Tesi sul tema "Validité de structure"

[Truncated abstract] Areal bone mineral density (BMD) is measured routinely in the clinic by a quantitative radiological technique, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). BMD is used widely to assess non-invasively but indirectly the mechanical fragility of bone and consequently is able to predict fracture risk. While BMD correlates well with in vitro measurements of bone strength it does not directly measure a mechanical property; half of incident minimally traumatic fractures in women occur with BMD values above the World Health Organisation defined threshold for osteoporosis. This arises partly because the mechanical strength of bone is dependent on its structural geometry and material strength as well as bone mineral mass. Essentially, bones fracture when load stresses exceed the mechanical capacity of the material to withstand them. The structural geometry (i.e., the amount of bone tissue and its complex three-dimensional arrangement within the macroscopic bone envelope) defines the stresses produced by a given load, while the intrinsic load capacity of the material is defined by the composition and microstructure of the bone tissue itself. Hip structural analysis (HSA) is a technique that elucidates the structural geometric component of bone strength; essentially combining information available from conventional DXA images of the proximal femur with a biomechanical beam model based on the stresses arising in a combination of pure bending and axial compression. A version of HSA has recently been released commercially, and has obtained US Food and Drug Administration approval for its clinical application. ... Given the acknowledged limitations of the HSA method when applied to 2-D projection images, a 3-D approach to structural geometry, using imaging modalities such as pQCT and QCT or a recently introduced version of DXA that mimics QCT, is indicated for the future. With that in mind and the possibility of the anthropometric phantom being adopted for future accuracy and precision assessments, improvements in the design of this phantom are recommended. Studies to better understand and verify Contents v the relevance of the 'local buckling' phenomenon as a structural geometric factor in the genesis of macro-fractures are also recommended. In summary, it is essential that superior (compared to BMD) non-invasively determined clinical predictors of bone fragility leading to fracture be investigated. Structural geometric variables are potential candidates. This has led to consideration of; (i) the need to progress beyond BMD for a more sensitive and specific bone strength measurement; (ii) theoretical advantages of structural geometry over BMD; (iii) limitations of the current HSA technique based on DXA, including those introduced by its restrictive assumptions; (iv) the value of HSA in longitudinal studies, exemplified by the 'normal' but rapid skeletal changes seen in human lactation, with possible implications for an analogous study of the menopause; and (v) an investigation, using a custom-designed anthropometric phantom, of the adaptation of HSA to certain emerging imaging modalities and methods able to resolve bone structural geometry in three dimensions.

In developing countries, there is a great demand for university education. In order to select students to universities a standardized test score is used. In Turkey, the Student Selection Test (SST) have important role in admission to universities. However, there is very limited knowledge about what SST mathematics sections actually measures. The main purpose of the present study is to evaluate the content of the mathematics subtest of the SST in line with mathematical cognitive skills and eventually provide construct related evidence for dimensionality of the test items. Within this framework, it is aimed to cross validate the mathematics subtest across gender groups, school types and two consecutive years. Also relations among mathematical abilities are investigated. This study is first in investigating what is measured by SST Mathematics sections and analyzing construct validity by testing several nested confirmatory factor models. Comparison of fit indices of five competitive models showed three-factor model has better fit indices in which Basic Computation Ability, Advanced Computation Ability and Geometry Ability is measured. It is concluded that problem solving items are not measuring a different process, but measures some sort of computation ability. There is a problem related to the content of the mathematics subtests of the SST in line with mathematical cognitive skills. Higher order cognitive skills are not measured properly. Three-factor model is tested about the invariance of the factors across gender, school types and years. It is concluded that invariant factor structure indicates that SST mathematics section is operating similarly for subgroups and years. The relations among mathematical abilities on three-factor model are investigated by item mapping and structural equation models. It is seen that Basic Computation Ability is a prerequisite to acquire Geometry Ability and Advanced Computation Ability.

Although most researchers agree that resilience is defined as the extent to which an individual bounces back and recovers from stress and adversity, the field has not yet settled on the underlying structure of the resilience construct; its lower-order factors remain in dispute and undefined. In this study, five of the most prominent resilience measures (i.e., Ego Resilience, Block & Kremen, 1996; The Resilience Scale, Wagnild & Young, 1993; The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Connor & Davidson, 2003; The Resilience Scale for Adults, Friborg, Hjemdal, Rosenvinge, & Martinussen, 2003; The Brief Resilience Scale, Smith, Dalen, Wiggins, & Tooley, 2008) were administered to two large samples of U.S. adults (N = 396 and 336, respectively). Through a combination of exploratory and confirmatory techniques, seven lower-order resilience factors were identified. Relationships between general resilience, lower-order resilience factors, and correlates were examined. Results reveal that lower-order resilience factors are moderately correlated with one another and are differentially related to outcomes of interest. Follow-up hierarchical regression and relative weights analyses further reveal that general resilience substantially overlaps with Big Five personality measures, but, in many cases, its lower-order factors do not. Consequently, it is recommended moving forward that researchers continue to study the resilience construct, but do so by focusing on lower-order resilience factors, rather than on global measures of the overall resilience construct.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a disorder characterized by a persistent pattern of developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Currently, clinicians typically utilize a multi-method assessment battery focusing on identifying the core symptoms of ADHD. Further, current recommendations for a comprehensive assessment of ADHD require a lengthy and costly evaluation protocol despite a lack of evidence supporting the incremental utility of each method. Assessment strategies exhibiting the strongest evidence of reliability and validity include symptom-based rating scales, empirically-derived rating scales, and structured diagnostic interviews (Pelham, Fabiano, & Massetti, 2005), yet, their review provided limited empirical support for this conclusion. Nonetheless, other reviews have noted the lack of research examining whether each procedure and/or method adds unique information to a diagnosis of ADHD (Johnston & Murray, 2003). In order to fill this gap in the literature, the current study examined the independent and incremental utility of multiple methods and informants in a comprehensive, “gold standard” assessment of ADHD. The sample include 185 children with ADHD (Mage =9.22, SD=.95) and 82 children without ADHD (Mage =9.24, SD=.88). Logistic regressions were used to examine the incremental contribution of each method in the prediction of consensus diagnoses derived by two Ph.D. level experts in the field of ADHD following a review of comprehensive assessment data. This study also examined the clinical utility and efficiency of diagnostic algorithms using the methods demonstrating the greatest statistical association with a diagnosis of ADHD. Finding provided an empirical support for arguments espousing the redundancy of information in a comprehensive assessment. Namely, information collected from a structured diagnostic interview was unable to significantly improve a prediction model including parent and teacher ratings (Block X2-= .91 = .64). Importantly, parent and teacher ratings on a symptom-based scale alone were able to correctly classify 265 of 267 participants. Based on these results, a diagnostic algorithm that was derived utilizing only behavioral rating scales was able to classify correctly all 267 participants. Clinical implications are highlighted and future research directions are discussed.

