A sequential dependency occurs when the response on the current trial is correlated with responses made on prior trials. Sequential dependencies have been observed in a variety of both perception and memory tasks. Thus, sequential dependencies provide a platform for relating these two cognitive processes. However, there are many issues associated with measuring sequential dependencies and therefore it is necessary to develop measurement models that directly address them. Here, several measurement models of sequential dependencies for both binary and multi-interval response tasks are described. The efficacy of the models is verified by applying them to simulated data sets with known properties. Lastly, the models are then applied to real-world data sets which test the critical assumption that the underlying processes of sequential dependencies are modulated by attention. The models reveal increased vigilance during testing decreases the degree of sequential dependencies.

Multilevel measurement models (MMM), an application of hierarchical generalized linear models (HGLM), model the relationship between ability levels estimates and item difficulty parameters, based on examinee responses to items. A benefit of using MMM is the ability to include additional levels in the model to represent a nested data structure, which is common in educational contexts, by using the multilevel framework. Previous research has demonstrated the ability of the one-parameter MMM to accurately recover both item difficulty parameters and examinee ability levels, when using both 2- and 3-level models, under various sample size and test length conditions (Kamata, 1999; Brune, 2011). Parameter invariance of measurement models, that parameter estimates are equivalent regardless of the distribution of the ability levels, is important when the typical assumption of a normal distribution of ability levels in the population may not be correct. An assumption of MMM is that the distribution of examinee abilities, which is represented by the level-2 residuals in the HGLM, is normal. If the distribution of abilities in the population are not normal, as suggested by Micceri (1989), this assumption of MMM is violated, which has been shown to affect the estimation of the level-2 residuals. The current study investigated the parameter invariance of the 2-level 1P-MMM, by examining the accuracy of item difficulty parameter estimates and examinee ability level estimates. Study conditions included the standard normal distribution, as a baseline, and three non-normal distributions having various degrees of skew, in addition to various test lengths and sample sizes, to simulate various testing conditions. The study's results provide evidence for overall parameter invariance of the 2-level 1P-MMM, when accounting for scale indeterminacy from the estimation process, for the study conditions included. Although, the error in the item difficulty parameter and examinee ability level estimates in the study were not of practical importance, there was some evidence that ability distributions may affect the accuracy of parameter estimates for items with difficulties greater than represented in this study. Also, the accuracy of abilities estimates for non-normal distributions seemed less for conditions with greater test lengths and sample sizes, indicating possible increased difficulty in estimating abilities from non-normal distributions. / text

Lic.-avh. Luleå : Luleå tekniska univ., 2005. / Härtill 3 uppsatser.

The diploma thesis is focused on measuring performance in social services, specifically in contributory organizations. The theoretical part deals with the definition and history of performance measurement as such, the description of the legal form of the contributory organization. Furthermore, the author deals with the definition of indicators, the description of their qualities in terms of the theory of performance measurement and models of performance measurement. In the practical part of the work, the author focuses on measuring performance in the field of care service and focuses on three possible and used indicators in the care service, namely the number of minutes / hours of direct work, the number of working hours and the number of clients. It analyzes these indicators in terms of the demands of performance measurement theory, describing the pitfalls associated with them in measuring performance in the care service and suggesting possible solutions. Keywords Performance measurment, social services, indicator, performance measurement models, balanced scorecard, benchmarking,

