Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Master of Health Sciences: Medical Laboratory Science Degree, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / Background Medical laboratories play a crucial role in patient care and require a competent skilled workforce to deliver this essential service. The current process of Medical Technologist training is a summative assessment consisting of two written 3 hour papers that correlates theoretical knowledge acquired at a tertiary level with the practical internship. Currently there is no assessment of technical competence of Intern Medical Technologists (candidates) by the HPCSA. Aim: This study aims to determine how technical competence was assessed for Intern Medical Technologists who are eligible to write the National Board Examination in the Clinical Pathology discipline. Methods: A quantitative design was used for assessing the technical competence of the candidates that were eligible to write the National Board Examination by using an adapted SANAS witnessing tool across ten Clinical Pathology test procedures by direct observation as well as to determine how technical competence is assessed in HPCSA registered training laboratories using a survey administered to Laboratory managers and trainers. The data was collected and analysed using the statistical software SPSS version 24.0. Results Some candidates that were directly observed in each of the Clinical Pathology test procedures were deemed not yet competent in compliance and adherence to SOP’s, acceptability of results, internal quality control procedures and the acceptability of the outcome and availability of signed training and competency records on the direct observation checklist. These results of the assessment of technical competence were compared to the results of the National Board examination that candidates wrote and there was no correlation between the two except for the Microbiology sub-discipline and the general section. Results of operations of competency assessment in 9 HPCSA registered Training Laboratories revealed that 100% of respondents have a technical competence laboratory policy, 90% identified the Laboratory Manager as having responsibility for ensuring assessment of staff competency, 100% stated that frequency of competency testing was upon initial employment and once in two years thereafter, 90% had clear criteria to define competency assessment and 100% indicated that the remedial process used in their laboratories was documented corrective action which included re-training and re-assessment. Conclusion: From this study it can be concluded that assessment of technical competency for Intern Medical Technologists in the Clinical Pathology could augment current assessment systems of Intern Medical Technologists for conferment of professional designation and a policy review is recommended. / M

M.Ed. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.A. / Triage is an instrument that is intended to assist in the decision-making process regarding managerial personnel. As such, it purports to measure personality traits that underlie managerial performance. Its information output is applied to assist with managerial selection, managerial development, and team building decisions and exercises. Managerial and other work behaviour is highly influenced by cultural factors, and probably also the accompanying measuring instruments. The current research set out to assess whether Triage is a system that may be fairly applied for individuals from different races and genders. Methodologically the instrument presents huge potential since its computerised technology evaluates managerial traits in an effective and simplified fashion. Although it had been previously researched for a British population, -the minimum requirement for it to be applied fairly across South African groups was that it manifested acceptable levels of validity and reliability for the different South African groups to which the test battery is normally applied. Issues of similarities and differences between different racial and gender groups were hypothesised as part of the research design. In line with theory and previous research results, it was expected that score differences would appear between groups, but that acceptable levels of reliability and construct validity would be indicated for all groups. Cronbach alpha coefficients confinned relatively high reliability for all groups. MANOVA and ANDVA analyses confirmed cross-group differences in test scores. Factor analyses and canonical correlation analysis indicated that three factors have high relevance for all current and previous groups, with the Achiever/ Leader showing very high potential as a measure of managerial competence. Comparability of underlying structure was therefore indicated. The ANDVA and factor analyses did indicate, however, that the Alpha Test of Intelligence and the Levene Activities Preferences Questionnaire do not render cross-cultural equivalence regarding test scores and underlying dimensional structure.

Magister Educationis - MEd / Cloze procedure involves the skills of thinking, understanding , reading and writing based on the learners underlying knowledge of reading comprehension and writing subskills such as grammar and sentence construction. It is regarded as a very efficient test for measuring students integrative competence in English, and has been used in most of the important English tests in China. It is also used as a teaching instrument to help students to improve their reading competence. However, a majority of students perform poorly in cloze tests and they regard it as the most difficult and most unpopular part of the English test. The aim of this study was to find out the problem that Chinese students have with cloze tests and to determine whether they are associated with the inefficient use of reading strategies. / South Africa

Malingering has become an increasing concern in neuropsychological assessment in recent years, and a wide range of tests have been designed and examined for the purpose of detecting malingering. Cut-off scores have been recommended for these tests in order to provide indications of malingering performances. However, the derived scores have been in respect of westernised populations of people with relatively high levels of education who speak English as their first language. Accordingly, the current study aimed to attain normative data and cut-off scores for four commonly employed neuropsychological tools, administered in English, on a population of black, South African, Xhosa-speaking people (N = 33), who attended a former DET-type school in the Eastern Cape, with a Grade 11-12 level of education, in the age range of 18 - 40 years. The targeted measures included the TOMM, the Rey-15 Item Memory Test, the Digit Span subtest of the WAIS-III, and the Trail Making Test. The obtained scores were poorer than the previously published cut-offs for at least one component of each of the tests investigated, except the TOMM. The fmdings of this study highlight the important role that the factors of culture, quality of education, and language play in neuropsychological test performance.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Thesis (PhD (Educational Guidance and Counseling))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

In South Africa, the issue of lack of black pilot skills is a most talked about topic in commercial airlines. Airlines need to find the right set of skills and attitude to operate safely and successfully. Airline safety remains a topic of discussion, therefore airlines need ensure robustness of their selection processes. There are many requirements that a person has to meet before s/he can be offered a first officer job at an airline. The majority of the pilots in South Africa are white males. The study aimed to determine if there are statistically significant differences in cognitive ability test results between Black and White applicants for pilot positions with a South Africa airline. The test battery included a verbal reasoning test, numerical reasoning test, visual thinking, abstract reasoning test, spatial reasoning test, short term memory test, monitoring ability test, hand-eye coordination, sense of orientation test, reactivity test, and a multi-tasking test. The data were extracted with permission from a database maintained on behalf of the airline by an online test provider and subjected to a statistical analysis using measures of central tendency, and spread, in order to report on the significance of the differences between the groups. There is strong evidence that the White group performed better than the Black group on the majority of the tests. It is recommended that further research is done in order to determine the causes of these differences. A comparative study of results on other airlines’ recruitment selection tests and an exploratory study of the impact of socio-economic factors, education quality and language on cognitive ability tests are recommended.

