Global ETD Search

331	Maximizing Information: Applications of Ideal Point Modeling and Innovative Item Design to Personality Measurement Leeson, Heidi Vanessa January 2008 (has links) Recent research has challenged the way in which personality and attitude constructs are measured. Alternatives have been offered as to how non-cognitive responses are modeled, the mode of delivery used when administrating such scales, and the impact of technology in measuring personality. Thus, the major purpose of the studies in this thesis concerns two interrelated issues of personality research, namely the way personality responses are best modeled, and the most optimal mode by which personality items are presented and associated modal issues. Three studies are presented. First, recent developments using an ideal point approach to scale construction are outlined, and an empirical study compares modeling personality items based on an ideal point approach (generalized graded unfolding model; GGUM) and a dominance approach (graded response model: GRM). Second, an extensive review of literature pertaining to the mode effect when transferring paper-and-pencil measures to screen was conducted, in addition to a review of the various types of computerized and innovative items and their associated psychometric information. Finally, nine innovative items were developed using various multimedia features (e.g., video, graphics, and audio) to ascertain the advantages of these methods to present items constructed to elicit response behavior underlying ideal point approaches, namely, typical response behavior. It was found that the dominance IRT model continued to produce superior model-data fit for most items, more attention needs to be placed on developing principles for constructing ideal point type items, the web-based version supplied 20% more construct information than the paper version, and innovative items seem to provide more data-model fit for students with lower personality attributes. While the innovative items may require more initial outlay in terms of time and development costs, they have the capacity to provide more information regarding test-takers’ personality levels, potentially using fewer items. Ideal Point Theory Innovative items Web-based testing Computer-based testing Personality measurement Psychometrics
332	Leaving a lot to be desired? Sex therapy and the discourses of heterosex Guerin, Bernadette M. January 2009 (has links) In this thesis I explore the social construction of sexuality and sexual dysfunction. Interviews were undertaken with 20 sex therapists practising in Aotearoa/New Zealand in order to elicit accounts of contemporary sex therapy practice in the local context. Using a feminist poststructuralist lens, I explicate and critically examine the dominant discourses informing the construction of sex therapy, and heterosexual sexual relations, and what these discourses enable and constrain. I draw attention to some of the assumptions embedded in the construction of the sexual dysfunctions in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR, APA, 2000), and in accounts of sex therapy practice, examining the ways in which these are based on taken-for-granted norms of (hetero)sexuality and highlighting the differently enabled gendered sexual subjectivities they (re)produce. Although there are nine sexual dysfunctions identified in the DSM-IV-TR, all of which I briefly outline in Chapter Four, I restrict my focus in the analytical chapters to the conceptualisation and treatment of vaginismus, orgasm difficulties in women, discrepancies in desire and, relatedly, the gendering of desire through powerful sociocultural discourses and representations. I pay particular attention to the implications of these for heterosexual women’s sexuality. I also explore some of the generic concepts that dominate the construction of therapy at a broader level than that of sex therapy alone, arguing that while these offer some useful ways of framing therapy they also constrain therapy practice in important ways. Through a critical review of the sex therapy literature and accounts of practice from those interviewed, I contend that contemporary sex therapy tends to reify dominant cultural and sexological norms rather than challenge them. My analyses show that the dominant discourses informing constructions of sex therapy and heterosexual sexual relations produce particular types of sex as normal whilst marginalizing sexual acts or practices that fall outside of such restrictive parameters. In particular, I argue that the genital-coital-orgasm construct that is hegemonic within sex therapy restricts possibilities for alternative erotic pleasures and possibilities amongst heterosexuals whilst contributing to the invisibilization of sexual identities other than heterosexual. Accounts of sex therapy practice that were able to contest such framings are also highlighted. Because these came from sex therapists drawing on radical feminist or feminist poststructuralist discourses, I suggest that these discourses offer important possibilities for a deconstructive (sex) therapy practice that is able to challenge an often inequitable sexual status quo. Attention is also drawn to the significant constraints which act to restrict clients’ choices and possibilities for sex therapists to practise in more critically questioning ways. I conclude this thesis with an ‘invitation to reflection’ where I briefly discuss some deconstructive approaches that I have found useful for developing ongoing reflexive analysis of my own taken-for-granted assumptions in the area of sexuality, and for aiding my thinking about therapeutic practices that support my political and theoretical commitments and that attend to some of the issues outlined in this thesis. / Whole document restricted, but available by request, use the feedback form to request access. social construction of sexuality social constructionism feminist poststructuralism sexual dysfunction sexual disorders heterosexual sexual relations sexuality heterosex dominant discourses of sexuality sex therapy deconstruction of sex therapy practices orgasm difficulties vaginismus desire discrepancy gendering of desire deconstructive approaches to sex therapy
