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<p>Personality assessments are useful measures for identifying an individual's characteristics and how he/she interacts with the world. The 15 factor Questionnaire Plus (15Q+) is an adapted personality assessment measure used in industry to determine the likely behavioral responses an individual will display in a particular setting. It can be used during the selection process to assess the suitability of candidates for a particular position at a company. As a result of unfair practices when using psychometric instruments, it is now imperative that these instruments meet the scientific principles of validity and reliability before it can be used. This is in line with the legistlation pertaining to discrimination and supported by the Health professions Council of South Africa. They encourage a plethora of research to confirm the utility of these measures. The present study was conducted at a South African financial services company where the 15FQ+ is used to identify suitable candidates for financial adviser positions. Through data mining techniques, predictive and criterion data were extracted for 125 financial advisers. The study explored the validity of the 15FQ+ when correlated with the perforkance Indices of the financial advisers. The study also determined whether there were race differences in the responses of the financial advisers to the 15FQ+ as well as their work performance.</p>

<p>Research suggests that parents&rsquo / feeding practices play a critical role in the development of children&rsquo / s tastes, eating habits, nutrition and eventual weight status. Thus if parental feeding practices play such a critical role, the question arises as to whether there is a difference in parental feeding practices that determine different developments in children&rsquo / s nutritional habits. Furthermore, feeding practices are possibly based on the nutritional knowledge of parents. The aim of this study was to assess the Body Mass Index (BMI), nutritional knowledge and behaviour of primary care-givers. This study followed the quantitative research paradigm. A sample of 147 staff members, who were primary care- givers of children at a University in the Western Cape was self-selected to participate in the study. Only primary care-givers of children were invited to participate. The primary care-givers were asked to complete two online questionnaires, the Comprehensive Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFPQ) developed by Musher-E-Eisenman and Holub (2007), and the General Nutritional Knowledge Questionnaire (GNKQ) for adults. Data analysis was done by means of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS17). Results indicated that the majority of participants were overweight (46% of the participants). Primary care-givers across all body mass index groups did not lack nutritional knowledge but variations in behaviour were found with regard to feeding practices. However similarities were found in the BMI categories in the areas of teaching about nutrition, pressure to eat at meal times<br /> and encouraging balance and variety.</p>

This study is a narrative self-study that reflects on the relationship between knowledge of assessment practice and theory and factors that lead to a change in practice. There are a variety of ways to use assessment as a teacher in school settings, and this paper explores how the researcher-subject developed and changed assessment practices to inform her teaching, to assist her students in attaining mastery of curricular outcomes, and to report student achievement to parents and school administrators. While tackling this complex topic, one discovers there is not one best way to assess student learning. Deciding to learn more about assessment demonstrating a willingness to try new assessment methods, to grow from successes and failures, and to look introspectively and critically current assessment practices, the result can be a more valid assessment of what a student knows and can do, and a more informed understanding of good teaching and assessment practices.

Preference assessments are an evidence-based procedures used to identify potential reinforcers for persons with developmental disabilities. There is a need to develop effective and efficient procedures to teach students and staff to conduct preference assessments, but only a small number of studies have been conducted and only two have used self-instructional materials. A recent study by Ramon et al. (2012) found that a self-instructional manual was more effective than a method description extracted from published articles for teaching university students to conduct multiple-stimulus without replacement preference assessments for persons with developmental disabilities. The present study extended this research by (a) adapting the self-instructional manual from Ramon et al. for online delivery, (b) adding video modeling as a teaching component, and (c) delivering the training package using a modified computer-aided personalized system of instruction (CAPSI, Pear and Kinsner, 1988). The training package was evaluated using a multiple-baseline design across three university students, replicated across three more students; and a multiple-baseline design across a pair of staff members, replicated a across a second pair. During the baseline phase, participants studied a two-page written description of the assessment procedure adapted from published studies. During the self-instructional manual phase, participants completed all of the following online: studied the self-instructional manual presented in eight units, viewed video demonstrations of the procedure, and completed review exercises scored by the computer program to demonstrate mastery of each study unit. Performance accuracy of each participant was scored using a standard behaviour checklist during a simulated preference assessment conducted following each phase. Clear and immediate improvement in performance accuracy was observed in all participants immediately following the self-instructional training package. Overall, students improved from a mean of 35% correct in baseline to a mean of 94% correct following CAPSI and staff improved from a mean of 23% correct in baseline to a mean of 87% correct following CAPSI. During retention and generalization assessments conducted from 7 to 17 days following self-instructional training, five of the six students and one of the four staff members performed at or above 85% correct (the mastery criterion). The findings showed that online delivery of the self-instructional manual plus video modeling has tremendous potential for providing an effective method for teaching a preference assessment procedure without face-to-face instruction.

Public participation is an important aspect of Environmental Assessment (EA) processes where the public can have an influence on decisions about development affecting them or their surrounding environment. A case study was conducted on the Wuskwatim Generating Station and Transmission Line Project EA process in order to identify barriers to participation faced by Aboriginal publics. Nine general barrier types were identified including: resource deficiencies, accessibility, information deficiencies, communication barriers, inadequate consultation, timing and scheduling constraints, lack of trust, lack of understanding, and coercion and control of dissent. The findings indicate most barriers faced by Aboriginal publics were procedural in nature and may be addressed through improvements in the design and implementation of participatory processes. A number of interrelationships were noted among barrier types suggesting that barriers to participation cannot be addressed in an isolated manner. Recommendations to improve future EA process and areas requiring further research are also discussed.

Currently no ideal method for the assessment of dietary intake of individuals or groups exists. All diet assessment methods have their limitations; much debate exists as to which method is best. The goal is to design an assessment tool that is comprehensive in that it reflects dietary variety but that is not too burdensome for participants. The FCM integrates an interview tool with a computerized program that quantifies food and nutrients in real time. The present study was undertaken to determine if the FCM is appropriate to use with community living older adults. This exploratory study used a mixed method approach to determine differences in recall between the FCM and three 24 HRs. Quantitative findings show significant differences between the methods in reports of energy, zinc, and calcium intakes and consumption of “other” foods. Qualitative findings show that the abstract thinking required to complete the FCM may be difficult for this population.

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