This study extends the literature on interview validity by attempting to create a structured employment interview with both construct- and criterion-related validity. For this study, a situational interview was developed with the specific purpose of enhancing the interview's construct validity while retaining the interview's predictive power. To enhance the construct validity, two guidelines were applied to the creation of the interview based on previous research in interview and assessment center literature limit the number of applicant characteristics to be rated to 3; and (2) ensure that the dimensions to be measured are conceptually distinct. Based on these two guidelines, three constructs were chosen for assessment of real estate sales agents extraversion, proactive personality and customer orientation. The critical incident technique was used to develop six interview items. To test the construct validity of the interview, the six items were correlated with other measures, specifically, self-report questionnaires and managers' ratings, of extraversion, proactivity and customer orientation. Correlations were weak, at best (rs ranged from -.06 to .25). To test the predictive validity of the interview, the six items were correlated with both objective and subjective measures of performance. Predictive validities were stronger, ranging from .23 to .30. These findings are consistent with previous research on employment interviews which have found that although the predictive validity of the interview is strong, the construct validity is very weak, leaving researchers to wonder what it is that the interview is actually measuring. Possible explanations for these findings are offered, and the implications of these findings are discussed.

This present study examined the structural validity of a Chinese version of Multidimensional Work Ethic Profile (MWEP-C), using a large sample of Chinese parents and their young adult children (N = 1047). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied to evaluate the model fit of sample data on three competing models using two randomly split stratified subsamples. Measurement invariance for these two generational respondents was checked using differential item functioning (DIF) analysis. The results indicated that MWEP-C provided a reasonable fit for the sample data and the majority of survey items produced similar item-level responses for individuals that do not differ on the attributes of work ethic across these two generations. DIF items were detected based on advanced and successive iterations. Monte Carlo simulations were also conducted for creating threshold values and for chi-square probabilities based on 1,000 replications. After identifying the DIF items, model fit improved and generational differences and similarities in work ethic between parents and their young adult children were also identified. The results suggested that the younger Chinese generations have higher work ethic mean scores on the dimensions of work centrality and morality/ethics while they have similarities on time concept, self-reliance, delay of gratification, and hard work as their parents.

As an international phenomenon, school bullying negatively impacts children, adolescents, and young adults all over the world. In China, bullying problem has drawn increased research attention in recent years. Research on school bullying depends on valid and reliable measurement of bullying and victimization behaviors. Unfortunately, however, psychometrically sound bullying measures for use with Chinese students are lacking. The Revised Peer Experiences Questionnaire (RPEQ) is a widely used self-report bullying measure that has demonstrated adequate psychometric properties in students from the United States and several European countries. In the current study, the psychometric properties and factor structure of the RPEQ were examined with a sample of Chinese college students.

The present study examined the structural construct validity of the LoTi Digital-Age Survey, a measure of teacher instructional practices with technology in the classroom. Teacher responses (N = 2840) from across the United States were used to assess factor structure of the instrument using both exploratory and confirmatory analyses. Parallel analysis suggests retaining a five-factor solution compared to the MAP test that suggests retaining a three-factor solution. Both analyses (EFA and CFA) indicate that changes need to be made to the current factor structure of the survey. The last two factors were composed of items that did not cover or accurately measure the content of the latent trait. Problematic items, such as items with crossloadings, were discussed. Suggestions were provided to improve the factor structure, items, and scale of the survey.

Despite the growing popularity of goal orientation research, three questions remain largely unanswered: (1) are there 3 factors of goal orientation or only 2; (2) what predicts goal orientation; and (3) is goal orientation domain specific? To help answer these questions, 177 undergraduates were given a questionnaire assessing, in both the academic and athletic domains, (a) learning, prove, and avoid goals, (b) self-perceived ability, ability, and implicit theories, and (c) high-school grade point average, intrinsic motivation, internal motivation, self-efficacy, locus of control, need for achievement, desire to win, and fear of negative evaluation. The results suggest that learning, prove, and avoid goals can be empirically distinguished, that they are domain specific, but that they are not predicted well by ability, self-perceived ability, or implicit theories. Discussion centers on the need for a pattern approach to the prediction of goal orientation and stresses the importance of examining the interactions among learning, prove, and avoid goals. The overriding conclusion, however, is that goal orientation is not a useful construct.<br>Master of Science

In the world of work, psychological instruments are often used for the purposes of selection and development (Van de Vijver & Rothmann, 2004). According to Van der Merwe (1999), psychological tests are commonly used to determine whether employees have the necessary skills for a specific job. However, much controversy still exists about the use of such instruments, particularly in the multicultural South African context, as not all psychometric tests accommodate individuals from different cultures and different socio-economic and educational backgrounds. The objective of this study was to assess the structural validity of the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQi) developed by Bar-On. The EQi measurement consist of 133 items and was completed by a total of 1 104 participants in the South African insurance sector drawn by means of convenient sampling. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed, from which only nine factor loadings resulted out of an anticipated fifteen. Overall, the factor loadings did not provide a good representation of the Bar-On theoretical model. In addition, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test if the data fitted the Bar-On EQI theoretical model. The results suggest a poor fit and therefore the structural validity of the EQI can be questioned for the respondents from an insurance company.<br>Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2012.<br>Human Resource Management<br>MCom<br>Unrestricted

