Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Fadir test'

Hip impingement is a hip associated abnormality which develops among young and middle-aged individuals. It reduces the activity of those affected and if it is not detected at early stage, it can result in osteoarthritis. In this thesis a reliable framework for studying impingement detection is developed. Current clinical methods in detecting hip impingement involve measuring three angles, first the patient’s leg being flexed until maximum angle, second patient’s leg being flexed until 90° then adducted until maximum angle, and third patient’s leg being flexed until 90° afterwards internally rotated until the maximum angle also known as FADIR (Flexion, adduction in 90° flexion and internal rotation in 90° flexion) test. This is a manual method and relies heavily on surgeons experience and even pain tolerance of the patient and the method is prone to error. The use of computational programmes are known to be more accurate and reliable as the kinematic of contact can easily be studied using the digitised bones of the hip joint assuming that the impingement is determined by bone to bone contact kinematics. Current impingement studies assume that the kinematics of hip joint can be studied by assuming the centre of rotation is fixed for hip joint. For highly conforming joints this assumption is acceptable but for cases where conformity is poor the presence of soft tissue and soft tissue loading becomes very important. The important need in orthopaedics field is to develop a model without too much simplification. In this thesis for the first time the complete computational model of hip with soft tissue has been used to detect the impingement in a specific patient. The effect of centre of rotation and soft tissue are considered on impingement detection. In this study the femur, acetabulum, cartilage and ligaments of specific patients were modelled in MIMICs (Materialise' Interactive Medical Image Control System) using both MRI and CT scan. 3D hip models with and without soft tissues of normal hip, hip with impingement and hip with impingement after reshaping were modelled. The hip models were meshed in 3-Matic. The hip models were imported to Abaqus and boundary conditions were applied. Impingement zone and impingement angle was detected in Abaqus. Different centre of rotation was applied to consider the effect of centre of rotation to detect impingement. Experimental studies were set up to validate the hip models. Mocap, Wiimote, MotionNode and goniometer were used together at the same time to measure the flexion, adduction and internal rotation in 90⁰ of flexion in twenty two healthy volunteers. Validity and reliability of all of the methods were calculated. It is the first time that reliability and validity of Wiimote and MotionNode are considered to be used in medical application. Our results show that the model with soft tissue is closer to the experimental results. It shows that the soft tissue in hip model affects hip impingement angle and hip biomechanics. This finding also shows that, if the boundary condition is closer to the real hip, then the results of computer-aided program will be more reliable.

Objective: Cognitive Estimation Tests (CETs) are used to assess decision-making. Previous versions include culturally- biased questions likely to disadvantage certain sections of the population. This study aimed to develop a new culture fair questionnaire and assess its reliability and validity. Method: A 30-item questionnaire was developed and assessed for culture fairness. A normative range of answers was gathered, and a scale developed to define level of deviation from typical responses. Performance in a group of people with brain injury was compared to a matched group of healthy controls. Those with brain injury deemed able to make significant life decisions were compared with a group considered to lack this capacity, to determine whether this test may be useful when assessing decision-making capacity. Correlational analyses were conducted to determine whether there was a relationship between the test and performance on the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX), a measure of everyday executive functioning. Test-retest reliability was examined with 30 of the normative sample. Results: Results confirm previous literature showing that those with brain injury perform significantly worse than healthy controls. The test did not discriminate between patients with and without capacity to make important decisions, did not significantly correlate with the total score on the DEX and demonstrated relatively poor consistency. Conclusions: Based on these results, CETs do not appear to be reliable or valid enough for use in clinical assessments. A sub-set of the most sensitive items may prove useful, but further work is required to examine the reliability and validity of this item subset in new samples.

