Suchergebnisse

Safety in road traffic as a system in which there are dynamic interactions between its different users depends on how integrated it is. In this system, drivers are a favoured group of users. Unfortunately they are also the most dangerous group, as research shows. Studying the causes of dangerous driving behaviour is still important.
The paper aims to present the psychometric methodology to define the diagnostic and prognostic validity of some psychometric tests used by transport psychologists. Our statistical analysis included the four experimental groups of professional drivers with motor vehicle accident and one control group of drivers whose road performance had no motor vehicle accident recordings.
The novelty of the study presented here is in linking the psychometric tests outcomes of professional road drivers (city bus drivers, school bus drivers, taxi drivers, ambulance drivers, fire trucks drivers, police drivers, military vehicle
drivers, special vehicle drivers etc.) and their behavioral safety performance on public roads (i.e. causing road accidents, road collisions, participating in accidents but not causing it, and participating in road collision but not causing it) – which aims to indicate the diagnostic and prognostic validity of these tests for drivers.
Discriminatory analysis based on Fisher ĝ-function was used to find discrepancies between the specific test outcomes of the road drivers in the control group and the four risky behaviour groups. The identified discrepancies are interpreted in terms of equivalence between the diagnostic and prognostic validity of the taken into consideration psychometric tools used by psychologists for diagnosing road drivers.

This study explored relationships between an individualism-collectivism orientation as well as communal orientation and the perceptions of Chinese employees (n = 20) from an MNC of intercultural communication. On the basis of previous research, we hypothesised that this group of employees would display a tendency to focus their attention on the actions, knowledge and needs of their co-workers. To verify this hypothesis, the employees were surveyed in a Chinese subsidiary of a European top manufacturing company. We administered Individualism and Collectivism Scale, Communal Orientation Scale and an original questionnaire survey collecting data about participants' opinions of cultural diversity, communication problems, and stereotypes in intercultural interactions. A correlation analysis showed that although collectivists expressed positive attitudes to cultural diversity, they accentuated a need for respecting their own cultural values. Both collectivists and communally-oriented employees were not emotionally involved in communication with co-workers from other cultures. Whilst collectivism was moderately associated with focusing on norms at a workplace, communal orientation was proven to be related to maintaining and regulating relationships within a professional group.

This study examines the personal opinions of Chinese employees working in a multicultural environment on the relationship between cultural diversity and the efficacy of their communication in a multicultural environment. To better understand the connection between cultural background and efficient business communication, we conducted a questionnaire survey in 2014 among 20 employees from a Chinese subsidiary of a European top global manufacturing company. Analyses showed that even if the respondents expressed negative effects of cultural differences on communication, they also manifested positive attitudes toward intercultural interactions. Moreover, ignoring or even disrespecting the different cultural values of interactants were regarded as basic barriers in intercultural communication, and such barriers can be avoided when a different cultural background is respected. Although cultural differences were considered to hinder the respondents' performance and often to be a source of dissatisfaction, they did not discourage them from entering into intercultural communication.

The key problem in studies of marketing objects (e.g., brands, political parties) is the lack of agreement on the universal dimensions through which such objects are perceived, as well as on methodologies allowing their identification. As a result, researchers often use structural models (and instruments) that lack ecological validity. We offer a solution to that problem by presenting a methodology that draws on lexical research and which has allowed researchers to establish universal dimensions of personality perception in psychology. By discussing the theoretical and methodological tenets of the multilevel lexical approach to exploring images of marketing objects, we also overcome another problem of neglecting the hierarchical structure of the phenomena and data.

