Undergraduate psychology examinations from 48 schools were analyzed to determine the proportion of items at each level of Bloom's Taxonomy, item format, and test length. Analyses indicated significant relationships between item complexity and test length even when taking format into account. Use of higher items may be related to shorter tests, jeopardizing reliability. (SLD)

Recent political and social changes in South Africa have created the need for culture-fair tests for cross-cultural measurement of cognitive ability. This need has been highlighted by the professional, legal and research communities. For cognitive assessment, dynamic assessment is more equitable because it involves a test-train-retest procedure, which shows what performance levels individuals are able to attain when relevant training is provided. Following Binet’s thinking, dynamic assessment aims to identify those individuals who are likely to benefit from additional training. The theoretical basis for learning potential assessment is Vygotsky’s concept of the zone of proximal development. This thesis describes the development, standardisation and evaluation of the Learning Potential Computerised Adaptive Test (LPCAT), for measuring learning potential in the culturally diverse South African population by means of nonverbal figural items. In accordance with Vygotsky’s view, learning potential is defined as a combination of present performance and the extent to which performance is increased after relevant training. This definition allows for comparison of individuals at different levels of initial performance and with different measures of improvement. Computerised adaptive testing based on item response theory, as used in the LPCAT, is uniquely suitable for increasing both measurement accuracy and testing efficiency of dynamic testing, two aspects that have been identified as problematic. The LPCAT pretest and the post-test are two separate adaptive tests, hence eliminating the role of memory in post-test performance. Several multicultural groups were used for item analysis and test validation. The results support the LPCAT as a culture-fair measure of learning potential in the nonverbal general reasoning domain. For examinees with a wide range of ability levels, LPCAT scores correlate strongly with academic performance. For African examinees, poor proficiency in English (the language of teaching) hampers academic performance. The LPCAT ensures the equitable measurement of learning potential, independent of language proficiency and prior scholastic learning and can be used to help select candidates for further training or developmental opportunities. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Recent political and social changes in South Africa have created the need for culture-fair tests for cross-cultural measurement of cognitive ability. This need has been highlighted by the professional, legal and research communities. For cognitive assessment, dynamic assessment is more equitable because it involves a test-train-retest procedure, which shows what performance levels individuals are able to attain when relevant training is provided. Following Binet’s thinking, dynamic assessment aims to identify those individuals who are likely to benefit from additional training. The theoretical basis for learning potential assessment is Vygotsky’s concept of the zone of proximal development. This thesis describes the development, standardisation and evaluation of the Learning Potential Computerised Adaptive Test (LPCAT), for measuring learning potential in the culturally diverse South African population by means of nonverbal figural items. In accordance with Vygotsky’s view, learning potential is defined as a combination of present performance and the extent to which performance is increased after relevant training. This definition allows for comparison of individuals at different levels of initial performance and with different measures of improvement. Computerised adaptive testing based on item response theory, as used in the LPCAT, is uniquely suitable for increasing both measurement accuracy and testing efficiency of dynamic testing, two aspects that have been identified as problematic. The LPCAT pretest and the post-test are two separate adaptive tests, hence eliminating the role of memory in post-test performance. Several multicultural groups were used for item analysis and test validation. The results support the LPCAT as a culture-fair measure of learning potential in the nonverbal general reasoning domain. For examinees with a wide range of ability levels, LPCAT scores correlate strongly with academic performance. For African examinees, poor proficiency in English (the language of teaching) hampers academic performance. The LPCAT ensures the equitable measurement of learning potential, independent of language proficiency and prior scholastic learning and can be used to help select candidates for further training or developmental opportunities. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Diplomová práce se zabývá komplexním zhodnocením aktuální situace podniku XXX s.r.o. První část práce teoreticky obsahuje jednotlivé analýzy, které jsou využity v analytické části. Analytická část práce zhodnocuje externí, sektorové a interní okolí firmy. Dále stručně analyzuje finanční zdraví podniku. Na základě provedených analýz s přihlédnutím na specifika podniku jsou formulována doporučení a opatření vedoucí ke zlepšení současné pozice na trhu.