Neuropsychological assessment in linguistically heterogeneous populations is fraught with numerous challenges, such as lacking or inappropriate normative data or the unavailability of appropriate tests. Accommodating multilingual individuals exacerbates the issue by adding the question of which language(s) to use when assessing multilingual individuals. Different testrelated concepts may be accessible to them via different languages, as their lexicon is spread out over two or more languages. Hence, any monolingual instrument is likely to disadvantage them. The present set of three studies circumvents this question and presents evidence for an inherently multilingual English/Afrikaans/isiXhosa screening tool for intelligence, the Multilingual Vocabulary Test (MVT). I describe the instrument’s development from the pilot study to a psychometric analysis of the final, digitally administered version. For an abbreviated 13-item version, Study 3 (N = 494) shows an internal consistency of  = .59 and Study 2 (N = 101) produced significant criterion-related validity values of r = .46 and r = .52 with the KBIT-2 and Shipley-2 VIQ scores respectively. Linear regression analyses show that, while all criterion measures are biased toward E1-speakers, the MVT is largely immune to test-takers’ linguistic background. Thus, the MVT paves the way toward more fairness in cognitive assessments, in general, and provides a promising first step toward addressing one of South African neuropsychologists’ greatest needs—that of a quick and easy-to-administer, yet linguistically fair screening tool for cognitive impairment.

Within an increasingly multicultural society the largely 'Western' enterprise of Clinical Neuropsychology must endeavour to make assessments relevant to clients who do not speak English and who originate from different cultures. Previous attempts at such assessments have resulted in a largely non-verbal focus to assessments of abstraction, problem solving etc. This study investigates the possibility of developing a verbal 'culture-fair' test, with specific focus on verbal abstract reasoning. An understanding of the universal nature of proverbs has highlighted the utility of proverbs in constructing such a test. The initial aim was to develop the proverbs task, requiring the formation of novel proverbs unfamiliar to participants but containing universal themes. The novel proverbs task and existing measures of abstract reasoning and verbal ability were completed by participants who spoke English as either a first or second language and who originated from a variety of cultures. The scores on the measures were subjected to multivariate analysis. Analysis determined that within language and cultural analyses the proverb task was related to scores on other culturally bound verbal abstract reasoning tests. In addition, both the established 'culture-fair' abstract reasoning task and the proverb task did not differentiate between language or cultural groups. These and further analyses are placed within the literature of 'culture-fair' assessments with reference to clinical practice.

This collection of five papers explores the validity of exam accommodations in Ireland, in particular the spelling and grammar waiver, an accommodation unique to Ireland. A review of the literature relating to each accommodation is followed by two papers investigating the validity of the spelling and grammar waiver. A spelling and grammar waiver can be granted to a student with a specific learning disability who attains a standard score of 85 or below on a spelling test. Two groups of students were compared- those who had or had not been granted a waiver, Mock exam scripts of both groups were marked both with and without a spelling and grammar waiver by experienced markers. When a spelling and grammar waiver was applied, the scores of both groups significantly increased. The ‘boost’ received by students who had been granted a waiver was not significantly higher than the ‘boost’ received by the other students, suggesting that the spelling and grammar waiver gives an advantage to all who receive it. Examiner markings were re-examined in a follow up study to investigate possible examiner bias. Results found that elements of the marking scheme, which should not have been affected by a spelling and grammar waiver, were marked more leniently when the examiner marked students’ scripts which had a spelling and grammar waiver applied to it. These studies suggest that the spelling and grammar waiver is not a valid accommodation. In the following study, three spelling tests commonly used by teachers to apply for accommodations were compared. Significant differences were found among the scores. Students scoring below the cut off point for a spelling and grammar waiver ranged from 5.8% to 43.8% depending on the test used. These significant differences in scores across the three tests highlighted the need for an Irish normed spelling test. The final paper details the creation and standardisation of a spelling test in the Republic of Ireland. Limitations to each study and areas of further research are addressed. Suggestions to improve the validity of the spelling and grammar waiver by using an alternative marking scheme and teacher training are discussed.

