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Correlational findings

Study Jacob & Brinkerhoff (1999): study US 1998

Public
'Back to the landers', USA 1998
Sample
Respondents
N = 565
Non Response
41,8
Assessment
Questionnaire: Paper & Pencil Interview (PAPI)

Correlate

Authors's Label
Discrepancy: TSR-HP gap
Our Classification
Operationalization
Discrepancy between the actual use of technology and the selfrated importance of homestead production

TSR: Selfreport on which degree the technologies provided their family with self-reliance or independence
Respondents were presented with 25 soft-technologies and asked whether they possessed or used the technologies, for example:
   - garden
   - goats
   - greenhouse
   - composting toilets
   - photo voltaic
Rated 1 (not at all effective) to 4 (very effective)
TSR is calculated by multiplying each technology possessed by the efficiency rating claimed for the particular technology
theoretical range from 0 - 100

HP: Selfreport on the importance of homestead production:
- growing your own food
- cutting energy consumption
- growing/eating organic food
Rated 1 (very important) to 4 (not at all important)

GAP: The value scales and performance indexes were dichotomized at their empirical midpoints (medians) and then cross-tabulated with each other. The survey respondents then fell into one of four categories: (1) low values/low performance (“no gap”), (2) high values/low performance (“gap”), (3) low values/high performance (“gap”), and (4) high values/high performance (“no gap”). These gaps (or absence of gaps) are calculated for both performance indicators (TSR Index and HFP) and for each of the three value scales (Country Asceticism, Homestead Production and Ecological Sensitivity).
The first step to the comparability of the variables is to normalize each indicator and then place the respondents’ scores along a normalized distribution as t-scores with means of 50 and standard deviations of 10. With respondents possessing comparable scores for each of the key indicators which constitute the values-performance discrepancies, a “gap score” for each value-performance pair was calculated by subtracting normalized performance scores from normalized value scores.
To faciliate interpretation they just used a subsample with values higher than the median for Technological Self-Reliance Index (TSR), Country Ascetisism (CA), Homestead Production (HP) and Ecological Sensitivity (ES) for further analysis

Observed Relation with Happiness

Happiness Measure Statistics Elaboration / Remarks O-H?-c-sq-v-5-b r = -.21 p < .005 O-H?-c-sq-v-5-b Beta = -.04 ns Beta controlled for
- gap: importance of homestead food production / actual homestead food production
- gap: importance of ecological sensitivity / actual use of technology
- gap: importance of ecological sensitivity / actual homestead food production
- gap: importance of cultural ascetism / actual homestead food production