Disparate student academic outcomes and program access is a problem at Master of Public Administration (MPA) programs in the Northeast United States The current admission committee members at the case university did not know institution leaders' rationale for eliminating the Graduate Records Examination (GRE) criterion. The decision to exclude the GRE as an MPA admission requirement was enacted prior to their respective tenures. The program leadership expressed interest in exploring research-based admission criteria to enhance student access and predictive outcomes. Supported by critical pedagogy and humanist theories, the purpose of this case study was to investigate admission committee members' viewpoints about the GRE's predictive efficacy for MPA applicants. Two MPA admission committee members were purposefully selected to be study participants. Data were collected via semi structured individual and focus group interviews. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis for emergent themes. The study findings were: (a) GRE scores reduce applicant access to MPA programs; (b) student access to MPA programs may improve should universities use a broader array of non-cognitive admission assessments; (c) students with low GRE scores may still attain the MPA; and (d) the GRE Quantitative section is not relevant to assess the soft skills MPA graduates will need in the public sector. These findings can be used by the case university MPA stakeholders to implement a model of varied non-cognitive admission methods. This study may promote social change by providing MPA admission stakeholders with a broader selection of non-cognitive assessments to support increased rates of applicant access and program completion outcomes.

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Legal and scientific imperatives necessitate the validation of a psychometric battery before using it for the purposes of personnel selection and decision- making. The aim of this investigation is to validate a selection battery, i.e. the Ability, Processing of Information and Learning (APIL) Battery and Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM), used in selecting university bridging - course students. The empirical study is informed by a literature review focussing on the legal and scientific parameters of psychometrics within selection, the conceptualisation of intelligence and its relationship to academic performance. Hypotheses are posed regarding the predictive power of the selection battery and the effect of biographical factors on academic performance. Results indicate that the APU. Battery apd Raven's APM are both valid predictors of academic performance, ·although the former appears more effective. This investigation emphasises the influence of moderating factors, i.e. factors other than cognitive ability, on academic performance. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Adm. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The aim of this thesis was to investigate whether self-report measures of contact are valid for use in research testing the ‘contact hypothesis’. The vast majority of contact research has relied on the assumed validity of self-report methods of data collection (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006), even though the potential weaknesses of self-report methodology generally have been well documented. This reliance is necessary, as self-reports remain the only practical method so far developed of measuring certain of the facilitating conditions developed by Allport (1954/1979), and particularly of direct and indirect cross-group friendship (Pettigrew, 1998; Wright, Aron, McLaughlin-Volpe, & Ropp, 1997). However, if self-reports are not a valid method for measuring contact, the derived implications of a large portion of the research effort are potentially flawed. This thesis attempted to address this important oversight, using a variety of methods to investigate whether the use of self-reports in future research on intergroup contact is appropriate. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that self-reports of contact show considerable resistance to context effects, particularly in comparison with self-reports of the more subjective construct of attitudes. Studies 3-5 demonstrated that self-reports of contact agree with the observer-reports of a single observer who knows the target intimately – the spouse or parent. Studies 6 and 7 replicate this agreement through the consensually supported observer-reports of three close friends of the target, thereby reducing any variance due to individual response biases. Finally, studies 8 and 9 demonstrate the concurrent criterion-related validity of self-reports of contact, in that they are able to predict contact on a very large online network called Facebook, on which real-world rather than purely online friendships are primarily represented. These findings offer considerable support for the validity of self-reports as a suitable method for measuring contact. As self-reports remain the only method which has thus far proven suitable for the measurement of those aspects of contact which are essential for exploration of the contact hypothesis, this thesis presents a very heartening and optimistic conclusion and supports the continued use of self-reports in contact research.

