Methods of ability parameter estimation in educational testing are subject to the biases inherent in various estimation procedures. This is especially true in the case of tests whose properties do not meet the asymptotic assumptions of estimation procedures like Maximum Likelihood Estimation. The item weighting procedures in this study were developed as a means to improve the robustness of such ability estimates. A series of procedures to weight the contribution of items to examinees' scores are described and empirically tested using a simulation study under a variety of reasonable conditions. Item weights are determined to minimize the contribution of some items while simultaneously maximizing the contribution of others. These procedures differentially weight the contribution of items to examinees' scores, by accounting for either (1) the amount of information with respect to trait estimation, or (2) the relative precision of item parameter estimates. Results indicate that weighting by item information produced ability estimates that were moderately less biased at the tails of the ability distribution and had substantially lower standard errors than scores derived from a traditional item response theory framework. Areas for future research using this scoring method are suggested.

As the content and format of educational assessments evolve, the need for valid and workable standard setting methods grows as well. Although there are numerous standard setting methods available for multiple-choice items, there is a much smaller pool of methods from which to choose when constructed-response items or performance assessments are considered. In this study, four standard setting methods were evaluated. Two of the methods were used with the simulation component of a licensing examination, and two were used with the multiple-choice component. The two methods used with the simulations were the Work Classification method and the Analytic method. With the multiple-choice items, the Item Cluster method and Direct Consensus method were employed. The Item Cluster and Direct Consensus methods had each been the subject of research on two previous occasions, and the aims of the current study were to make modifications suggested by earlier findings and to seek replication of trends found earlier. The Work Classification and Analytic methods, while bearing some similarity to existing methods, are seen as new approaches specially configured to reflect the features of the simulations under consideration in the study. The results for each method were evaluated in terms of three sources of validity evidence—procedural, internal, and external—and the methods for each item type were contrasted to each other to assess their relative strengths and weaknesses. For the methods used with the simulations, the Analytic method has an advantage procedurally due to time factors, but panelists felt more positively about the Work Classification method. Internally, interrater reliability for the Analytic method was lower. Externally, the consistency of cut scores between methods was good in two of the three simulations; the larger difference on the third simulation may be explainable by other factors. For the methods used with the multiple-choice items, this study's findings support most of those found in earlier research. Procedurally, the Direct Consensus method is more efficient. Internally, there was less consistency across panels with the Direct Consensus method. Externally, the Direct Consensus method produced higher cut scores. Suggestions for future research for all four methods are given.

Communication is an important component in care for the patients. As human beings, we are all mortal, thus, communication at the end of life is a topic that is significant for all of us. Research on communication with dying patients who suffered from incurable illness is relatively insufficient in China given the fact that palliative care originated in the West. Moreover, previous research focused more on the communication between patients and medical staff who shoulder the majority work for taking care of the patients. There is relatively little research looking into volunteers' experience in communicating with dying patients. Communicating with dying patients is the experience that can cause anxiety and stress. As patients with advanced and incurable cancers have exhausted their social contacts due to the prolonged illnesses and people's general anxiety to communicate with dying people, their shrinking social contacts will result in isolation, which will trigger emotional pain in addition to the physical pain. Volunteers come to assist in caring for them as a form of social support for the dying people, and their communication experience is valuable for any caregivers of dying patients. The researcher of the study directly engaged with the activities of a group of volunteers in Shenzhen for six months, doing ethnography and semi- structured interviews, so as to understand the practices and meanings of volunteers' communication with dying patients. The results showed that three main dimensions emerged, namely, isolation and connection, dependence and autonomy, discontinuity and continuity. Volunteers adopted various communication skills so as to make patients feel that they are still connected to others, enjoy certain degree of autonomy over their body like the healthy people and let them move on in the last phase of their life. They also suggest that there should be more investigations in the end-of-life communication

Despite many proposed theories (e.g., biological, learning, evolutionary) it is still unclear how individuals develop paraphilic interests. It is not even clear from these theories why paraphilic interests are much more common in men than in women. One possible factor affecting male preponderance is anxiety. Anxiety can potentiate sexual arousal in men and deter sexual arousal in women. It has been proposed that paraphilic interests (e.g., sexual interest in children, in violence) can develop when anxious feelings are generated by unconventional sexual stimuli. According to this hypothesis, when anxiety is repeatedly elicited by an unconventional sexual stimulus, and when anxiety potentiates sexual arousal in men, over time, paraphilic interests may develop. It follows that men (but not women) with paraphilic interests may be susceptible to anxiety disorders – an anxiety disorder would facilitate the hypothesized developmental process. Part 1 of this dissertation consisted of a meta-analysis of 29 studies to determine the link between paraphilias and anxiety. Part 2 was a large-scale file review of 1,048 patients referred to a sexual behaviour clinic to investigate the link between paraphilias and anxiety. Both the meta-analysis and the file review showed a link between paraphilias and anxiety, but paraphilias were also associated with many other psychological disorders. Therefore, there does not seem to be a specific link between the paraphilias and anxiety, casting doubt on the validity of the hypothesis tested in this dissertation. The discovery of a general link between paraphilias and psychological disorders, however, opens new avenues for studying the development of paraphilic interests.

