ARC: Connections: ELMAR: Posting

areas: methods: event

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This is the first announcement of two online Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) workshops using SmartPLS for faculty, practitioners, and students during June 2010. Before May 16th (early registration), the cost for faculty and/or practitioners is $250 USD (using the discount code ‘early’). The cost for full-time students (before May 16) is $175 (USD) (using the discount code ‘earlystudent’ while registering for the workshop). The globally-available, synchronous, online workshops are scheduled for June 11-12 @ Noon-4PM EDT (GMT-5) and on June 18-19 @ 6PM – 10PM EST (GMT-5).

There is more information about workshop content and procedures for registering at the registration sites:

1. https://www.regonline.com/smartpls-june-2010 (please copy and paste the url, do not click on it)
2. https://www.regonline.com/smartpls-june-18-19-2010 (please copy and paste the url, do not click on it)

Please note that a portion of the revenues from these workshops go to the respective University’s software development team to keep the cost and availability of SmartPLS free for academic use.

In cooperation with ELMAR posting this workshop notice, we are holding a lottery for one complete scholarship for graduate students who register for either workshop as a result of seeing this ELMAR notification. We will take the names of all graduate students who register, and randomly select one of them for a complete scholarship. In addition to being contacted directly, we will post his/her name on ELMAR once the winner is announced. In order to be considered for a scholarship: (1) you must be a full-time student; (2) you must register for either workshop; and (3) you must send an email to ghubona@gmail.com indicating that you registered and that you wish to be considered for the lottery scholarship. The winner of the lottery scholarship for the March SmartPLS workshops was Ali Sadaqat of the University of East Anglia.

In cooperation with: (1) the University of Hamburg; (2) Radboud University and PLS-School; and (3) faculty at Georgia State University, we are offering globally-available, synchronous, live, interactive, video- and audio-supported online workshops for structural equation modeling (SEM) partial least squares (PLS) path modeling using SmartPLS. These online workshops are conducted using the award-winning eLearning platform Elluminate Live ! The purpose of the online workshops are to inform participants of the uses and applications of PLS path modeling using SmartPLS and to provide live, "hands-on" demonstrations of the basic and intermediate techniques of using SmartPLS.

The workshops consist of two integrated sessions on two consecutive days. All that is required to participate is a fast, reliable Internet connection (not dial-up) and a set of inexpensive headphones with a microphone. There is no cost for participants to use the Elluminate Live ! platform. Participants receive: (1) the SmartPLS software; (2) all training materials, data sets, and slides from the training sessions; (3) abundant literature regarding PLS path modeling; and (4) access to high-fidelity recordings of all of the presented live material after the workshop is completed (on Internet-provided recordings available free of charge for three months following the workshop). These workshop recordings are for individual participant use only, and include all video, audio and "hands-on" demonstrations and exercises.

In addition to an introduction to PLS path modeling using SmartPLS, the following topics (in addition to others) are included:

CB-SEM vs. PLS-SEM
SmartPLS Visual Interface
Scale Development
Bootstrapping vs. Jackknifing
Blindfolding
PLS Algorithm
Theory Testing vs. Prediction
Assessment of PLS Path modeling estimates (measurement model and structural model)
    Reflective vs. Formative
Interpreting SmartPLS Output
Overall Goodness-of-Fit
Effect Size
Reflective vs. Formative indicators
Second-order Factor Models
Mediating Factors
    Assessing the effect
Moderating Factors
    Product indicator approach
    Group differences approach
    Three-Way Interactions
    Determining strength of moderating effect
    Two-stage approach
Non-linear Effects
Heterogeneity, Segmentation and FIMIX-PLS
The workshop agenda approximates the following schedule. There are seven separate learning modules in each workshop, five of which conclude with a “hands-on” exercise using SmartPLS with existing data sets (provided).

DAY 1

1. Introduction to PLS, Latent Constructs, SEM and SmartPLS
2. Basic path modeling with SmartPLS
   Basic path modeling exercise – TAM model data
3. Evaluating PLS path models
   Model evaluation exercise – UTAUT model data

DAY 2

1. PLS algorithm, bootstrapping, jackknifing and blindfolding
2. Mediation
   Mediation exercise – Social presence model data
3. Moderating variables
   Moderation exercise – UTAUT moderating relationships
4. Second order models, multi-group analysis, heterogeneous data and FIMIX-PLS
   FIMIX-PLS exercise – UTAUT heterogeneous data

Please send questions to ghubona@gmail.com.

Geoffrey S. Hubona
Associate Professor
Computer Information Systems
J. Mack Robinson College of Business
Georgia State University
Atlanta, Georgia

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