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Older people have more functional limitations than younger people and they form a segment of the population that is more dependent on mobility devices than other age groups. Since they spend most of their time at home, their dwelling is an important environmental arena for performing everyday activities. Barriers in the environment can limit or hinder activity performance. Therefore, older people are sensitive to the accessibility of the environment. To ensure housing accessibility, it is critical that professionals are provided with valid and reliable assessment instruments to identify accessibility problems before the planning of housing intervention strategies. It is also critical that housing standards addressing accessibility intended to accommodate people with functional limitations are valid in the sense that their definitions truly support accessibility. However, there is a paucity of valid and reliable assessment instruments targeting housing accessibility, and in-depth analysis of factors potentially impacting on reliability in complex assessment situations is remarkably absent. Moreover, the knowledge base informing the housing standards appears to be vague. We may therefore reasonably question the validity of the housing standards addressing accessibility. This thesis addresses housing accessibility methodology in general and the reliability of assessment and the validity of standards targeting older people with functional limitations and a dependence on mobility devices in particular. The overarching aim of the thesis was to develop and explore methods applicable for improving housing accessibility assessments and to explore feasible approaches to create housing standards that truly support accessibility and accommodate older people. A main methodological contribution of the present thesis is the development of the content-valid Nordic HE instrument which is deemed sufficiently reliable in Nordic countries, and the recommendations for in-depth examinati

Background. In Chile as in other Latin American countries the introduction of the Adversarial Model in the Judicial System increased the need for the systematization of the evaluation of psychopathy, thus making necessary the translation, adaptation and revision of the psychometric properties of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist Revised.Objective. To evaluate aspects of the reliability and validity of the Chilean version of the PCL-R in Chilean male inmate population.Materials and methods. The PCL-R was translated and backtranslated with the authorization of the author and of the Editorial House. A sample of 293 inmates was constituted and the respective informed consent obtained. Several analyses were made including a blind comparison of the diagnosis made with the PCL-R and the one made by the Technical Area of Gendarmería of Chile.Results. The internal congruence measured with Crombach Alfa was: total =0,91; F1= 0,86; F2 = 0,87; F3 = 0,67; F4= 0,77. Kappa value for both types of evaluations = 0,804; p < 0,001. Statistically significant association between psychopathy and condition of reoffending (OR = 12,8; 95 % IC = 5; 33). Confirmatory factor analysis supports the four factor model of psychopathy.Conclusion. The findings support the validity of the Chilean version of the PCL-R and the factor analysis confirmed, for the Chilean sample, the four factors solution of the construct of psychopathy measured by the PCL-R., Antecedentes. En Chile, al igual que en otros países latinoamericanos, diversas modificaciones judiciales y el interés de los profesionales en sistematizar sus métodos de evaluación en psicopatía promovieron la traducción, adaptación y revisión de las propiedades psicométricas de la Hare Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R).Objetivo. Evaluar aspectos de la confiabilidad y validez de la versión chilena del PCL-R en población forense masculina chilena.Material y métodos. Se realizó traducción y retrotraducción de la escala con la autorización del autor y editorial; se constituyó una muestra de 293 sujetos varones penados que aceptaron participar en la investigación. Entre otros análisis, se contrastó el diagnóstico obtenido a ciegas con la PCL-R con el aportado por el equipo técnico de Gendarmería de Chile.Resultados. La congruencia interna medida con Alfa de Cronbach fue la siguiente: total =0,91; F1= 0,86; F2 = 0,87; F3 = 0,67; F4= 0,77. Valor Kappa ambos tipos de evaluaciones = 0,804; p < 0,001. Se obtuvo significativa asociación entre condición psicópata y reincidente (OR = 12,8; 95 % IC = 5; 33). El análisis factorial confirmatorio resultó compatible con el modelo de cuatro factores.Conclusión. Los resultados orientan a sostener la validez de la versión chilena de la PCL-R y la solución de cuatro factores para el constructo de Psicopatía medido con el instrumento.