While research has shown that persistence is an important predictor of entrepreneurial success, evidence also indicates that entrepreneurial persistence can lead to disastrous consequences. Therefore, it is crucial to manage entrepreneurial persistence to limit an entrepreneur’s exposure to failure and improve their likelihood of success. However, our current understanding of why entrepreneurs persist is fragmented, as the determinants of persistence have yet to be integrated in a meaningful way. As a result, our current understanding of entrepreneurial persistence lacks the clarity required to manage entrepreneurial persistence effectively. I propose that psychological ownership is a key variable that facilitates the integration of the four (psychological, project, social and structural) determinants of entrepreneurial persistence. I assert that psychological ownership can provide a psychological explanation for entrepreneurial persistence by positing that entrepreneurs persist in order to address the impairment of their self-concept that results from their venture’s failure. I then establish that psychological ownership can provide a link to project determinants by noting that psychological ownership enhances the expected utility of the course of action, which increases the likelihood of entrepreneurial persistence. Following, I articulate that collective psychological ownership can provide a social explanation for entrepreneurial persistence by arguing that a team of entrepreneurs persist to address the collective impairment of their identity that stems from receiving negative feedback. Finally, I demonstrate that psychological ownership can provide a link to structural determinants by noting that psychological ownership motivates entrepreneurs to increase their commitment to their venture following negative feedback in order to prevent investors from gaining control of their ventures. In order to test my hypotheses, I modified and extended Staw’s (1976) seminal research design on escalation of commitment to fit the entrepreneurial context and conducted mediated moderation tests on data collected from 229 entrepreneurs. The results of this study show that psychological ownership is positively related to commitment when controlling for the performance of the venture. Thus, the results indicate that psychological ownership predicts entrepreneurial persistence. In addition, the results suggest that there is tentative support for the notion that psychological ownership can link the four determinants of entrepreneurial persistence and provide a holistic explanation for why entrepreneurs persist. I conclude by highlighting the importance of psychological ownership in managing entrepreneurial persistence. I note that psychological ownership can be a useful criterion for investors to identify which entrepreneurs are likely to persist and go the extra mile to advance their entrepreneurial projects. In addition, I note that an effective measure to mitigate entrepreneurial persistence, when it is time to pull the plug on an entrepreneurial project, is to reduce an entrepreneur’s psychological ownership for their ideas or ventures. / Graduate

Bibliography: pages 119-139. / The purpose of this study was to identify the needs and problems that were experienced by rural cancer patients and to investigate the level of emotional stress that they reported. A further purpose was to interpret the main findings of the study according to the Biomatrix Theory. 496 Cancer patients who lived in rural areas of the Western Cape and 140 urban cancer patients were interviewed. The urban cancer patients formed a control group for comparison of the stress data. In order to consider the needs and problems of rural cancer patients from a widespread area, stratified random sampling of magisterial districts was applied and an attempt was made to interview all cancer patients who were living in each of the 21 magisterial districts sampled. Data on needs and problems were collected by use of a questionnaire, and the stress data was collected by administering a modified format of the Stress Evaluation Inventory (SEI). The findings of this study revealed that financial difficulties were the most frequently reported problem while transport difficulties and frustration of emotional support needs were also frequently reported. Patients who reported experiencing these problems also reported statistically significantly higher stress according to the SEI than those who did not.

Submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirement for the degree of MSc (Nursing) in the Department of Nursing Education in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Witwatersrand / Single parent family structure is becoming prevalent in South Africa as a result of divorce or separation. Venda, as part of South Africa is not immune from divorce, however traditional values have an impact on this issue amongst Venda women. Venda like other African nations that value their culture, is in transition to Westernisation. Marriage is greatly valued and is viewed as an avenue for security, social and emotional fulfillment. Girls are raised to believe that the dignity of the mistress of the house demands concealment of dissension within it. Venda women are expected to stay in and preserve their marriage no matter how difficult it becomes. Modern women who are increasingly better educated and more conscious of their rights, often feel they must challenge their husbands and may seek divorce when the marriage is intolerable. Although women in Venda are seeking divorce more frequently, conflict arises between cultural background and Westernisation. Divorced women are not acceptable, regarded as failures and are denigrated by society. Due to the kind of issues that divorce women in Venda are faced with, a survey assessing their coping skills was conducted on 50 divorced women with children and working in an industrial area at Shayandima in Venda. The demographic questionnaire and translated “Ways of Coping” scale (Revised) by Folkman and Lazarus (1984) as adapted for the purpose of this study was used. The results of the study reflected the different kinds of coping mechanisms used, i.e denial, avoidance, regression, counterphobia, rigidity, projection, self - destructive behavior, inventive behavior and dependency. Most of the women exhibited symptoms of depression, and were not aware of their mental condition. / WHSLYP2016

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