This dissertation focuses on available means of the assessment of cognitive functions in neurological patients in the Czech environment. The main goal was to verify the psychometric qualities and usability of the Czech version of the Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (NAB). NAB is a test battery that assesses attention, language, memory, and spatial and executive functions. The theoretical part of the dissertation introduces the basic cognitive functions and diagnostic tools for their assessment; the next chapter focuses on NAB and especially its psychometric characteristics. Third chapter describes specific diseases (epilepsy and psychogenic seizures), their manifestations and impact on cognition. Empirical part included participation in the adaptation of NAB to the Czech language. During the research, a group of healthy volunteers (n = 116) and patients from the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (n = 60) were tested by the NAB Screening Module. To verify the convergent validity of NAB-SM we administered Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (including an Effort Index) to a part of the sample. Based on the results, we can conclude that NAB-SM appears to be a suitable method for the assessment of cognitive functions in patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. The...

Basic criteria for determination of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) include hyperactivity, impulsivity, and distractibility. Four scales of the Personality Inventory for Children have been found to be useful in the diagnosis of ADHD. Impulsivity and distractibility can affect scores on the Hand Movements, Number Recall, Word Order, Spatial Memory, Arithmetic, Riddles, and Matrix Analogies subtests of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children. Subjects were 100 children, aged six through 13 who were referred for psychological assessment. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a correlation between scores on the four scales of the PIC and the designated subtest scores on the KABC. Four correlations were significant, but of low magnitude.

This study investigated the relation of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised (WISC-R) for learning disabled (LD) children, the relation of K-ABC Achievement subtests with other achievement tests, and the relation of verbal and perceptual abilities assessment and the K-ABC. One hundred white, middle to above socioeconomic status (SES), LD students 6 to 12 1/2 years old were administered the K-ABC in addition to the test battery used to identify them. Findings indicated significant differences (2<-01) between WISC-R Full Scale scores and KABC MPC scores, with MPC scores being 3.33 points lower. Significant correlations (2<-01) were found between the following: (a) WISC-R Performance scores and K-ABC Simultaneous scores, (b) K-ABC Sequential and Simultaneous scores, (c) WISC-R Performance and K-ABC Sequential scores, (d) K-ABC Arithmetic and WRAT Arithmetic, and (e) K-ABC Reading Understanding and the following: Woodcock Word Identification, Woodcock Passage Comprehension, WRAT Reading, and Durrell Silent Reading. The study found the MPC correlates higher with tests of perceptual ability than with tests of verbal ability. Results indicate the following: (a) the WISC-R and K-ABC can substitute each other when measuring overall intelligence, (b) the WISC-R and K-ABC do not measure the same abilities, (c) the Sequential-Simultaneous score discrepancy is a poor diagnostic indicator of LD, (d) the discrepancy between the Achievement scale and the K-ABC intelligence scales is a poor diagnostic indicator of LD, (e) the K-ABC Arithmetic subtest is no better and no worse than the WRAT Arithmetic subtest, (f) WRAT Reading, Woodcock Word Identification and K-ABC Reading Recognition are not interchangeable measures of word calling skills, (g) the K-ABC Reading Understanding subtest is as adequate a measure of reading comprehension as other available tests, (h) the MPC is clearly more a measure of perceptual ability than of verbal ability, and (i) the KABC is no more fair a measure to use with LD children than are intelligence tests with a heavy language component.

Globalisation yields numerous challenges and continuous changes in the economic environment, rapid technological advancements, and an increased emphasis on organisational competitiveness. The existing practice in the Telecommunications company relied on conventional recruitment-on-vacancy and training. In 1997, a customer contact research programme was launched to review the specific competencies underlying the full range of customer contact roles, in order to understand the constructs which would underlie effective assessment of people for the role of sales and marketing. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of an assessment battery in a telecommunications company. The assessment battery measures the participants' essential skills, behaviour and performance to bring about critical development action. The Work Profiling System (WPS) and Subject Matter Experts in the Sales Division identified the fifteen competencies. The assessment battery consisted of Ability Tests: Verbal Evaluation (VCC3) and Numerical Evaluation (NCC4), and a personality questionnaire: Customer Contact Styles Questionnaire (CCSQ7.2). The Customer Contact Competency Inventory (CCCI) was electronically administered to the sales representatives' respective managers in 2006, to give objective 360" feedback. The study population (n=97) consisted of sales representatives working in a Telecommunication company. The objectives for this research were to validate the chosen selection battery for the sales representatives, and determine its relation to manager-rated performance. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Stepwise multiple regression analyses were carried out to determine whether the independent variables (CCSQ7.2 and Ability Tests) hold any predictive value regarding the dependent variable (CCCI). The results of the regression analyses showed that Verbal Evaluation (VCC3) was a significant predictor of: Convincing, Communicating Orally, Results Driven. Problem Solving and Organisation. Modest (R4) was a significant predictor of Convincing. Participative (R5) was a significant predictor of Problem Solving and Organisation. Overall, it can be stated that there is a significant relationship between the test battery and job performance. The results in this study reflect that correlations between personality, ability and performance were small to moderate. This is lower than expected and what is found in similar international research. This is probably due to the flawed criterion. The results should be used with caution to prevent making a Type I1 error. Recommendations for future research are made. vii / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / The Recruiter Assessment Battery (RAB) is a predictive test being developed by Navy Personnel Research Studies and Technology (NPRST) to aid in the selection of U.S. Navy recruiters. This thesis analyzes the predictive accuracy of the RAB. Data were gathered from Commander, Navy Recruiting Command (CNRC) and the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) for a sample of recruiters on duty in 2003. Data on the recruiters' RAB score, monthly production, and Naval Recruiting District (NRD) characteristics were obtained from Commander, Navy Recruiting Command (CNRC). Demographic information on the recruiters was obtained from DMDC. Multivariate models were estimated to determine the effects of the RAB score on the average monthly production of recruiters. The results of the models showed that the RAB score is positively correlated with recruiter productivity. The models also indicated that neither NRD characteristics nor personal demographic characteristics affected the relationship between the RAB score and recruiter production. The results of the study suggest that the RAB can be used to predict recruiter productivity. Further research should be conducted on implementing the RAB in the recruiter selection process. Additionally, the relationship of RAB score to recruiter productivity and personal demographic characteristics should be investigated more extensively. / Lieutenant, United States Navy

