The Shadow Economy in Pakistan: An Analysis with MIMIC Model

This paper explicitly presents the estimation of the size and development of the shadow economy. The study examines the impact of multiple exogenous causes (observed variables) on the shadow economy (latent variable) and the size of the shadow economy influencing the performance of multiple macroeconomic indicators. In order to accomplish this econometric analysis, a MIMIC Model (Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes Model) is applied over the period 2011 to 2021. The results indicate that the tax burden, business freedom, unemployment rate, and Gross Domestic Product are the key driving forces of the shadow economy in Pakistan. The findings are potentially beneficial for the policymakers in identifying and dealing with the shadow economic activities as well as developing the strategies relevant to the economic policy.

Telestroke Assessment With Perfusion CT Improves the Diagnostic Accuracy of Stroke vs. Mimic

Background and Purpose: CT perfusion (CTP) has been implemented widely in regional areas of Australia for telestroke assessment. The aim of this study was to determine if, as part of telestroke assessment, CTP provided added benefit to clinical features in distinguishing between strokes and mimic and between transient ischaemic attack (TIA) and mimic.Methods: We retrospectively analysed 1,513 consecutively recruited patients referred to the Northern New South Wales Telestroke service, where CTP is performed as a part of telestroke assessment. Patients were classified based on the final diagnosis of stroke, TIA, or mimic. Multivariate regression models were used to determine factors that could be used to differentiate between stroke and mimic and between TIA and mimic.Results: There were 693 strokes, 97 TIA, and 259 mimics included in the multivariate regression models. For the stroke vs. mimic model using symptoms only, the area under the curve (AUC) on the receiver operator curve (ROC) was 0.71 (95% CI 0.67–0.75). For the stroke vs. mimic model using the absence of ischaemic lesion on CTP in addition to clinical features, the AUC was 0.90 (95% CI 0.88–0.92). The multivariate regression model for predicting mimic from TIA using symptoms produced an AUC of 0.71 (95% CI 0.65–0.76). The addition of absence of an ischaemic lesion on CTP to clinical features for the TIA vs. mimic model had an AUC of 0.78 (95% CI 0.73–0.83)Conclusions: In the telehealth setting, the absence of an ischaemic lesion on CTP adds to the diagnostic accuracy in distinguishing mimic from stroke, above that from clinical features.

Psychometric Properties and a Multiple Indicators Multiple Cause Model of the Career Aspiration Scale with College Students of Rural Thailand

To help address educational inequalities in student backgrounds and career plans, the measurement of career aspirations can provide crucial information about inequality related to career opportunities. Therefore, this study analyzed the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Career Aspiration Scale-Revised (CAS-R) and the effects of sociodemographic variables on the CAS-R. The study participants were 590 undergraduates at three community colleges in rural Thailand. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to investigate the validity of the CAS-R three-factor model. The Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model with and without differential item functioning (DIF) were applied to investigate the effects of sociodemographic factors as covariates on the CAS-R and specific item response. The CFA results supported the 18-item CAS-R’s three-factor structure because the items well represented latent factors and because the subscales met research standards for reliability and validity. The MIMIC model showed that only the year of study (first-year students) had a positive direct effect on leadership, achievement, and educational aspirations. The MIMIC model with DIF indicated that gender, year of study, major, and paternal education caused inequality in 10 items. Overall, the results show that the 18-item CAS-R has strong psychometric properties and can accurately assess the career aspirations of Thai students. The MIMIC model’s application allowed researchers to show that sociodemographic background affected the leadership, achievement, and education subscales. Obtaining information on the CAS-R scale’s measurements would be useful for researchers, practitioners, and career counselors interested in helping students develop career aspirations and choices.

First-Time Mothers’ Grit, Spousal Support, and Age, and Their Relationships with Nurturing Passion, Postpartum Depression, and Happiness

Purpose: This study aimed to examine whether first-time mothers’ grit, spousal support, and age can make significant differences in latent means of child-rearing passion, postpartum depression, and happiness. Methods: Data were collected from April 2 to July 16, 2019. Two hundred sixteen first-time mothers of infants and toddlers aged 0–2 years participated in a self-reported questionnaire study in which scales of nurturing passion, postpartum depression, happiness, grit, and spousal support were included. The collected data were analyzed with IBM SPSS ver. 18.0 (IBM Co., Armonk, NY, USA) for descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analyses. In addition, Mplus (ver. 7.0) was used for the Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model approach. Results: The MIMIC model yielded an appropriate fit to the data (χ2=103.74, degrees of freedom=53, comparative fit index=0.96, root mean square error of approximation=0.07, standardized root mean square residual=0.05). The paths from grit and spousal support all had significantly positive beta coefficients (p<0.05) to child-rearing passion (β=0.3 and β=0.26, respectively) and happiness (β=0.22 and β=0.39, respectively), while the corresponding paths to postpartum depression were all negatively significant (β= -0.24 for both). These results suggest that unlike chronological maturity (i.e., age), grittier individuals with stronger spousal support display greater passion for child-rearing, as well as greater happiness. In a similar vein, they suffered less from postpartum depression. Conclusion: These results imply that grit can be employed to enhance first-time mothers’ child-rearing passion and happiness as it can also concurrently offset the effects of a negative labor and child-birth experience on first-time mothers’ mental health, e.g., in terms of reducing postpartum depression.

Private Parking Space Sharing Intention in China: An Empirical Study Based on the MIMIC Model

The shared parking scheme improves the utilization rate of existing parking resources and contributes to the sustainable development of cities, but many private parking spaces that are not included in the shared parking scheme have a low utilization rate in China. In order to better promote the shared parking scheme, it is necessary to study the intention of the owners of private parking spaces to share their parking spaces. Therefore, this paper used the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and Benefit-Risk Analysis Model (BRA) as the combined theoretical framework (C-UTAUT-BRA). Hypothesis testing using the Multiple Indicators and Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model was performed using an empirical assessment of the shared parking scheme in China. The results show that (1) the sharing behavioral intention (BI) is directly affected by perceived benefit (PB), perceived risk (PR), social influence (SI), and facilitating condition (FC) and indirectly affected by effort expectancy (EE), of which the total effect of PB is the largest; (2) exogenous variables have an indirect effect on BI through other psychological latent variables; among them, different sociodemographic and economic characteristics have a significant influence on different latent variables, while the built environment has no significant effect on latent variables. This research contributes to theory building in shared parking participation intention and informs business and government leaders on how to promote the shared parking scheme through the action mechanism of influencing factors on BI.