A Socio-Economic Profile of the Rufiji Floodplain and Delta.

Socio-economic profile of Rufiji flood plain and Delta - Vol. 1
Table 36: Items/statements and their factor loadings, measuring positive attitude towards the
environment.
Item
A1.In order to make some money and survive I
have to do some things which are not good for
the environment
A2.We are required to conserve the
environment in order to have higher yields
(Fish, forest products, etc)
A3.The way we are fishing now is not good
and cannot last for ever
A4.There will be plenty of opportunities for
our children as far as the environment is
concerned
A5.We need to make changes in our farming
practices for the benefit of the future
A6. Involvement of the villagers in wildlife
management is the best way of controlling
poaching
A7.Growing trees in our farms is one way of
protecting our forests
A8. I worry that the land will not produce
much when our children will take over farming
A9.I cannot afford to worry about preparing
for the future
Researchers’ Outcome from Factor
hypothesis respondents Loading a
Disagree Disagree -0.4
Agree Agree 0.3
Agree Agree 0.7
Disagree Agree* 0.6
Agree Agree 0.6
Agree Agree 0.3
Agree Agree 0.6
Agree Agree 0.4
Disagree Agree* 0.4
a Un-rotated factor loading (rounded up)
* Means that there is a difference between the researchers’ expectations and the respondents actual answers
Extraction Method: is Principal Component Analysis.
The Eigen Value shows the total variance explained. Eigen Value was used as a measure of variability
of the factors. Selection of the items/variables was based on the Eigen Value of the extracted factor.
Items falling under the factor with the highest Eigen Value have their respective factor loading. The
higher the factor loading the more that item contributes to the total score of that factor. Eigen Value
and factor loading are generated directly by SPSS/PC+ during factor analysis (Norusis, 1992). The
factor with the highest Eigen Value (normally >1.0) was selected to give the score for the attitudinal
concept depending on the relative factor loading of the items. A factor loading of items of at least 0.4
is preferred. According to Kim and Muller (1978:10), a factor loading of < 0.3 is not normally
considered as substantial
Table 36 shows the results of factor analysis as well as the researchers’ and farmers’ opinions on the
items. The highest selected extracted factor accounted for 24.7% of the variations. All the items in the
selected factor have the recommended factor loading of at least 3.0, and are therefore considered as
reliable measures of the attitudinal concept (Table 36). There is a difference between the researchers’
hypotheses and the outcome of the survey in items A4 and A9, i.e. farmers agree that there will be
plenty of opportunities for their children and they agree that they cannot afford to worry about the
future (Table 36). This shows that there is poor/negative attitude towards ‘intergeneration equity’.
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