L’Échelle d’évaluation des dimensions du comportement - version parent (EDC-P ; Poirier, Tremblay , Perreault, Morizot, Maranda et Freeston, 1998) est un outil destiné à détecter les troubles du comportement (TC) chez les enfants d’âge primaire. La présente étude examine la validité relative à un critère de l’instrument à l’aide d’un échantillon d’enfants en TC identifiés en milieu scolaire. Ainsi, 77 enfants sont évalués par un parent. Par ailleurs, 69 professeurs évaluent les mêmes enfants à l’aide de l’EDC destinée aux enseignants (EDC ; Bullock, Wilson, Poirier, Tremblay et Freeston, 1993). Les résultats des analyses de sensibilité et de spécificité et l’analyse discriminante indiquent que l’EDC-P classe correctement la majorité des enfants ordinaires et en TC. Pour ce qui est des analyses de fidélité inter-juges, les résultats concordent avec ceux typiquement observés. Cependant, en les comparant avec les résultats d’une étude récente employant les mêmes instruments (Baribault, Maranda, Morizot, Poirier et Verreault, 1996), l’accord entre les parents et les enseignants s’avère décevant. En somme, à la lumière des résultats disponibles, les propriétés psychométriques de l’EDC-P apparaissent satisfaisantes.

Text in Afrikaans, abstract in Afrikaans and English / Navorsing toon dat beoordelingskale, gebaseer op spesifieke werksgedrag as geldige prestasiemetingsinstrumente gebruik kan word om die individuele ontwikkelingsbehoeftes van elke werknemer te bepaal. Die doel van die studie is die ontwikkeling en validering van 'n gedragsobservasieskaal vir senior bestuurders. Vir die doel is 49 senior bestuurders se prestasiemetings verkry op drie skale, naamlik 'n gedragsobservasieskaal wat ontwikkel is, die Werknemerbeoordelingskaal en 'n gedragsgeankerde skaal. 'n Pearson korrelasie van 0,74 is tussen die totaaltellings van die Gedragsobservasieskaal en die van die Gedragsgeankerde skaal verkry (p<0.01 ;N=49). Tussen die totaaltellings van die Gedragsobservasieskaal en die Werknemerbeoordelingskaal is 'n Pearson korrelasie van 0,75 gevind (p<0,01 ;N=49). Met hierdie resultate kan dus aanvaar word dat die Gedragsobservasieskaal 'n geldige meetinstrument van werksprestasie is en as prestasiemetingskaal gebruik kan word. / Research indicates that appraisal scales based on specific behaviour can be used as performance appraisal instruments to promote every employees' individual development need. The aim of this study is the development and validation of a behavioural observation scale for senior management. To achieve this aim 49 senior managers' performance scores were obtained on three scales, namely a behavioral observation scale which was developed, the Employee Rating Scale, and a behaviourally anchored rating scale. A Pearson correlation of 0,74 was obtained between the total scores of the Behavioral Observation Scale and the Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scale (p<0,01 ;N=49). Between the total scores of the Behavioral Observation and the Employee Rating Scales a Pearson correlation of 0,75 was found (p<0,01 ;N=49). With these results in mind, the Behavioral Observation Scale can be accepted as a valid measurement scale of work performance and can thus be applied as a performance appraisal instrument. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Comm. (Industrial Psychology)

The specific goal of this study was to determine the use of the physical classroom environment as a teaching and learning tool in an era of the implementation of the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI). This qualitative multi-case study focused on the learning principles and epistemological beliefs of primary teachers with reference to the physical classroom environment and the teaching process in regard to meeting the expectations set forth by the CCSSI. The researcher sought participation from a city school district in Northeast Tennessee which included a total of 8 participating teachers consisting of 2 each of grades kindergarten, first, second, and third. The Teacher Beliefs Survey (Woolley, Benjamin, & Woolley, 2004) was administered to determine teachers’ philosophical position regarding constructivist and traditional beliefs. Based upon responses, 8 teachers representing the most constructivist and most traditional teachers in each grade were selected for further participation. Teachers’ practices and perceptions of the role of the physical environment in the teaching and learning process including consideration of the CCSSI were further explored through interview. Each physical classroom environment was evaluated using the Primary Educators Environment Rating Scale (PEERS), a rubric designed to assess the use of the physical classroom environment on a continuum from traditional to constructivist practices (Evanshen & Faulk, under review). Observational field notes and photographs were collected in order to document environmental components of the physical classroom environment of each participant. Data was collected and triangulated through the use of the aforementioned methods. Through the data analysis process, the researcher found all participants to demonstrate support for the role of the physical environment in the teaching and learning process which was determined based on results of the interview in conjunction with findings of the PEERS and supporting photographic evidence. Each teacher’s personal experiences and philosophy of education was found to guide the physical classroom environment design and layout in various ways. While most teachers felt the CCSSI had little or no impact on their physical classroom environment, all shared in varying degrees the use of the physical environment as a tool to support students in developing 21st century skills.