Federal legislation such as No Child Left Behind mandated that students with disabilities be included in accountability standards, creating an important responsibility to fairly assess all students, even those with disabilities. Consequently, a sense of urgency was placed on the entire educational system to ensure that these students had a fair chance at being adequately tested, to ensure equity and access. Alternate assessments and accommodations are a part of access for these students in the testing realm. This study, which centered around fairness, focused on psychometrically comparing three subject exams administered to eighth grade students who received accommodations as opposed to those who did not. Covariance matrices, dimensionality, factor structure, and item functioning were all compared across groups to examine invariance and show that the use of accommodations did not affect the validity or fairness of the testing program. Analyses revealed that for each of the tests, there was a significant difference in the covariance matrices, but unidimensionality held across groups implying that the dimensionality structure was the same for both groups. The factor structure was tested only for the math exam and the one-factor structure held for accommodated and non-accommodated students, again confirming unidimensionality. Despite consistent dimensions being measured for both groups, DIF did manifest but without actual test items it could not be attributed to bias.

With the need for larger and larger banks of items to support adaptive testing and to meet security concerns, large-scale item generation is a requirement for many certification and licensure programs. As part of the mass production of items, it is critical that the difficulty and the discrimination of the items be known without the need for pretesting. One approach to solving this need is item templating, an assessment engineering (AE) approach that is intended to control item difficulty and other psychometric operating characteristics for a class of items developed from each template. There are important advantages that can accrue to having exchangeable items that operate in a psychometrically similar manner in terms of item bank development (reduced time and lower cost to develop), pretesting efficiency, test security, and so forth.This study describes one method to use AE and item templates in a licensure context to yield sets of items with statistical characteristics that match the needs of the program with reduced need for pilot testing. It is shown that item variants developed in this method fit the Rasch calibration/scoring model as well, if not better than items developed in traditional ways and that the item variants from the same template yield similar classical and IRT statistics. One key result of the study is a method to use AE to evaluate the performance of item writers over time.

Current clinical and epidemiological research provides support for a continuum of bipolar psychopathology: a bipolar spectrum that ranges from subclinical manifestations to full-blown bipolar disorders. The present research examined the validity of the Hypomanic Personality Scale (HPS) as a measure of bipolar spectrum psychopathology in a nonclinically identified sample of young adults. In the first study, participants were interviewed and completed questionnaires regarding psychopathology, personality, and functioning. The HPS was positively associated with DSM-IV-TR bipolar disorders, bipolar spectrum disorders, the presence of hypomania or hyperthymia, depressive symptoms, poor psychosocial functioning, cyclothymia, irritability, and symptoms of borderline personality disorder. The second study employed experience sampling methodology to examine the expression of bipolar spectrum psychopathology in daily life. Consistent with the hypotheses, the HPS was associated with negative affect, thought disturbance, risky behavior, and measures of grandiosity. Individuals who scored highly on the HPS were more reactive in negative affect in response to stress and how positively they viewed their situation, and experienced difficulty concentrating regardless of how they viewed their situation. The HPS accounted for variance in bipolar spectrum psychopathology over and above the normal personality dimensions of extraversion and openness to experience. Furthermore, the findings for the HPS remained independent of DSM-IV-TR bipolar disorders--consistent with the hypothesis that the spectrum of bipolar psychopathology extends beyond traditional clinical disorders to include subclinical manifestations. Together, these studies provide further validation of the HPS as a measure of bipolar spectrum psychopathology.

