Academic literature on the topic 'Clerical ability and aptitude test'

The assessment is not limited to only the measurement of memorized awareness; all the way through it, the various abilities of the individual are considered. Such evaluation of abilities is of great significance in obtaining knowledge about the individual's aptitude, interest, capability, and capacity. The evaluation of ability is now done with the help of psychological tests. The different types of psychological tests that are used in measuring intelligence and different types of abilities. It is worth consideration that the psychological tests are constructed on certain general principles and in this connection some specific conditions and characteristics are always kept in mind. In this chapter, the author's aim is to describe these principles and the specific conditions as well as to assess the importance of learning analytics on this platform.

The musical spark that I have discussed in theoretical terms, sought through research, and personally reflected on now requires simple definition. What are the basic underpinnings of musical talent that we can recognize, “kindle,” and develop? If we take away the technical intricacies of musical training, a set of talent criteria emerge that describe how one musically “knows” and the behaviors that develop this musical “knowing.” These musical underpinnings are the ability to be keenly aware of sounds, to inwardly sense and manipulate these sounds, and to communicate them to others through personal interpretation. These are the simple basics, from kindergarten to the Van Cliburn Competition. Take away the technical trappings, and there you have it. This chapter puts ideas gathered from earlier chapters into a simplified musical talent framework that can be used as a cohesive reference for musical talent identification. Each criterion is explained, with talent indicators and procedures to trigger this recognition. The criteria that describe the basic underpinning of musical talent consist of: • Musical awareness and discrimination perceptual awareness of sound rhythmic sense sense of pitch • Creative Interpretation metaperception • Dynamic of performance • Motivation and commitment To support active use of this chapter as a way to recognize musical talent, Sparkler Activities that highlight each talent criterion are offered throughout the chapter. Asterisks (*) indicate key talent behaviors, and there are follow-up activities to expand opportunities for identification. Musical “knowing” begins with the ability to listen. Musical awareness describes the perceptive sensitivity to sounds. Musical discrimination is the sensing of differences in sounds. These inherent sensory capacities are described as music aptitude by music psychologists and music intelligence by cognitive developmental psychologists. The capacity to sense musical components of rhythm, loudness, pitch, and the tonal quality of sounds may be psychometrically measured through the administration of a music aptitude test. These capacities can also be assessed through activities that focus on aural perception, rhythmic movement, and tonal memory of melodies or songs. Musical awareness and discrimination consists of three basic sensory components—the perceptual awareness of sound, a rhythmic sense, and a sense of pitch.

Psychometric testing is widely used outside medicine as part of an employee selection process, although its use has attracted a great deal of criticism too. In the NHS, psychometric tests are often used for selection of mangers and a growing number of Trusts are now using psychometric testing as part of the consultant interview process. This chapter looks at the implications of this and at some of the more commonly known tools. Psychometric tests include personality tests, e.g. Myers—Briggs and Insights, as well as aptitude tests designed to assess an individual’s general logical ability, and verbal, numerical and technical reasoning. Aptitude tests are thought to be more accurate in predicting job performance than personality tests but have not been widely used in medicine. The tools used within medicine tend to look at a person’s personality, how they behave within teams and how they respond to conflict. Some of the more commonly used tools are: • Myers—Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) • 16 Personality Factor (16PF®) • Insights Discovery® Personality Profile (Insights) • Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation (FIRO-B®) • Thomas—Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) • Strength Deployment Inventory® (SDI®) Two of these tools, MBTI and SDI, explicitly state that they should not be used as part of a selection process. However, they are increasingly being used, driven by the advice of unqualified or unscrupulous behavioural consultants! . . . What should I do if asked to sit a test? . . . You are who you are. Do not panic and do not try to work out what the panel want when answering questions about your personality. In general you will only get it wrong! The outcome of your assessment will not be you and the person you appear to be may be less suited for the job than the real you. Equally, this is not something you can practise—you can’t really ‘get good’ at something that is designed to simply show the real you! It’s also worth remembering that if the panel members are determined to employ someone you are not, ask yourself whether you would be happy in the role.

There are several tests to value the psychophysical characteristics of older people and, among all, the most suitable to this aim are here considered the Functional Reach (FR) test, as an index of the aptitude to maintain balance in upright position, and the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), as a global index of cognitive abilities. The sample of older people we have analysed concerns 50 healthy subjects divided into three groups according to the age (15 from 55 to 64 years old, 19 from 65 to 74 years old, and 16 more than 75 years old); they underwent a FR test, which consists first in the measurement of the anthropometric characteristics, then in the execution of the test itself, and finally in the study of the upright posture carried out analysing the Centre of Pressure (COP) trend; they underwent as well a MMSE to value the main areas of the cognitive function concerning the space-temporal orientation, the short-term memory, the attention ability, the calculus ability and the praxis-constructive ability. The results of these tests show, according to the age, a loss both of the physical performances (FR, FR related to height, and COP displacement), and of the cognitive abilities (MMSE); however, in all cases, the only significant changes are those between the first and the other two groups of age. A comparison between the results of male and female subjects inside the three groups, although the results of the males are generally superior to the female ones, is never significant; moreover, the differences of the FR tests, in particular, are completely not significant if compared to the height of the subjects. Finally, a comparison between FR and MMSE shows a quicker decline of the physical performances with regard to the cognitive ones.