The aim of the article. Numerous studies show that the key role in a politician's image play voters' beliefs concerning the politician's personality traits. In order to be able to manage a politician's image, one should answer two strictly interrelated questions: (1) what personality traits of politicians are important to voters and (2) how to measure them? There are three different solutions concerning the number of traits and the manner of dispositional measurement of politicians' personality. The first group of researchers investigate politicians' image using questionnaires developed ad hoc for the purposes of specific studies, not based on any models of personality. The second group of researchers start from the implicit or explicit assumption that voters perceive politicians on the same dimensions on which ordinary people is perceived; consequently, they measure perceived personality traits with the same tools that are used in psychological counselling centres. The results of numerous studies prove, however, that politicians' personality is perceived on a smaller number of dimensions than ordinary people's personality, which suggests the need for a systematisation of politicians' personality traits as perceived by voters and the need to develop measurement scales corresponding to the dimensions identified. The third group of researchers have adapted the methodology of psycholexical research in personality psychology and used it for the purpose of studying the image of several dozen Ukrainian politicians in the years 2011-2014. The aim of the paper was to verify the findings of previous studies on the perception of Ukrainian politicians and to develop a scale for measuring politicians' personality traits. The results of the analysis. In order to verify the factor structure and the psychometric properties of the scales, research with 210 students as participants was conducted before the 2012 parliamentary election in Ukraine. Test-retest stability was verified on a sample of 52 students at an interval of one month, at the turn of 2015. The results of principal component analysis at the individual and aggregated levels showed that individuals perceive politicians' dispositional image on four dimensions: (1) Strength, (2) Intellect, (3) Dishonesty, (4) Confrontationality. Based on the results obtained, two versions of the questionnaire were developed: for the complete adjective list (4 scales х 7 adjectives) and for its abbreviated version (4 scales х 4 adjectives). The complete adjective list consisted of the following items: (1) Strength: persistent, daring, resolute, purposeful, strong, willed, leader; (2) Intellect: orator, eloquent, intellectual, cultured, educated, clever, knowledgeable; (3) Dishonesty: mercenary, lying, corrupt, crafty, two-faced, honest, sincere; (4) Confrontationality: calm, scandalous, restrained, confrontational, aggressive, emotional, balanced. Confirmatory factor analysis performed for the complete list and for its abbreviated version showed an acceptable fit of the model to M-centred data. The scales are characterised by good reliability and test-retest stability. The results of the analyses confirmed a strict relationship between the personality traits attributed to a politician and the attitude towards as well as preference for him or her and at both the individual and aggregated levels. The trait most strongly related to preference for politicians was their perceived Dishonesty, followed by Strength, while Confrontationality and Intellect were somewhat more weakly related to voter preference. Conclusions and directions for further researches. The results of the research have shown the stability of the four-factor structure of the perception of politicians at both the individual and ecological levels, confirmed the value of the developed personality scales in explaining the variance in preference for politicians and the good psychometric properties of the questionnaire concerning the internal consistency of the scales and the test-retest stability of measurement at the individual level. ; У статті розкрито недоліки існуючих методик оцінювання сприйманих ознак особистості політиків і розроблено інноваційний методичний підхід щодо комплексного оцінювання іміджу особистості політиків. Отримані опитувальники дають можливість планувати маркетингові заходи з урахуванням активного впливу на сприйняття тих ознак особистості політиків, які найбільш тісно пов'язані з політичними уподобаннями виборців в Україні. ; Wiktor Razmus

Unia Europejska jest jednym z najlepiej rozwiniętych obszarów świata. Pomimo tego, na obszarze Unii występuje głębokie regionalne zróżnicowanie poziomu rozwoju gospodarczego, a Lubelszczyzna wciąż pozostaje jednym z najuboższych regionów Wspólnoty. Jednym z celów polityki Unii Europejskiej jest zmniejszanie tychże różnic poprzez m.in. uczynienie regionów ubogich bardziej atrakcyjnymi dla inwestorów. Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie oceny instrumentów wspierania atrakcyjności inwestycyjnej dokonanej przez przedsiębiorców z regionu lubelskiego.

This paper examines the cross-cultural universality of the structural model of (voter) perception of political parties (PPP) in three ex-communist countries with party-centered systems, but with different economic and cultural backgrounds, and different levels of democracy development. We conducted a confirmatory study of a five-dimensional structure of PPP, which had been established through lexical research, using data from voters in Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine. The structure involved personality-related dimensions (Strength, Disagreeableness, and Integrity) and non-personality dimensions, such as worldview (Left Wing vs. Right Wing) and evaluation (Backwardness vs. Modernity). The study revealed the configural and metric invariance of the structure of PPP. Its dimensions explain political preferences in each country at the individual level, but also differentiate between PPPs at the between-country level, both in the group of supporters and opponents of political parties. We linked voter perceptions with political preferences by presenting a five-factor model of PPP established on a valid and reliable psychometric inventory.