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among the various scales of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. Of particular interest was the degree to which the Wechsler Verbal and Performance IQ's contributed to the prediction of the K-ABC Mental Processing Composite and the K-ABC Achievement score respectively.The subjects were 51 students, aged 8-0 to 12-0, who had been referred for psychoeducational assessment because of suspected learning disabilities. They were evaluated with both the K-ABC and the WISC-R as part of a standard battery.Descriptive statistics and univariate correlations were computed. Multiple regression procedures revealed that significant relationships existed between the composite of predictor variables, the Wechsler Verbal and Performance IQ's, and the criterion variables, the K-ABC Mental Processing Composite and the K-ABC Achievement score when each was considered separately.Stepwise multiple regression procedures indicated that the unique contribution of the Wechsler Verbal IQ to the prediction of the K-ABC Mental Processing Composite was statistically significant. A significant relationship was not found, however, between the Performance IQ and the K-ABC Achievement score when the Verbal IQ had been statistically controlled.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ball State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Nov. 12, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. [101]-116).

Many studies in the literature have shown the importance of phonological skills in the development of literacy, particularly in reading. The literacy difficulties evident in both languages; Standard Malay and English, is a concern in schools which requires systematic and appropriate assessment to identify children with poor phonological skills. In this study, the Phonological Assessment Battery (PhAB) was analysed to determine the extent it can be used with Malay speakers. It was developed, validated and tested for its reliability for the purpose of assessing phonological awareness. The modification of PhAB consisted of seven subtests translated to standard Malay (L2): Alliteration, Naming Speed, Rhyme, Spoonerisms, Fluency, Non-word Reading and Supplementary Alliteration. The three types of validity used in this study found that the modified PhAB is a valid tool to measure phonological awareness. The test-retest reliability showed that the modified PhAB is a useful tool for teachers and psychologists in Brunei and other countries where Malay is spoken. The MPhAB provides a basis for future intervention to improve reading difficulties amongst Bruneian children.

The purpose of this study was to explore the construct validity of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (KABC-II; Kaufman & Kaufman, 2004a) and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities, Third Edition (WJ-III COG; Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001) with a sample of 200 preschool children, ranging in age from 4 years, 0 months to 5 years, 1 1 months, and attending preschool and daycare programs in and around a Midwestern city. This study attempted to determine if the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) factor structure represented on these tests can be identified with young children. Individual confirmatory factor analyses were conducted separately with the KABC-II and WJ-III COG. Moreover, a joint confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using both the KABC-II and WJ-III COG. The results of the individual KABC-II factor analyses indicated a two-tiered Gf Gc model provided the best fit to the data, although the three-tiered CHC model also fit the data well. This suggests the underlying factor structure of the KABC-II is well represented by the CHC theory. The WJ-III COG was best represented by an alternative CHC model, in which the Gf factor and subtests had been removed, indicating not all CHC constructs represented on the WJ-III COG can be reliably identified among young children. The joint confirmatory factor analysis indicated the strongest measures of the shared CHC factors on the KABCII and WJ-III COG, which can help to guide cross-battery assessment with preschool children. Overall, the results confirmed multiple CHC abilities can be assessed with young children, implying clinicians should be using preschool tests that provide scores for several cognitive abilities. This study also revealed the constructs of the CHC theory may be represented somewhat differently on preschool tests due to developmental influences. Strong correlations were evident between unrelated tasks, primarily because the verbal and linguistic demands of many subtests caused them to load unexpectedly on the Gc factor. Suggestions for future research include conducting the same study using preschool children with suspected disabilities, as well as with older children, examining other instruments that include a Gf factor, and conducting exploratory factor analysis with subtests from the KABC-II and WJ-III COG that contain significant components of more than one ability. / Department of Educational Psychology

Individual differences in human intellectual abilities and the measurement of those differences have been of great interest to the field of school psychology. As such, different theoretical perspectives and corresponding test batteries have evolved over the years as a way to explain and measure these abilities. A growing interest in the field of school psychology has been to use more than one intelligence test in a "cross-battery" assessment in hopes of measuring a wider range (or a more in-depth but selective range) of cognitive abilities. Additionally, interest in assessing intelligence began to focus on preschool-aged children because of initiatives to intervene early with at-risk children. The purpose of this study was to examine the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition (SB-V) and Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (KABC-II) in relation to the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory of intelligence using a population of 200 preschool children. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were conducted with these two tests individually as well as in conjunction with one another. Different variations of the CHC model were examined to determine which provided the best representation of the underlying CHC constructs measured by these tests. Results of the CFAs with the SBV revealed that it was best interpreted from a two-stratum model, although results with the KABC-II indicated that the three-stratum CHC model was the best overall design. Finally, results from the joint CFA did not provide support for a cross-battery assessment with these two particular tests.3 / Department of Educational Psychology