This essay focus on the development and implementation of a model to evaluate consumer perceived value. Initially, itâs discussed the perceived value concept, its importance under strategy and marketing perspectives and its relation to price and quality. The model is presented, considering each step to be followed: perceived quality study of brands in the market; consumerâs perceptions of competitorâs prices; and the value map development, defined considering the relation quality/price for each brand in the market. The model applicability was tested in a soft drink category study in Fortaleza market, based in a survey with 400 consumers. The application shows that the model, built under consumerâs point of view, can provide a descriptive panel of competitorâs positions and relevant information to be used in market diagnoses. The information and the descriptive panel mentioned can be useful, not only in strategic analyses, but also in price formulations.
Esta dissertaÃÃo està centrada no desenvolvimento e utilizaÃÃo de um modelo para a avaliaÃÃo do valor percebido pelos consumidores. Inicialmente, à discutido o conceito de valor percebido, sua importÃncia sob as perspectivas estratÃgicas e mercadolÃgicas e sua relaÃÃo com o preÃo e a qualidade. O modelo à apresentado a partir da descriÃÃo dos passos necessÃrios para sua aplicaÃÃo: o estudo da qualidade percebida de cada marca; o levantamento das percepÃÃes dos consumidores com relaÃÃo aos preÃos dos concorrentes; e o desenho do mapa de valor, que à traÃado a partir das relaÃÃes qualidade/preÃo definidas para cada marca do mercado. A aplicabilidade do modelo foi testada atravÃs de um estudo da categoria de refrigerantes no mercado de Fortaleza, que envolveu uma pesquisa do tipo survey junto a 400 consumidores. Verificou-se que o modelo fornece um quadro descritivo dos posicionamentos mercadolÃgicos dos concorrentes e outras informaÃÃes relevantes para o diagnÃstico de mercado, considerado sob a Ãptica dos consumidores. As informaÃÃes e o quadro descritivo citados podem ser utilizados para anÃlises e formulaÃÃes estratÃgicas e para a formaÃÃo de preÃos.

Die vorliegende Dissertationsschrift umfasst die bilanzielle Behandlung des Goodwills nach internationalen Rechnungslegungsstandards. Dabei werden akademische und praxisnahe Fragestellungen berücksichtigt. Der Grundlagenteil illustriert vorhandene Ermessensspielräume für die Bilanzierenden im Rahmen der Ermittlung beizulegender Zeitwerte und Werthaltigkeitsprüfungen. Weiterführend werden zur Goodwill-Bilanzierung bestehende Lücken in den Rechnungslegungsstandards bzw. im einschlägigen Schrifttum identifiziert und diskutiert. Im Ergebnis soll die Dissertation einen Beitrag zur kritischen Würdigung ausgewählter Aspekte der Goodwill-Bilanzierung auf Basis der internationalen Rechnungslegungsstandards leisten und gezielt Lösungsvorschläge und Verbesserungsmöglichkeiten aufzeigen.

Kunskapsöversikten syftar till att belysa betygens funktion och rättvis bedömning i en svensk utbildningskontext. Översikten baseras på forskning som sammanställts från en systematisk informationssökningsprocess huvudsakligen förankrad i forskningsdatabasen Swepub.Tilläggsmaterial har sökts genom sekundärsökningar. Resultatdelen redovisar förhållandet mellan betygens funktion och rättvis bedömning i fyra delar. Ett inledande kapitel som ger ett historisktperspektiv på hur utbildningsverksamheten i Sverige förändrats i relation till betygsättning och bedömning. Därefter i de två följande kapitlen fördjupas kunskapen kring betygens funktion och villkor för rättvis bedömning. I de sista två kapitlen vidgas problematiken kring betygens funktion och rättvis bedömning genom att närmare undersöka forskning kring validitet och reliabilitet. Den främsta slutsatsen kunskapsöversikten når är att betygens funktion och rättvis bedömning styrs av de förutsättningar det målrelaterade systemet skapar. Särskilt utmanas rättviseaspekten i bedömningsprocessen för att de föreskrivna riktlinjerna är inte alltid det som mäts vid bedömningstillfället. Andra faktorer som personliga drag hos elever, leder till att betyget inte är ett tillförlitligt mått på elevens kunskap. Kan inte betygens funktion säkerställas, då att betyget är ett korrekt mått på elevens kunskap, får betyget en negativ inverkan på bedömningens trovärdighet. Avslutande diskussionen kretsar kring att belysa ämnesrelevansen av kunskapsöversiktens inriktning. Ämnesrelevansen vilar på grunder av att lärare alltid i sitt yrkesutövande måste betygsätta och bedöma. Då är frågan om betygens funktion och rättvis bedömning en brännande punkt för en jämlik skolgång.