As today's political market change leads to the personification of politics, research conducted in various countries supports the idea that ideological differences have less influence on the electoral decisions than in the past (Caprara & Zimbardo, 2004; King, 2002; McGraw, 2008; Wattenberg, 1991). On the other hand, the significance of personal characteristics is increasing, since perceived political leaders' personality traits are transmitted by voters to the parties through the process of personification (Hayes, 2005). Scientists in today's source literature haven't developed a uniform instrument for political party image assessment that considers the specificity of the subject, whereas a new proposition of such an instrument has been evolved on the base of lexical research (Gorbaniuk, Kusak, Kogut, & Kustos, 2015). The aim of the current study was to adapt the Political Party Image Assessment Questionnaire into the Lithuanian language and to evaluate its psychometric properties. Moreover, this study was conducted to answer the question if political preferences have explanatory power. Quantitative research was conducted on the sample of 300 Lithuanian students (50.5% female), who had to describe 6 well-known political parties using 25 adjectives. A confirmatory factor analysis was arranged with the complete data set. Because only the five-factor model was acceptable, the entire sample was randomly split into approximate 50% halves. The exploratory factor analysis was arranged with the training group data set, and the confirmatory factor analysis was used in the validation set. Both analyses showed that the six-factor solution ((1) strength, (2) integrity, (3) disagreeableness, (4) religious conservatism, (5) left-wing vs. right-wing, (6) backwardness vs. modernity) was regarded as an optimal model to explain the specificity of Lithuanian political party perception. Also, the measurement invariance of this instrument was tested across 6 parties. Configural, metric and factor covariance invariance were established for all parties. Explanatory power of political party image dimensions was confirmed by a multiple regression analysis. Moreover, the test-retest with 14–20 days interval between the first and the second measurements showed a satisfying stability of scores. The current study was conducted to present the Lithuanian version of the Political Party Image Assessment Questionnaire, whose psychometric properties resulted in satisfying values.

As today's political market change leads to the personification of politics, research conducted in various countries supports the idea that ideological differences have less influence on the electoral decisions than in the past (Caprara & Zimbardo, 2004; King, 2002; McGraw, 2008; Wattenberg, 1991). On the other hand, the significance of personal characteristics is increasing, since perceived political leaders' personality traits are transmitted by voters to the parties through the process of personification (Hayes, 2005). Scientists in today's source literature haven't developed a uniform instrument for political party image assessment that considers the specificity of the subject, whereas a new proposition of such an instrument has been evolved on the base of lexical research (Gorbaniuk, Kusak, Kogut, & Kustos, 2015). The aim of the current study was to adapt the Political Party Image Assessment Questionnaire into the Lithuanian language and to evaluate its psychometric properties. Moreover, this study was conducted to answer the question if political preferences have explanatory power. Quantitative research was conducted on the sample of 300 Lithuanian students (50.5% female), who had to describe 6 well-known political parties using 25 adjectives. A confirmatory factor analysis was arranged with the complete data set. Because only the five-factor model was acceptable, the entire sample was randomly split into approximate 50% halves. The exploratory factor analysis was arranged with the training group data set, and the confirmatory factor analysis was used in the validation set. Both analyses showed that the six-factor solution ((1) strength, (2) integrity, (3) disagreeableness, (4) religious conservatism, (5) left-wing vs. right-wing, (6) backwardness vs. modernity) was regarded as an optimal model to explain the specificity of Lithuanian political party perception. Also, the measurement invariance of this instrument was tested across 6 parties. Configural, metric and factor covariance invariance were established for all parties. Explanatory power of political party image dimensions was confirmed by a multiple regression analysis. Moreover, the test-retest with 14–20 days interval between the first and the second measurements showed a satisfying stability of scores. The current study was conducted to present the Lithuanian version of the Political Party Image Assessment Questionnaire, whose psychometric properties resulted in satisfying values.