"Ce travail a pour objet de tester la validité de la méthode dite du "cisaillement perpendiculaire" qui permet d'engendrer des phases approximantes à partir de quascristaux décrits dans des espaces de grande dimension. Pour ce faire, deux structures cristallines cubiques des systèmes AlCuFe et AlPdMn ont été élaborées et identifiées comme approxirnants des phases icosaédriques voisines. Leurs structures atomiques ont été déterminées par les méthodes de cristallographie conventionnelle et comparées aux structures idéales engendrées par la méthode du cisaillement perpendiculaire. Les conclusions sont les suivantes: 1- seuls les structures théoriques engendrées par des coupes passant par des points spéciaux du grand espace correspondent globalement aux structures réelles. Les structures théoriques sont alors en excellent accord avec les résultats expérimentaux à une ou deux positions de Wyckoff près. En particulier, un désaccord systématique a été observé entre deux orbites du modèles définissant les sommets d'un dodécaèdre et leurs homologues expérimentaux qui définissent un icosaèdre. Ceci a permis de conclure, a rebours, que la description initiale des phases quasicristallines mérite d'être révisée en modifiant certaines surfaces atomiques initiales. 2- au-delà des désaccords mineurs pré-cités, les amas atomiques locaux des phases approximantes et des quasicristaux parents sont remarquablement similaires, jusqu'à des rayons dépassant la taille des mailles cristallines. Ce résultat explique que les propriétés physiques dépendant des environmements atomiques à courte et moyenne distance (structure électronique, propriétés de transport, propriétés mécaniques) sont analogues entre phase icosaédriques et approximants. "

Age, period, and cohort are three temporal dimensions that can make unique contributions to social and epidemiological changes that occur in populations over time. However, while the theoretical underpinnings for each temporal dimension are well established, the statistical techniques to assess the distinctive contributions of age, period and cohort are controversial. Unless questionable assumptions are imposed on the data, traditional linear regression models are incapable of estimating the independent contribution of each temporal dimension due to the linear dependence between age, period and cohort (A=P-C). Two recently developed methods, Hierarchical Age-PeriodCohort (HAPC) and Intrinsic Estimator (IE) models, enable researchers to estimate how all three temporal dimensions contribute to an outcome of interest without resorting to such assumptions. However, some simulation studies suggest that these new methods provide biased estimates of each temporal dimension. In this dissertation, I investigated whether practitioners can avoid biased results by first understanding the structure of the data. In Chapters 2 and 3, I examined whether visual plots of descriptive statistics and model selection statistics could identify various types of data structures through a series of simulation analyses. The results showed that preliminary data analysis is useful for identifying data structures that are compatible with the assumptions of HAPC and IE models. Moreover, when the data satisfied assumptions such as three-dimensionality and slight deviations from perfect functional forms, both HAPC and IE models tended to provide unbiased estimates of age, period and cohort effects. In Chapter 4, I provided a step-by-step demonstration for applying HAPC models by investigating the unique contributions of age, period and cohort to educational inequalities in the health of a large sample of U.S. adults. This study found that age and cohort effects contribute most to variability in health, and also that cross-validation is a useful way to incorporate HAPC models when preliminary analyses do not definitively show that the data structure is three dimensional.

In this study, 236 heavy-drinking college students completed measures of self-efficacy for limiting drinking, specific coping skills for limiting drinking, outcome expectancies associated both with expected effects of drinking and expected effects of limiting drinking, and retrospective drinking behavior. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to examine reliability and validity, as well as serving as a pre-requisite for structural equation modeling (SEM). Results were generally consistent with predictions and supported the distinction between self-efficacy and outcome expectancies. One notable exception was that positive expectancies for limiting drinking did not load heavily on the predicted expectancy construct. Three models predicting drinking were compared utilizing SEM. The first was a model in which all constructs predicted drinking with no indirect effects. The second was based upon the ideas of Kirsch (1995) and predicted that outcome expectancies influence self-efficacy judgments. The third was based upon Banduraâ s (1986) theory and predicted that self-efficacy judgments would instead influence outcome expectancies. Both the models based on Kirsch and Bandura appeared to better fit the data than the model with no indirect effects. Differences in model-fit between models based on Kirsch and Bandura were not large, but slightly supported the Kirsch model. Additional analyses also supported the importance of outcome expectancies in predicting drinking behavior. Implications for theory and future directions for research are discussed.<br>Ph. D.

Dissertation (Ph. D.)--University of Akron, Dept. of Counselor Education and Supervision, 2007.<br>"December, 2007." Title from electronic dissertation title page (viewed 03/19/2008) Advisor, Sandra Perosa; Committee members, Linda Perosa, Pat Parr, Fred H. Ziegler, Suzanne MacDonald; Department Chair, Karin Jordan; Interim Dean of the College, Cynthia Capers; Dean of the Graduate School, George R. Newkome. Includes bibliographical references.

