In 2006 a new training route for Educational Psychologists (EPs) was introduced, which extended the entry criteria to applicants from a range of professional backgrounds. The related literature indicates that this was a contentious issue. The aim of the current study is to explore the relationship between the role of the EP and professional background using an interpretive methodology. Twelve participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format. The participants were four EPs, four primary Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCos), three secondary SENCos and a Portage Worker. The aim of the study is also to establish what skills and qualities the participants perceive to be necessary to be an effective and credible practitioner. Following analysis of the interview data, a number of themes emerged. In terms of desirable EP attributes, the participants’ responses fell into three broad categories, interpersonal skills, psychological skills and other qualities. The participants perceived the EP role as either expert or collaborative, although some expressed a degree of uncertainty about the nature of the role. All of the participants alluded to a link between experience and credibility, although the nature of desirable experience varied between personal and professional experience. Participants who viewed the role of the EP within an expert model favoured teaching experience over other forms of pre-training experience. The second stage of this study is set in the context of the recent changes to the initial training of Educational Psychologists (EPs). The broad aim of the study is to explore beliefs that are held in relation to the relationship between the role of the EP and professional background. In particular, stage two aims to explore the participants’ belief systems in greater depth. It was therefore deemed that Personal Construct Psychology (PCP) would provide an appropriate psychological framework to inform the design of the study and interpretation of the data. Six of the twelve participants who were interviewed at stage one of this study participated in follow-up interviews using a self-characterisation technique. Their responses were laddered in order to elicit superordinate constructs, until an end point was agreed upon between participant and researcher, which are referred to as ‘core constructs’. The data were clustered in relation to the themes arising from stage one, resulting in six clusters, collaboration, motivation and applying psychology being ranked as most important for EPs. The use of PCP as a theoretical framework has provided a psychological perspective from which to address beliefs regarding the professional background of EPs.

A replication of an original study of managerial assessment centers performed by Sackett and Dreher (1982) is presented. Their major finding, indicating that assessment centers lack key tenets of internal construct validity, was corroborated in this study of a hotel managers' assessment center. This hotel managers' assessment center is also found to be externally valid using criterion-related validity. The argument is posed that assessment centers, as standardized tests of complex behavioral traits, appear to be operating outside the bounds of normal test construction principles. Five key explanations for this paradox are offered to guide much needed future research in this area. Additionally, a description of commonly utilized assessment center activities is offered the reader.

The present study evaluated two hypotheses concerning the comparability of scores of the WISC and WISC-R through correlation of obtained scores on both scales. Forty subjects, representing 10 age levels, constituted the experimental sample. Each subject was administered the WISC, followed in 28 days by the WISC-R. Data analysis revealed significant (.05) correlations between scores on comparable WISC and WISC-R subtests except Arithmetic and Coding. The Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ scores correlated .5468, .5773, and .6240 respectively (p < .01). Conclusions were drawn that caution should be taken in comparison and interpretation of scores on the two scales due to several low correlation coefficients obtained as well as numerous changes between the scales. Further study is recommended.

This thesis comprises two papers. Paper One: Previous research in relation to young people who are at risk of school exclusion can be criticised for the lack of studies that truly elicit and foreground the voices of these young people within a school context. While retrospective studies have explored their views post exclusion, few have examined their perceptions within a mainstream context prior to exclusion. This can be explained in terms of the inherent difficulties of engaging disaffected young people with research, often attributed to a combination of poor language skills and negative perceptions of adults, and schools’ reluctance to foreground these voices. This paper reports how a participatory research method, which took into account the individual needs of disaffected young people, overcame these difficulties and succeeded in eliciting the voices of ten young people at risk of school exclusion within their mainstream context. Rich, meaningful and contextualised data were generated about disaffected young people’s perceptions of their mainstream school experiences. The data were thematically analysed and then interpreted using self determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000). This revealed that from young people’s perspectives the need for a sense of relatedness was more relevant than the need for a sense of autonomy. The need to feel competent only became relevant in certain subject contexts. Findings showed a more holistic and nuanced perspective of disaffection. The young people perceived their engagement to be context driven and, importantly, were able to view themselves as positively engaged with some aspects of school. This highlights the need for further research into disaffected young people’s voices regarding what they perceive to be positive engagement as this may differ from practitioners’ perceptions. Implications for practice are that Educational Psychologists (EPs) are well placed to foreground the voice of disaffected young people with practitioners. In so doing they help them make better sense of disaffected young people’s school experiences and enhance practitioners’ ability to support these young people. Paper Two: Interventions in relation to young people at risk of exclusion tend to be drawn from education practitioner views which focus on a particular perspective of disaffection such as within child or curricular factors. Consequently interventions are ‘done to’ rather than ‘with’ young people and lack an integrated, holistic approach. In this small case study the researcher facilitated an intervention with seven Learning Mentors (LMs) set within two different school contexts. The aim of the intervention was to engage LMs with the voice of disaffected young people. The LMs met in two groups over two months during which vignettes of disaffected young people’s voices were used as stimuli for prioritising, implementing and evaluating changes to current LM practice. LMs’ personal constructs of disaffected young people were elicited pre and post intervention. The findings reveal that when LMs are facilitated to engage with the voice of disaffected young people it can have a positive impact on their perceptions of those young people. The effectiveness of the impact was dependent on the context of the school, level of training received and the extent to which LMs engaged with the facilitative process. As this is one of few studies which have implemented an intervention to engage schools with the voice of disaffected young people, further research exploring whether the intervention could be replicated in other school contexts would be of value. This study adds to the body of knowledge on school disaffection in young people and indicates that EPs are well placed to manage facilitative processes aimed at engaging schools with the voices of disaffected young people. In doing so they support practitioners to broaden their understanding of these young people and, importantly, enable them to act on their voices.

