The National Research Council (NRC) outlines an assessment design framework in Knowing What Students Know. This framework proposes the integration of three components in assessment design that can be represented by a triangle, with each corner representing: cognition, or model of student learning in the domain; observation, or evidence of competencies; and interpretation, or making sense of this evidence. This triangle representation signifies the idea of a need for interconnectedness, consistency, and integrated development of the three elements, as opposed to having them as isolated from each other. Based on the recommendations for research outlined in the NRC's assessment report, this dissertation aims to conduct a dimensionality analysis of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) mathematics items. PISA assesses 15-year olds' skills and competencies in reading, math, and science literacy, implementing an assessment every three years since 2000. PISA's mathematics assessment framework, as proposed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has a multidimensional structure: content, processes, and context, each having three to four sub-dimensions. The goal of this dissertation is to show how and to what extent this complex multidimensional nature of assessment framework is reflected on the actual tests by investigating the dimensional structure of the PISA 2003, 2006, and 2009 mathematics items through the student responses from all participating OECD countries, and analyzing the correspondence between the mathematics framework and the actual items change over time through these three implementation cycles. Focusing on the cognition and interpretation components of the assessment triangle and the relationship between the two, the results provide evidence addressing construct validity of PISA mathematics assessment. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used for a dimensionality analysis of the PISA mathematics items in three different cycles: 2003, 2006, and 2009. Seven CFA models including a unidimensional model, three correlated factor (1-level) models, and three higher order factor (2-level) models were applied to the PISA mathematics items for each cycle. Although the results did not contradict the multidimensionality, stronger evidence was found to support the unidimensionality of the PISA mathematics items. The findings also showed that the dimensional structure of the PISA mathematics items were very stable across different cycles. / text

The peer group is a dynamic context within which children and adolescents have a wide range of experiences, both positive and negative. Friendships provide support and a sense of belonging; however, friendships can also be contexts within which competition and aggression occur. During childhood and adolescence, aggression and victimization are likely to occur in the school context and in situations where several members of the peer group are present and sometimes actively (or passively) participating. In the seminal work related to bullying as a group process, Salmivalli and colleagues identified distinct roles that children take when enacting aggression (Salmivalli et al., 1996). Salmivalli's work, in the area of participant roles, however, has focused on overt bullying, a specific subtype of aggression which has a specific meaning within the peer relations literature. To date, the participant roles have not been measured within the context of overt and relational aggression. The purpose of the present study is to examine the psychometric properties of the Overt Aggression Participant Role Scale (OAPRS) and the Relational Aggression Participant Role Scale (RAPRS), two new scales designed by the author, to measure the aggressor, assistant, reinforcer, defender, outsider, and victim roles during acts aggression, as opposed to bullying. Additional goals include: 1) exploring the associations among the roles, 2) examining measurement equivalence across gender and grade level, and 3) exploring associations of the participant roles with measures of sociometric status and depressive symptoms. Findings point toward the psychometric properties of the two scales being quite robust. The data fit the 12 factor model and the scales measure the constructs equivalently across gender and three grade groups. The aggressor, assistant, and reinforcer roles were strongly associated as were the aggressor and victim roles. Several relational roles were highly overlapping, suggesting reciprocity of roles. Few meaningful gender or grade level differences were found resulting in more similarity in the overt and relational roles than differences. The outsider role was the only role not associated with depressive symptoms. Implications for prevention and intervention are discussed.

The relationships between and among questions from a survey in three different areas, namely food and food related health, food safety and hygiene, and information gathering concerning food, with the main focus on the first two areas, are investigated. Data from older people have been analyzed. The questions are both about knowledge and behavior in relation to the areas mentioned above. Earlier studies have shown that people in general do not know about or act according to dietary advises about health and hygiene. The results from this study show that there are fairly strong correlations for all groups but men when it comes to knowledge and behavior about fruit and vegetable consumption. The results also show a significant association between fruit and vegetable consumption and gender and that women consume more than men. A factor model estimating the relationships between health, hygiene and information shows that the fitted factor model can be considered having an acceptable fit, with at least two variables, knowledge about the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables to eat per day and trust for grocery stores concerning food and health, being classified as good indicators.

Title from title page of PDF (University of Missouri--St. Louis, viewed March 23, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 352-361).

