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Ordinal coefficient alpha is a newly derived non-parametric reliability estimate. As with any point estimate, ordinal coefficient alpha is merely an estimate of a population parameter and tends to vary from sample to sample. Researchers report the confidence interval to provide readers with the amount of precision obtained. Several methods with differing computational approaches exist for confidence interval estimation for alpha, including the Fisher, Feldt, Bonner, and Hakstian and Whalen (HW) techniques. Overall, coverage rates for the various methods were unacceptably low with the Fisher method as the highest performer at 62%. Because of the poor performance across all four confidence interval methods, a need exists to develop a method which works well for ordinal coefficient alpha.

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The purpose of this research programme was to propose a new structure for judo coaching. Judo coaching predominantly uses traditional methods emphasising progression through belts rather than success in competition as the measure of achievement. The research programme examined this issue in four stages involving seven studies. Stage 1 involved a qualitative examination of five elite coaches on what constitutes an effective coach, leading to the initial development of a 39-item judo coaching scale. Given the importance of demonstrating measures are valid, stage 2 investigated the validity of the scale among judo players and coaches. Factor analytic studies on data from 260 (130 coaches and 130 players) yielded a 7-factor solution; 1) Coaching is about winning, 2) Attitudes to coaching at different levels, 3) Attitudes to judo structure, 4) Relationships with players, 5) Presentational issues, 6) Technical knowledge link to coach level, and 7) Coach-player interactions. Multisample confirmatory factor analysis found support for the invariance of the model between coaches and players, thereby showing that relationships are consistent between different groups. Stage 3 used a multi-method approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods. Responses to the judo coaching scale indicated perceptions of coach effectiveness vary as a function of being a player or a coach, and by level of participation (elite-v-non-elite). Qualitative results emphasise the importance of emotional control, an aspect not focused on in the interviews completed in stage 1. Stage 4 of the research investigated relationships between judo coaching scale scores and emotional intelligence. The study also investigated levels of emotional intelligence between elite and club coaches. High emotional intelligence is associated is proposed to be indicative of being able to manage the emotional states of other people and so should be a desirable quality in coaches. Results show significant relationship between judo coaching scale score and emotional intelligence factors, with further analysis showing that elite coaches reported higher emotional intelligence scores than club coaches. Based on the findings from the studies completed above, a revised judo coaching structure is presented. An elite structure should be based on players having specific performance targets including technical and tactical skills, psychological, and physiological, aligning judo more closely with the structure used in other Olympic sports. Coaches should also be given targets related to developing emotional control among players and instilling players with a self-belief to attain performance targets related to the above. Effective integration and usage of such personnel is required including developing and inculcating sport science knowledge into the practice of elite coaches, and then modifying this knowledge for use in the club system. It is hoped that findings from this research stimulates discussion, and action in the British Judo Association to revise the current system, which could lead to better judo coaching, better players, and ultimately enhanced Olympic success at London 2012.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Statistics and Actuarial Science / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The dissertation examines the use of background appeals in campaign messages. I argue that background appeals allow campaigns to meet two seemingly conflicting incentives in the same message—the incentive to reduce voters’ uncertainty about their candidate, and the incentive to remain ambiguous in their issue positions. Background appeals allow voters to know more about a candidate and develop more certainty about what he will do in office. At the same times, campaigns can achieve this goal while avoiding specific policy commitments, which, on controversial issues, might repel a significant part of the electorate. I test my argument by examining how campaigns plan on using candidates’ backgrounds by interviewing a sample of political consultants. The consultants I interviewed make the candidate’s background a top priority in developing a message plan for their clients. They want to show voters “who their candidate is” as a means of developing likeability and credibility with voters. As expected, campaigns use background appeals frequently, in nearly 80% of advertisements aired by US Senate campaigns in 2000 and 2002. But in these appeals, campaigns avoid specifically connecting their candidate to particular policies. Also, the appeal of ambiguity is so great that campaigns only use more specific background appeals when discussing the opponent’s background. Background appeals can have a positive effect on perceptions of a candidate. Using an experimental design, I vary the background of a mock candidate for Congress while holding constant his issue position. Respondents regard the candidate more favorably when they learn about his occupation than when they receive no such information. / text

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which two psychological variables, locus of control and metacognition, are correlated in high school students. In addition, the study considered the effects of such secondary variables as grade level, ethnic status and sex on locus of control and metacognition during the high school years. Data were gathered from 102 subjects enrolled in four high school English classes. The subjects completed a package containing two instruments. The Rotter Internal-External scale was used to assess locus of control. Low score values on this instrument are indicative of an internal locus of control, while high values typify persons having an external locus. An index of metacognition was provided by a researcher-prepared instrument composed of a cloze task in which each response was accompanied by a prediction of correctness. The correctness of responses, paired with the prediction values, provided for calculation of an index of metacognition which could subsequently be correlated with scores on the locus of control measure. The subjects completed a short questionnaire which identified such personal characteristics as their year in school, ethnic status and sex. Identification of these variables provided for an investigation of the effects of these factors on locus of control and metacognition. Results of hypothesis testing indicated a significant (alpha = .05) negative correlation between locus of control and metacognition. Subjects with an internal locus of control tended to have higher levels of metacognition. No significant differences were found between either mean locus of control scores or mean metacognition scores when these values were compared across the secondary variables of grade level, ethnicity and sex. The values of the correlation coefficient between locus of control and metacognition were not found to differ significantly when compared across grade level, ethnicity and sex. Based on the results of hypothesis testing it was concluded that locus of control and metacognition are correlates. The lack of significant differences when each variable was compared across grade levels, minority/non-minority status and sex led to the conclusion that the correlation between the primary variables is a general one, not dependent on linkage to one of the secondary variables investigated.

It was the purpose of this study to determine and compare the locus of control of selected seventh and tenth grade students attending the comprehensive high school (Gesamtschule) with those attending two of the traditional high schools (Hauptschule and Gymnasium) in West Berlin, Germany. Eight hundred twenty-nine students from three Hauptschulen, two Gymnasium and two Gesamtschulen participated in the study (males = 486, females = 343). A translated version of Rotter's Internal-External Scale of Locus of Control and a demographic questionnaire were administered to the students in the spring of 1981. The data were analyzed in reference to seven variables: school affiliation; grade level; sex; ordinal position; family size; socioeconomic status; and religious affiliation. Data analysis was performed by comparisons of means using one and two factor analyses of variance with the .05 level of significance held critical. Results revealed significant differences among secondary school students. Students at the Hauptschule, on the whole, were significantly more internal than students at the Gesamtschule or the Gymnasium. Taking grade level into consideration, seventh grade students were more internal than tenth grade students. Analyses of the results on the influence of sex, ordinal position and family size on locus of control did not produce significant differences. Although high socioeconomic status students in all schools had lower, more internal, locus of control scores, the difference was not significant. Analysis of variance of locus of control as a function of school attendance and religious affiliation produced significant differences across school types and significant interaction, but failed to produce significant differences between Protestan and Roman Catholic students as a whole. This study succeeded in providing a prototype for cross-cultural research of locus of control. It demonstrated the usefulness of a translated American assessment scale and established locus of control norms for a specific German population.

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