title: Artificial Intelligence Attitudes Inventory (AIAI): Development and validation using Rasch methodology

authors: Krägeloh, Christian U.

subjects: psychology

abstract: With the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), it is vital to develop psychometrically sound measures of public attitudes toward this technology. The present study aimed to refine a pool of candidate items to create a concise yet robust inventory for assessing attitudes toward AI. Using a dataset of 604 participants from the general population of the United States, a pool of 96 candidate items was subjected to iterative Rasch analysis to reduce the number of items while ensuring psychometric robustness. The resulting scale, named the Artificial Intelligence Attitudes Inventory (AIAI), consists of two 8-item subscales measuring positive and negative attitudes toward AI. Analyses revealed that these subscales are distinct constructs rather than opposites on a single continuum, and they are only weakly related to psychological distress. The AIAI provides a concise yet comprehensive measure of positive and negative attitudes toward AI that can be efficiently administered alongside other measures. The findings underscore the multifaceted nature of public perceptions of AI and highlight the need for further research into the profiles and determinants of these attitudes. As AI continues to shape our world, the AIAI offers a valuable tool for understanding and monitoring public sentiment toward this transformative technology.

text: Artificial Intelligence Attitudes Inventory (AIAI): Development and validation using Rasch methodology With the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), it is vital to develop psychometrically sound measures of public attitudes toward this technology. The present study aimed to refine a pool of candidate items to create a concise yet robust inventory for assessing attitudes toward AI. Using a dataset of 604 participants from the general population of the United States, a pool of 96 candidate items was subjected to iterative Rasch analysis to reduce the number of items while ensuring psychometric robustness. The resulting scale, named the Artificial Intelligence Attitudes Inventory (AIAI), consists of two 8-item subscales measuring positive and negative attitudes toward AI. Analyses revealed that these subscales are distinct constructs rather than opposites on a single continuum, and they are only weakly related to psychological distress. The AIAI provides a concise yet comprehensive measure of positive and negative attitudes toward AI that can be efficiently administered alongside other measures. The findings underscore the multifaceted nature of public perceptions of AI and highlight the need for further research into the profiles and determinants of these attitudes. As AI continues to shape our world, the AIAI offers a valuable tool for understanding and monitoring public sentiment toward this transformative technology.

year: 2024-05-14

title: The Reinvention of Tirau: Landscape as a record of changing economy and culture

authors: Panelli, Ruth

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: Recent attention to rural revivals and place-specific economic activity has supported studies of 'culture economies' and local identity formation in different western settings. This paper builds on these analyses of rural change to extend debate and present a New Zealand case. While recent works within rural studies have been important for exploring the intersection between economic and cultural values and processes, we argue that additional attention to landscape provides an added level of analysis. Landscape studies can trace and analyse both the material and symbolic ways in which social, cultural and economic processes (and tensions) evolve in a changing rural location. In addition, landscape analysis reiterates the importance of the specificity of place and the embeddedness of economic and cultural discourses and practices. Using the case of Tirau, a small centre in the North Island of New Zealand, we read the townscape as a portrayal of how a traditional service centre has reinvented itself around a consumption culture and a tourism-related identity.

text: The Reinvention of Tirau: Landscape as a record of changing economy and culture Recent attention to rural revivals and place-specific economic activity has supported studies of 'culture economies' and local identity formation in different western settings. This paper builds on these analyses of rural change to extend debate and present a New Zealand case. While recent works within rural studies have been important for exploring the intersection between economic and cultural values and processes, we argue that additional attention to landscape provides an added level of analysis. Landscape studies can trace and analyse both the material and symbolic ways in which social, cultural and economic processes (and tensions) evolve in a changing rural location. In addition, landscape analysis reiterates the importance of the specificity of place and the embeddedness of economic and cultural discourses and practices. Using the case of Tirau, a small centre in the North Island of New Zealand, we read the townscape as a portrayal of how a traditional service centre has reinvented itself around a consumption culture and a tourism-related identity.

year: 2003

title: Empirical analysis of Pacific, Māori and ethnic pay gaps in New Zealand

authors: Cochrane, William

abstract: A descriptive profile of the four ethnic groups, by gender, is provided to illustrate the heterogeneities across populations in terms of a number of variables grouped into the following categories: individual characteristics, educational attainment, region, household and job-related characteristics. The main empirical analysis involves estimation of the statistical contribution of observed factors (within each of the aforementioned categories) towards explaining the ethnic pay gaps. As this research is primarily aimed as an input towards the Pacific Pay Gap Inquiry being conducted by the Human Rights Commission, we focus our summary of the key findings on the Pacific – European pay gap.
This includes variables on permanent contract status, an indicator if in part-time work, occupation, and industry. These results are therefore likely an indication of the strong role of occupational segregation in the labour market. An additional factor that had a relatively strong contribution to the pay gap, particularly for the Pacific – European female gap, was educational attainment. Overall, even after accounting for differences in job-related characteristics and educational attainment, amongst a number of other observed factors, it was still found that only 27 percent of the pay gap for Pacific males (relative to Europeans) could be explained; and the corresponding proportion for females was 39 percent. The remaining portion of the Pacific Pay Gap is likely to reflect a range of causes that cannot be quantified or disentangled in this analysis – such as not including other factors of importance as they weren’t observed in the data (for example, literacy proficiency or field of study for qualification attained); ethnic differences in preferences for non-wage components of the job; unconscious bias; and discrimination.

text: Empirical analysis of Pacific, Māori and ethnic pay gaps in New Zealand A descriptive profile of the four ethnic groups, by gender, is provided to illustrate the heterogeneities across populations in terms of a number of variables grouped into the following categories: individual characteristics, educational attainment, region, household and job-related characteristics. The main empirical analysis involves estimation of the statistical contribution of observed factors (within each of the aforementioned categories) towards explaining the ethnic pay gaps. As this research is primarily aimed as an input towards the Pacific Pay Gap Inquiry being conducted by the Human Rights Commission, we focus our summary of the key findings on the Pacific – European pay gap.
This includes variables on permanent contract status, an indicator if in part-time work, occupation, and industry. These results are therefore likely an indication of the strong role of occupational segregation in the labour market. An additional factor that had a relatively strong contribution to the pay gap, particularly for the Pacific – European female gap, was educational attainment. Overall, even after accounting for differences in job-related characteristics and educational attainment, amongst a number of other observed factors, it was still found that only 27 percent of the pay gap for Pacific males (relative to Europeans) could be explained; and the corresponding proportion for females was 39 percent. The remaining portion of the Pacific Pay Gap is likely to reflect a range of causes that cannot be quantified or disentangled in this analysis – such as not including other factors of importance as they weren’t observed in the data (for example, literacy proficiency or field of study for qualification attained); ethnic differences in preferences for non-wage components of the job; unconscious bias; and discrimination.

year: 2022-07