Les adolescents qui décrochent de l’école secondaire arrivent difficilement à s’intégrer dans une économie axée sur le savoir et éprouvent plusieurs problèmes d’ajustement à l’adolescence et à l’âge adulte. Pour prévenir le décrochage scolaire, une étape cruciale consiste à dépister efficacement les élèves les plus à risque. Deux formes de dépistage axées sur des données peuvent être utilisées en milieu scolaire: une forme utilisant des informations auto-rapportées par les élèves à partir de questionnaires, et une autre fondée sur des informations administratives consignées au dossier des élèves. Toutefois, à notre connaissance, l’efficacité de ces différentes modalités n’a jamais été comparée directement. De plus, il est possible que l’efficacité relative de ces outils de dépistage soit différente selon le sexe de l’élève. Cette étude vise à comparer différents outils de dépistage pour prédire le décrochage scolaire, en tenant compte de l’effet modérateur du sexe. Les outils utilisés seront a) un questionnaire auto-rapporté validé (Archambault et Janosz, 2009) et b) un outil conçu à l’aide de données administratives, créé par une commission scolaire du Québec. La comparaison de ces outils est effectuée en termes de qualités psychométriques et d’aspect pratique pour le milieu scolaire. Pour ce faire, un échantillon de 1557 élèves (50% de garçons), âgé entre 14 et 18 ans est utilisé. Les résultats indiquent que l’indice administratif possède une capacité discriminante adéquate, mais inférieure à celle de l’indice auto-rapportée, jugée excellente. L’effet modérateur du sexe n’a pas été confirmé. Les avantages et inconvénients respectifs de ces deux modes de dépistage sont discutés. / Adolescents who drop out of high school often struggle in a knowledge-based, technologically complex society and experience many adjustment problems in adolescence and adulthood. To prevent dropout, a crucial first step consists of correctly identifying students who are most at risk. Schools can rely on two types of screening tools to identify potential dropouts: based on self–reported questionnaire or based on administrative data. However, the predictive value of risk indices based on self-reported data has never been directly compared to that of indices calculated from administrative data. Moreover, the relative efficacy of different screening tools could be different according to the student gender. The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy, for boys and girls, of two risk indices for high school dropout: a) a validated index based on a self-reported questionnaire (Archambault & Janosz, 2009) and b) an index based on administrative data and designed by a Quebec school board. The comparison of these two screening methods is made in term of psychometric properties and practicality for school practitioners. To do so, a sample of 1557 students (50% boys), between 14 and 18 years old is used. The results show that the administrative index has an adequate discriminant capacity, but that is lower than that of the self-reported index judged excellent. These results were not moderated by gender. The comparative advantages and disadvantages of both screening methods are discussed.

L’Inventaire des risques et des besoins liés aux facteurs criminogènes (IRBC) est un instrument utilisé depuis le début des années 1990 pour évaluer les risques de récidive des jeunes contrevenants québécois. Il est le produit d’une collaboration du Québec avec l’Ontario, survenue dans le cadre de travaux de recherche effectués sur les instruments d’évaluation du risque de récidive des jeunes contrevenants. L’IRBC est donc le seul instrument précisément conçu pour évaluer les risques de récidive des jeunes contrevenants québécois et il n’a jamais fait l’objet d’une démarche visant à tester sa validité prédictive. Le but de ce projet de mémoire est de tester la validité prédictive de l’IRBC. Des analyses de courbes ROC et des analyses de survie ont été utilisées pour tester les propriétés métriques de l’instrument. Ces analyses suggèrent que, dans l’ensemble, l’IRBC arrive à prédire la récidive de façon acceptable. Quatre des huit grands domaines associés à la récidive, communément appelé BIG FOUR, seraient des prédicteurs modérés de la récidive lorsque testés avec les données issues de l’IRBC. Il s’agit des domaines Antécédents, Pairs, Personnalité-Comportements, et Attitudes-Tendances. Des aspects en lien avec la fidélité de l’instrument témoignent toutefois d’irrégularités dans le processus d’évaluation, ce qui interroge le niveau de rigueur maintenu au jour le jour par les professionnels. Des aspects en lien avec la fidélité de l’IRBC demeureraient à investiguer. / The Inventaire des risques et des besoins liés aux facteurs