M.Sc. (Research Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Com. (Sales Management) / This study emphasizes that the sales effort is linked to the sales opportunities in the most profitable way. To make this possible, the sales potential of a sales area must first be analysed scientifically. Only then can the allocation of sales personnel to a sales area be made in the best possible way. The consumer, rather than the sales area, is the starting-point. In other words, the emphasis is on the satisfaction of needs in the sales area. The role of sales potential and forecasting in sales quota allotment is also analysed, since these contribute to the most effective allocation of sales personnel to the sales area. Optimum allocation of sales personnel to the sales area takes place, based on information from the sales area (market needs).

M. Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Reading is a complex activity which is of the utmost importance for successful progress in mainstream education, but which is seldom fully understood by professionals in the field of education. It is also an ability which is often problematic for children to master. The purpose with this study was to gain a better understanding of the reading process and to explore the reasons why some children fail to learn to read effectively. The research was based upon the following research questions: what constitutes beginning reading; how these problems manifest in the reading behaviour of the child with reading problems; and how the child with reading problems describes his knowledge about reading. The first aim of the study was to establish what the nature of reading is, how it develops in beginning readers (in the junior primary phase) and what the possible causes of reading problems are. This was achieved by an analysis of reviewed literature, emphasising the child as a system whereby his inner world is in interaction with the world around him. The additional aim was to conduct a qualitative analysis was undertaken in which the reading actions of two eight year old readers were presented and analyzed by means of a protocol analysis. The data of the two early readers were compared and the following categories of their reading actions identified: the mechanics of reading. construction of meaning and metareading knowledge. It was argued that these categories are interrelated in the sense that the one influences the other to such an extent that they cannot be separated for purposes of teaching reading skills. The mechanics of reading seems to be the foundation of meaning construction as it was apparent that the readers could not answer the comprehension questions when they were unable to recognise the words. This promotes a "back to basics" approach of teaching reading. On the other hand it also came to light that the readers could read certain words, but did not understand them due to the fact that they did not comprehend the context thereof and clearly had not constructed schema in the domain previously. The levels of functioning of the two readers were explained by using comparative matrices which indicated that they function on pre-conceptual and systematic conceptual levels, that is below the level that could be expected for their reading age group. Arguing from the findings of the research it was evident that teachers, as well as therapists concerned with reading remediation, probably address reading problems without fully understanding what the act of reading entails. Furthermore, school curricula which have the teaching of reading skills as objective could adopt a "back to basics" approach whereby phonics teaching and the accompanying emphasis on word recognition could be the point of departure. Thereafter comprehension and meta-reading aspects could be emphasised. It is, however, extremely important to keep in mind that each of these components of the teaching of reading, namely phonic recognition, word recognition, comprehension and meta-reading are not seen in isolation, but that the interaction of these aspects is understood and taught.

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

M.A. / The educational and psychometric contexts in South Africa are currently characterised by concerns pertaining to the potentially spurious influence of the challenges of cultural heterogeneity and of the redress of past and present disadvantagement. The present investigation forms a research response to these challenges as they relate to the practical utility of a dynamic assessment measure for the purpose of selecting students for curricula at a South African university. In response to a growing dissatisfaction with longstanding selection procedures and instruments, the utility of a dynamically derived learning potential score is explored and contrasted with the traditionally employed static intellective measure of the matriculation score. The present investigation serves to augment a growing body of research that asserts the capacity of dynamic assessment to surmount many of the criticisms typically associated with static assessment and to contribute novel and useful information regarding the intellective faculties of prospective university students. Within the context of the investigation 71 first year students enrolled for the BA Extended Degree at the University of Johannesburg were assessed using the static intellective measure of a matriculation score and the dynamically informed global learning potential score of the Ability, Processing of Information and Learning Battery Short Version (APIL-B SV). The utility of the dynamically derived learning potential score to predict academic performance during the first year of university study was examined and contrasted with the predictive efficacy of the static matriculation score. The empirically examined data served to support conjecture that a dynamic intellective measure demonstrated significant utility in predicting the future academic performance of first year university students. In addition, the ability of this measure to predict academic performance in a manner that had significant benefit over the traditionally employed static matriculation score was affirmed.

D. Phil. (Industrial Psychology) / This study focused on the measurement of social desirability from a cross-cultural perspective. In applied settings industrial psychologists use social desirability scales to eliminate sources of bias or systematic error that are not relevant to the measured attribute, to identify applicants who are deliberately presenting themselves in a positive manner, to adjust personality scale scores or to flag potentially invalid personality profiles. Socially desirable responding on personality measures continues to be an important concern for researchers and practitioners due to the potentially serious consequences of response distortion in personnel selection contexts. The effect of socially desirable responding on the validity and utility of personality testing in employment settings has been extensively debated and researched internationally. However, depending on the operational definition of social desirability used and the choice of research design, research results have been mixed and at times contradictory. In addition, there is growing recognition that the cross-cultural transferability of the social desirability construct needs to be empirically examined. Furthermore, the influence of potential race and ethnic group differences in social desirability scale scores, which can lead to disproportional selection ratios, has not been sufficiently researched in South Africa. This study therefore focused on the systematic analysis of theoretical and scientific evidence relating to socially desirable responding in occupational settings across different cultures and across different personality instruments currently in use in South Africa.