Thesis (MCom) --Stellenbosch University, 2015. / 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. / 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.

Um dos principais objetivos das técnicas multivariadas é expandir a habilidade exploratória do pesquisador e a eficiência estatística. Entretanto, todas elas compartilham de uma limitação: cada técnica pode examinar somente uma relação entre as variáveis. Algumas vezes é interessante para o pesquisador o fato de ter relações simultâneas, em alguns modelos existem variáveis que são independentes em algumas relações e, dependentes em outras. Visando suprir esta necessidade, a Modelagem de Equações Estruturais examina uma série de relações de dependência simultaneamente, esse método é particularmente útil quando uma variável dependente se torna independente em relações subseqüentes de dependência. Com o intuito de aproximar a metodologia da área de Engenharia de Produção, essa dissertação apresenta uma descrição das técnicas relacionadas à Modelagem de Equações Estruturais como: a Análise Fatorial Confirmatória e a Análise de Caminhos; aborda conceitos e testes específicos de Modelagem de Equações Estruturais e também aborda um software, o AMOS. Para complementar o trabalho mostra uma aplicação prática sobre a Modelagem utilizando dados de uma pesquisa para se medir a opinião de clientes com relação a um provedor de serviços. / One of the principal goals of the multivariate techniques is to expand the researcher's exploratory ability and the statistical efficiency. However, all of them share of a limitation: each technique can examine only a relationship among the variables. It is sometimes interesting for the researcher the fact of having simultaneous relationships, in some models variables that are independent in some relationships and dependent in other one. Seeking to supply this need the Structural Equations Modeling examines a series of dependence relationships simultaneously, that method is particularly useful when a dependent variable becomes independent in subsequent relationships of dependence. Starting from bibliographical references on the theme and with the intention of approximating the methodology of Industrial Engineering area, this dissertation presents a description of the techniques related to the Structural Equations Modeling as: the Confirmatory Factor Analysis and the Path Analysis; it approaches concepts and specific tests of Structural Equations Modeling and it also focuses a software, the AMOS. To complement, the dissertation shows a practical application on the Structural Equations Modeling using data of a research, in order to measure the customers' opinion related to a provider of services.

Um dos principais objetivos das técnicas multivariadas é expandir a habilidade exploratória do pesquisador e a eficiência estatística. Entretanto, todas elas compartilham de uma limitação: cada técnica pode examinar somente uma relação entre as variáveis. Algumas vezes é interessante para o pesquisador o fato de ter relações simultâneas, em alguns modelos existem variáveis que são independentes em algumas relações e, dependentes em outras. Visando suprir esta necessidade, a Modelagem de Equações Estruturais examina uma série de relações de dependência simultaneamente, esse método é particularmente útil quando uma variável dependente se torna independente em relações subseqüentes de dependência. Com o intuito de aproximar a metodologia da área de Engenharia de Produção, essa dissertação apresenta uma descrição das técnicas relacionadas à Modelagem de Equações Estruturais como: a Análise Fatorial Confirmatória e a Análise de Caminhos; aborda conceitos e testes específicos de Modelagem de Equações Estruturais e também aborda um software, o AMOS. Para complementar o trabalho mostra uma aplicação prática sobre a Modelagem utilizando dados de uma pesquisa para se medir a opinião de clientes com relação a um provedor de serviços. / One of the principal goals of the multivariate techniques is to expand the researcher's exploratory ability and the statistical efficiency. However, all of them share of a limitation: each technique can examine only a relationship among the variables. It is sometimes interesting for the researcher the fact of having simultaneous relationships, in some models variables that are independent in some relationships and dependent in other one. Seeking to supply this need the Structural Equations Modeling examines a series of dependence relationships simultaneously, that method is particularly useful when a dependent variable becomes independent in subsequent relationships of dependence. Starting from bibliographical references on the theme and with the intention of approximating the methodology of Industrial Engineering area, this dissertation presents a description of the techniques related to the Structural Equations Modeling as: the Confirmatory Factor Analysis and the Path Analysis; it approaches concepts and specific tests of Structural Equations Modeling and it also focuses a software, the AMOS. To complement, the dissertation shows a practical application on the Structural Equations Modeling using data of a research, in order to measure the customers' opinion related to a provider of services.