This dissertation aims to demonstrate how the expansion of instructive powers of the judge, under the collective process, is an appropriate mechanism to densify access to the legal system, calling it the attributes of equity and effectiveness. To give support to this proposal, it is through the theoretical contributions of post-positivism as a promising paradigm proper legal foundation, through the legal argument at the time that it reveals an instrument of control and improvement of judicial decisions. On the other hand, the proposal places the collective protection in the second renewals wave of civil procedure, describing the extra-legal obstacles to access to jurisdiction and analyzes the constitutional postulate in its material dimension, pointing out the risk of its sacredness and its negative impact on the protection of collective goods. The collective process is raised to the status of an autonomous branch of the civil process, composing a microsystem endowed with natural principles. When entering your analysis describes its social and political relevance, underlying having a society permeated by massed relations. As a theoretical reference the expansion of instructive powers leaned over the device and inquisitorial systems. This polarization emerges a discussion of the role of the judiciary. We propose a new perspective of judicial action, more dynamic and embedded in the social environment that surrounds it, a position aligned with the publicist view of the process. In this context it works with a new process model, cooperative, a convergent analysis with collective protection, enhancing its democratic foundation and its contribution to the delivery of a fair and appropriate remedy. The powers are described in kind, highlighting the paradigms in consumeristas and environmental labors. The right to trial was submitted to a constitutional reading to support their investment and modulation inspired by the nature of the legal interests at stake. The theory of dynamic distribution is presented as strengthening the judicial action in favor of the effectiveness of collective action. They are faced limits to this outburst, with the goals of the constitutional process principles. Given these assumptions, the outlook point-of attracting organized civil society to make use of collective actions, from the strengthening of judicial functions aimed to eradicate the barriers of access to the differentiated protection.
A presente dissertação objetiva demonstrar como a dilatação dos poderes instrutórios do julgador, no âmbito do processo coletivo, é um mecanismo adequado a densificar o acesso à ordem jurídica, qualificando-a pelos atributos da equidade e efetividade. Para dar sustentação a essa proposta, recorre-se aos aportes teóricos do Pós-positivismo como um paradigma promissor a adequada fundamentação judicial, por meio da argumentação jurídica, ao tempo em que se revela um instrumento de controle e aperfeiçoamento das decisões judiciais. Por outro lado, a proposta situa a tutela coletiva na segunda onda renovatória do processo civil, descrevendo os obstáculos extrajurídicos do acesso à jurisdição e analisa o postulado constitucional em sua dimensão material, apontando o risco de sua sacralização e seu impacto negativo sobre a tutela dos bens coletivos. O processo coletivo é alçado à condição de um ramo autônomo do processo civil, compondo um microssistema dotado de princípios singulares. Ao ingressar em sua análise descreve-se sua relevância social e política, tendo subjacente uma sociedade permeada por relações massificadas. Como referencial teórico a ampliação dos poderes instrutórios debruçou-se sobre os sistemas dispositivo e inquisitivo. Dessa polarização emerge uma discussão sobre o papel do Poder Judiciário. Propõe-se uma nova perspectiva de atuação judicial, mais dinâmica e inserida no ambiente social que o circunda, numa posição alinhada à visão publicista do processo. Neste contexto trabalha-se com um novo modelo processual, cooperativo, numa análise convergente com a tutela coletiva, realçando seu fundamento democrático e sua contribuição para a entrega de uma tutela jurisdicional justa e adequada. São descritos os poderes em espécie, realçando os paradigmas nas lides consumeristas e ambientais. O direito à prova foi submetido a uma leitura constitucional para embasar a sua inversão e modulação inspiradas na natureza dos bens jurídicos em disputa. A teoria da distribuição dinâmica é apresentada como reforço a atuação judicial em prol da efetividade das ações coletivas. São enfrentados os limites a este assomo, tendo como balizas os princípios constitucionais do processo. Diante destas premissas, apontam-se as perspectivas de atrair a sociedade civil organizada para que faça uso das ações coletivas, a partir do fortalecimento das funções judiciais vocacionadas a debelar as barreiras de acesso a essa tutela diferenciada.