333	Maximizing Information: Applications of Ideal Point Modeling and Innovative Item Design to Personality Measurement Leeson, Heidi Vanessa January 2008 (has links) Recent research has challenged the way in which personality and attitude constructs are measured. Alternatives have been offered as to how non-cognitive responses are modeled, the mode of delivery used when administrating such scales, and the impact of technology in measuring personality. Thus, the major purpose of the studies in this thesis concerns two interrelated issues of personality research, namely the way personality responses are best modeled, and the most optimal mode by which personality items are presented and associated modal issues. Three studies are presented. First, recent developments using an ideal point approach to scale construction are outlined, and an empirical study compares modeling personality items based on an ideal point approach (generalized graded unfolding model; GGUM) and a dominance approach (graded response model: GRM). Second, an extensive review of literature pertaining to the mode effect when transferring paper-and-pencil measures to screen was conducted, in addition to a review of the various types of computerized and innovative items and their associated psychometric information. Finally, nine innovative items were developed using various multimedia features (e.g., video, graphics, and audio) to ascertain the advantages of these methods to present items constructed to elicit response behavior underlying ideal point approaches, namely, typical response behavior. It was found that the dominance IRT model continued to produce superior model-data fit for most items, more attention needs to be placed on developing principles for constructing ideal point type items, the web-based version supplied 20% more construct information than the paper version, and innovative items seem to provide more data-model fit for students with lower personality attributes. While the innovative items may require more initial outlay in terms of time and development costs, they have the capacity to provide more information regarding test-takers’ personality levels, potentially using fewer items. Ideal Point Theory Innovative items Web-based testing Computer-based testing Personality measurement Psychometrics
334	Leaving a lot to be desired? Sex therapy and the discourses of heterosex Guerin, Bernadette M. January 2009 (has links) In this thesis I explore the social construction of sexuality and sexual dysfunction. Interviews were undertaken with 20 sex therapists practising in Aotearoa/New Zealand in order to elicit accounts of contemporary sex therapy practice in the local context. Using a feminist poststructuralist lens, I explicate and critically examine the dominant discourses informing the construction of sex therapy, and heterosexual sexual relations, and what these discourses enable and constrain. I draw attention to some of the assumptions embedded in the construction of the sexual dysfunctions in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR, APA, 2000), and in accounts of sex therapy practice, examining the ways in which these are based on taken-for-granted norms of (hetero)sexuality and highlighting the differently enabled gendered sexual subjectivities they (re)produce. Although there are nine sexual dysfunctions identified in the DSM-IV-TR, all of which I briefly outline in Chapter Four, I restrict my focus in the analytical chapters to the conceptualisation and treatment of vaginismus, orgasm difficulties in women, discrepancies in desire and, relatedly, the gendering of desire through powerful sociocultural discourses and representations. I pay particular attention to the implications of these for heterosexual women’s sexuality. I also explore some of the generic concepts that dominate the construction of therapy at a broader level than that of sex therapy alone, arguing that while these offer some useful ways of framing therapy they also constrain therapy practice in important ways. Through a critical review of the sex therapy literature and accounts of practice from those interviewed, I contend that contemporary sex therapy tends to reify dominant cultural and sexological norms rather than challenge them. My analyses show that the dominant discourses informing constructions of sex therapy and heterosexual sexual relations produce particular types of sex as normal whilst marginalizing sexual acts or practices that fall outside of such restrictive parameters. In particular, I argue that the genital-coital-orgasm construct that is hegemonic within sex therapy restricts possibilities for alternative erotic pleasures and possibilities amongst heterosexuals whilst contributing to the invisibilization of sexual identities other than heterosexual. Accounts of sex therapy practice that were able to contest such framings are also highlighted. Because these came from sex therapists drawing on radical feminist or feminist poststructuralist discourses, I suggest that these discourses offer important possibilities for a deconstructive (sex) therapy practice that is able to challenge an often inequitable sexual status quo. Attention is also drawn to the significant constraints which act to restrict clients’ choices and possibilities for sex therapists to practise in more critically questioning ways. I conclude this thesis with an ‘invitation to reflection’ where I briefly discuss some deconstructive approaches that I have found useful for developing ongoing reflexive analysis of my own taken-for-granted assumptions in the area of sexuality, and for aiding my thinking about therapeutic practices that support my political and theoretical commitments and that attend to some of the issues outlined in this thesis. / Whole document restricted, but available by request, use the feedback form to request access. social construction of sexuality social constructionism feminist poststructuralism sexual dysfunction sexual disorders heterosexual sexual relations sexuality heterosex dominant discourses of sexuality sex therapy deconstruction of sex therapy practices orgasm difficulties vaginismus desire discrepancy gendering of desire deconstructive approaches to sex therapy