There is an increase in the prevalence of obesity among people with schizophrenia thought to be due in part to the weight enhancing side-effects of medications commonly used to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia. Despite the deleterious health effects associated with obesity and its impact on quality of life and medication compliance, little is known about body composition and energy expenditure in this clinical group. The primary purpose of this thesis was to enhance understanding of body composition and energy expenditure, particularly resting energy expenditure in men with schizophrenia who take atypical antipsychotic medications. Unique to this investigation is the evaluation of clinical tools used to predict body composition and energy expenditure against reference methodologies in men with schizophrenia. Further, given the known links between obesity and physical activity, an additional but less comprehensive component of the thesis was a consideration of total and activity energy expenditure in addition to the interaction between psychiatric symptoms, side-effects of antipsychotic medications and physical activity also occurred as part of this thesis. Collectively, the goals of this thesis were addressed through a series of studies – the first two studies were related to the measurement and characteristics of body composition in men with schizophrenia, while the third and fourth studies were related to the measurement and characteristics of resting energy expenditure in men with schizophrenia. The fifth and sixth studies the utilised doubly labelled water technique to quantify activity and total energy expenditure in a small group of men with schizophrenia and explored the use of accelerometry in this cohort. The final study briefly considered the impact of psychiatric symptoms and self-reported medication side-effects on objectively measured physical activity. In the first study, thirty-one male adults previously diagnosed with schizophrenia and sixteen healthy male controls were recruited. Estimates of body composition derived from an anthropometry-based equation and from bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) using deuterium dilution as the reference methodology to determine total body water were compared. The study also determined the validity of equations commonly used to predict body composition from BIA in the men with schizophrenia. A further aim was to determine the superiority of either BIA or body mass index (BMI) as an indicator of obesity in this cohort. The inclusion of the control group, closely matched for age, body size and body composition demonstrated that there was no difference in the ability of body composition prediction methods to distinguish between fat and fat-free mass (FFM) in controls and men with schizophrenia when both groups had similar body composition. However this study indicated that an anthropometry-based equation previously used in people with schizophrenia was a poor predictor of body composition in this cohort, as evidenced by wide limits of agreement (25%) and systematic variation of the bias. In comparison, the best predictor of percentage body fat (%BF) in this group was gained when impedance values were used to predict percentage body fat via the equation published by Lukaski et al (1986). Although percentage body fat was underpredicted using the Lukaski et al. (1986) equation, the mean magnitude was relatively small (1.3%), with the limits of agreement approximately 13%. Linear regression analysis revealed that %BF predicted using the Lukaski et al. (1986) equation explained 25% more of the variance in percentage body fat than BMI. Further, this study also indicated that BIA was more sensitive than BMI in distinguishing between overweight and obesity in this cohort of men with schizophrenia. Because of the almost exclusive use of BMI as an indicator of obesity in people with schizophrenia, the level of excess body fat may be in excess of that previously indicated. The second study extended the examination of body composition in men with schizophrenia. In this study, the thirty-one participants with schizophrenia (age, 34.2 ± 5.7 years; BMI, 30.2 ± 5.7 kg/m2) were individually matched with sedentary controls by age, weight and BMI. Deuterium dilution was used to distinguish between FFM and fat mass. The previous study had indicated that while BIA was a suitable group measure for obesity, on an individual level the technique lacked the precision required for investigating body composition in men with schizophrenia. Waist circumference was used as an indicator of body fat distribution. The findings of this study indicated that in comparison with healthy sedentary controls of similar body size and age, men with schizophrenia had higher levels of body fat which was more centrally distributed. Percentage body fat was on average 4% higher and waist circumference, on average 5 cm greater in men with schizophrenia than the sedentary controls of the same age and BMI. Further, this study indicates that the use of BMI to predict body fat in men with schizophrenia will result in greater bias than when it is used to predict body fat in other sedentary men. Commonly used regression equations to predict energy requirements at rest are based on the relationships between weight and resting energy expenditure (REE) and in such equations, weight acts as a surrogate measure of FFM. The objectives of study three were to measure REE in a small group of men with schizophrenia who were taking the antipsychotic medication clozapine and to determine whether REE can be predicted with sufficient accuracy to substitute for the measurement of REE in the clinical and/or research settings. Body composition was determined using deuterium dilution and REE was measured using a Deltatrac Metabolic Cart via a ventilated hood. The male participants, (aged 28.0 ± 6.7 yrs, BMI 29.8 ± 6.8 kg/m2) were weight stable at the time of the study and had been taking clozapine for 20.5 ± 12.8 months, with doses of 450 ± 140 mg/day. Of the six prediction equations evaluated, the equation of Mifflin et al. (1990) with no systematic bias, the lowest bias and the lowest limits of agreement proved to be the most suitable equation to predict REE in this cohort. The overestimation of REE can be corrected for by deducting 160 kcal/day from the predicted REE value when using the Mifflin et al. (1990) equations. However, the magnitude of the error associated with the prediction of REE for an individual is 370 kcal/day. The findings of this study indicate that REE cannot be predicted with sufficient individual accuracy in men with schizophrenia, therefore it was necessary to measure rather than predict REE in subsequent studies. In the fourth study, indirect calorimetry (Deltatrac Metabolic Cart via ventilated hood) and deuterium dilution were used to accurately determine REE, respiratory quotient (RQ) and FFM in 31 men with schizophrenia and healthy sedentary controls individually matched for age and BMI. Data from this study indicated that gross REE was lower in men with schizophrenia than in healthy sedentary controls of a similar age and body size. However, there was no difference between the groups in REE when REE was adjusted for FFM using the mathematically correct method (analysis of covariance with FFM as the covariate). There was however a statistically and clinically significant difference in resting, fasted RQ between men with schizophrenia and controls, suggesting that RQ rather than REE may be an important correlate worthy of further investigation in men with schizophrenia who take antipsychotic medications. Studies five and six involved the application of the doubly labelled water (DLW) technique to accurately determine total energy expenditure (TEE) and activity energy expenditure (AEE) in a small group of men with schizophrenia who had been taking the atypical antipsychotic medication clozapine. The participants were those who took part in study three. The purpose of these studies was to assess the validity of a commercially available tri-axial accelerometer (RT3) for predicting free-living AEE and to investigate TEE and AEE in men with schizophrenia. There was poor agreement between AEE measured using DLW and AEE predicted using the RT3. However, using the RT3 to measure inactivity explained over two-thirds of the variance in AEE. This study found that the relationship between current AEE per kilogram of body weight and change from baseline weight in men taking clozapine was strong although not significant. The sedentary nature of the group of participants in this study was reflected in physical activity levels, (PAL, 1.39 ± 0.27), AEE (435 ±352 kcal/day) and TEE (2511 ± 606 kcal/day) that fell well short of values recommended by WHO (2000) for optimal health and to prevent weight gain. Given the increasing recognition of the importance of sedentary behaviour to weight gain in the general community, further examination of the unique contributing factors such as medication side effects and symptoms of mental illness to activity levels in this clinical group is warranted. The final study used accelerometry (RT3) to objectively measure activity in a group of 31 men with schizophrenia who had been taking atypical antipsychotic medications for more than four months. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between psychiatric symptomatology, side-effects of medication and physical activity. Accelerometry output was analysed to provide a measure of inactivity and moderate intensity activity (MIA). The well-validated and reliable standardised clinical interview, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was used as a measure of psychiatric symptoms. Perceived side-effects of medication were assessed using the Liverpool University Neuroleptic Rating Side-Effects Scale (LUNSER). Surprisingly, there was no relationship reported between any measures of negative symptoms and physical inactivity. However, self-reported measures of medication side-effects relating to fatigue, sleepiness during the day and extrapyramidal symptoms explained 40% of the variance in inactivity. This study found significant relationships between some negative symptoms and moderate intensity activity. Despite the expectation that as symptoms of mental illness reduce, inactivity may diminish and moderate intensity activity will increase, it may not be surprising that in practice this is an overly simplistic view. It may be that measures of social functioning and possibly therefore cognition may be better predictors of physical activity than psychiatric symptomatology per se.