This diploma thesis is dealing with a construction and technological project of the backgrounds and changing rooms of the sports centre in Velké Meziříčí. An engineering report of the construction and technological project, a suggested plan of transport routes and a time and financial plan for all the building facilities are included. With a realization study of the main technological phases, a site equipment project and a suggested list of the main construction vehicles and mechanisms is being dealt in another part of the thesis. In addition to these there is a time plan of the main construction object, an itemized budget, a time deployment of machines and workers and a plan for securing all the material resources needed. An engineering report for assembling prewalls from fair-faced concrete plus a design of a systemic formwork follow. More detailed engineering report of a Spiroll ceiling panels’ assembly is part of the inspection and test plan. Last but not least, an OSH plan for installation works with a mobile crane and a noise study can also be found in this thesis.

L’approche juridique de la notion de création est confuse. Elle est traditionnellement envisagée à travers les droits de propriété intellectuelle (droit d’auteur, brevet, dessins et modèles, etc.). Mais cette approche est insuffisante. Les droits fondamentaux permettent de s’en apercevoir. En effet, la création constitue à la fois une activité humaine (un acte créatif) et un objet de propriété (un bien créatif). L’acte créatif est garanti par la liberté de création. La nature de cette dernière demeure toutefois incertaine. Elle oscille entre un rattachement à la liberté d’expression ou à la liberté du commerce et de l’industrie. De plus, le test de proportionnalité conduit à examiner les limites de la liberté de création à l’aune des « lois du genre créatif ». Les droits fondamentaux invitent alors à dépasser la conception de l’acte créatif compris comme un message.Le bien créatif est protégé par le droit de propriété. Les droits fondamentaux conduisent cependant à remettre en cause la conception française des biens créatifs en soulignant davantage leur dimension économique. De plus, le test de proportionnalité implique de redessiner les limites du droit de propriété en tenant compte de ses fonctions sociales. En définitive, les droits fondamentaux brouillent la frontière entre le droit de propriété et le droit de la concurrence déloyale
The legal approach to the notion of creation is vague. It is traditionally considered in the light of intellectual property rights (copyright, patent, design, etc.), but this approach is insufficient. Fundamental rights show us this. They let us distinguish between its different dimensions: creation as both a human activity (a creative act) and an object of property (a creative good). The freedom of creation protects and ensures the creative act. However, the nature of the former remains unclear. It fluctuates between falling within the freedom of expression and the freedom to conduct a business. Furthermore, the proportionality test leads to the limits of creative freedom being examined in terms of “laws of the creative type”. Fundamental rights then require us to go beyond the concept of the creative act as a message.The creative good is protected by property law. Fundamental rights, however, bring into question the French concept of a creative good by further emphasising their economic aspect. Moreover, the proportionality test means retracing the boundaries of property law by taking into account its social functions. Fundamental rights therefore blur the line between property law and unfair competition law