335	Maximizing Information: Applications of Ideal Point Modeling and Innovative Item Design to Personality Measurement Leeson, Heidi Vanessa January 2008 (has links) Recent research has challenged the way in which personality and attitude constructs are measured. Alternatives have been offered as to how non-cognitive responses are modeled, the mode of delivery used when administrating such scales, and the impact of technology in measuring personality. Thus, the major purpose of the studies in this thesis concerns two interrelated issues of personality research, namely the way personality responses are best modeled, and the most optimal mode by which personality items are presented and associated modal issues. Three studies are presented. First, recent developments using an ideal point approach to scale construction are outlined, and an empirical study compares modeling personality items based on an ideal point approach (generalized graded unfolding model; GGUM) and a dominance approach (graded response model: GRM). Second, an extensive review of literature pertaining to the mode effect when transferring paper-and-pencil measures to screen was conducted, in addition to a review of the various types of computerized and innovative items and their associated psychometric information. Finally, nine innovative items were developed using various multimedia features (e.g., video, graphics, and audio) to ascertain the advantages of these methods to present items constructed to elicit response behavior underlying ideal point approaches, namely, typical response behavior. It was found that the dominance IRT model continued to produce superior model-data fit for most items, more attention needs to be placed on developing principles for constructing ideal point type items, the web-based version supplied 20% more construct information than the paper version, and innovative items seem to provide more data-model fit for students with lower personality attributes. While the innovative items may require more initial outlay in terms of time and development costs, they have the capacity to provide more information regarding test-takers’ personality levels, potentially using fewer items. Ideal Point Theory Innovative items Web-based testing Computer-based testing Personality measurement Psychometrics
336	Leaving a lot to be desired? Sex therapy and the discourses of heterosex Guerin, Bernadette M. January 2009 (has links) In this thesis I explore the social construction of sexuality and sexual dysfunction. Interviews were undertaken with 20 sex therapists practising in Aotearoa/New Zealand in order to elicit accounts of contemporary sex therapy practice in the local context. Using a feminist poststructuralist lens, I explicate and critically examine the dominant discourses informing the construction of sex therapy, and heterosexual sexual relations, and what these discourses enable and constrain. I draw attention to some of the assumptions embedded in the construction of the sexual dysfunctions in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR, APA, 2000), and in accounts of sex therapy practice, examining the ways in which these are based on taken-for-granted norms of (hetero)sexuality and highlighting the differently enabled gendered sexual subjectivities they (re)produce. Although there are nine sexual dysfunctions identified in the DSM-IV-TR, all of which I briefly outline in Chapter Four, I restrict my focus in the analytical chapters to the conceptualisation and treatment of vaginismus, orgasm difficulties in women, discrepancies in desire and, relatedly, the gendering of desire through powerful sociocultural discourses and representations. I pay particular attention to the implications of these for heterosexual women’s sexuality. I also explore some of the generic concepts that dominate the construction of therapy at a broader level than that of sex therapy alone, arguing that while these offer some useful ways of framing therapy they also constrain therapy practice in important ways. Through a critical review of the sex therapy literature and accounts of practice from those interviewed, I contend that contemporary sex therapy tends to reify dominant cultural and sexological norms rather than challenge them. My analyses show that the dominant discourses informing constructions of sex therapy and heterosexual sexual relations produce particular types of sex as normal whilst marginalizing sexual acts or practices that fall outside of such restrictive parameters. In particular, I argue that the genital-coital-orgasm construct that is hegemonic within sex therapy restricts possibilities for alternative erotic pleasures and possibilities amongst heterosexuals whilst contributing to the invisibilization of sexual identities other than heterosexual. Accounts of sex therapy practice that were able to contest such framings are also highlighted. Because these came from sex therapists drawing on radical feminist or feminist poststructuralist discourses, I suggest that these discourses offer important possibilities for a deconstructive (sex) therapy practice that is able to challenge an often inequitable sexual status quo. Attention is also drawn to the significant constraints which act to restrict clients’ choices and possibilities for sex therapists to practise in more critically questioning ways. I conclude this thesis with an ‘invitation to reflection’ where I briefly discuss some deconstructive approaches that I have found useful for developing ongoing reflexive analysis of my own taken-for-granted assumptions in the area of sexuality, and for aiding my thinking about therapeutic practices that support my political and theoretical commitments and that attend to some of the issues outlined in this thesis. / Whole document restricted, but available by request, use the feedback form to request access. social construction of sexuality social constructionism feminist poststructuralism sexual dysfunction sexual disorders heterosexual sexual relations sexuality heterosex dominant discourses of sexuality sex therapy deconstruction of sex therapy practices orgasm difficulties vaginismus desire discrepancy gendering of desire deconstructive approaches to sex therapy