Analysis of automatic program parallelization based on bytecode There are many algorithms for automatic parallelization and this work explores the possible application of these algorithms to programs based on their bytecode or similar intermediate code. All these algorithms require the identification of independent code segments, because if two parts of code do not interfere with one another then they can be run in parallel without any danger of data corruption. Dependence testing is an extremely complicated problem and in general application, it is not algorithmically solvable. However, independences can be discovered in special cases and then they can be used as a basis for application of automatic parallelization, like the use of vector instructions. The first step is function inlining that allows the compiler to analyze the code more precisely, without unnecessary dependences caused by unknown functions. Next, it is necessary to identify all control flow constructs, like loops, and after that the compiler can attempt to locate dependences between the statements or instructions. Parallelization can be achieved only if the analysis discovered some independent parts in the code. This work is accompanied by an implementation of function inlining and code analysis for the .NET framework.

This essay uses social constructionism and intersectionality to argue that the narrator in The Woman Warrior is experiencing feelings of identity confusion due to the different stereotypes of femininity that American and Chinese culture hold. The experiences are caused mainly by Chinese society, American society, her mother, and the talk-stories told in the book. She also establishes her identity through all four of these categories and comes to the conclusion that the concept of femininity is a stereotype and should not be adhered to as it furthers the patriarchal view of women.