[pt] O treinamento de habilidades sociais (THS) pode contribuir de forma significativa para o desenvolvimento das pessoas, tanto no âmbito pessoal como profissional. As atitudes das pessoas frente a participar de um THS revelam o quanto elas são favoráveis a esse treinamento e juntamente com normas subjetivas e percepção de controle, podem explicar o comportamento de realizar efetivamente um THS. O objetivo desse estudo foi elaborar e buscar evidências de validade de quatro escalas para aferir: intenção comportamental, normas subjetivas, percepção de controle e atitude frente a participar de um THS. Participaram da pesquisa 808 adultos brasileiros, média de idade de 32,3 anos, 64 por cento mulheres. Os resultados mostraram instrumentos unifatoriais, com índices psicométricos satisfatórios. A atitude correlacionou-se positivamente com a intenção de fazer um curso de habilidades sociais, com cinco das seis dimensões dos valores básicos e com motivação para aprender. Normas subjetivas e percepção de controle correlacionaram-se positivamente com intenção comportamental. E intenção comportamental correlacionou-se positivamente com motivação para aprender. Reuniram-se diversas evidências de validade que corroboram a adequação dos instrumentos para aferir os construtos. Ainda, ficou evidenciado que as mulheres e as pessoas que já tinham participado de um THS mostraram níveis maiores na atitude frente a participar de um THS. O estudo aponta para possibilidades de uso dos instrumentos em ambientes acadêmicos e organizacionais. / [en] Social Skills Training (SST) can significantly contribute to people s development, both personally and professionally. People s attitudes toward participating in an SST reveal how much they see this training favorably, and along with subjective norms and perception of control, can explain the behavior of effectively taking part in an SST. The objective of this study was to elaborate and search for evidence of the validity of four scales measuring: behavioral intention, subjective norms, perception of control and attitude towards taking part in an SST. Participants were 808 Brazilian adults, with mean age 32.3 years, and 64 percent being women. Our results showed a one-factor instrument with satisfactory psychometric indices. The attitude toward SST correlated positively with the intention of taking part in an SST, with five of the six dimensions of basic values, and with general motivation to learn. Subjective norms and perception of control were positively correlated with behavioral intention. And behavioral intention correlated positively with motivation to learn. Evidence of validity was gathered to corroborate the suitability of the instrument to measure the construct. Also, it was found that women and people who had already participated in an SST showed higher levels in their attitude towards participating in an SST. The study points to the possibility of using these instruments in organizational and academic environments.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / In Chapter 1, I describe social competence, task competence and self-protection in an organisational context. In Chapter 2, I review key self theories and relate them to the self-competence construct. In Chapter 3, I review the research on self-competence to show that there is a need for a construct of social competence and self-protection. I discuss the limitations of three self-competence theories: Bandura’s (1977) self-efficacy theory, Williams and Lillibridge’s (1992) self-competence theory and Tafarodi & Swann’s (1995) self-competence/self-liking theory. In Chapter 4, I present my selfcompetence model. I raise the research questions and specify my hypotheses. In Chapter 5, I describe the construction of Social and Task Competence Scale. I present evidence of the reliability and factor structure of the Social and Task Competence Scale. I concluded that scale revisions were needed. In Chapter 6, I present evidence of the reliability, factor structure and predictive validity of the revised Social and Task Competence Scale and Self-Protection Scale. I describe the results of an experiment that investigated the interaction of task setting, social competence, task competence and selfprotection. I concluded that the measures predicted performance. In Chapter 7, I investigate the factor structure and reliability of the revised Social and Task Competence Scale and revised Self-Protection Scale. I provide evidence of the convergent and discriminant validity of these measures with reliable measures of self-competence, selfesteem, self-monitoring, personality and social desirability. In Chapter 8, I investigate the factor structure and reliability of the Social and Task Competence Scale and Self-Protection Scale after final revisions and show that these measures are acceptable for use in scientific research. I present evidence of their convergent validity with a valid andreliable measure of emotional intelligence, and describe experimental results that supported the hypothesised relationships between perceived task difficulty, social competence, task competence and self-protection and task performance. In Chapter 9, I discuss the implications of my research for self-competence theory, self-regulation and self-esteem and the prediction of social and task performance in organisations.

This diploma thesis is divided into two parts, theoretical and practical. The is a review om the topic of recycled asphalt pavement and recycled concrete and their possible use in road construction in the theoretical part. The individual chapters deal with describing these materials, their production, and their use in construction layers of pavements. In the next chapters the attention is also paid to their problematic features and foreign experience using these materials in pavements. In the practical part, laboratory samples of recycled asphalt pavement and recycled concrete and their mixtures with cement are tested. The main purpose is to verify the applications of these mixtures of recycled asphalt pavement and recycled concrete in the bonded base layers of the pavement. Another purpose is to compare how these mixtures individual properties with different proportions of both components and different amounts of cement will be different. In the end, the two mixtures with the best properties was selected and the modulus of elasticity was experimentally determined for the possibility of replacing the currently used base layers and the economic evaluation of this design was made.