Ma thèse développe deux parties. La première considère que la psychologie expérimentale doit clarifier son positionnement épistémologique pour clarifier la validation formelle de sa démarche, sans forcément devoir se référencer au cadre de la Science Physique. A partir d’une réflexion critique, je propose de décaler le cadre épistémologique en psychologie et de poser clairement un cadre pragmatique-réaliste. La thèse essentielle défendue dans ce travail est : 1/ les propriétés mentales doivent être comprises comme des phénomènes émergents, ce qui implique que leurs analyses ne peuvent se faire ni au niveau neuronal, ni au niveau de la dynamique interne de processus cognitifs, mais nécessairement au niveau de ces phénomènes émergents ; 2/ pour analyser les propriétés mentales comme formes émergentes, la psychométrie a besoin d’user de concepts qui sont en tension permanente entre une objectivité et une intersubjectivité ; en conséquence, la psychométrie doit affirmer une démarche pragmatiste-réaliste, en rupture avec l’empirisme-réaliste classique ; 3/ une approche pragmatiste-réaliste, basée entre autre sur l’abduction, permet de dépasser les contradictions pointées dans la littérature académique sur les propriétés mentales et leurs mesures ; 4/ un cadre de mesure de propriétés mentales par des variables latentes devient dès lors possible si ce cadre est compris lui aussi comme pragmatiste-réaliste ; 5/ mais ce recours au pragmatisme-réaliste renvoie en conséquence une critique à la fois des modèles avec variables latentes développés dans la littérature académique et les usages sociaux de ces modèles. La seconde partie de ma thèse porte sur un cadre particulier de formalisation des variables latentes : le cadre formatif. Je développe des simulations Monte Carlo pour vérifier le spectre des paramètres permettant une mesure formative efficiente dans le cadre d’un positionnement réaliste-empirique. / My thesis considers that experimental psychology must clarify its epistemological position to clarify the formal validation of its approach, without necessarily having to refer to the framework of Science Physics. From a critical reflection, I propose to shift the epistemological framework in psychology and clearly pose a pragmatic-realistic framework. The main thesis of this work is: 1 / mental properties must be understood as emerging phenomena, which implies that their analysis can not be done nor at the neuronal level, nor at the internal dynamics of cognitive processes, but necessarily at these emerging phenomena; 2 / to analyze the mental properties as emerging forms, psychometrics need to use concepts that are in permanent tension between objectivity and intersubjectivity; accordingly, psychometrics must assert a pragmatic-realist approach, breaking with classical empiricism-realistic; 3 / a pragmatist-realistic approach, based among other things on the abduction, can overcome the contradictions pointed in the academic literature on mental properties and their measurements; 4 / a framework for measuring mental properties by latent variables becomes possible if the framework is also understood as a pragmatic-realist; 5 / but use realistic-pragmatic returns accordingly critical of both models with latent variables developed in the academic literature and the social uses of these models. The second part of my thesis focuses on a specific part of formalization of latent variables: the formative model. I develop Monte Carlo simulations to check the range of parameters for efficient formative measure as part of a realistic-empirical positioning.

La tesis trata de los modelos de gestión modernos de naturaleza causal, entre los que destaca el Cuadro de Mando Integral (CMI). En primer lugar, se presenta un análisis conceptual su supuesto central, las relaciones causa-efecto. En segundo lugar, se ofrece un análisis estadístico de los supuestos del CMI. En tercer lugar, a partir dos casos de estudio de ayuntamientos, se compara y analiza la implementación del CMI en las organizaciones. El análisis conceptual indica que la complejidad, la incertidumbre y el carácter dinámico del entorno pueden obstaculizar la elaboración de modelos válidos de causa-efecto. Los resultados del análisis estadístico no permiten confirmar la hipótesis de existencia de relaciones estables en el CMI. Finalmente, el análisis de los casos sugiere que las organizaciones pueden recurrir a diversas tácticas y escenarios para implementar el CMI y enfatiza la influencia que las rutinas y normas establecidas en las organizaciones ejercen en ello. / This dissertation address a number of research questions related to causal performance measurement models, such as the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). First, we provide an analytical discussion on the topic of the cause-and-effect relationships in these models. Second, we test of the BSC assumptions on empirical data coming from the dynamic enterprises. Third, we compare and analyze the BSC adoption by two city councils. The conceptual analysis indicates that dynamic, complex and uncertain environment and the cognitive limitations of managers may greatly challenge the elaboration of valid causal models. Our statistical results give little support to the existence of stable BSC links. Our case studies findings show diverse organizational rationalities behind the BSC adoption in organizations and the importance of the existing rules and routines.

The South African economy desperately requires an injection from small manufacturing enterprises that are productive and highly organized - hence the need to identify suitable productivity measurement approaches for use in these enterprises. The following research question was formulated: Which productivity approach( es) is (are) generally most suitable for small manufacturing enterprises in the steel and engineering industry of South Africa? The following directions of research were identified: (1) A literature search revealed 12 productivity measurement approaches. The theory of each is discussed in detail. (2) An empirical search was performed to establish the requirements of industry. This process is fully discussed. The results of both the literature and empirical searches were used to develop a list of criteria. These criteria were compared with each of the approaches, and only three were found to conform to these requirements. The results of this comparison provided the answer to the research question. / Department of Business Management / M.Com (Business Management)

The South African economy desperately requires an injection from small manufacturing enterprises that are productive and highly organized - hence the need to identify suitable productivity measurement approaches for use in these enterprises. The following research question was formulated: Which productivity approach( es) is (are) generally most suitable for small manufacturing enterprises in the steel and engineering industry of South Africa? The following directions of research were identified: (1) A literature search revealed 12 productivity measurement approaches. The theory of each is discussed in detail. (2) An empirical search was performed to establish the requirements of industry. This process is fully discussed. The results of both the literature and empirical searches were used to develop a list of criteria. These criteria were compared with each of the approaches, and only three were found to conform to these requirements. The results of this comparison provided the answer to the research question. / Department of Business Management / M.Com (Business Management)

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