criminogènes (IRBC) is a test used since the early 1990s to assess young offenders’s risk of recidivism in Quebec. It is the product of a collaboration between Quebec and Ontario which occurred in the context of research work on instruments used to evaluate young offenders’s risk of recidivism. The IRBC is the only instrument specifically designed to assess the risk of recidivism of young offenders in Quebec and has never been subject of a predictive validity study. The aim of this master project is to test the predictive validity of the IRBC. ROC curves analysis and survival analysis were used to test the metric properties of the instrument. The results suggest that overall the IRBC is capable of predicting recidivism acceptably. Four of the eight domains associated with criminal recidivism, commonly called BIG FOUR, would be moderate predictors of recidivism when tested with data from the IRBC. These are Antécédents, Pairs, Personnalité-Comportements, and Attitudes-Tendances. However, aspects related to the fidelity of the instrument show irregularities in the assessment process, which questioned the rigor maintained daily by professionals. Aspects related to the fidelity of the IRBC would remain to be investigated.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:38:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FabioHVCS.pdf: 377178 bytes, checksum: 09ec26bbc3b2869ee17c8b8c3044e7a5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-07-14 / The object of this study was to identify the possibility of predicting the involvement in traffic infractions from the results of the psychological tests carried out by psychologists specialized in the process of driver licensing in the state of Rio Grande do Norte (RN). The proposal consisted in identifying the penalty points recorded in national driving licenses (CNH) and identifying the corresponding tests and scores obtained, verifying if the average scores in the tests of drivers with and without an infraction record were significantly different and if there is any relation between the test scores and the frequency of the infractions. The results of the psychological instruments were collected in two moments the first being in the act of acquisition of the CNH and the second being during license renewal at the only certified clinic and at the DETRAN-RN. A population of 839 drivers of 14 municipalities were identified. 127 protocols of psychological tests were identified in the records of the DETRAN-RN (2002) and 76 at the clinic (2007), pointing out failures in the process of safekeeping of the psychological material, as well as in its retrieval from the record files. The sample was thus reduced to 68 drivers, all male, with age range between 18 and 41 years old, mean of 21,72 years old (DP = 5,24). 54 drivers were identified without a record of infraction, and 14 with a record. The latter committed 29 infractions. The penalty points recorded in their CNH ranged from 0 to 35 and the typical value of points (median) was zero. In the group with a record of infractions the number of points ranged between 3 and 35, mean of 10,79 (DP = 7,73). Differences were observed in the composition of the battery of tests in the two moments with the same subjects. The use of different tests to assess the same construct of the subject, first and second moment of assessment, did not allow for some analyzes with more efficient statistical proof. It was pointed out that five tests were not carried out and 118 were not corrected/analyzed. Significant differences between the groups were not identified with the psychological instruments used. In another attempt to establish differences between the means, the application of the independent t-Test evidenced a significant difference in the scores of the instruments of concentrated attention in 2002 (t = 2,21, gl = 25, p = 0.037) and of diffuse attention in 2002 (t = 2,37, gl = 24, p = 0.026). The results also did not evidence significant correlation between the scores of the tests and the penalty points of the infractions. Based on this study, it cannot be concluded with precision that the high or low scores are good criteria to determine that a driver will commit more or less traffic infractions, nor that the drivers with higher scores in the tests commit less infractions and vice-versa. Furthermore, the problems to find the instruments and the most basic data require a stronger monitoring on the part of the certified clinic and of the DETRAN-RN. / O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar a possibilidade de prever o envolvimento em infra??es de tr?nsito a partir dos resultados dos testes psicol?gicos aplicados por psic?logos peritos no processo de habilita??o de condutores no Rio Grande do