 23 tests supported the following five dimensions: memory, executive control, attention, visuospatial abilities, and cognitive flexibility.

Innovative people seize the opportunity to make lives better and more comfortable, which contribute to economy growth and financial gain. Stakeholders study innovativeness of business students, in depth, to understand gender differences, and the factors affecting students' innovativeness. Literature explains how males and females differ in their proneness to guilt and shame. However, a model that explains the dynamic of guilt, shame, and gender on innovativeness will help make policies to improve students' innovativeness. This study describes factor analysis approach to examine the TOSCA-3 subscales guilt, shame, and the DNA instrument of innovativeness. It also describes the measurement invariance across gender for each construct, and for the full measurement model to identify the differences between genders. Moreover, this study examines the total effect of gender on innovativeness, which includes the direct effect, and indirect effect via guilt and shame. The results indicated that guilt is positively associated with innovativeness, and shame and gender are negatively associated with innovativeness. This dissertation can be freely accessed and downloaded from (http://etd.byu.edu/).

<p>This study investigates the most important reasons behind the rst-year students' decision to select University of the Western Cape (UWC) as higher education institution.<br /> These reasons were organized into a few factors for easy interpretation. The data to be analyzed for this project is a subsection of the data collected during the orientation period of 2008. During the orientation week of 2008, the questionnaires were completed on a voluntary basis by new rst-year students. All questionnaires were anonymously completed and therefore the data does not contain any information that could be linked to any individual. For the purpose of this study, only the black African and coloured students were considered. The other racial groups were not analyzed due to too small sample sizes. Questionnaires with missing information on the reasons for selecting UWC were not&nbsp / nalyzed. We ended up with a sample of size 600. The data were statistically analyzed, using descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, factor analysis, coefficient of congruence and bootstrap factor analysis. The results indicated that the most important reasons aecting students to choose UWC were identied as good academic reputation, family member's advice, UWC graduates are successful and UWC graduates get good jobs. The least important reasons were found to be not accepted anywhere, parents / family members graduated from UWC, recruited by UWC and wanted to study near to home. The results also indicated that there were significant differences among students according to population groups, parent's monthly income and grade 12 average. Factor analysis of 12 variables yielded three extracted factors upon which student decisions were based. Similarities of these three factors were tested, and a high similarity among demographic characteristics and grade 12 average were found. Additional analyses were conducted to measure the accuracy of factor analyses models constructed using Spearman and Polychoric correlation matrices. The results indicated that both correlation matrices were&nbsp / nbiased, with higher variance and higher loadings when the Polychoric correlation matrix was used to construct a factor analysis model for categorical data.</p>

The purpose of the study was threefold: (1) to determine the factor structure of mathematical thinking at the within-classroom and at the between-classroom level / (2) to investigate the extent of variation in the relationships among different mathematical thinking constructs at the within- and between-classroom levels / and (3) to examine the cross-level interactions among different types of mathematical thinking. Previous research was extended by investigating the factor structure of mathematical thinking in derivative at the within- and between-classroom levels, and further examining the direct, indirect, and cross-level relations among different types of mathematical thinking. Multilevel analyses of a cross-sectional dataset containing two independent samples of undergraduate students nested within classrooms showed that the within-structure of mathematical thinking includes enactive, iconic, algorithmic, algebraic, formal, and axiomatic thinking, whereas the between-structure contains formal-axiomatic, proceptual-symbolic, and conceptual-embodied thinking. Major findings from the two-level mathematical thinking model revealed that: (1) enactive, iconic, algebraic, and axiomatic thinking varied primarily as a function of formal and algorithmic thinking / (2) the strongest direct effect of formal-axiomatic thinking was on proceptual-symbolic thinking / (3) the nature of the relationships was cyclic at the between-classroom level / (4) the within-classroom mathematical thinking constructs significantly moderate the relationships among conceptual-embodied, proceptual-symbolic, and formal-axiomatic thinking / and (5) the between-classroom mathematical thinking constructs moderate the relationships among enactive, iconic, algorithmic, algebraic, formal, and axiomatic thinking. The challenges when using multilevel exploratory factor analysis, multilevel confirmatory factor analysis, and multilevel structural equation modeling with categorical variables are emphasized. Methodological and educational implications of findings are discussed.