This research began with the Hill Inventory. Cognitive style preference variables were classified as one of following four types: Theoretical Codes, Qualitative Codes, Social-Cultural Codes or Reasoning Modalities. A consumer behavior perspective was then used to form an alternative structure for the Hill Inventory variables. The following three constructs were proposed: Evaluation Codes, Perceptual Codes, and Reasoning Modalities. The purpose of this research was to assess the structural form and measurement validity of the Hill Inventory. Specific steps taken to accomplish this objective included: developing confirmatory factor and structural equation models; using the LISREL software package to analyze the model specifications; and assessing the validity of the questions used to measure the variables. A descriptive research design was used to compare the model specifications. The research instrument consisted of eight statements for each of twenty-eight variables for a total of 224 questions. Five-point response choices were described by the words: often, sometimes, unsure, rarely, or never. The sample consisted of 285 student subjects in marketing classes at a large university. Data analysis began by comparing the distributions of the data to a normal case. Parameter estimates, root mean square residuals and squared multiple correlations then were obtained using the LISREL VI software package. The chi-square statistic was used to test the hypotheses. This statistic was supplemented by the Tucker-Lewis index which used a null model for comparisons. The final step in data analysis was to assess the reliability of the measurements. This study affected the potential usage of the Hill Inventory for consumer behavior research. The major conclusion was that the measurement of the variables must be improved before model parameters can be tested. Specific question sets on the inventory were identified that were most in need of revision.

The purpose of the present dissertation was to evaluate the internal validity of symptoms of four common anxiety disorders included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fourth edition (text revision) (DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000), namely, separation anxiety disorder (SAD), social phobia (SOP), specific phobia (SP), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), in a sample of 625 youth (ages 6 to 17 years) referred to an anxiety disorders clinic and 479 parents. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were conducted on the dichotomous items of the SAD, SOP, SP, and GAD sections of the youth and parent versions of the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-IV (ADIS-IV: C/P; Silverman & Albano, 1996) to test and compare a number of factor models including a factor model based on the DSM. Contrary to predictions, findings from CFAs showed that a correlated model with five factors of SAD, SOP, SP, GAD worry, and GAD somatic distress, provided the best fit of the youth data as well as the parent data. Multiple group CFAs supported the metric invariance of the correlated five factor model across boys and girls. Thus, the present study’s finding supports the internal validity of DSM-IV SAD, SOP, and SP, but raises doubt regarding the internal validity of GAD.

This study introduces the Students’ Perceptions of Teacher’s Social and Emotional Competence scale (TSEC) for early adolescents and presents psychometric findings regarding its reliability and validity. A sample of 360 students in 5th to 7th grade provided data on the TSEC and measures of empathy, well-being, school adjustment, as well as measures of their teacher’s emotional and personal support. Teachers provided data on students’ social and emotional competence and aggression, as well as quality of closeness and conflict in their relationship with each of their students. Results indicated that the TSEC had a unidimensional factor structure and high internal consistency. Scores on the TSEC differed by gender and grade-level, with girls reporting their teachers higher on the TSEC than boys and 5th grade students reporting their teachers higher on the TSEC than 6th grade students. The TSEC demonstrated evidence of convergent validity, providing support for this measure as a psychometrically sound instrument for use with this age group. This study provides insight into relations of students’ perceptions of teacher SEC to students’ social and academic outcomes, and the student-teacher relationship. Limitations and future directions are discussed with regard to the relevance of the TSEC for research and educational applications.

The research on Emotional Intelligence (EI) has advanced considerably over the past 20 years because of the construct’s scientific and practical relevance. However, in South Africa, a measurement instrument of EI that is valid, reliable, standardised, has a consistent factor structure, in a homogeneous working sample and that can be utilised for research and practical purposes is still elusive. EI plays a fundamental role in the quality of service rendered by nurses (Murphy & Janeke, 2009). According to Ogillska-Bulik (2005) the ability to manage one’s own emotions, while having the ability to identify others' emotions, is very important in the nursing environment. The Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale (SEIS) has been found as a reliable brief scale for measuring trait EI (Schutte & Malouff, 1998). However, there are different results regarding the factor structure of the S. The first objective of this research study was to conceptualise EI and the factor structure of the SEIS through a literature review. Salovey and Mayer (1990) define EI as a mental ability pertaining to the relationship between emotion and cognition. Other researchers’ definition of EI states that EI is the ability to be conscious of one’s emotions, to evaluate and develop one’s emotions to assist thinking, to comprehend emotions and emotional information, and to manage emotions to sustain emotional and intellectual development in oneself (Bar-On, 2000; Goleman, 1998; Salovey & Mayer 1997). Murphy and Janeke (2009) state it is important that reliable and valid measures of EI must be used in the workplace. Numerous research has been done on the most appropriate, valid and reliable approach for the measurement of EI (Petrides & Furnham, 2000; Van Rooy & Viswesvaran, 2005). The SEIS is the leading brief scale for measuring EI (Petrides & Furnham, 2000). However, there are problems with its factor structures. To summarise: a) Schutte et al. (1998) report a unifactorial structure for the SEIS, b) Austin, Saklofske, Huang, and McKenny (2004) report a three-factor structure. c) Petrides and Furnham (2000); Ciarrochi, Chan, and Bajar (2001); Ciarrochi, Chan, Caputi, and Roberts (2001) and Saklofske, Austin, and Minski (2003) report a four-factor structure. d) Jonker and Vosloo (2009) reported a six-factor structure. The second objective of this study was to investigate the factor structure of the 41-item version of the Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale within a South African nursing environment by means of a confirmatory factor analysis. A quantitative research design was used in this study. A cross-sectional survey design was used for this study. An availability non-probability sample (N = 290) was taken from hospitals in the Gauteng and North-West Provinces of South Africa. The Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale was applied as measuring scale. An exploratory factor analysis (principal component analysis) was performed on the data. The data did not fit a unifactor, two-factor or three-factor model based on the model of Austin, Saklofske, Huang, and McKenney (2004). The data fitted the original model of Emotional Intelligence of Mayer and Salovey (1990), best explaining 58.52% of the variance. The results supported a five-factor structure of the Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale. The five factors were named: Emotion Utilisation; Emotion Management; Emotion Awareness; Emotion Perceiving and Emotion Integration. Recommendations were made for future research.<br>Thesis (MCom (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