Keperluan untuk membangunkan instrumen pengukuran psikologi keusahawanan belia Malaysia bagi menentukan ketepatan untuk membuat pemilihan belia-belia menceburi dalam bidang keusahawanan adalah ketara. Instrumen pengukuran psikologi merupakan kaedah terbaik kerana berupaya memberi penilaian yang tepat dan mendalam berbanding dengan kaedah lain. Kajian ini dilaksanakan untuk memenuhi keperluan objektif kajian iaitu membangunkan instrumen pengukuran psikologi keusahawanan belia Malaysia mengikut budaya dan acuan tempatan. Penyelidikan ini menggunakan kaedah penyelidikan kualitatif dan kuantitatif berlandaskan prosedur standard yang membolehkannya kurang dipengaruhi bias. Enam dimensi dan 16 sub-dimensi telah dihasilkan melalui pendekatan kualitatif. Dimensi dan sub-dimensi yang terdapat di dalam instrumen ini mengandungi niat untuk berkeusahawanan, minat untuk berkeusahawanan, kompetensi keusahawanan,personaliti keusahawanan, religiositi keusahawanan dan efikasi keusahawanan yang ada kesahan dan kebolehpercayaan yang tinggi. Kajian mendapati kesahan kandungan instrumen pengukuran psikologi adalah tinggi apabila 89 peratus item di dalam instrumen ini telah dipersetujui oleh arbiter. Sejumlah 80 item telah dianalisis dan telah memperoleh nilai alpha Cronbach bagi setiap item di antara .946 hingga .948. Dari segi kebolehpercayaan, instrumen ini telah memperoleh nilai alpha Cronbach .948 dan nilai standardized item alpha .950 iaitu nilai alpha if item deleted lebih kecil daripada nilai standardized item alpha. Hasil kajian mendapati kesemua 80 item di dalam instrumen pengukuran psikologi keusahawanan belia Malaysia adalah bennutu dan boleh dipercayai. Adalah dicadangkan kepada pihak agensi pembangunan usahawan di negara ini untuk mengaplikasikan instrumen ini bagi memilih indlvidu yang tepat untuk menceburi dalam bidang keusahawanan.

Sammenfatning Baggrund og formål: Apopleksisygdommen er ansvarlig for flest tilfælde af invalidering blandt voksne i eget hjem. I Danmark alene lever godt 50.000 mennesker med følgerne efter apopleksi. En følge kan være reduceret evne til at kommunikere, afasi. Forebyggelse kan reducere antallet af nye tilfælde og følgerne efter sygdommen. Livskvalitet ved kronisk sygdom har voksende bevågenhed. Rehabilitering medvirker til at patienten kan blive fysisk, psykisk og socialt fungerende på et niveau, men sygdommens indvirken på oplevelsen af helbredsrelateret livskvalitet er i Danmark ikke undersøgt med sygdomsspecifikke instrumenter. Patienter med afasi udelukkes som regel fra undersøgelser, der kræver intakt tale og forståelse. Afhandlingens overordnede mål er at tilvejebringe et instrument, som kan anvendes til at måle helbredsrelateret livskvalitet efter apopleksi inkl. afasi. Metode og materiale: Afhandlingen har en kvantitativ tilgang. Et nordamerikansk instrument, Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale, version 2.0, SSQOL © (copyright Linda S. Williams), er blevet oversat og kulturelt bearbejdet til dansk i overensstemmelse med anerkendt systematik i studie I. Instrumentet dækker med 49 items 12 domæner med fysisk, socialt og mentalt fokus samt 13 items, der dækker en vurdering af domænerne og livskvaliteten sammenlignet med før apopleksien. Instrumentets psykometriske egenskaber er blevet testet ved hjælp af tre studiepopulationer rekrutteret dels retrospektivt, dels konsekutivt. I studie II blev reliabilitet og validitet undersøgt, og i studie III responsivitet og sensitivitet. Afprøvningerne er foretaget med referenceformularer som eksterne kriterier i form af etablerede generiske skalaer. I studie IV er afprøvet en proxy-version tiltænkt patienter, som er ude af stand til selv at udfylde skemaet eller som ikke er i stand til at kommunikere tilstrækkeligt. Afprøvningen blev udført af en nærtstående udpeget af patienten. I studie V blev en gruppe let ramte pati, Background and aim: Stroke is most frequently the cause of adult disability. In Denmark more than 50.000 people suffer from the sequels of stroke. One of them may be aphasia, i.e. reduced ability to communicate. Primary and secondary prevention may reduce the incidence and the severity of stroke. The interest in quality of life with a chronic disease is increasing. Rehabilitation efforts are targeted for physical, mental and social function but the impact on health related quality of life after stroke has not been studied with stroke specific instruments. Aphasic patients are normally excluded from studies where communicative skills are required. The aim of this thesis is to develop an instrument suitable for measuring health related quality of life after stroke. Methods and material: The design of the thesis is quantitative. In study I Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale, version 2.0, SSQOL © (copyright Linda S. Williams), an American instrument recently developed, was translated and culturally adapted to Danish according to established guidelines. With 49 items SSQOL covers 12 domains comprising physical and mental issues. Thirteen items covers an appraisal of each domain compared to pre stroke status and overall quality of life. Psychometric properties was examined by studying three samples of stroke survivors. Study II and III examined reliability, validity and responsiveness. Established generic scales were used as external criteria. Study IV tested a proxy-version meant for stroke patients with language impairment or patients who are unable to fill in a questionnaire. The patients chose the proxies. Study V provided health related quality of life in a group of mildly affected patients after stroke or transient ischemic attack, TIA. Significant covariates with deteriorated health related quality of life were studied. Data were analyzed with mean and standard deviations, median and range, proportions correlations and logistic regression. Results: The