碩士
國立臺灣大學
法律學研究所
103
Nowadays, industrial designs are not just protected by the Design Patent Law. Multiple protections have become the mainstream. Therefore, the relation and reconciliation between the Design Patent Law and various Acts is very important. Firstly, the thesis focuses on the protection of industrial designs under the Copyright Act. After reviewing applied art regulations in many countries, this thesis thinks that no matter the design is patented or not, as long as it meets the “Original” element, then it should be protected by the Copyright Act. The view in the past was that “only handmade art craft shall be protected by the Copyright Act, excluding the protection for machine-made industrial designs,” and this thesis believes that such view should be abandoned. To explain the “Original” element, one might start with the view of “creative possibilities,” and could find the balance between encouraging culture development and avoiding monopolism. Secondly, the thesis looks at the protection for industrial designs under the Fair Trade Act. From the view of protecting competition order, if an enterprise continues investing in advertising and marketing to make an industrial design well-known, then the industrial design should be protected by both the Design Patent and the Fair Trade Act. The double protection is to respond to the enterprises’ and consumers’ trusts on such industrial design patent and prevent confusion. In addition, it usually takes a long time before a characterization of an industrial design reaches the level of “well-known” or before an industrial design gets patented. In order to avoid dead copy of an industrial design by other enterprises during such legal window period, this thesis thinks that we should reference to the Japan Control Law of Injustice Access for the protection against dead copy during the window period. Regarding the design patent protection, the identification of design patent infringement has many problems in practical operation. Therefore, this thesis intends to compare Taiwan’s and other countries’ regulations and to look into the opinions of practitioners, and then provides advice. As for the “excluding functional feature” when defining the protection range of a patent application, this thesis looked into the development of United States Law and found that excluding functional features from a drawing would make the drawing fragmented and partial, violating the overall impression principle. Hence, this thesis believes that functional features should be retained in the drawing and be observed along with other features, or be analyzed by proportional weight, in order to take into account both “overall impression principle” and “reducing the effect of functional features as much as possible”. As for the infringement identification, firstly, this thesis believes that as the single novelty point test is against overall impression principle, it should not be adopted. Secondly, the subject of patent infringement test should be ordinary consumers who are familiar with prior art. Thirdly, after reviewing the design patent infringement tests of United States, European Union and Japan, this thesis adopts European Union’s regulations. After factoring in the freedom of design, this thesis analyses proportionally the similarities and differences of these features. This method is based on a more objective quantitative criterion and should reflect the functional features’ limitation to the freedom of design.

碩士
中國文化大學
資訊傳播學系
104
Since Internet is not limited in time and location, online learning has become one of the main learning methods. Examination is one of major options to demonstrate learning outcomes. Generally, there are two ways to obtain the results, which are individual examinations and group examinations. Most online tests focus on individual examinations, while universities prefer to hold group examinations. Group examinations mainly use the same exam papers, but this is easy to cheat or gain other dishonest consequences. Most group examinations are randomly chosen from database of questions; However, this may miss the course objective or hardly follow teaching schedules. The problems of terminology translation. In addition, it is not easy to distinguish the level of difficulty amongs questions. This research primarily focus on making a fair platform for group examination. Regarding the platform, it detects similarity questions, which helps teachers to choose questions more efficiently. Furthermore, teachers are able to assess “RWD” based website any time at any location. Moreover, teachers could set up subjects, chapters, the levels of difficulty, or time of answering questions on the platform. Also, examination systems could randomly show one of the question multiple choices and their available answers to choose. This examination style will display in full screen and the system also has function of detecting users’ behaviors in order to prevent from cheating in the examination. Lastly, using vision intellectual information spread sheet could be a basement to identify the degree of question difficulty and it could also be a method to understand how much progress does a student learn. Teachers can focus on students’ weaknesses and support them to address. This system could improve the fairness of an exam and it could be a more suitable online-test platform.

