<p> The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of the Dot Counting Test as a measure of feigned cognitive performance. Archival neuropsychological test data from a &ldquo;real world&rdquo; sample of 147 credible and 328 non-credible patients were compared. The Dot Counting Test E-score cutoff of &ge; 17 continued to show excellent specificity (93%). However, sensitivity dropped from approximately 74% documented in 2002 to 51% in the current sample. When the cutoff was lowered to &ge; 15, adequate specificity was maintained (90%) and sensitivity rose to (61%). However, a third of credible patients with borderline IQ failed the test using the Dot Counting Test E-cutoff score, indicating cautious use of the test with individuals who likely have borderline intelligence.</p><p>

<p> Computer users with low vision must use additional methods to enlarge content in order to perceive content comfortably. One common method is a screen magnifier, which typically requires horizontal scrolling. Another method is through the web browser zoom controls, and with the coding technique, responsive web design (RWD), content remains within the browser window as it is enlarged. The purpose of the present study was to assess how the different magnification methods affect reading comprehension and visual fatigue of people with low vision when reading on a computer screen. After reading on a screen magnifier for about an hour, participants tended to report higher levels of nausea. Younger participants also completed the second half of reading passages quicker than the first with this method. This finding was likely due to a strong aversion for using a screen magnifier for extended periods of time due to the need to horizontally scroll.</p>

<p> Self-regulation is considered one of the most important operations of the human self and is correlated with multiple variables. The objective of this quantitative study was to explore the relationship between one&rsquo;s capacity to generate vivid visual mental images and one&rsquo;s capacity for both behavioral and physiological self-regulation. Fifty-three participants completed three assessments for this study: the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ-2) measured capacity for mental imagery; the Self-Regulation Questionnaire measured behavioral self-regulation; and a baseline assessment of heart rate variability using a HeartMath^&reg; device measured physiological self-regulation. When using bivariate correlations to analyze the data, the results revealed that a significant relationship existed between capacity for visual imagery and self-reported behavioral self-regulation. Using a more modest &alpha; level of 90%, there was also a weak relationship between capacity for visual imagery and the predetermined markers for physiological self-regulation. These results underscore the value of visual imagery and imagery vividness when working with individuals struggling with self-regulation and they open the door to exploring causality between the two. </p><p>

<p> This study aims to advance understanding of the impact of higher education on students&rsquo; career development in today&rsquo;s more diverse student body, and to revisit the career development model to meet the evolution of the labor market. A latent structure incorporating three indicators is developed to measure college-prepared career readiness, i.e. generic competencies, subject-specific skills, and degree completion status. Using a national dataset of the 2004/09 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS: 04/09), this dissertation examines college students&rsquo; career readiness and the impact on their labor market outcomes in terms of job status and income six years after entering college. The central research questions are: 1) what is the status of students&rsquo; career readiness acquired through higher education, and what are the individual and institutional factors that affect college-prepared career readiness; 2) what are the relationships between college-prepared career readiness and labor market outcomes, and what are the student-level and institution-level variables associated with students&rsquo; labor market outcomes. A series of two-level hierarchical linear regression models are developed to address the research questions. </p><p> Results suggest that American students&rsquo; college-prepared career readiness is associated with multiple individual factors, including gender, ethnicity and immigrant status, academic integration, majoring STEM fields, high school GPA and college entrance exam scores. At the institution-level, selectivity and school control are related to college-prepared career readiness. With respect to labor market outcomes, college-prepared career readiness plays the most important role among all variables involved in predicting students&rsquo; job status and job income, at both student- and institution-level. In addition, socio-economic status, college major, duration of employment, academic integration and college entrance exam scores are variables affecting job status at the student-level. For job income, gaps favoring male and students majoring STEM fields are found at the student-level. Mean SES and research emphasis are associated with job income at the institution-level. </p><p> The findings provide evidence for university-wide programs designed to boost students&rsquo; academic integration, and partnerships between STEM departments and predominantly minority or high-need school districts. Particularly, there is a need for special career services that assist females in STEM fields access to equal opportunities.</p><p>

Direct behavioral observation of children in a classroom setting has become a required assessment procedure by school psychologists in order to determine possible out of class placement, services, and/or interventions. However, the reliability of direct behavioral observations has come under criticism. The purpose of this study was to determine the generalizability of systematic direct observation across items. In this study, a partial interval and momentary time sampling observational system is used in which 102 second grade children are observed during math for on/off task behaviors for 15 second intervals for 15 minutes. Data from this study were collected from two Western Massachusetts Elementary Schools and two elementary schools located on Cape Cod. Generalizability theory was employed to determine how many 15 second intervals are needed for reliability. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to obtain the variance components for the three sources of variability (i.e., persons, items, items x persons, and residual). Data were analyzed in two ways. The first looked at a simple definition of on and off task behavior using a momentary time sampling procedure. It was determined that the majority of variance was attributed to error (88%). Person variance or the differences among individuals did not contribute much to the variance (12%). Items did not contribute to the variance. Gabsolute and Grelative were both .88 indicating high dependability. A second analysis explored a more multidimensional definition of on and off task behavior using both a momentary time sampling and a partial interval procedure. Similarly, the majority of variance contributed to error (82%). Person variance only accounted for a small portion of the variance (18%) and items did not contribute to the variance. Gabsolute and Grelative both increased to .93. Due to the large amount of error in both analyses D studies were not able to be conducted to determine the number of items necessary to obtain a dependable sample of behavior. Further interpretation of results from a behavioral assessment perspective, implications for practice, and future directions are discussed.