This study was designed to accomplish three main objectives. The first objective was to test the hypothesis that school engagement is a multidimensional construct with three factors: behavioral, emotional, and cognitive or academic engagement. The second objective was to test for invariance of the measurement and factorial structures of school engagement across white and African-American students. And the third objective of the study was to test for invariance of the latent mean structures of school engagement across white and African-American students. In order to accomplish the objectives of the study a step by step approached, using structural equation modeling, was followed. First, the best fitting model of school engagement for both white and African American students were identified. Second, invariance of the number of underlying factors of school engagement across white and African-American students was tested. Third, invariance of factor loadings across the two racial/ethnic groups was tested. Fourth, invariance of the factor variances and covariances was tested. Fifth, latent mean structures of school engagement between white and African-American were compared. Finally, the results of the calibrating sample were cross-validated with the second half of the sample. Results from this study produced consistent support for a three-factor model of school engagement and without cross-loadings to other dimensions of school engagement. However, some parameters including factor loadings, factor variances and latent means were found non-invariant across white and African American students. African American students rated themselves statistically significantly higher on emotional engagement than white students. In addition, weaknesses in the measurement model especially the reliability coefficients of observed indicators and variance accounted for by the latent factors were identified. Cognitive engagement proved to be the most difficult to measure among all three dimensions of school engagement. Finally, analysis of the cross-validating sample produced some important differences which included one additional non-invariant factor loading, one factor covariance, and one additional latent mean difference between white and African American students.<br>Ph. D.

Die Arbeit stellt eine nationale Bildungsstudie zur Erfassung von Schreibkompetenzen vor und untersucht das angewandte Verfahren auf drei ausgewählte Validitätsaspekte. In Studie I wird geprüft, ob es sich bei Schreibkompetenz sowie den Schreibkompetenzdimensionen Inhalt, Stil und sprachliche Richtigkeit um textmusterunabhängige oder textmusterspezifische Konstrukte handelt. Darüber hinaus wird die interne Struktur von Schreibkompetenz betrachtet. Die vorwiegend auf Modellvergleichen basierenden Analysen zeigen, dass es sich bei allgemeinen Schreibkompetenzen sowie bei inhaltlichen und stilistischen Schreibkompetenzen um textmusterspezifische Konstrukte handelt, bei der orthografisch-grammatischen Schreibkompetenz hingegen um ein textmusterunabhängiges Konstrukt. Für alle Textmuster zeigt sich eine zweidimensionale Struktur. In Studie II wird untersucht, inwiefern Lesefähigkeiten bei der Messung von Schreibkompetenzen aufgrund der textuellen Präsentation der Aufgabeninstruktion miterfasst werden. Der Einfluss der Lesekompetenz wird dabei als Zusammenhangsstärke zwischen Lese- und Schreibkompetenz in Abhängigkeit von leseschwierigkeitsquantifizierenden Merkmale via Mehrebenen¬moderatoranalysen geprüft. Es zeigen sich statistisch bedeutsame, aber praktisch kaum relevante Effekte für zwei der Merkmale: syntaktische Komplexität und Seltenheit der Wörter. In Studie III wird untersucht, ob eine von der sprachlichen Richtigkeit unabhängige Beurteilung inhaltlicher und stilistischer Schreibkompetenzen erfolgt oder ob Halo-Effekte zutage treten. In Anschlussanalysen wird geprüft, ob diese Halo-Effekte von Art und Anzahl der Fehler, Textlänge, Textkomplexität und Textmuster abhängen. Es zeigen sich keine Urteilsverzerrungen bei der inhaltlichen, jedoch bei der stilistischen Bewertung. Diese Verzerrungen sind größer bei syntaktisch komplexeren Texten und bei höherer Fehleranzahl, vor allem unter Vorliegen grammatischer Fehler und syntaktisch relevanter Zeichensetzungsfehler.<br>The dissertation presents a national educational study assessing writing competencies in German. The underlying process of measuring writing competencies is investigated regarding three selected aspects of validity. The first study addresses the question, whether writing competence as well as the writing competence dimensions, i.e. contentual, stylistic and orthographic-grammatic writing competencies are discourse mode dependent or independent constructs. Additionally the internal structure of writing competence is investigated. Analyses, predominantly based on comparison of IRT-models, reveal that general writing competencies as well as the contentual and stylistic dimensions are discourse-mode-specific constructs, whereas the orthographic-grammatic writing competence is discourse mode independent. The second study raises the question to what extent, due to the fact that the writing task instructions are given textually, reading competencies are included when measuring writing. Therefore two-level moderator analyses are computed, modelling the correlation between reading and writing competence dependent on reading difficulty quantifying aspects. Statistically significant but practically hardly relevant effects obtain for two of these aspects: syntactic complexity of the instruction text and (in)frequency of the used words. The third study investigates whether the evaluation of contentual and stylistic writing competencies takes place regardless of orthographic and grammatic features of the underlying texts or whether halo effects occur. Further analyses examine possible rating shifts in dependence of error types, error amount, text length, text complexity and discourse type. The results reveal that stylistic, but not contentual rating shifts occur. These shifts are more pronounced in regard to syntactically more complex texts as well as higher error quantities and arise particularly under the presence of grammatical and syntactically relevant punctuation errors.

The purpose of this study was to validate a model of Structural Family Therapy promulgated by M. S. Sale and Thomas Hendren and in use by many public agencies in the Commonwealths of Virginia and North Carolina since 1981.;The Newport News Department of Social Services was chosen as the main site for the investigation as this author had learned the model while working there; and at the time the research began, all social workers at the agency were being trained in the model. Many middle to lower class SES clients were receiving SFT at the time for a variety of referral reasons--child abuse/neglect, marital or family issues, divorce mediation, etc.;Since the model's authors believed that changes in the control/nurture dimension was the most important for clients to demonstrate success in therapy, measuring changes in that dimension was chosen as a way to validate the model. It was hypothesized that after 10 therapy sessions (1) pretest and posttest measures of control and nurture using the Firo-B and FES would not agree with the therapist's predictions of where the clients were functioning along that dimension and (2) pretest and posttest measures of control and nurture by each instrument would not show any significant differences.;It was concluded that there was no significant agreement between the test predictions and the therapist predictions. Also concluded was that there were no significant differences between the pretest and posttest measures of control and nurture for either test.;Further study is needed to pre-validate the instruments, to increase the sample size and to test the effect of increasing the number of sessions that clients receive between pretest and posttest.