Text in Afrikaans, abstract in Afrikaans and English / Navorsing toon dat beoordelingskale, gebaseer op spesifieke werksgedrag as geldige prestasiemetingsinstrumente gebruik kan word om die individuele ontwikkelingsbehoeftes van elke werknemer te bepaal. Die doel van die studie is die ontwikkeling en validering van 'n gedragsobservasieskaal vir senior bestuurders. Vir die doel is 49 senior bestuurders se prestasiemetings verkry op drie skale, naamlik 'n gedragsobservasieskaal wat ontwikkel is, die Werknemerbeoordelingskaal en 'n gedragsgeankerde skaal. 'n Pearson korrelasie van 0,74 is tussen die totaaltellings van die Gedragsobservasieskaal en die van die Gedragsgeankerde skaal verkry (p<0.01 ;N=49). Tussen die totaaltellings van die Gedragsobservasieskaal en die Werknemerbeoordelingskaal is 'n Pearson korrelasie van 0,75 gevind (p<0,01 ;N=49). Met hierdie resultate kan dus aanvaar word dat die Gedragsobservasieskaal 'n geldige meetinstrument van werksprestasie is en as prestasiemetingskaal gebruik kan word. / Research indicates that appraisal scales based on specific behaviour can be used as performance appraisal instruments to promote every employees' individual development need. The aim of this study is the development and validation of a behavioural observation scale for senior management. To achieve this aim 49 senior managers' performance scores were obtained on three scales, namely a behavioral observation scale which was developed, the Employee Rating Scale, and a behaviourally anchored rating scale. A Pearson correlation of 0,74 was obtained between the total scores of the Behavioral Observation Scale and the Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scale (p<0,01 ;N=49). Between the total scores of the Behavioral Observation and the Employee Rating Scales a Pearson correlation of 0,75 was found (p<0,01 ;N=49). With these results in mind, the Behavioral Observation Scale can be accepted as a valid measurement scale of work performance and can thus be applied as a performance appraisal instrument. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Comm. (Industrial Psychology)