As today's political market change leads to the personification of politics, research conducted in various countries supports the idea that ideological differences have less influence on the electoral decisions than in the past (Caprara & Zimbardo, 2004; King, 2002; McGraw, 2008; Wattenberg, 1991). On the other hand, the significance of personal characteristics is increasing, since perceived political leaders' personality traits are transmitted by voters to the parties through the process of personification (Hayes, 2005). Scientists in today's source literature haven't developed a uniform instrument for political party image assessment that considers the specificity of the subject, whereas a new proposition of such an instrument has been evolved on the base of lexical research (Gorbaniuk, Kusak, Kogut, & Kustos, 2015). The aim of the current study was to adapt the Political Party Image Assessment Questionnaire into the Lithuanian language and to evaluate its psychometric properties. Moreover, this study was conducted to answer the question if political preferences have explanatory power. Quantitative research was conducted on the sample of 300 Lithuanian students (50.5% female), who had to describe 6 well-known political parties using 25 adjectives. A confirmatory factor analysis was arranged with the complete data set. Because only the five-factor model was acceptable, the entire sample was randomly split into approximate 50% halves. The exploratory factor analysis was arranged with the training group data set, and the confirmatory factor analysis was used in the validation set. Both analyses showed that the six-factor solution ((1) strength, (2) integrity, (3) disagreeableness, (4) religious conservatism, (5) left-wing vs. right-wing, (6) backwardness vs. modernity) was regarded as an optimal model to explain the specificity of Lithuanian political party perception. Also, the measurement invariance of this instrument was tested across 6 parties. Configural, metric and factor covariance invariance were established for all parties. Explanatory power of political party image dimensions was confirmed by a multiple regression analysis. Moreover, the test-retest with 14–20 days interval between the first and the second measurements showed a satisfying stability of scores. The current study was conducted to present the Lithuanian version of the Political Party Image Assessment Questionnaire, whose psychometric properties resulted in satisfying values.

As today's political market change leads to the personification of politics, research conducted in various countries supports the idea that ideological differences have less influence on the electoral decisions than in the past (Caprara & Zimbardo, 2004; King, 2002; McGraw, 2008; Wattenberg, 1991). On the other hand, the significance of personal characteristics is increasing, since perceived political leaders' personality traits are transmitted by voters to the parties through the process of personification (Hayes, 2005). Scientists in today's source literature haven't developed a uniform instrument for political party image assessment that considers the specificity of the subject, whereas a new proposition of such an instrument has been evolved on the base of lexical research (Gorbaniuk, Kusak, Kogut, & Kustos, 2015). The aim of the current study was to adapt the Political Party Image Assessment Questionnaire into the Lithuanian language and to evaluate its psychometric properties. Moreover, this study was conducted to answer the question if political preferences have explanatory power. Quantitative research was conducted on the sample of 300 Lithuanian students (50.5% female), who had to describe 6 well-known political parties using 25 adjectives. A confirmatory factor analysis was arranged with the complete data set. Because only the five-factor model was acceptable, the entire sample was randomly split into approximate 50% halves. The exploratory factor analysis was arranged with the training group data set, and the confirmatory factor analysis was used in the validation set. Both analyses showed that the six-factor solution ((1) strength, (2) integrity, (3) disagreeableness, (4) religious conservatism, (5) left-wing vs. right-wing, (6) backwardness vs. modernity) was regarded as an optimal model to explain the specificity of Lithuanian political party perception. Also, the measurement invariance of this instrument was tested across 6 parties. Configural, metric and factor covariance invariance were established for all parties. Explanatory power of political party image dimensions was confirmed by a multiple regression analysis. Moreover, the test-retest with 14–20 days interval between the first and the second measurements showed a satisfying stability of scores. The current study was conducted to present the Lithuanian version of the Political Party Image Assessment Questionnaire, whose psychometric properties resulted in satisfying values.