abstract: Legal cynicism, a concept that reflects how individuals feel about the law, can be linked to different theoretical traditions. However, inconsistencies in the way legal cynicism is operationalized abound. This study aimed to develop a more complete and psychometrically-sound measure of legal cynicism. Factor-analytic procedures were used on a sample of 502 undergraduate university students to create the scale and to test its directional accuracy. Using promax-rotated principal-axis factor analysis, a 4 dimensional factor structure emerged—legal apathy, legal corruption, legal discrimination, and low legal legitimacy. The 21-item scale has a high level of internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .85; mean inter-item r = .58). Results from ordinary least squares regression models confirmed that the multidimensional legal cynicism scale is significantly correlated with criminal offending (β = .34, p < .001), net of low self-control and demographic characteristics. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Criminal Justice 2015

Ubuntu is an African humanist philosophy described by the Nguni aphorism “umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” which translates as a person is a person through other people. While Ubuntu has been a domain of extensive scholarly research, to date almost all of this work has been philosophical or conceptual; by contrast, there is a dearth of empirical research examining the nature of Ubuntu. Scholars provide indicator values, namely descriptive abstract nouns, of Ubuntu with no consistency in how the indicator values were derived because the concept lacks a clear definition. The challenges arising from the lack of a clear definition of Ubuntu can be attributed to the fact that there is no empirical research that has been conducted to develop a reliable and valid measure of Ubuntu. This research operationalised Ubuntu by developing a psychometrically reliable and valid scale for measuring Ubuntu. The research established the underlying dimensions of Ubuntu. This thesis develops and validates a scale to measure Ubuntu using a mixed-methods, multiple study approach. First, a literature review identifies 82 indicator values of Ubuntu. Next, using focus groups, depth interviews, and q-sorting, three nascent components of Ubuntu emerge: humanness, interconnectedness, and compassion. Finally, across three quantitative studies, the scale is purified to seventeen items which exhibit a three-factor structure that is psychometrically reliable and valid. The Ubuntu scale has discriminant validity relative to a collectivism scale and demonstrates predictive validity in terms of charitable and altruistic behaviours. This study contributes towards the development of theory through conceptualisation of Ubuntu. The current study utilised large sample sizes to replicate the factor structure, reliability, and construct validity of the measure including nomological validity assessment and measurement invariance. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / DPhil / Unrestricted

There is a need for virtuous leaders that have a sound moral compass that guide their actions and decisions towards good and honourable outcomes. In particular, the current research study responded to a call in literature to address an African context perspective of virtuous leadership. Based on this, the aim was to formulate a theoretical conceptualisation of virtuous leadership that was grounded in an African contextual perspective to develop and validate a Virtuous Leadership Scale (VLS). The current research study was a descriptive research design with a cross-sectional approach. Secondary quantitative data and primary qualitative and quantitative data was utilised by means of convenience sampling strategy and snowball technique. A realised sample for the secondary quantitative data (n = 193) and the primary quantitative data (n = 72) was collected from the general working population. A conceptual/theoretical model of virtuous leadership was proposed, which captured seven virtues that encompassed an African contextual perspective: 1) courage; 2) humanity; 3) humility; 4) integrity; 5) justice; 6) prudence; and 7) temperance. Based on this model, items were generated and analysed prior to the development of the VLS. Exploratory Factor Analysis confirmed the unidimensionality of each virtue subscale. Utilising Confirmatory Factor Analysis, the measurement model was found to be a good fit. Furthermore, empirical evidence of reliability, discriminant and convergent validity was found, however, predictive validity was not supported. The current research study developed a valid and reliable scale that measures the virtuous leadership construct. There are limitations, recommendations and theoretical contributions discussed.

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No description available.