This item is only available in print in the UCF Libraries. If this is your Honors Thesis, you can help us make it available online for use by researchers around the world by following the instructions on the distribution consent form at http://library.ucf.edu/Systems/DigitalInitiatives/DigitalCollections/InternetDistributionConsentAgreementForm.pdf You may also contact the project coordinator, Kerri Bottorff, at kerri.bottorff@ucf.edu for more information.<br>Bachelors<br>Engineering<br>Electrical and Computer Engineering

The measurement of reliable and valid indicators of early child development is necessary for assessing phenomena and is useful in the monitoring of ongoing efforts to eradicate inequalities in the social determinants of health. There is an increasing awareness of the contextual, cultural, and developmental influences on constructs used in early child development (ECD) research. Using a measurement perspective, this dissertation examined the issue of measurement invariance and psychometric validity in early child development research. A construct violates the principle of invariance when two persons from different populations who are theoretically identical on the construct being measured have different scores on it. This dissertation consists of three journal-style manuscripts (published or under review) that were used as examples to address the importance of the issue of measurement invariance and psychometric validity in ECD research using data from two unique areas: autism and executive functioning. The three data sets were collected on pre-school children with parents and or teachers as informants and were chosen to represent different levels of data collection – clinical, community, and population. These data sets allowed for the examination of measurement invariance by type of informant, sex, and age of child. The results from the three studies illustrate the importance of assessing measurement invariance in ECD and whether or not the instruments examined can be used to assess sub-group differences with confidence. A lack of measurement invariance found for two of the studies, suggests that observed group differences in latent constructs could be attributed, in part, to measurement bias. More importantly, bias in the measurement of the constructs of severity of social impairment symptoms in autism, and executive functioning across groups could have an impact on services such as patient treatment. These biases could also influence public policy development, particularly when there may be an underlying need for a cross-group approach where belief systems may affect the meaning and structure of constructs. In summary, measurement invariance should be a prerequisite for making any meaningful comparisons across groups. A requirement of establishing measurement invariance should be included in the guidelines for comparative research studies as a necessary first step before an instrument is adopted for use.

Measuring and monitoring children’s satisfaction with life is of great significance for improving children’s lives. In order to do this, validated measures to assess children’s satisfaction with life are necessary. This dissertation describes a program of research for the validation of the Satisfaction with Life Scale adapted for Children (SWLS-C). The introductory chapter provides a theoretical background for subjective well-being and validity/validation research and definitions of key terms. The first manuscript presents psychometric findings on the structural and external aspects of construct validity. A stratified random sample of 1233 students in grades 4 to 7 (48% girls, mean age of 11.7 years) provided data on the SWLS-C and measures of optimism, self-concept, self-efficacy, depression, empathic concern, and perspective taking. The SWLS-C demonstrated a unidimensional factor structure, high internal consistency, and evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Furthermore, differential item functioning and differential scale functioning analyses indicated that the SWLS-C measures satisfaction with life in the same way for different groups of children. The second manuscript investigated the substantive aspect of construct validity for the SWLS-C by examining the cognitive processes of children when responding to the items. Think-aloud protocol interviews were conducted with 55 students in grades 4 to 7 (58 % girls, mean age of 11.0 years) and content analysis was used to analyze the data. In their responses, children mainly used an ‘absolute strategy’ (statements indicating the presence/absence of something they consider important for their satisfaction with life) or a ‘relative strategy’ (statements indicating comparative judgments). The absolute statements primarily referred to social relationships, personal characteristics, time use, and possessions. In the relative statements, children primarily compared what they have to what (a) they want, (b) they had in the past, (c) other people have, and (d) they feel they need. The results are in line with multiple discrepancies theory (Michalos, 1985) and previous empirical findings. These two studies provide evidence for the meaningfulness of the inferences of the SWLS-C scores. The concluding chapter highlights the contributions of the dissertation, discusses limitations of the presented research, and delineates a future validation program for the SWLS-C.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych)<br>Family resilience has become an important concept in mental health and family research over the past twenty years. An assessment tool that was found to assess this concept within western English-speaking populations is the Family Resilience Assessment Scale (FRAS). The FRAS was developed by Sixbey and is based on Walsh’s model of family resilience, a prominent theorist in family resilience research. A recent study has translated and adapted the original scale into Afrikaans, which is one of the eleven official languages of South Africa. This was done for the FRAS to be utilised in a context other than the one it was developed for.

The principal aim of this doctoral research has been to investigate whether various popular methods of emotion elicitation perform differently in terms of self-reported participant affect - and if so, whether any of them is better able to mimic real-life emotional situations. A secondary goal has been to understand how continuous affect can be classified into discrete categories - whether by using clustering algorithms, or resorting to human participants for creating the classifications. A variety of research directions subserved these main goals: firstly, developing data-driven strategies for selecting 'appropriate' stimuli, and matching them across various stimulus modalities (i.e., words, sounds, images,films and virtual environments / VEs); secondly, comparing the chosen modalities on various self-report measures (with VEs assessed both with and without a head-mounted display / HMD); thirdly, comparing how humans classify emotional information vs. a clustering algorithm; and finally, comparing all five lab-based stimulus modalities to emotional data collected via an experience sampling phone app. Findings / outputs discussed will include a matched database of stimuli geared towards lab use, how the choice of stimulus modality may affect research results, the links (or discrepancies) between human and machine classification of emotional information, as well as range restriction affecting lab stimuli relative to `real-life' emotional phenomena.