M.Tech. / Purpose: To determine the effect of Chiropractic spinal adjustive therapy (SAT) of the lumbar spine and Sacroiliac joints on performance utilising indicators such as vertical jump height and T-test time of moderate to highly active sport participants. It has been suggested that a dysfunctional vertebral subluxation complex can cause a decrease in performance. The decreased performance may be due to dysfunctional biomechanics and altered neurological functioning of the lumbar spine and Sacroiliac joints. Methods: A randomised study design with thirty asymptomatic male subjects, which were moderate to highly active as indicated by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), participated in this study. Participants were divided into two equal groups, group A (n=15) received Chiropractic SAT of the lumbar spine and Sacroiliac joints, group B (n=15) were rested for five minutes. The study design consisted of six consultations, with intervention being applied at each consultation between objective measurements. Objective data was obtained by the vertical jump test and T-test which determined participant’s explosive power and agility respectively. Objective data was obtained before and after intervention on each of the six consultations. The immediate effect of intervention was represented by the before versus the after measurements of consultations. The short term effect was represented by comparing the before values of consultation one (baseline) to consultation six. Results: The objective results showed that there was a short term and immediate improvement in vertical jump height and T-test time of both groups. With vertical jump height group A showed an immediate mean improvement of 3.845 cm (7%) and a short term mean improvement of 0.74 cm (1%); group B showed an immediate mean improvement of 1.6 cm (3%) and a short term mean improvement of 1.47 cm (3%). With the T-test time group A showed an immediate mean improvement of 0.433 s (4%) and a short term mean improvement v of 0.673 (6%); group B showed a immediate mean improvement of 0.1745 s (2%) and a short term mean improvement of 0.6 s (5%). Conclusion: Although results obtained were not statistically significant (p>0.05), it demonstrated from a clinical perspective that interventions caused an improvement in jump height and T-test time in both groups. Group A showed a greater improvement in every aspect, except in the short term effect of Chiropractic SAT on vertical jump height. It is therefore postulated that improvements noted were as a result of the adjustment providing an enhanced biomechanical and neurological advantage, and therefore in performance indicators such as the vertical jump test and T-test in the participants.

No description available.

The selection of students for higher education has been a burning issue on the agenda of South African institutions of higher education for the past decade. Institutions for higher education are experiencing pressure from both their clients and the government to broaden access, but at the same time financial realities force these institutions to admit only those candidates with the potential to be successful in their chosen course of study. The main aim of this study was the identification of variables which relate to academic success amongst Engineering Technology students at Technikon Pretoria, and to incorporate them into a selection battery which would be both valid and reliable. A non-experimental, correlational design was selected, as this research technique is considered the best controlled and most accurate of all non-¬experimental designs. Since a quantitative technique was selected for data gathering, the necessity for a statistical method in the data analysing process was obvious. The sample for this study consisted of a total of 732 Engineering Technology students at Technikon Pretoria. From these, 512 were Civil Engineering Technology students and the remaining 220 were Mechanical Engineering Technology students. These subjects were the total number of students from these two academic departments, enrolled from 1997 to 1999, of whom both psychometric and academic data were available. The sample consisted of 14.75% female and 85.25% male respondents and was representative of the cultural diversity of the Technikon campus. The competencies indicated by academic staff involved with the training of Engineering Technology students at Technikon Pretoria were hypothesised to be indicative of a potentially successful student. After the identification of these predictor variables the assessment battery to be used in this study was compiled. This was then included in a comprehensive set of data regarding each applicant, together with the required school performance. A forward stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed on the data in order to establish the predictive validity of the assessment battery. The expansion of the traditional selection procedure to include the potential assessment phase proved valuable, as the validity of all prediction models improved with the addition of the indices from the Potential Index Batteries. The prediction models were found to be unbiased against students from the previously disadvantaged school systems and can thus be said to be culture fair. / Dissertation (MA (Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Psychology / unrestricted

Organisations worldwide are attempting to identify talent by using various assessment methods to evaluate competencies perceived to be core to the mandate of their organisations. In recent years recruitment and selection of individuals rely on assessment methods deemed to have high validity and reliability. One such assessment method used worldwide to evaluate top management is the assessment centre, commonly referred to as the AC. The main research problem of this study focussed on an evaluation of the extent to which the assessment centre method is effectively used for the selection and development of senior management employees in the public service of Botswana. The main research problem had eight sub-problems which were addressed through the following actions: A comprehensive literature study was conducted to define and establish the purpose of assessment centres. Moreover, the study aimed to establish the international best practice for the administration of the assessment centre as a tool for selection and talent development. Subsequent to the literature study an interview schedule and survey questionnaire were developed based on the literature. The interview schedule was used to obtain information from consultants who provide assessment centre services to the public service. The objective of the questionnaire was to obtain information from the recipients of the service and determine the extent to which that information compares with information obtained from the consultants. The questionnaire was distributed to a randomly selected population. The results of the empirical study were statistically analysed and interpreted and revealed that permanent and deputy permanent secretaries are more aware of the reasons for using the assessment centre method than directors and deputy directors. These senior management employees felt that the assessment centre is an effective tool for selection and development but the results from the assessment centre are not optimally used for development. The study revealed that generally the assessment centre process conducted in the Botswana public service is in line with international best practice of assessment centres. However, there are certain areas that need some improvement for the assessment centre to entirely conform to international best practice. These areas include the implementation of an assessment centre policy and the improvement of feedback and vital information provided to participants prior to the centre. The empirical study also revealed that senior management employees hold the view that many senior officers in the public service do not know the importance of the assessment centre method and are not comfortable to participate in such a centre. The assessment centre method has proven to be an effective tool for evaluating competencies. This is due to its use of multiple techniques, assessors, simulations and exercises. Theory has revealed that the assessment centre has higher validity and reliability than other assessment methods. However, due to the high costs of running assessment centres, some organisations take shortcuts and therefore jeopardise its validity.