Richman Kokera - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Richman Kokera

Psychological Assessment, Dec 31, 2023

Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) is a widely used measure that captures somatic symptoms of corona... more Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) is a widely used measure that captures somatic symptoms of coronavirusrelated anxiety. In a large-scale collaboration spanning 60 countries (Ntotal = 21,513), we examined the CAS’s measurement invariance and assessed the convergent validity of CAS scores in relation to the fear of COVID-19 (FCV-19S) and the satisfaction with life (SWLS-3) scales. We utilized both conventional exact invariance tests and alignment procedures, with results revealing that the single-factor model fit the data well in almost all countries. Partial scalar invariance was supported in a subset of 56 countries. To ensure the robust of results, given the unbalanced samples, we employed resampling techniques both with and without replacement and found the results were more stable in larger samples. The alignment procedure demonstrated a high degree of measurement invariance with 9% of the parameters exhibiting noninvariance. We also conducted simulations of alignment using the parameters estimated in the current model. Findings demonstrated reliability of the means but indicated challenges in estimating the latent variances. Strong positive correlations between CAS and FCV-19S estimated with all three different approaches were found in most countries. Correlations of CAS and SWLS-3 were weak and negative but significantly differed from zero in several countries. Overall, the study provided support for the measurement invariance of the CAS and offered evidence of its convergent validity while also highlighting issues with variance estimation

Seven of 10 Zimbabweans consider it the duty of every citizen not only to vote in elections but a... more Seven of 10 Zimbabweans consider it the duty of every citizen not only to vote in elections but also to participate in national and community affairs between elections, the latest Afrobarometer survey shows. Yet most Zimbabweans never engage with their elected leaders to discuss important problems or share their views; on this indicator, citizen engagement is at its lowest level in a decade. Similarly, a majority do not contact non-elected leaders such as government officials and traditional and religious leaders. Few are active in voluntary or community organisations, and even fewer participate in individual or group action to raise an important issue or express dissatisfaction with the government. Urban residents are particularly disengaged, and women are generally less likely to engage than men. One contributing factor to low levels of engagement may be the widespread public perception that members of Parliament (MPs) and local government councillors "never" or "only sometimes" try to listen to citizens. Afrobarometer survey Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions, and related issues across more than 30 countries in Africa. Five rounds of surveys were conducted between 1999 and 2013, and results of Round 6 surveys (2014/2015) are currently being released. Afrobarometer conducts face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent's choice with nationally representative samples of 1,200 or 2,400 respondents.

Afrobarometer, Nov 1, 2016

Given Zimbabwe's diversity of ethnic, religious, national, political, and social backgrounds, pea... more Given Zimbabwe's diversity of ethnic, religious, national, political, and social backgrounds, peace and stability would be unthinkable without some degree of tolerance for those who are different. On some fronts, the country has struggled with intolerance. One example is political intolerance, played out in inter-and intra-party conflict turning neighbours against each other. Another is intolerance of sexual difference, with President Robert Mugabe leading a sometimes vicious chorus against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. How tolerant are Zimbabweans? Afrobarometer Round 6 survey findings may serve as a baseline for efforts aimed at bringing people together and fostering a culture of tolerance where diversity is celebrated. The findings show that large majorities of Zimbabweans express tolerant attitudes toward people of different religions and ethnic groups, and somewhat less enthusiastically for people living with HIV/AIDS and immigrants. But most are intolerant of homosexuals. Afrobarometer survey Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions, and related issues across more than 30 countries in Africa. After five rounds of surveys between 1999 and 2013, results of Round 6 surveys (2014/2015) are currently being published. Afrobarometer conducts face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent's choice with nationally representative samples of 1,200 or 2,400 respondents.

Journal of Urban Systems and Innovations for Resilience in Zimbabwe -JUSIRZ, Aug 25, 2021

Given Zimbabwe’s diversity of ethnic, religious, national, political, and social backgrounds, pea... more Given Zimbabwe’s diversity of ethnic, religious, national, political, and social backgrounds, peace and stability would be unthinkable without some degree of tolerance for those who are different. On some fronts, the country has struggled with intolerance. One example is political intolerance, played out in interand intra-party conflict turning neighbours against each other. Another is intolerance of sexual difference, with President Robert Mugabe leading a sometimes vicious chorus against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals.

Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surve... more Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions, and related issues across more than 30 countries in Africa. After five rounds of surveys between 1999 and 2013, results from Round 6 surveys (2014-2015) are currently being published. Afrobarometer conducts face-toface interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice with nationally representative samples that yield country-level results with margins of error of +/-2% (for samples of 2,400) or +/3% (for samples of 1,200) at a 95% confidence level.

More specifically, Section 17(1) of the Constitution requires the state to promote gender balance... more More specifically, Section 17(1) of the Constitution requires the state to promote gender balance and the full participation of women in all spheres of Zimbabwean society. In pursuit of these objectives, the country has crafted a National Gender Policy; established a Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development; enacted a variety of laws to ensure women’s rights (e.g. inheritance rights, protection from domestic violence); and ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Beijing Platform of Action, and the Southern African Development Community’s Declaration on Gender and Development.