Thesis (MCom) --Stellenbosch University, 2015.<br>ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Organisations in a free market economy exist with the purpose to serve and provide the market with products and services that the market values while at the same time satisfying the triple bottom line of profit, people and planet. The extent to which an organisation will succeed in this aim, however, depends to a large extent on the calibre of its workforce. Human resource management represents a range of interventions with the purpose of contributing to an organisation’s success, through the acquisition and maintenance of a high quality and competent work force, as well as to ensure the effective and efficient use of human talent in a manner that will add value to an organisation. Personnel selection represents one of these human resource functions and thereby constitutes a critical human resource management intervention in as far as it attempts to regulate human capital movement into, through and out of the organisation with the expectation that this will result in increased employee job performance. Industrialorganisational psychologists and human resources practitioners frequently use psychometric/psychological tests in the selection process, which provide them with objective information on complex constructs such as intellectual ability or personality, that are hypothesised to be determinants of the level of job performance that selected applicants will achieve. Accurate predictions can however, only be derived from measures of such psychometric/psychological tests if the constructs they attempt to measure are in fact determinants of job performance, if the tests provide reliable, valid and unbiased measures of these constructs and the nature of the relationship between the predictor constructs and the criterion construct is validly understood. Personality represents an influential determinant of job performance. The Personality and Preference Inventory-Normative (PAPI-N) is a personality questionnaire that is widely used in industry. This provides the essential justification for the primary objective of this research, which was to evaluate the first-order factor structure of the PAPI-N through a factor analytic investigation on a relatively large sample of the South African working population. The data used in this study was obtained from the data archives of Cubiks (Pty) Ltd, with written permission from the intellectual property holder, to utilise the sample data for the purpose of this research. The South African PAPI-N database comprised all respondents who were assessed by Work Dynamics, the official distributor of Cubiks’s products and services in South Africa, in the period 2007 to 2012. Item and dimensionality analyses were performed on the 20 subscales of the PAPI-N as well as the Social Desirability scale. This was done to assess the success with which the subscales represented the underlying personality constructs. The results in the item analysis revealed that in about 50% of the PAPI-N subscales concern arose about the extent to which the items of the subscales responded in unison to systematic differences in a single underlying latent variable. Results from the dimensionality analysis showed that 12 of the 20 personality dimension measures were compatible with the position that the items comprising these subscales measure what they are designed to measure. In contrast, eight out of the 20 subscales failed the uni-dimensionality test. A spectrum of goodness-of-fit statistics was used to evaluate the measurement model fit. The measurement model’s overall fit was acceptable. The null hypothesis of exact fit was rejected but the null hypothesis of close fit could not be rejected (p>.05). The fit indices reflected a close fit in the parameter and a very good model fit in the sample. Although the measurement model fitted the data closely, the factor loadings (although statistically significant) were generally of a moderate degree. Approximately twenty-eight percent (27.78%) of the completely standardised factor loadings fell below the critical cut-off value of .50. This would suggest that the individual items generally (72.22%) do represent the latent personality dimensions they were designed to reflect acceptably well, but that in a little bit more than a quarter of the items, less than 25% of the variance in the item responses was due to variance in the latent variable it was designed to reflect. Discriminant validity was also investigated. The results showed that PAPI-N, although with some difficulty, permit the successful discrimination between the unique aspects of the latent personality dimensions. The results of the confirmatory factor analyses suggests that while the intention of the PAPI-N to have sets of items reflecting specific primary personality factors succeeded, the subscale item measures mostly hold a sizable amount of systematic and random error. Based on the above findings, this personality measure should be used with caution in personnel selection in South Africa. Nevertheless, this study serves to extend the understanding of the psychometric properties of the PAPI-N on samples different from the UK sample on which it was originally developed and standardised. Its findings should assist in eliciting the necessary further research needed to establish the psychometric credentials of the PAPI-N as a valuable assessment instrument in South Africa with confidence. Recommendations for future research are made.<br>AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Organisasies in ‘n vrye-mark ekonomie het ten doel om die samelewing te dien en om die mark met produkte en dienste te voorsien wat waarde toevoeg, terwyl hulle terselfertyd die driedubbele eis van wins, mense en die planet bevredig. Die mate waarin die organisasie in hierdie doel slaag, hang egter in ‘n groot mate af van die kwaliteit van sy werksmag. Menslike hulpbronbestuur verteenwoordig 'n verskeidenheid ingrypings met die doel om by te dra tot 'n organisasie se sukses, deur die verkryging en instandhouding van 'n hoë gehalte en bekwame arbeidsmag, sowel as om die doeltreffende en doelmatige gebruik van menslike talent te verseker op 'n wyse wat waarde tot die organisasie toevoeg. Die keuring van personeel verteenwoordig een van hierdie menslike hulpbronfunksies. As sodanig vorm dit 'n kritieke menslike hulpbronbestuuringryping insoverre dit poog om die beweging van menslike kapitaal in, deur en uit die organisasie te reguleer met die verwagting dat dit sal lei tot verhoogde werksprestasie deur werknemers. Bedryfsielkundiges en menslike hulpbronpraktisyns gebruik dikwels psigometriese/sielkundige toetse in die keuringsproses, wat hulle met objektiewe inligting oor komplekse konstrukte soos intellektuele vermoë of persoonlikheid voorsien, onder die veronderstelling dat hulle belangrike determinante is van die vlak van werkverrigting wat gekeurde aansoekers sal bereik. Akkurate voorspellings kan egter slegs uit sodanige psigometriese/sielkundige toetse afgelei word indien die konstrukte wat hulle probeer meet, in werklikheid determinante van werkprestasie is, indien die toetse betroubare, geldige en onsydige metings van hierdie konstrukte gee en indien die aard van die verwantskap tussen die voorspellerkonstrukte en die kriteriumkonstruk geldig verstaan word. Persoonlikheid is 'n invoedryke determinant van werkprestasie. Die Personality and Preference Inventory-Normative (PAPI-N) is 'n persoonlikheidsvraelys wat algemeen in die bedryf gebruik word. Daarin lê die regverdiging vir die primêre doel van hierdie navorsing, naamlik om die eerste-orde faktor struktuur van die PAPI -N deur 'n factor-analitiese ondersoek op 'n relatief groot steekproef van die Suid-Afrikaanse werkende bevolking te evalueer, geleë. Die data wat in hierdie studie gebruik is, is verkry uit die data-argiewe van Cubiks (Pty) Ltd, met die skriftelike toestemming van die intellektuele eiendiom-eienaar, om die steekproefdata aan te wend vir die doel van hierdie navorsing. Die Suid-Afrikaanse PAPI-N databasis bestaan uit al die kandidate wat geassesseer is deur Work Dynamics, die amptelike verspreider van Cubiks se produkte en dienste in Suid-Afrika, in die tydperk 2007-2012. Item en dimensionaliteitsontledings is uitgevoer op die 20 subskale van die PAPI-N, sowel as die sosiale wenslikheidskaal. Dit is gedoen om die sukses te bepaal waarmee die subskale die onderliggende persoonlikheidskonstrukte verteenwoordig. Die resultate van die itemontleding het getoon dat ten opsigte van sowat 50 % van die PAPI-N subskale, kommer bestaan oor die mate waartoe die items van die subskale in harmonie reageer op sistematiese verskille in 'n enkele onderliggende latente veranderlike. Resultate van die dimensionaliteitontleding het getoon dat 12 van die 20 persoonlikheidsdimensiesmetings versoenbaar is met die standpunt dat die items waaruit hierdie subskale bestaan, meet wat hulle ontwerp is om te meet. In teenstelling hiermee het agt uit die 20 subskale nie die uni- dimensionaliteitstoets geslaag nie. A verskeidenheid pasgehalte-maatstawwe is gebruik om die pasgehalte van die metingsmodel te ondersoek. Oorkoepelend was die pasgehalte van die metingsmodel aanvaarbaar. Die nulhipotese van presiese passing is verwerp maar die nulhipotse van benaderde passing is nie verwerp nie (p>.05). The pasgehalte-maatstawwe het gedui op ‘n benaderde passing in die parameter en baie goeie modelpassing in die steekproef. Ofskoon die metingsmodel benaderde passing getoon het was die faktorladings (alhoewel statisties beduidend) oor die algemeen matig in omvang. Ongeveer agt-en-twintig present (27.78%) van die volledig gestandaardiseerde faktorladings was kleiner as die kritieke afsnywaarde van .50. Dit suggereer dat die items oor die algemeen (72.22%) wel die latent persoonlikheidsdimensies wat hul geoormerk is om te reflekteer, bevredigend reflekteer. In ‘n klein bietjie meer as ‘n kwart van die items is minder as 25% van die variansie in die itemresponse te wyte aan variansie in die latent veranderlike wat die item ontwerp was om te reflekteer. Diskriminantgeldigheid was ook ondersoek. Die resultate dui daarop dat die PAPI-N, ofskoon nie sonder problem nie, wel die suksesvolle onderskeid tussen die unieke aspekte van die persoonlikheidsdimensies moontlik maak. Die resultate van die bevestigende faktorontleding dui daarop dat, terwyl die bedoeling van die PAPI-N om stelle items te hê wat spesifieke primêre persoonlikheidsfaktore reflekteer geslaagd was, die subskaal-itemmetings meestal 'n aansienlike hoeveelheid sistematiese en toevallige fout bevat. Gebaseer op die bogenoemde bevindinge, moet hierdie persoonlikheidsmeting met omsigtigheid gebruik word in personeelkeuring in Suid-Afrika. Nietemin, dra hierdie studie by tot ‘n groter begrip van die psigometriese eienskappe van die PAPI-N op steekproewe wat verskil van die Verenigde Koninkryk steekproef waarop dit oorspronklik ontwikkel en gestandaardiseerd is. Die bevindinge sal help om die nodige verderde navorsing te ontlok wat nodig is om die PAPI-N met vertroue as 'n waardevolle meetinstrument in Suid-Afrika te vestig. Aanbevelings vir toekomstige navorsing word gemaak.