Les maladies neurodégénératives, telles que la maladie d'Alzheimer (AD) et Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT), sont des maladies complexes. Leurs mécanismes pathologiques ne sont toujours pas bien compris et les progrès dans la recherche et le développement de nouvelles thérapies potentielles modifiant la maladie sont lents. Les données catégorielles, comme les échelles de notation et les données sur les études d'association génomique (GWAS), sont largement utilisées dans les maladies neurodégénératives dans le diagnostic, la prédiction et le suivi de la progression. Il est important de comprendre et d'interpréter ces données correctement si nous voulons améliorer la recherche sur les maladies neurodégénératives. Le but de cette thèse est d'utiliser la théorie psychométrique moderne: théorie de la réponse d’item pour analyser ces données catégoriques afin de mieux comprendre les maladies neurodégénératives et de faciliter la recherche de médicaments correspondante. Tout d'abord, nous avons appliqué l'analyse de Rasch afin d'évaluer la validité du score de neuropathie Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMTNS), un critère important d'évaluation principal pour les essais cliniques de la maladie de CMT. Nous avons ensuite adapté le modèle Rasch à l'analyse des associations génétiques pour identifier les gènes associés à la maladie d'Alzheimer. Cette méthode résume les génotypes catégoriques de plusieurs marqueurs génétiques tels que les polymorphisme nucléotidique (SNPs) en un seul score génétique. Enfin, nous avons calculé l'information mutuelle basée sur la théorie de réponse d’item pour sélectionner les items sensibles dans ADAS-cog, une mesure de fonctionnement cognitif la plus utilisées dans les études de la maladie d'Alzheimer, afin de mieux évaluer le progrès de la maladie. / Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT), are complex diseases. Their pathological mechanisms are still not well understood, and the progress in the research and development of new potential disease-modifying therapies is slow. Categorical data like rating scales and Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) data are widely utilized in the neurodegenerative diseases in the diagnosis, prediction and progression monitor. It is important to understand and interpret these data correctly if we want to improve the disease research. The purpose of this thesis is to use the modern psychometric Item Response Theory to analyze these categorical data for better understanding the neurodegenerative diseases and facilitating the corresponding drug research. First, we applied the Rasch analysis in order to assess the validity of the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Neuropathy Score (CMTNS), a main endpoint for the CMT disease clinical trials. We then adapted the Rasch model to the analysis of genetic associations and used to identify genes associated with Alzheimer’s disease by summarizing the categorical genotypes of several genetic markers such as Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) into one genetic score. Finally, to select sensitive items in the most used psychometrical tests for Alzheimer’s disease, we calculated the mutual information based on the item response model to evaluate the sensitivity of each item on the ADAS-cog scale.

This thesis reports on the findings of a study to validate an assessment scale for writing in an Open Distance Learning (ODL) context by first-year students in their responses to English literary texts. The study involved the interrogation of an existing scale, adapted from Jacobs et al. (1981), which was being used for the Foundations in English Literary Studies (ENG1501) module at the University of South Africa. Despite the credibility of the original scale, the modified version had been used in language- and literature-based courses in the English Studies Department since 1998 and had not been updated or empirically tested in the context of the target group. Thus, the gap that this current study addressed was the need for a valid rating scale that takes into account the complexities of literature teaching and ODL in the current South African university environment. This thesis includes a review of the debate on validity and the validation of rating scales both internationally and in South Africa, the ODL environment, and the assessment of assignments based on literary texts, particularly in the multicultural South African context. The methodology included research of both a quantitative and a qualitative nature. The outcome was an empirically-validated scale that should contribute to the quest for accuracy in assessing academic writing and meet the formative and summative assessment needs of the target group / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)

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