Fan Y. Wallentin

Does microfinance empower women? : Evidence from self-help groups in India

Microfinance programmes like the Self Help Bank Linkage Program in India have been increasingly promoted for their positive economic impact and the belief that they empower women. However, only a few studies rigorously examine the link between microfinance and women’s empowerment. This article contributes to this discussion by arguing that women’s empowerment takes place when women challenge the existing social norms and culture, to effectively improve their well‐being. It empirically validates this hypothesis by using quasi‐experimental household sample data collected for five states in India for 2000 and 2003. A general model is estimated by employing appropriate techniques to treat the ordinal variables in order to estimate the impact of the Self Help Group (SHG) on women’s empowerment for 2000 and 2003. The results strongly demonstrate that on average, there is a significant increase in the empowerment of women in the SHG members group. No such significant change is observed however, for the members of the control group. The elegance of the result lies in the fact that the group of SHG participants show clear evidence of a significant and higher empowerment, while allowing for the possibility that some members might have been more empowered than others.

What gets measured gets … - on indicating, mobilizing and acting

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the relationship underlying the often used adage “what gets measured gets managed”. Design/methodology/approach - The paper starts by reviewing the critique of the adage and then testing it by surveying 109 managers from 41 organizations. The paper includes the idea of mobilizing in the adage in order to highlight that there are other factors than indicating, which affect acting. In the positive test the paper uses the linear structural relations (LISREL) method to analyze the data. Findings - The paper finds that that the relationship between indicating and acting is not significant and that the introduction of mobilizing gives a better model fit. As a result the reformulation of the adage is: “What gets mobilized gets managed, especially if it gets measured”. Research limitations/implications - The paper shows that measuring is not Practical implications - The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, it finds no significant relationship between indicating and acting; and second, it introduces mobilizing to explain the relationship between indicating and acting. Originality/value - The paper scrutinizes the conventional wisdom encapsulated in the adage and by introducing mobilizing as an additional variable. The findings suggest that the adage needs to be reformulated.

Swedish translation and psychometric testing of the safety attitudes questionnaire (operating room version)

BackgroundTens of millions of patients worldwide suffer from avoidable disabling injuries and death every year. Measuring the safety climate in health care is an important step in improving patient safety. The most commonly used instrument to measure safety climate is the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ). The aim of the present study was to establish the validity and reliability of the translated version of the SAQ.MethodsThe SAQ was translated and adapted to the Swedish context. The survey was then carried out with 374 respondents in the operating room (OR) setting. Data was received from three hospitals, a total of 237 responses. Cronbach’s alpha and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to evaluate the reliability and validity of the instrument.ResultsThe Cronbach’s alpha values for each of the factors of the SAQ ranged between 0.59 and 0.83. The CFA and its goodness-of-fit indices (SRMR 0.055, RMSEA 0.043, CFI 0.98) showed good model fit. Intercorrelations between the factors safety climate, teamwork climate, job satisfaction, perceptions of management, and working conditions showed moderate to high correlation with each other. The factor stress recognition had no significant correlation with teamwork climate, perception of management, or job satisfaction.ConclusionsTherefore, the Swedish translation and psychometric testing of the SAQ (OR version) has good construct validity. However, the reliability analysis suggested that some of the items need further refinement to establish sound internal consistency. As suggested by previous research, the SAQ is potentially a useful tool for evaluating safety climate. However, further psychometric testing is required with larger samples to establish the psychometric properties of the instrument for use in Sweden.

Factors empowering women in Indian self-help group programs

We evaluate the impact of economic and non-economic factors on women’s empowerment of Self-Help Group (SHG) members. We estimate a structural equation model (SEM) and correct for ordinality in the data to account for the impact of the latent factors on women’s empowerment. Our SEM results reveal that for the SHG members, the economic factor is the most effective in empowering women. Greater autonomy and social attitudes also have a significant women empowerment impact.