College student satisfaction is a concept that has become more prevalent in higher education research journals. Little attention has been given to the psychometric properties of previous instrumentation, and few studies have investigated the structure of current satisfaction instrumentation. This dissertation: (a) investigated the tenability of the theoretical dimensional structure of the Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory™ (SSI), (b) investigated an alternative factor structure using explanatory factor analyses (EFA), and (c) used multiple-group CFA procedures to determine whether an alternative SSI factor structure would be invariant for three demographic variables: gender (men/women), race/ethnicity (Caucasian/Other), and undergraduate classification level (lower level/upper level). For this study, there was little evidence for the multidimensional structure of the SSI. A single factor, termed General Satisfaction with College, was the lone unidimensional construct that emerged from the iterative CFA and EFA procedures. A revised 20-item model was developed, and a series of multigroup CFAs were used to detect measurement invariance for three variables: student gender, race/ethnicity, and class level. No measurement invariance was noted for the revised 20-item model. Results for the invariance tests indicated equivalence across the comparison groups for (a) the number of factors, (b) the pattern of indicator-factor loadings, (c) the factor loadings, and (d) the item error variances. Because little attention has been given to the psychometric properties of the satisfaction instrumentation, it is recommended that further research continue on the SSI and any additional instrumentation developed to measure student satisfaction. It is possible that invariance issues may explain a portion of the inconsistent findings noted in the review of literature. Although measurement analyses are a time-consuming process, they are essential for understanding the psychometrics characterized by a set of scores obtained from a survey, or any other form of assessment instrument.