Three studies illustrated the uses of personality assessment methods for selection of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control specialists (ATCSs). Study 1, using a select-out approach to the problems of screen, compared the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF) results with NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R) results from 122 student ATCS participants. Results suggest that the current approach to personality assessment during the initial medical examination focuses primarily on the extent to which the applicant reports symptoms consistent with neurotic, inefficient, and perhaps argumentative characteristics. The remaining two studies consider select-in strategies looking at the psychometric issues of reliability, specificity, and validity. Study 2 examined the NEO PI-R along with the Experiences Questionnaire (EQ) subtests of the Air Traffic-Selection and Training (AT-SAT) battery scores., Prepared in collaboration with Univ. of Northern Colorado, Dept. of Psychology, Greeley, CO.

The Computerized Adaptive Screening Test (CAST) was designed to predict performance on the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT). It includes two subtests: Word Knowledge (WK) and Arithmetic Reasoning (AR). CAST has been used by Army recruiters since the early 1980's to prescreen enlistment prospects. The Joint Recruiting Information Support Systems Program Management Office (JRISS PMO) program requested modifications to CAST to make it suitable for use by recruiters in all of the U.S. military services. This report documents the development of CAST, Version 5.

HumRRO contracted with ARI, sponsored by OASD/P&R (AP), to produce a book for commercial publication by the American Psychological Association (APA) which documents the research and development of computerized adaptive testing (CAT) as a means of administering the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), the personnel selection test battery used by the Department of Defense (DoD). The CAT-ASVAB program began in 1979, and bore operational fruit in 1992, when CAT-ASVAB went into limited use in an operational test and evaluation. CAT-ASVAB has since been approved to replace conventional, printed versions of ASVAB, beginning in 1996 in all Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPs). The principal objective of this book is to document the psychometric research and development of the CAT-ASVAB program and the important practical lessons learned in developing its delivery system. The approach does this in a historical context. A secondary objective of the book is to provide a case study of the entire CAT-ASVAB program. The book primarily addresses three aspects of CAT-ASVAB history in DoD (adaptive testing measures and strategies; CAT-ASVAB system design issues; and CAT-ASVAB evaluation). It provides reference information useful to practitioners developing a computerized testing system.

The present study presents an examination of the psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Work Ethic Profile (MWEP) developed by Michael Miller and David Woehr (Miller & Woehr, 1997; Woehr & Miller, 1997). The MWEP is a multidimensional measure of work ethics based on previous research and literature focusing on work ethic and job performance. Originally developed based on a sample of university students, the MWEP has demonstrated good psychometric characteristics including convergent and discriminate validity. The MWEP has been suggested as a potentially valuable screening tool with Air Force enlisted personnel. The purpose of the present study was to provide a preliminary evaluation of the measure among Air Force enlisted personnel. Results indicate that the measure does in fact demonstrate similar psychometric characteristics among Air Force enlisted personnel as with the original development sample. The MWEP provides reliable and valid measures of multiple dimensions underlying the work ethic contract. These results indicate that the MWEP may be a useful screening tool for Air Force personnel.

A detailed analysis of responsibilities, inputs, processes, outputs, and interactions was conducted for the staff elements and cells involved in joint fires at the Corps Joint Task Force level. This research product documents that analysis. The purpose of the product is to provide a source document for developing training self assessment checklists for use in future joint training research at the Corps level. The checklists would be used by staff cells or elements to conduct mini after action reviews (sometimes referred to, in the joint community, as facilitated after action reviews). However, the product can also help joint training managers plan scenarios and mission sequence event lists for simulation based exercises.