<p> Nonprofit organizations traditionally lack in areas such as financial resources, leadership development as well as a history of suffering from the effects of burnout. The concept of Emotional Intelligence has been associated with effective leadership skills such as employee motivation, job satisfaction and organizational loyalty. This study applied a non-experimental quantitative analysis to examine the models of Emotional Intelligence (ability and trait) and burnout as related to current nonprofit organizational leaders. Current nonprofit organizational leaders were assessed using the surveys Trait Emotional Intelligence Questioner- Short Form, Assessing Emotions Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory &ndash; General Survey. These surveys were distributed to identify the predictability of Emotional Intelligence ability from trait Emotional Intelligence, burnout, gender and age through the use of a multiple linear regression analysis. The multiple linear regression statistical analysis stepwise method found that trait Emotional Intelligence is a statistically significant predictor of identifying Emotional Intelligence ability of current nonprofit organizational leaders. The practical implications of this study provided nonprofit organizations the justification to create leadership developmental practices based in foundational psychological principles. The theoretical implications of this research identified that further scholarly literature be conducted on the correspondence of trait Emotional Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence ability as distinctly differing models that are associated through forecasting and prediction.</p>

<p> Depression is associated with higher severity of memory disorders and has been shown to predict lower levels of cognitive functioning in those diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or dementia. Yet, little is known about this association cross-culturally, particularly between Hispanics and European Americans.</p><p> This study demonstrates that although levels of depression differed significantly across diagnostic group, Hispanics and European Americans were similar in levels of depression at each diagnosis. However, only for the European American group did depression levels predict lower scores in confrontational naming and semantic memory. Additionally, exploratory analyses of the entire sample demonstrated that lower depression predicted less likelihood of MCI or dementia diagnoses. This could indicate that there is a need for intervention and treatment of depression, in particular for later stages of MCI and dementia, that should be culturally catered to individual ethnicities. </p><p>

<p> This study will help to clarify how interactions with dolphins affect people. It examines human well-being and experiential responses to scuba diving with bottlenose dolphins, <i>Tursiops truncatus</i>, and compares this to participation in a scuba dive without this interaction. Ninety-nine adults were split between an intervention and a control group in a mixed methods convergent parallel quasi-experimental design. Before and after the activity participants completed an emotional well-being scale (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule; PANAS) and only afterward received a researcher-designed qualitative questionnaire targeting peak experiences. For the PANAS, a <i> t</i>-test found a significant difference in negative affect change scores between groups, <i>t</i>(97) = &ndash;2.135, <i>p</i> = .035, <i>d</i> = 0.43. The intervention group experienced a larger decrease in negative affect than the control group at a small-medium effect size. Qualitative themes endorsed more by the control group are self-confidence; level of difficulty; novelty; transformation or overcoming; nature; and physical, mental, or emotional stress or discomfort. For the intervention group, more participants expressed tranquility; numinosity; and connection to nature, themselves, or the Divine. Themes mentioned approximately equally include ineffability, presence in the moment, comfort and safety, desiring to continue, good or extraordinary experience, and freedom. Twelve intervention and 9 control group participants appeared to have a peak experience, as defined by Maslow. This indicates that a peak experience during a scuba dive, with and without dolphins, is a relatively common occurrence. This study demonstrates the importance of rigorous studies in human-dolphin interaction research. Studies on human-dolphin interaction published to date have neglected to impose appropriate controls, which has led to the misattribution of all pre- to postintervention differences to dolphin interaction. Both groups have intriguing results; the presence of dolphins led to a larger decrease in negative affect and greater likelihood of tranquility, numinosity, connection, and peak experiences.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative research study is to analyze the relationship between individual cognitive, behavioral, and motivational characteristics and sales quota attainment for three industrial sales organizations in West Virginia. The intent of the study is to learn more about organizational efforts to implement an effective system for hiring to identify top performing talent in order to accomplish sales goals. From a human performance improvement perspective, this research study applies both the Behavior Engineering Model (Gilbert, 1978) and the Human Performance Improvement / HPT Model (Van Tiem, Moseley, &amp; Dessinger, 2012). The Behavior Engineering Model allowed the researcher to determine which individual characteristics are relevant for the purpose of this study. The Human Performance Improvement/HPT Model further allowed the researcher to define the issue of the recruiting approach of sales as a performance gap. Individual cognitive, behavioral, and motivational characteristics of 238 sales representatives were assessed using a psychometric assessment tool, the ProfileXT&copy; (Profiles International, I, 2007). A stepwise multiple regression was conducted to evaluate which ProfileXT&copy; scale scores were most effective at predicting sales performance. The only factor significantly related to sales performance was Independence, F (1,236) = 18.286, p &lt; .001, with a multiple correlation coefficient of .268, indicating that approximately 7.18% of the variance in sales performance could be accounted for by independence alone. Further analysis indicated no other significant predictor variables from the ProfileXT&copy; scales. The researcher concluded with recommendations for future research.</p>

<p>The petrochemical field is an industry seeking to increase efficiency, improve safety of workers, and lessen environmental impacts (U.S. Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board, 2007). One way to improve the performance of operators is to investigate their situation awareness (SA). Research has shown that SA is a predictor of performance (Durso et al., 1999). However, there is little consensus on how to measure SA. This study investigated two prominent techniques for measuring SA: the Situation Present Assessment Method (SPAM; Durso & Dattel, 2004) and the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT; Endsley, 1995b). These two techniques were examined for their psychometric properties in assessing SA among operators. The results of this investigation showed that probe-type SA techniques can be used to assess SA in this field. This especially applies to the SPAM technique, which was shown to predict performance, not intrude, and was preferred by a majority of operators.