The impact of microfinance on factors empowering women : Differences in regional and delivery mechanisms in India's SHG programme

Abstract We examine how the impact on women’s empowerment varies with respect to the location and type of group linkage of the respondent. Using household survey data from five states in India, we correct for selection bias to estimate a structural equation model. Our results reveal that in the southern states of India empowerment of women takes place through economic factors. For the other states, we find a significant correlation between women’s empowerment and autonomy in women’s decision-making and network, communication and political participation respectively. We do not, however, find any differential causal impact of different delivery methods (linkage models).

Multivariate Analysis with LISREL

There are many books available on multivariate statistical analysis and many books have been written about structural equation modeling (SEM) and on LISREL. But this book is unique in the sense of being the only one that covers both the statistical theory and methodology and how to do the analysis with LISREL. It does not only cover the typical uses of LISREL such as confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation models (SEM) but also several other topics of multivariate analysis such as regression (univariate, multivariate, censored, logistic, and probit), generalized linear models, multilevel analysis, and principal components analysis. There is no other book with such a full and detailed coverage of all the models, methods and procedures one can use with LISREL.

Psychometric Validation of the Perceived Perioperative Competence Scale-Revised in the Swedish Context

Purpose: To psychometrically test the Perceived Perioperative Competence Scale‐Revised (PPCS‐R) in the Swedish context. Design: Cross‐sectional survey. Methods: The 40‐item PPCS‐R was translated into Swedish using a forward‐translation approach. A census of 2,902 registered nurse anesthetists (RNAs) and operating room (OR) nurses was drawn from a database of a national association in Sweden. Finding: The response rate was 39% (n = 1,033; 528 RNAs and 505 OR nurses). Cronbach alpha for each factor was 0.78 to 0.89 among OR nurses and 0.79 to 0.88 among RNAs. Confirmatory factor analysis showed good model fit in the six‐factor model. Conclusions: Psychometric testing of the Swedish translation of the PPCS‐R suggests a good construct validity, and the construct and its six factors are conceptually relevant among the Swedish OR nurses and RNAs.

The Swedish Safety Attitudes Questionnaire—Operating Room Version: Psychometric Properties in the Surgical Team

Purpose: To validate the Swedish Safety Attitudes Questionnaire–operating room (SAQ‐OR) version by re‐evaluating its psychometric properties for the surgical team. Design: Cross‐sectional questionnaire study. Methods: 541 surgical team members including perioperative nurses, physicians, and licensed practical nurses at three Swedish hospitals were included. Findings: For the total sample, the Cronbachs &agr; for the six factors ranged from 0.51 to 0.76. Goodness‐of‐fit analyses indicated that the six‐factor model was acceptable and the factor loadings were statistically significant. The test of the hypothesized relationships among the factors showed a correlation from 0.936 to 0.042. Conclusions: The refined Swedish version of the SAQ‐OR is a reasonably reliable and acceptably valid instrument for the measurement of patient safety climate in the surgical team. However, the results related to the different analyses varied among the different professionals and further research, using larger samples, is needed to explore these differences, especially among the physicians.

Psychometric analysis of the Swedish version of the General Medical Council's multi source feedback questionnaires

Objectives To determine the internal consistency and the underlying components of our translated and adapted Swedish version of the General Medical Councils multisource feedback questionnaires (GMC questionnaires) for physicians and to confirm which aspects of good medical practice the latent variable structure reflected. Methods From October 2015 to March 2016, residents in family medicine in Sweden were invited to participate in the study and to use the Swedish version to perform self-evaluations and acquire feedback from both their patients and colleagues. The validation focused on internal consistency and construct validity. Main outcome measures were Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, Principal Component Analysis, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis indices. Results A total of 752 completed questionnaires from patients, colleagues, and residents were analysed. Of these, 213 comprised resident self-evaluations, 336 were feedback from residents’ patients, and 203 were feedback from residents’ colleagues. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of the scores were 0.88 from patients, 0.93 from colleagues, and 0.84 in the self-evaluations. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis validated two models that fit the data reasonably well and reflected important aspects of good medical practice. The first model had two latent factors for patient-related items concerning empathy and consultation management, and the second model had five latent factors for colleague-related items, including knowledge and skills, attitude and approach, reflection and development, teaching, and trust. Conclusions The current Swedish version seems to be a reliable and valid tool for formative assessment for resident physicians and their supervisors. This needs to be verified in larger samples.