Although Zimbabwe’s Constitution explicitly stipulates that every citizen is entitled to “freedom... more Although Zimbabwe’s Constitution explicitly stipulates that every citizen is entitled to “freedom of the media,” press freedom has had a tenuous existence in Zimbabwe. While recent decades have not seen the direct censorship common before independence (Press Reference, 2016), the public's right to free and unfettered information has suffered from government interference with the print and broadcast media, harassment and arrests of journalists, self-censorship by editors, and media laws that are widely viewed as impeding media freedom (Mudadigwa, 2016). In a statement released to mark World Press Freedom Day (May 3), Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (2016) described the situation as a “media minefield.”

Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surve... more Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions, and related issues across more than 30 countries in Africa. Five rounds of surveys were conducted between 1999 and 2013, and Round 6 surveys are currently under way (2014-2015). Afrobarometer conducts face-toface interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice with nationally representative samples of between 1,200 and 2,400 respondents.

Violence by inpatients against mental health personnel, fellow patients and people uninvolved in ... more Violence by inpatients against mental health personnel, fellow patients and people uninvolved in the patient’s treatment is a common and universal problem requiring urgent attention. The current study sought to investigate factors that are important or considered important by health personnel in making crucial decisions about emergency interventions in aggressive and violent inpatients in a mental institution in Zimbabwe. In particular, the study was intended to address three major objectives namely to identify factors relevant in influencing mental health workers’wide range of interventions in response to inpatient aggressive behaviour and violent incidents; to establish the degree to which mental health workers recognise factors that influence their management and treatment of violent behaviours in emergency situations and to determine the weight of importance attached to each factor identified by mental health workers as being important in their management and treatment of ag...

With few exceptions, the country’s elections have been fraught with controversy and oppositionpar... more With few exceptions, the country’s elections have been fraught with controversy and oppositionparty allegations of politically motivated violence and intimidation perpetrated by the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). These allegations have been particularly common in elections held since 2000, most notably the June 2008 presidential runoffs. As a result of alleged electoral irregularities, the outcomes of virtually all previous elections have been contested.

Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown remains an enormous challenge affecting citizens from all walks of l... more Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown remains an enormous challenge affecting citizens from all walks of life. The government’s 2009 introduction of various foreign currencies was welcomed by many Zimbabweans who, after years of hyperinflation, witnessed a stabilization in general consumer prices. But with lagging economic growth and a continuing drought, the country now faces deflation and has even experienced reverse urbanization due to a lack of opportunities in the cities (African Development Bank, 2016, 326).

Psychological Assessment, Dec 31, 2023

Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) is a widely used measure that captures somatic symptoms of corona... more Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) is a widely used measure that captures somatic symptoms of coronavirusrelated anxiety. In a large-scale collaboration spanning 60 countries (Ntotal = 21,513), we examined the CAS’s measurement invariance and assessed the convergent validity of CAS scores in relation to the fear of COVID-19 (FCV-19S) and the satisfaction with life (SWLS-3) scales. We utilized both conventional exact invariance tests and alignment procedures, with results revealing that the single-factor model fit the data well in almost all countries. Partial scalar invariance was supported in a subset of 56 countries. To ensure the robust of results, given the unbalanced samples, we employed resampling techniques both with and without replacement and found the results were more stable in larger samples. The alignment procedure demonstrated a high degree of measurement invariance with 9% of the parameters exhibiting noninvariance. We also conducted simulations of alignment using the parameters estimated in the current model. Findings demonstrated reliability of the means but indicated challenges in estimating the latent variances. Strong positive correlations between CAS and FCV-19S estimated with all three different approaches were found in most countries. Correlations of CAS and SWLS-3 were weak and negative but significantly differed from zero in several countries. Overall, the study provided support for the measurement invariance of the CAS and offered evidence of its convergent validity while also highlighting issues with variance estimation

Seven of 10 Zimbabweans consider it the duty of every citizen not only to vote in elections but a... more Seven of 10 Zimbabweans consider it the duty of every citizen not only to vote in elections but also to participate in national and community affairs between elections, the latest Afrobarometer survey shows. Yet most Zimbabweans never engage with their elected leaders to discuss important problems or share their views; on this indicator, citizen engagement is at its lowest level in a decade. Similarly, a majority do not contact non-elected leaders such as government officials and traditional and religious leaders. Few are active in voluntary or community organisations, and even fewer participate in individual or group action to raise an important issue or express dissatisfaction with the government. Urban residents are particularly disengaged, and women are generally less likely to engage than men. One contributing factor to low levels of engagement may be the widespread public perception that members of Parliament (MPs) and local government councillors "never" or "only sometimes" try to listen to citizens. Afrobarometer survey Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions, and related issues across more than 30 countries in Africa. Five rounds of surveys were conducted between 1999 and 2013, and results of Round 6 surveys (2014/2015) are currently being released. Afrobarometer conducts face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent's choice with nationally representative samples of 1,200 or 2,400 respondents.