碩士
國立高雄第一科技大學
行銷與流通管理研究所
101
Recent development of fair trade products in Taiwan has emerged. Not only do the public sectors help educate the fair trade concept but large retailers begin selling fair trade products. Compare to the global market, Taiwanese consumers’ awareness of fair trade goods is still in its infancy. As the unique concept behind fair trade goods'' production and trade program, this type of commercial products could be attributed to the credence goods. Therefore, to make fair trade goods be accepted by the public has become an important issue. This study aimed to use source credibility model to investigate the relationship among the perception of fair trade label, price acceptability and product likeability. The empirical results show that different sources of trustworthiness, expertise and universalism significantly affect price acceptability and product likeability, particularly trustworthiness of fair trade label having high impacts on consumers’ product attitudes, which influencing price acceptability and product likeability. But expertise and universalism of fair trade label just have impact on product likeability. The result discover that fair trade label have sufficient trustworthiness in Taiwanese consumer''s mind, but they still not understand the meaning of fair trade enough. For this reason, expertise and universalism of fair trade not affect price acceptability.

This research is an investigation into the Apil B as a culture fair assessment tool for the purpose of recruitment and selection. The Employment Equity Act stipulates that "psychological testing and other similar assessments are prohibited unless the test or assessment being used :-a) has been shown to be valid and reliable b) can be fairly applied to all employees and c) is not biased against any employee" (Employment Equity Act, 1998). The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the Apil B with regard to validity. reliability, cultural fairness, and bias via a consideration of the attitudes, opinions, and feelings of psychometric test administrators in the Kwa-Zulu Natal region. The secondary objective is to ascertain whether the Employment Equity legislation has influenced the attitudes of test administrators toward psychometric testing, and the implications for psychometric testing in South Africa following the Act. The sample in this research consists of 20 qualified test administrators of the Apil B. The administrators are affiliated with the following companies : Beacon, Durban Electricity, Profiled Appointments, Mondi, McCann and Associates, Saunders and Associates, Tetrapak, lthaJa, and Mangosuthu Technikon. Qualitative and quantitative methods are used. A self-administered questionnaire is used to investigate the attitudes, opinions, and feelings of the respondents toward the Apil B as a culture fair assessment, specifically in relation to validity, reliability, cultural fairness, and bias. Although most of the questions are qualitative, quantitative questions are also included. Therefore, this research requires numerical data as well . The quantitative questions include yes and no responses, as well as rating scales. The quantitative data supplements the qualitative data and therefore facilitates a more concrete data base. The results indicate that all respondents feel that the Apil B is valid, reliable, culture fair and fairly applied . Respondents feel more positively toward the new updated psychometric tests. They expressed greater confidence in terms of knowing which tests are inappropriate and which tests are relevant to specific jobs. It is also evident that the Employment Equity Act has strongly influenced the attitudes of respondents, in a very positive light, toward the use of psychometric testing. The respondents do however mention some concerns with regard to language based tests, and the ethical use of tests. According to the research conducted, the Apil B is regarded as a valid, reliable, and culture fair assessment tool in the opinion of the respondents utilised in this study. It is therefore recommended that the Apil B is used in organisations as a test that does not discriminate against any culture or subculture.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
會計學研究所
97
Using S&P500 companies as a sample, this paper investigates the effectiveness of fair value option in reducing information asymmetry. In February 2007, FASB announced statement 159, ’’ The Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Liabilities ‘’ (SFAS No.159). This statement provides companies the option to measure financial assets and liabilities by fair value (i.e. Fair Value Option). The FASB believes that the adoption of SFAS No.159 would benefit from mitigating volatility in reported earnings caused by accounting mismatch. Moreover, resulting from hedge accounting simplification and more disclosure requirements, lower forecast dispersion is expected. Therefore, the hypothesis of whether adopting fair value option is negatively related to information asymmetry is tested. Results of the study are inconsistent with the hypotheses. This empirical result could come to the explanation that the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis and the following financial crisis might affect the data period of FVO due to this special period. Hence, the empirical results of this study do not support the hypotheses that adopting the FVO leads to decreased information asymmetry.