Norte (RN). A proposta consistiu em identificar os pontos na carteira nacional de habilita??o (CNH) e identificar os testes e os escores obtidos, verificando se os escores m?dios dos testes dos motoristas com e sem registro de infra??o s?o significativamente distintos e se existem rela??es entre os escores dos testes e a freq??ncia de infra??es. Os resultados dos instrumentos psicol?gicos foram coletados em dois momentos - sendo o primeiro no ato da aquisi??o da CNH e o segundo na renova??o - na ?nica cl?nica credenciada e no DETRAN-RN. Identificou-se uma popula??o de 839 condutores de 14 munic?pios. Encontraram-se nos arquivos do DETRAN-RN 127 protocolos de testes psicol?gicos aplicados (2002) e 76 na cl?nica (2007), evidenciando falhas no processo de guarda do material psicol?gico, bem como de sua recupera??o nos arquivos. A amostra ficou reduzida a 68 motoristas, todos do sexo masculino, com idade de 18 a 41 anos, m?dia de 21,72 anos (DP = 5,24). Identificaram-se 54 motoristas sem registros de infra??o e 14 com registro. Estes ?ltimos cometeram 29 infra??es. A pontua??o na CNH variou de 0 a 35 e o valor t?pico de pontos (mediana) foi zero. No grupo com registro de infra??o a pontua??o variou de 3 a 35, m?dia de 10,79 (DP = 7,73). Observaram-se diferen?as na composi??o das baterias de testes nos dois momentos nos mesmos sujeitos. O uso de testes diferentes para avaliar um mesmo construto do sujeito, primeiro e segundo momento de avalia??o, impossibilitou algumas an?lises com provas estat?sticas mais eficientes. Evidenciou-se que cinco testes n?o foram aplicados e 118 n?o foram corrigidos/analisados. N?o foram identificadas diferen?as significativas entre os grupos nos instrumentos psicol?gicos aplicados. Em outra tentativa para estabelecer diferen?as entre as m?dias, a aplica??o do Teste t independente evidenciou uma diferen?a significativa nos escores nos instrumentos de aten??o concentrada em 2002 (t = 2,21, gl = 25, p = 0.037) e da aten??o difusa em 2002 (t = 2,37, gl = 24, p = 0.026). Os resultados tamb?m n?o evidenciaram correla??es significativas entre os escores dos testes e as pontua??es das infra??es. Com base neste estudo, n?o se pode concluir com precis?o que os altos ou baixos escores s?o bons crit?rios para definir que um motorista cometer? mais ou menos infra??o de tr?nsito, nem que os motoristas com maiores escores nos testes cometem menos infra??o e vice-versa. Al?m disso, os problemas para se encontrar os instrumentos e os dados mais b?sicos requer um acompanhamento mais aprofundado por parte da cl?nica credenciada e do DETRAN-RN.

Legal and scientific imperatives necessitate the validation of a psychometric battery before using it for the purposes of personnel selection and decision- making. The aim of this investigation is to validate a selection battery, i.e. the Ability, Processing of Information and Learning (APIL) Battery and Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM), used in selecting university bridging - course students. The empirical study is informed by a literature review focussing on the legal and scientific parameters of psychometrics within selection, the conceptualisation of intelligence and its relationship to academic performance. Hypotheses are posed regarding the predictive power of the selection battery and the effect of biographical factors on academic performance. Results indicate that the APU. Battery apd Raven's APM are both valid predictors of academic performance, ·although the former appears more effective. This investigation emphasises the influence of moderating factors, i.e. factors other than cognitive ability, on academic performance. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Adm. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

This study adapted and validated the CMC-1 questionnaire on Class Motivational Climate to the Venezuelan population. The questionnaire was developed in Spain by Alonso and García (1987) for students aged 11 to 15. The sample contained 1,690 students of both sexes in 7th, 8th, and 9th grades from 12 schools in Caracas (six public and six private). The factorial analysis detected a structure of six factors different from the one detected in the Spanish study. / En el presente estudio, se adaptó y validó para la población venezolana el cuestionario Clima Motivacional de Clase -CMC-1- desarrollado en España por Alonso y García (1987) para alumnos cursantes de la tercera etapa de EGB -11 a 15 años-. Constituyeron la muestra 1690 alumnos, de ambos sexos, cursantes la tercera etapa de Educación Básica -7', 8° y 9° grados- y procedentes de 12 escuelas de Caracas -6 públicas y 6 privadas-. El análisis factorial detectó una estructura de 6 factores diferentes a la detectada en el estudio español.