This research takes place in a South African multinational automotive industry, which needs to be on the forefront for being globally competitive and sustainable to remain viable in the country. A strategic initiative was embarked upon to identify talent within their staff population, through the psychometric assessment of learning potential. The objective was to identify high potential employees and provide them with the requisite training and development to meet the demands of the rapidly advancing technology. The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the usefulness of the Ability, Process of Information and Learning Battery (APIL) as a psychometric assessment tool for identifying talent, within a heterogeneous workforce. This research adopts a cross-cultural approach as it is comparative in nature and addresses the adequacy of a psychometric instrument in a multicultural context. The Employment Equity Act has transformed the landscape of the use of psychological measurement in South Africa, in that it stipulates that no psychological test that is biased against any cultural group can be used. A sample of 841 heterogeneous staff employees was assessed with three major research objectives: (a) to ensure that the instrument could stand scientific scrutiny thereby complying with the Employment Equity Act; (b) to recommend ways the organisation can identify and understand employees’ talent more holistically; and (c) to manage talent more effectively. The heterogeneous sample was divided into six homogeneous subsets for statistical analysis. This research attempted to answer the first objective through the examination of internal consistency, bias and equivalence of the APIL. Results showed good internal consistency, very good construct equivalence and low item bias, demonstrating the APIL can be applied fairly in a multicultural industrial setting. The second objective was determined by investigating whether significant difference in mean learning potential scores occur among the identified subsets in the sample. Statistical analyses provide clear trend lines indicating that sociopolitical and socioeconomic factors of advantagement and disadvantagement, age and education influence learning potential. However it is also evident that there are individuals across all subsets that demonstrate strong cognitive potential. This supports the rationale on which the APIL was developed, in that it distinguishes people with high learning potential despite the fact that there may be gaps or limitations in skill repertoire due to past disadvantagement. Recommendations to address the third objective is provided by aligning learning potential with the performance management system to provide a holistic overview of the talent composition. This will assist in the identifying of strategic training and development interventions needed at the individual, functional and organisational level, which is key for the South African automotive industry to remain competitive and viable.

With the intent of learning more about the process of assessing music ability, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of music learning on music aptitude scores. The problem of this study is to determine if there is a difference between pretest-posttest tonal aptitude scores, as measured by AMMA, for students who possess high and low levels of tonal audiation ability and who either received specialized audiation training on computer or no specialized audiation training. Forty-eight Grade 11 and 12 music students were administered AMMA as a pretest. An intact music class of 24 students received 13 weeks of computer instruction. The experimental treatment consisted of a computer assisted software program, Tonal Syntax Tutorial, which provided audiation practice for high school and college students. A randomly selected group of 24 students received their normal classroom music instruction. Pretest AMMA scores were used as the criterion measure. At the end of 13 weeks, all students were re-administered AMMA as a posttest. AMMA pretest and posttest Tonal scores were organized into a multidimensional design. A covariate analysis of the AMMA scores was calculated and a MANOVA was employed to determine differences between the pretest and posttest AMMA Tonal scores. Main effects, interaction effects, and simple main effects were tested at the .05 level of significance. The researcher found no significant difference between the treatment and control group tonal aptitude scores, however, there was a significant difference between levels of aptitude. It was interpreted that the difference between the students who possessed high tonal aptitude and students who possess low tonal aptitude was not a real difference because the difference in student tonal aptitude levels actually existed before the study began. The researcher believes that AMMA can be a useful instrument in the assessment of music abilities of high school students. Also, based on our present knowledge of computer assisted music instruction, it seems that that type of instruction alone is not sufficient to affect a change in tonal audiation ability of high school students. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

M.Ed. (Psychology) / There has been a growing concern about first year students who enter universities without adequate learning and study strategies to meet academic demands. This can result in failure and underachievement. Research subsequently focused on aspects which may negatively Influence the students' choice and use of learning strategies, such as cognitive and affective aspects of the learner. Very little attention has however been given to the influence of illnesses on the learner and his learning strategies. The aim of this study Is to compare first year students who suffer from migraine headaches with students who do not suffer from it. This is done In order to determine whether or not migraine could be considered as an Influencing factor. From the literature study that was undertaken it is clear that migraine headaches, which are classified as a chronic pain illness, can have a substantial impact on the psychological and social well-being of the patient. It can affect a patients cognitive and affective functioning as well as his behaviour. Current research also show that there might be a common neurochemical cause for migraine headaches, affective disorders and certain learning problems. This research offer therapeutic possibilities in all above mentioned areas. The question arose from the literature study of whether migraine headaches could be considered as a factor in the learning strategies of first year students. To answer this question, an empirical study was undertaken, Involving all 1992 first year students at RAU The battery contained the following diagnostic tests: • LASSI (Learning and Study Strategles Inventory). • A health questionnaire. The data was processed In order to find whether a statistically significant correlation exlsted between migraine headaches and learning strategies among the first year students. The empirical study confirmed that migraine headaches could be considered as an Influencing factor In the study and study learnlng strategies of first year students. Due to the limited size of the experimental group. migraine headaches asa possible factor In the learning strategies off first year students can only be applicable to RAU first year students