Brand advocacy occurs when consumers who feel very passionately about a brand seek to promote it to others and defend it against its naysayers. These consumers are valuable to brands as information between consumers is more easily and rapidly shared than ever before, and as consumer distrust of brand-sponsored messages is high. As a result, brands are dependent upon their brand advocates to leverage the perceived reliability of peer recommendations to recruit new customers. However, thus far in the marketing literature, an adequate conceptualization of brand advocacy has failed to emerge. Instead, when discussed, brand advocacy is often measured using a proxy variable such as positive word-of-mouth. It is the supposition of the author that these two constructs are not synonymous and using one as a proxy for the other severely limits researchers’ understanding of the brand advocacy and its impact. The goal of this research is to define brand advocacy and develop a valid scale to measure it. Following Churchill’s (1979) paradigm for scale development, a series of four studies were undertaken to validate the new scale. The first two studies are qualitative in nature and help identify the domains of brand advocacy. Based on the results of the first study, a series of depth interviews, and the second study, an open-ended questionnaire, the following definition of brand advocacy is put forth: Brand advocacy is a combination of customer-motivated behaviors, including proactively recommending the brand and defending the brand against detractors, intended to maintain the customer’s relationship with the brand and promote it to others. The construct was determined to be a higher-order construct comprising two distinct sets of behaviors that address advocates’ need to not only defend the brand to naysayers but also to proactively spread positive brand communications to others. The third and fourth studies use quantitative data to complete the scale development process by proposing and validating a nine-item scale to measure the multi-dimensional construct of brand advocacy as well as provide evidence that it is a distinct construct from PWOM. The results of this research provide a definition and valid scale of brand advocacy.

Depression is a common, debilitating disorder that is often treated using behavioral activation (BA), which includes identification and scheduling of pleasant activities. Owning a pet appears to be a viable source of pleasant activities, though current BA tools do not extensively consider these activities. The present study aimed to develop the Pet-Related Events and Tasks Scale (PETS) to determine what activities of pet ownership are pleasant and may be used in BA. Various methods were used to generate items (i.e., focus groups, surveys, and adaptation of existing event schedule items) and revise the developing PETS (i.e., cognitive interviews and expert review). Initial data collection on the developing PETS resulted in a small, homogeneous sample that concluded prematurely due to changes in engagement in pet-related activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic stay-at-home orders. Despite limited data collection, various future directions exist for the developing PETS.

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No description available.

One of the difficulties encountered by therapists working with individuals with obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms/disorder is the resistance of OC symptoms to change. A factor that may affect the prognosis for such individuals is the extent to which their symptoms result in positive or negative functional consequences. The current study describes the development, reliability, and validity of a new scale — the Obsessive Compulsive Self-Syntonicity of Symptoms Scale (OCSSSS) - that measures the positive and negative functional consequences of OC symptoms. Items were generated by the principal investigator and major professor after examining the research literature for OC and related disorders. Fifty-four items were generated, which yielded a robust, seven component structure through principal components analysis. Items were rated on a 1-5 Likert scale (1=extremely inconsistent - 5=extremely consistent) with an option of "not applicable" (coded as "0"). Higher scores on the OCSSSS indicated more perceived functional consequences of OC symptoms in an individual's daily life. The sample consisted of 634 students, who responded to an advertisement describing general examples of OC symptoms and who completed several measures online, including: 1) Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, Self Report (Y-BOCS-SR); 2)Obsessive Compulsive Inventory Revised (OCI-R); 3) University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA); 4) self-report of frequency of prior/current therapy; evaluation of the effectiveness of prior therapy; evaluation of the expected effectiveness of future therapy; and willingness to participate in future therapy; and 5) social/work adjustment. The OCSSSS was reliable and most items correlated with total score. The OCSSSS's total score and individual component scores were correlated with symptom severity, symptom type, subjective evaluations of treatment experiences, willingness to participate in treatment, avoidance, work and social adjustment, and stage of change. Regression analyses indicated the OCSSSS significantly predicts stage of change, controlling for symptom severity. / Master of Science