Afrobarometer, Nov 1, 2016

Given Zimbabwe's diversity of ethnic, religious, national, political, and social backgrounds, pea... more Given Zimbabwe's diversity of ethnic, religious, national, political, and social backgrounds, peace and stability would be unthinkable without some degree of tolerance for those who are different. On some fronts, the country has struggled with intolerance. One example is political intolerance, played out in inter-and intra-party conflict turning neighbours against each other. Another is intolerance of sexual difference, with President Robert Mugabe leading a sometimes vicious chorus against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. How tolerant are Zimbabweans? Afrobarometer Round 6 survey findings may serve as a baseline for efforts aimed at bringing people together and fostering a culture of tolerance where diversity is celebrated. The findings show that large majorities of Zimbabweans express tolerant attitudes toward people of different religions and ethnic groups, and somewhat less enthusiastically for people living with HIV/AIDS and immigrants. But most are intolerant of homosexuals. Afrobarometer survey Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions, and related issues across more than 30 countries in Africa. After five rounds of surveys between 1999 and 2013, results of Round 6 surveys (2014/2015) are currently being published. Afrobarometer conducts face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent's choice with nationally representative samples of 1,200 or 2,400 respondents.

Journal of Urban Systems and Innovations for Resilience in Zimbabwe -JUSIRZ, Aug 25, 2021

Given Zimbabwe’s diversity of ethnic, religious, national, political, and social backgrounds, pea... more Given Zimbabwe’s diversity of ethnic, religious, national, political, and social backgrounds, peace and stability would be unthinkable without some degree of tolerance for those who are different. On some fronts, the country has struggled with intolerance. One example is political intolerance, played out in interand intra-party conflict turning neighbours against each other. Another is intolerance of sexual difference, with President Robert Mugabe leading a sometimes vicious chorus against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals.

Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surve... more Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions, and related issues across more than 30 countries in Africa. After five rounds of surveys between 1999 and 2013, results from Round 6 surveys (2014-2015) are currently being published. Afrobarometer conducts face-toface interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice with nationally representative samples that yield country-level results with margins of error of +/-2% (for samples of 2,400) or +/3% (for samples of 1,200) at a 95% confidence level.

More specifically, Section 17(1) of the Constitution requires the state to promote gender balance... more More specifically, Section 17(1) of the Constitution requires the state to promote gender balance and the full participation of women in all spheres of Zimbabwean society. In pursuit of these objectives, the country has crafted a National Gender Policy; established a Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development; enacted a variety of laws to ensure women’s rights (e.g. inheritance rights, protection from domestic violence); and ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Beijing Platform of Action, and the Southern African Development Community’s Declaration on Gender and Development.

Although Zimbabwe’s Constitution explicitly stipulates that every citizen is entitled to “freedom... more Although Zimbabwe’s Constitution explicitly stipulates that every citizen is entitled to “freedom of the media,” press freedom has had a tenuous existence in Zimbabwe. While recent decades have not seen the direct censorship common before independence (Press Reference, 2016), the public's right to free and unfettered information has suffered from government interference with the print and broadcast media, harassment and arrests of journalists, self-censorship by editors, and media laws that are widely viewed as impeding media freedom (Mudadigwa, 2016). In a statement released to mark World Press Freedom Day (May 3), Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (2016) described the situation as a “media minefield.”

Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surve... more Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions, and related issues across more than 30 countries in Africa. Five rounds of surveys were conducted between 1999 and 2013, and Round 6 surveys are currently under way (2014-2015). Afrobarometer conducts face-toface interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice with nationally representative samples of between 1,200 and 2,400 respondents.

Violence by inpatients against mental health personnel, fellow patients and people uninvolved in ... more Violence by inpatients against mental health personnel, fellow patients and people uninvolved in the patient’s treatment is a common and universal problem requiring urgent attention. The current study sought to investigate factors that are important or considered important by health personnel in making crucial decisions about emergency interventions in aggressive and violent inpatients in a mental institution in Zimbabwe. In particular, the study was intended to address three major objectives namely to identify factors relevant in influencing mental health workers’wide range of interventions in response to inpatient aggressive behaviour and violent incidents; to establish the degree to which mental health workers recognise factors that influence their management and treatment of violent behaviours in emergency situations and to determine the weight of importance attached to each factor identified by mental health workers as being important in their management and treatment of ag...

With few exceptions, the country’s elections have been fraught with controversy and oppositionpar... more With few exceptions, the country’s elections have been fraught with controversy and oppositionparty allegations of politically motivated violence and intimidation perpetrated by the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). These allegations have been particularly common in elections held since 2000, most notably the June 2008 presidential runoffs. As a result of alleged electoral irregularities, the outcomes of virtually all previous elections have been contested.

Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown remains an enormous challenge affecting citizens from all walks of l... more Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown remains an enormous challenge affecting citizens from all walks of life. The government’s 2009 introduction of various foreign currencies was welcomed by many Zimbabweans who, after years of hyperinflation, witnessed a stabilization in general consumer prices. But with lagging economic growth and a continuing drought, the country now faces deflation and has even experienced reverse urbanization due to a lack of opportunities in the cities (African Development Bank, 2016, 326).