Sentimento de impotência é um conceito aceito como um foco clínico da prática de enfermagem. Os objetivos deste estudo foram: desenvolver e testar uma medida de sentimento de impotência para pacientes adultos; verificar se o sentimento de impotência é um construto distinto do de locus de controle e analisar a associação entre sentimento de impotência e locus de controle. Os itens foram desenvolvidos a partir das dimensões do modelo de impotência de White, Roberts (1993) e das características definidoras de impotência, segundo a North American Nursing Diagnosis Association. A validade de conteúdo foi afirmada para 23 itens pelo julgamento de seis juízes, segundo critérios estabelecidos por Pasquali (1998). Teste de inteligibilidade foi realizado com 25 pacientes e 21 itens foram retidos. O instrumento foi testado com 210 pacientes adultos de unidades médico-cirúrgicas para seleção de itens, confiabilidade e validade. Pela análise de itens, nove deles foram descartados. Os 12 itens remanescentes foram testados quanto à confiabilidade e à validade. Três subescalas geradas pela análise fatorial (Capacidade de Realizar Comportamentos, Capacidade de Tomar Decisões e Resposta Emocional ao Controle das Situações) não confirmaram o modelo de White, Roberts e demonstraram consistência interna entre 0,58 e 0,85. O alfa total foi 0,80. Estimativas iniciais de validade de critério e de construto foram obtidas com associações entre o instrumento desenvolvido e uma afirmação geral sobre a percepção de controle (p<0,000) e correlação daquele com escores de internalidade gerados a partir dos escores na Escala de Locus de Controle na Saúde (p=-0,33). Os itens da escala de Locus de Controle na Saúde foram bem discriminados dos itens de sentimento de impotência pela análise fatorial, sugerindo conceitos distintos. Com refinamento o instrumento de Medida do Sentimento de Impotência para pacientes adultos servirá de base para avaliar essa resposta psicossocial, definir e apreciar intervenções clínicas propostas para melhorar o conforto emocional de pacientes adultos. / Powerlessness is a concept accepted as clinical focus of nursing practice. The aims of this study were: to develop and test a measure of powerlessness in adult patients; to verify whether powerlessness is a construct distinct from locus of control and to analyse the association between powerlessness and locus of control. Items were developed from the powerless dimensions of the White, Roberts (1993) model and from the defining characteristics of powerlessness according to the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (2002, 2003). Content validity was supported for 23 itens through the rating of six experts following criteria established by Pasquali (1998). Intelligibility test was performed in 25 patients and 21 items were retained. The instrument was tested with 210 adult patients of medical-surgical wards for item selection, reliability and validity. Through item analysis nine items were discarded. The remaining 12 items were tested for reliability and validity. Three subscales generated by factor analysis (Ability to Perform Behaviors, Ability to Make Decisions and Emotional Responses to Personal Control) did not confirm the White, Roberts model, and demonstrated internal consistency ranging from .58 to .85. Total scale alpha was .80. Initial estimates of criterion-related and construct validity were documented with associations between the developed measure and a general statement on personal control perception (p<.000), and correlation with internality scores generated from scores on Health Locus of Control Scale (p=-.33).Items of Health Locus of Control were well discriminated from the powerlessness items through factor analysis, suggesting they are distinct concepts. With refinement the Measure of Powerlessness for Adult Patients will provide a basis for assessing this psychosocial response, definition and evaluating clinical interventions designed to enhance the emotional comfort of adult patients.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo coletar e analisar evidências relacionadas a um teste de classificação em Inglês, mediado por computador, aplicado em uma Faculdade de Tecnologia Pública que está localizada a 60 km da capital de São Paulo. Os dados obtidos foram coletados nos testes de classificação aplicados a alunos ingressantes dos cursos de Eventos, Logística (manhã e noite) e de Gestão da Tecnologia da Informação, no período compreendido entre o 2º semestre de 2010 ao 2º semestre de 2012. Outros dados complementares foram obtidos em dois questionários de apreciação da prova, um deles respondido por 141 (cento e quarenta e um) ingressantes no 1º semestre de 2012 e o outro por dois professores de inglês da instituição, que serviram de base para o estudo da validação do teste. O propósito da pesquisa foi o de avaliar a pertinência e qualidade dos itens que compõem cada nível dos testes de classificação, em comparação com o que está previsto como conteúdo programático de língua inglesa nos cursos, apresentado nas ementas das disciplinas Inglês I a VI. A pesquisa foi tratada como um estudo de caso, de caráter descritivo e exploratório, considerando para análise dados quantitativos e qualitativos, com o objetivo de verificar e discutir a validade de construto, de conteúdo e de face nos testes de classificação, consideradas como aspectos substanciais para o processo de sua validação. Os resultados da análise comparativa revelaram que o teste necessita de modificações, uma vez que o construto que permeia as ementas dos cursos não está nitidamente definido no teste, especialmente no que se refere à ausência do componente oral em alguns dos seus níveis. Entretanto, quanto à validade de conteúdo, observou-se que a maioria dos itens contempla o que está previsto nas ementas. Em relação à validade de face, os resultados apontarem que os examinandos e professores que participaram da pesquisa consideraram o teste adequado. A análise do desempenho dos examinandos e a avaliação dos itens do teste permitiram diagnosticar aspectos das práticas avaliativas da instituição e sua relevância para o processo ensino/aprendizagem de língua estrangeira. Nesse sentido, espera-se que este trabalho possa contribuir para futuras pesquisas sobre elaboração, processamento e validação de instrumentos avaliativos em língua estrangeira. / The objective of this study is to collect and analyze evidences related to an online English placement test which is being administered in a public technological college located 60 km from the capital of São Paulo. Data were collected on this test administered to freshmen students of Events, Logistics (morning and evening) and Management Information Technology courses in the period between the second half of 2010 to the second half of 2012. Other complementary data were obtained by two questionnaires, one of them answered by 141 freshmen in the first half of 2012 and the other answered by two English teachers of the college, which formed the basis for the study of the validation of the test. The purpose of the research was to assess the relevance and quality of the test items that make up each level of the placement test in comparison to what is foreseen as syllabus for English language courses I through VI. The research was treated as a case study, with a descriptive and explanatory character considering quantitative and qualitative data analysis in order to verify and discuss the construct validity, content validity and face validity of the online placement test considered as substantial aspects for process validation. The results of the comparative analysis revealed that the online placement test requires modifications, since the construct that permeates the syllabus of the courses is not clearly defined in the test, particularly there is an oral missing evaluation in some levels. However, as to content validity, it was observed that most of the items that are part of the test include what is referred to on the syllabus. Regarding face validity the results suggest that most of the examinees and teachers who participated in the survey considered the test appropriate. The performance analysis and evaluation of the examinees and the way the test was constructed helped diagnosing aspects of evaluation practices in the institution and its relevance to the teaching / learning of a foreign language. We intend through this study to contribute to the current research on development, implementation and validation of evaluation instruments in a foreign language.

