0000000000324095
AUTHOR
J. Gabriel Molina
Driver training interests of a Spanish sample of young drivers and its relationship with their self-assessment skills concerning risky driving behavior
Abstract Poor driving self-assessment skills (e.g., over-confidence) have been pointed out as an important explanatory factor behind young drivers’ accident involvement. This paper explores (1) what young drivers miss in their training as drivers in order to analyze whether an assessment of one's own driving skills plays an important role in their desire to improve as drivers, and (2) how these training interests are related to an estimate of their self-assessment skills concerning risky driving behavior. For this purpose, a study was conducted using a survey with a blocked sampling design of novice drivers. The survey solicited respondents’ self-report about (1) the contents of training co…
Enhancing dynamic graphical analysis with the Lisp-Stat language and the ViSta statistical program
Presented is a sample of computerized methods aimed at multidimensional scaling and psychometric item analysis that offer a dynamic graphical interface to execute analyses and help visualize the results. These methods show how the Lisp-Stat programming language and the ViSta statistical program can be jointly applied to develop powerful computer applications that enhance dynamic graphical analysis methods. The feasibility of this combined strategy relies on two main features: (1) The programming architecture of ViSta enables users to add new statistical methods as plug-ins, which are integrated into the program environment and can make use of all the functions already available in ViSta (e.…
Wording effects and the factor structure of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12)
The 12-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) has become a popular screening instrument with which to measure general psychological health in different settings. Previous studies into the factorial structure of the GHQ-12 have mainly supported multifactor solutions, and only a few recent works have shown that the GHQ-12 was best represented by a single substantive factor when method effects associated with negatively worded items were considered. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to compare competing measurement models from previous research, including correlated traits-correlated methods and correlated traits-correlated uniquenesses approaches, to obtain further e…
Further examination of the organizational culture scale of artifacts
The construct validity of a 10-item Organizational Culture Scale Focused on Artifacts oriented to measure traditional culture was analyzed under the unidimensionality hypothesis of the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess the unidimensional structure, which took into account the method effects associated with reverse-worded items. The results based on the data from a sample of 926 subjects, 79.8% male, mean age of 33.4 years (SD = 12.8), working in different types of companies suggested the proposed unidimensional factor structure, with the elimination of two items from the scale. The resulting 8-item scale was reanalyzed, this time with the data of a second split-sam…
Validez estructural de un cuestionario para medir comportamientos eficaces en los equipos de trabajo
Se presenta un estudio de la validez estructural del cuestionario planteado por Philip R. Harris (1995; traducción al castellano realizada por el Centro de Estudios Ramón Areces, 2001) orientado a evaluar la eficacia del comportamiento individual de las personas que trabajan en un equipo. El instrumento se aplicó a una muestra compuesta por 771 empleados pertenecientes a distintos equipos de trabajo existentes en diversas organizaciones dedicadas a la atención a la dependencia. La realización del análisis factorial exploratorio reveló una estructura factorial de tres dimensiones, etiquetadas como 'habilidades comunicativas', 'expresión emocional' y 'aceptación', que explicaba el 63.2% de la…
Post-license Education for Novice Drivers: Evaluation of a Training Programme implemented in Spain
Abstract Introduction This study evaluated the implementation of a second phase training program for novice drivers in Spain, which puts the primary focus of the training on the higher hierarchical levels of driver behavior. Method Two hundred and sixty-three participants took part throughout the study, which was implemented as an experimental design with the test and control groups assessed before and after the one day safety training. Measurement of the impact of the training program focused on the participants' self-evaluation and self-reporting of some driving behavior indicators related to accident risk. Results Data analysis showed a change in the expected direction in the scale relat…
Computing Sum of Products about the Mean with Pairwise Algorithms
We discuss pairwise algorithms, a kind of computational algorithm which can be useful in dynamically updating statistics as new samples of data are collected. Since test data are usually collected through time as individual data sets, these algorithms would be profitably used in computer programs to treat this situation. Pair-wise algorithms are presented for calculating the sum of products of deviations about the mean for adding a sample of data (or removing one) to the whole data set.
Method effects associated with negatively and positively worded items on the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12): results from a cross-sectional survey with a representative sample of Catalonian workers
This study focused on the examination of the latent structure underlying the responses to the GHQ-12, considering the role of method effects associated with both, PW and NW items, and using two alternative parameterisations of the CFA measurement models. What should first be noted is that the studies that have included method effects in the measurement model of the GHQ-12 have been more the exception than the rule in previous research into the factor structure of this questionnaire. According to the results of the present study, we conclude that the GHQ-12 factor structure is best characterised by introducing latent method factors that capture both the method effects associated with NW and …
Implementation of the driver training curriculum in Spain – An analysis based on the Goals for Driver Education (GDE) framework
Abstract The Goals for Driver Education (GDE) framework represents a conceptual outline of the goals to be satisfied in driver education (Hatakka et al., 2002). We aimed to analyze the implementation of the driver training curriculum in Spain, taking this framework as reference; the Spanish driving instructors was the target population from which to gather the information to be analyzed. For this purpose, we developed the DTCI (Driver Training Curriculum Implementation) scale as well as a number of questions concerning the driving instructors’ opinions about their own training as instructors, and they were included in a survey that provided information for a probabilistic sample of 676 driv…