O presente trabalho teve como objetivos traduzir e adaptar para o português brasileiro o instrumento psicométrico Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (DMQ-R), apresentando evidências de validade para essa versão. Essa medida avalia quatro dimensões da motivação para o uso de bebidas alcoólicas: motivos de tipo social, realce, coping e conformidade. O trabalho é apresentado em forma de dois artigos independentes. No primeiro, é feita uma revisão seletiva de literatura, buscando apresentar o construto, distingui-lo de expectativas sobre o uso de álcool e enfatizar seu papel como preditores e mediadores em estudos na área. No segundo artigo, são apresentados dois estudos sobre a estrutura fatorial da versão em português brasileiro do DMQ-R. Estratégias exploratórias e confirmatórias foram empregadas de forma complementar para investigar a estrutura mais representativa dos dados amostrais. Um modelo revisado de quatro fatores foi selecionado como a melhor alternativa, sendo apresentadas dificuldades metodológicas dos estudos e sugestões para estudos futuros. / This work aimed to translate and adapt to Brazilian Portuguese the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (DMQ-R) presenting validity evidences to this version. The measure assesses four dimensions of alcohol use motivation: social, enhancement, coping and conformity. The work is organized in two independent papers. In the first one, a review of the literature is done, presenting the construct, differentiating it from drinking expectancies and emphasizing its role as predictors and mediators of alcohol use. In the second one, two studies regarding the factorial structure of the Brazilian Portuguese version of DMQ-R are presented. Exploratory and confirmatory strategies were employed complementarily to evaluate the most representative structure for the data. A revised, four-factor model was chosen as the best solution. Methodological difficulties and suggestions for future research are discussed.

This dissertation explores the presence of Project Management (PM) at 162 American Universities via data gathered from their publicly accessible websites. Motivated to expand the inventory of American university PM data to the international literature, I experimented with the potential to correlate statistically PM data items to organizational models and the effectiveness of university management. Using Confirmatory and Exploratory Factor Analysis (CFA and EFA) statistical methods, I investigated two University Project Management Presence Models [U(PM)2] and their relationships to the interdisciplinary research framework. Drawing from Project Management, Policy Analysis Research, Organizational Theories, and American Higher Education Histories, I also included qualitative techniques in the research design. I conclude that this study facilitates the analysis of universities as complex organizations through a Higher Education administrator's point of view. Not only do the findings suggest a correlation of PM data to predict a university's graduation rate, but also--more foundationally--the study confirms that Project Management does exist at American universities, even if that expertise does not yet exist.

O presente trabalho teve como objetivos traduzir e adaptar para o português brasileiro o instrumento psicométrico Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (DMQ-R), apresentando evidências de validade para essa versão. Essa medida avalia quatro dimensões da motivação para o uso de bebidas alcoólicas: motivos de tipo social, realce, coping e conformidade. O trabalho é apresentado em forma de dois artigos independentes. No primeiro, é feita uma revisão seletiva de literatura, buscando apresentar o construto, distingui-lo de expectativas sobre o uso de álcool e enfatizar seu papel como preditores e mediadores em estudos na área. No segundo artigo, são apresentados dois estudos sobre a estrutura fatorial da versão em português brasileiro do DMQ-R. Estratégias exploratórias e confirmatórias foram empregadas de forma complementar para investigar a estrutura mais representativa dos dados amostrais. Um modelo revisado de quatro fatores foi selecionado como a melhor alternativa, sendo apresentadas dificuldades metodológicas dos estudos e sugestões para estudos futuros. / This work aimed to translate and adapt to Brazilian Portuguese the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (DMQ-R) presenting validity evidences to this version. The measure assesses four dimensions of alcohol use motivation: social, enhancement, coping and conformity. The work is organized in two independent papers. In the first one, a review of the literature is done, presenting the construct, differentiating it from drinking expectancies and emphasizing its role as predictors and mediators of alcohol use. In the second one, two studies regarding the factorial structure of the Brazilian Portuguese version of DMQ-R are presented. Exploratory and confirmatory strategies were employed complementarily to evaluate the most representative structure for the data. A revised, four-factor model was chosen as the best solution. Methodological difficulties and suggestions for future research are discussed.