The rapid and continuous deterioration of the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria in the last four decades has been a major source of concern for the government and practitioners. Hence, the region has been the subject of continuous conflicts and violence between the host communities and the oil producing companies. Despite the effort of the government and practitioners, none have looked at the relationship elements and/or the quality of relationship between these two key stakeholders within the context of the Nigeria oil and gas industry. This research study makes a new contribution to the field of relationship marketing in the area of relationship quality by providing a detailed understanding of relationship elements, and determinants and dimensions of relationship quality. The research study focuses on the oil producing company to host community relationship in the Niger delta region of Nigeria, which was investigated in detail. A qualitative approach was adopted as it is considered appropriate for the research focus, which was to investigate and assess the understanding of different community actors in respect to the quality of relationship between the oil producing companies and host communities in the Niger delta region of Nigeria. In addition, explore how these actors described both the relationship elements and relationship quality constructs, and related this to their understanding of the relationship between the oil producing company and host community. Semi-structured interviews, as the primary method of data collection were conducted with different community actors. The literature review, as the secondary method of data collection were primarily used as a tool to double check and validate the interview findings. Sixteen community actors provided their views and opinions of the relationship between the oil producing companies with the host communities in the region. This research study extended the application of relationship quality frameworks that were conducted in a developed economic environment such as the United Kingdom and United States of America to a developing economic environment such as Nigeria through the replication of these frameworks and re-testing their constructs and propositions in order to develop a detailed and comprehensive framework of relationship quality in the context of a business-to-community (B2Com) relationship in a unique commercial context. In addition, this research study uncovered the importance of mutual goal and culture of the community people in addition to pre-identified constructs (i.e. mutual benefit, communication, control mutuality) as the key determinants of relationship quality for the oil producing company when engaging the host community in the relationship building process. This research study also explored the research on dimensions of relationship quality subjecting its main constructs (i.e. trust, satisfaction and commitment) to a rigorous qualitative test. Doing this, the finding further emphasised some consensus between these dimensions of relationship quality. In addition, the developed framework highlighted the importance of including the relationship elements (i.e. actor bonds, resource ties and activity links) when assessing the quality of the relationship between business and its community. In conclusion, this research document recommendations (such as, the local community forming a complete and harmonious whole when relating with external bodies, the need for international oil and gas companies in Nigeria to gain adequate and appropriate insight and understanding into the role(s) played by each of the actors within the Niger Delta community, and the importance of oil and gas practitioners developing and maintaining a mutually beneficial relationship in the region) for various stakeholders within the NOGI.

Bakgrund: Väl undersökta psykometriska egenskaper krävs för att använda ett instrument. Instrumentet Reasoning 4 Change (R4C) begreppsvaliditet behöver stärkas. Den kan undersökas genom att jämföra det kliniska resonemanget hos extrema grupper vilka kan vara fysioterapeutstudenter med beteendemedicinsk inriktning i olika skeden av utbildningen. Utifrån den social kognitiva teorin kan fysioterapeutstudenterna ses som en viktig omgivningsfaktor för att hjälpa patienter utföra en beteendeförändring. Syfte: Att utvärdera begreppsvalididet för bedömningsinstrumentet R4C genom att jämföra det kliniska resonemanget med fokus på patienters aktivitetsrelaterade beteende och beteendeförändring hos fysioterapeutsstudenter i termin ett och termin sex mätt med instrumentet. Metod: En beskrivande och jämförande tvärsnittsstudie som utgår från data insamlad ifrån flera tillfällen. Totalt deltog 89 termin ett studenter och 47 termin sex studenter. Parametriskt oberoende t-test användes för att analysera resultatet. Resultat: Termin sex studenterna hade signifikant högre resultat på sju av åtta variabler mätt med R4C jämfört med termin ett studenterna, vilket innebar att hypotesen nästan fullständigt bekräftades. Slutsats: Begreppsvaliditeten kan anses som god för den undersökta populationen. För att generalisering till alla fysioterapeutstudenter ska kunna ske behövs vidare forskning. / Background: Evaluation of psychometric properties are necessary to use an instrument. The Reasoning 4 Change (R4C) instrument’s construct validity needs to be strengthened. It can be done by comparing the clinical reasoning by extreme groups which can be physiotherapy students with a behavioral approach in different stages of the education. From the social cognitive theory's perspective, the students can be an important environmental factor to help clients’ perform a behavioral-change. Aim: To evaluate construct validity for the R4C instrument by comparing the clinical reasoning with focus on clients’ activity-related behaviour and behaviour change by physiotherapy students in the first and sixth semester measured with the instrument. Method: A describing and comparing cross-sectional study with data collected from several occasions. A total of 89 first semester students and 47 sixth semester students participated in the study. Parametric independent t-test was used to analyse the results. Result: Students in the sixth semester had significant higher results on seven out of eight variables measured with R4C compared with students in the first semester, that indicate that the hypothesis almost is confirmed. Conclusion: The construct validity can be considered good for the evaluated population. To be able to generalize to all physiotherapy students more studies would be necessary.