337	The Social Construction of Economic Man: The Genesis, Spread, Impact and Institutionalisation of Economic Ideas Mackinnon, Lauchlan A. K. Unknown Date (has links) The present thesis is concerned with the genesis, diffusion, impact and institutionalisation of economic ideas. Despite Keynes's oft-cited comments to the effect that 'the ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood'(Keynes 1936: 383), and the highly visible impact of economic ideas (for example Keynesian economics, Monetarism, or economic ideas regarding deregulation and antitrust issues) on the economic system, economists have done little to systematically explore the spread and impact of economic ideas. In fact, with only a few notable exceptions, the majority of scholarly work concerning the spread and impact of economic ideas has been developed outside of the economics literature, for example in the political institutionalist literature in the social sciences. The present thesis addresses the current lack of attention to the spread and impact of economic ideas by economists by drawing on the political institutionalist, sociological, and psychology of creativity literatures to develop a framework in which the genesis, spread, impact and institutionalisation of economic ideas may be understood. To articulate the dissemination and impact of economic ideas within economics, I consider as a case study the evolution of economists' conception of the economic agent - "homo oeconomicus." I argue that the intellectual milieu or paradigm of economics is 'socially constructed' in a specific sense, namely: (i) economic ideas are created or modified by particular individuals; (ii) economic ideas are disseminated (iii) certain economic ideas are accepted by economists and (iv) economic ideas become institutionalised into the paradigm or milieu of economics. Economic ideas are, of course, disseminated not only within economics to fellow economists, but are also disseminated externally to economic policy makers and business leaders who can - and often do - take economic ideas into account when formulating policy and building economic institutions. Important economic institutions are thereby socially constructed, in the general sense proposed by Berger and Luckmann (1966). But how exactly do economic ideas enter into this process of social construction of economic institutions? Drawing from and building on structure/agency theory (e.g. Berger and Luckmann 1966; Bourdieu 1977; Bhaskar 1979/1998, 1989; Bourdieu 1990; Lawson 1997, 2003) in the wider social sciences, I provide a framework for understanding how economic ideas enter into the process of social construction of economic institutions. Finally, I take up a methodological question: if economic ideas are disseminated, and if economic ideas have a real and constitutive impact on the economic system being modelled, does 'economic science' then accurately and objectively model an independently existing economic reality, unchanged by economic theory, or does economic theory have an interdependent and 'reflexive' relationship with economic reality, as economic reality co-exists with, is shaped by, and also shapes economic theory? I argue the latter, and consider the implications for evaluating in what sense economic science is, in fact, a science in the classical sense. The thesis makes original contributions to understanding the genesis of economic ideas in the psychological creative work processes of economists; understanding the ontological location of economic ideas in the economic system; articulating the social construction of economic ideas; and highlighting the importance of the spread of economic ideas to economic practice and economic methodology. 410401 Design Theory 349901 Political Economy 370000 Studies in Human Society 340302 History of Economic Thought 349900 Other Economics 410402 Design Innovation 360201 Public Policy 360000 Policy and Political Science 380100 Psychology 360100 Political Science 360200 Policy and Administration 370101 Social Theory 370102 Social Policy and Planning 340100 Economic Theory genesis spread diffusion impact institutionalisation economic ideas idea ideation psychology of creativity Wallas Wertheimer stage model productive thinking creative creativity process economic economics sociology social methodology methodological self-altering self-fulfilling self-denying prophecy belief reflexive reflexivity institution institutionalise institutionalised social construction Berger Luckmann Bhaskar critical realism Lawson Bordieu habitus field spread impact ideation ideational structure social structure action creativity creative economists sociology philosophy of science homo economicus homo oeconomicus economic man economic agent rational economic man man lucas critique Goodhart's law Keynes Marx Mill Hayek Hicks Samuelson Walras Jevons Arrow Debreu Samuelson Merton sociology of economics sociology of scientific knowledge SSK Holton prediction control reflexive prediction reflexivity Whitley Mackie canonization Henshel Grunberg Modigliani Morgenstern Lucas Muth Simon Blyth Hall Sikkink Hira Hood institutionalize institutionalized socialise socialisation internalise internalisation internalization socialization behaviour behavior Thomas theorem expectations stage model productive thinking evolution

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