Die vorliegende Dissertationsschrift umfasst die bilanzielle Behandlung des Goodwills nach internationalen Rechnungslegungsstandards. Dabei werden akademische und praxisnahe Fragestellungen berücksichtigt. Der Grundlagenteil illustriert vorhandene Ermessensspielräume für die Bilanzierenden im Rahmen der Ermittlung beizulegender Zeitwerte und Werthaltigkeitsprüfungen. Weiterführend werden zur Goodwill-Bilanzierung bestehende Lücken in den Rechnungslegungsstandards bzw. im einschlägigen Schrifttum identifiziert und diskutiert. Im Ergebnis soll die Dissertation einen Beitrag zur kritischen Würdigung ausgewählter Aspekte der Goodwill-Bilanzierung auf Basis der internationalen Rechnungslegungsstandards leisten und gezielt Lösungsvorschläge und Verbesserungsmöglichkeiten aufzeigen.:I Goodwill-Bilanzierung nach internationalen Rechnungslegungsstandards – Gesamtdarstellung der kumulativen Dissertation 1. Übergeordneter Forschungszusammenhang 2. Übersicht der Manuskripte und Ergebnisse der Dissertation II Fair Value Accounting – The Case of Europe Communication AG 1. Manuskript – the case 2. Case learning objectives and implementation guidance 3. Teaching notes III Bleak Weather for Sun-Shine AG – A Case Study of Impairment of Assets 1. Manuskript – the case 2. Case learning objectives and implementation guidance 3. Teaching notes IV Plausibilisierungsmöglichkeiten einer Kaufpreisallokation nach IFRS § - Theoretische Grundlagen und Fallbeispiel 1. Problemstellung 2. Methoden zur Plausibilisierung der Bilanzierung von Unternehmenserwerben nach IFRS 3 3. Fallbeispiel 4. Zusammenfassung und kritische Würdigung V 10 Years Impairment-only Approach – Stakeholders‘ Perceptions and Research Findings 1. Introduction 2. Institutional background 3. Stakeholders’ perceptions of the impairment-only approach 4. Researchers’ findings regarding goodwill impairment 5. Discussion and avenues for future development 6. Conclusion VI Impairment of Goodwill and Deferred Taxes under IFRS 1. Introduction 2. Goodwill impairment as a consequence of DTL 3. Conceptual discussion and presentation 4. Proposals to alleviate the effects of DTL 5. Conclusions

The present study sets out to evaluate the effectiveness of a dynamic approach to aptitude testing. It was proposed that it is not always appropriate to use conventional aptitude tests to predict future academic success in the South African context. The study posited the belief that an alternative testing format could be facilitated by using a test-train-test procedure within a learning potential paradigm. The learning potential paradigm as formulated through Vygotskian and Feuersteinian theory is operationalised in the form of a Newtest Battery. The Newtest procedure is in direct contrast to traditional approaches to aptitude testing. The latter approaches both implicitly and explicitly adopt a static view of ability, whereas the Newtest approach focuses on the learning potential of the testee, as well as consequent performance. However, the assessment of learning potential poses problems of its own. Modifications were introduced to ensure that the Newtest format is both appropriate and psychometrically defensible. The construction and evaluation of the Newtest Battery is described. A sample of both advantaged and disadvantaged students were tested on a battery of traditional aptitude tests. This group of students was contrasted with another sample of both advantaged and disadvantaged students who undertook the Newtest Battery in the modified dynamic testing format. The traditional measures of aptitude were found to be invalid predictors of university success. Matric results showed a relationship with academic success for both groups. The Newtest measures enhanced the prediction of academic success for both advantaged and disadvantaged students. The Deductive Reasoning dynamic measure was found to be a valid predictor of university success for the disadvantaged students. The results thus successfully extend the learning potential paradigm into the realm of group aptitude testing. The validity of traditional aptitude test measures has been brought into question by the findings of the study. The study points the way forward to a more equitable and relevant aptitude testing procedure. Finally, it was shown that the testing environment forms part of the socio-educational context. Personnel involved in the administration of aptitude tests are given guidelines \vi th the aim of equalising the test process.
Psychology of Education
D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)