Many studies have been conducted to measure work satisfaction among nurses in various settings. There is no current instrument, however, to specifically measure work satisfaction among nurse case managers, whose practice includes knowledge of advanced nursing and also of organizations and systems. In the past, researchers have used general measures of work satisfaction for nurses or combined or adapted instruments. Psychometric properties of the instruments are often unknown or not adequately reported in publications. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the content validity of a new instrument, Satisfaction with Nurse Case Manager Practice. Content validity was determined using a content validity index (CVI) methodology. A panel of 12 expert NCMs judged the relevance of individual items in the scale with 83-100 percent agreement. Judgement of the scale as a whole resulted in a CVI of 96 percent. Eighty percent is considered adequate. Recommendations for scale revision were identified.

This is the first annual report on a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial with 130 consecutive breast cancer patients who are being studied over four successive chemotherapy treatments to assess if an antidepressant drug can attenuate or prevent the development of fatigue in women during chemotherapy treatment. We are also examining the potential role of depression, sleep disturbance and the cytokine TNF-alpha in the development of fatigue during chemotherapy treatment. Patients are randomized to take the antidepressant paroxetine (Paxil(R)) or placebo once a day during the trial. They complete standardized psychometric measures of fatigue and depression on the 7th day following each of the four chemotherapy cycles. Patient motion is assessed as a concomitant measure of fatigue by ambulatory electronic monitoring during the second and fourth assessments. Blood levels of TNF-alpha are also measured at these two treatments. Patient accrual began at the first site in November, 1996 and will begin at an additional later this month. We anticipate no problems in completing the study as planned.

This work describes the development of a new psychological test to assess fatigue in military and civilian personnel engaged in sustained operations. The Sustained Operations Assessment Profile (SOAP) was developed through the integration of clinical experience, psychometric methods, and empirical analysis. Using a sample of 84 subjects, a thorough test development plan was accomplished. The 10 scales cover three broad areas of functioning including cognitive, affective, and arousal dimensions. The scales have normative data and are demonstrated to be reliable and valid. Further validation work is suggested to improve the test.

This paper presents a short, 15-item scale for measuring personality hardiness. Personality hardiness has been found to be a stress/health moderator in a wide range of studies. Still, there are problems with its measurement. The present 15-item scale has excellent psychometric properties, and has demonstrated validity with several samples including soldiers exposed to combat stressors, and Army Special Forces candidates.

Educational assessment concerns inference about students' knowledge, skills, and accomplishments. Because data are never so comprehensive and unequivocal as to ensure certitude, test theory evolved in part to address questions of weight, coverage, and import of data. The resulting concepts and techniques can be viewed as applications of more general principles for inference in the presence of uncertainty. Issues of evidence and inference in educational assessment are discussed from this perspective. (AN)

Abnormal motor behavior associated with psychopathology was investigated in this study using a nontraditional inventory, the Movement Psychodiagnostic Inventory, with a sample of psychiatric patients that included personality disorders and individuals with schizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The study was designed to address several methodological and measurement problems noted in the literature, and to this end ratings were made from video-taped observations allowing detection of subtle movements described in terms of their dynamic, spatial, rhythmic, and muscular involvement rather than labeled with traditional terminology. In addition, parameters of nonverbal communicative behavior were also rated. Even though diagnostic groups not associated with disturbed motor behavior were included, univariate analysis failed to reveal differences between diagnostic groups with a long history of association with abnormal motor behavior and those without such a history. Multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis were thus employed to uncover the structure of the data in exploratory analyses that used two distance measures and several methods each of multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. Results were interpreted to indicate that different patterns of movement behavior were observed for each group of patients that were not measure- or method-dependent. The results of the study are discussed within the context of the potential for the inventory and the advancement of the study of motor behavior and psychopathology, an area that has the potential to effect progress in diagnosis, etiology, pathogenesis, and treatment of mental disorders.

The purpose of this study was to develop and test an instrument, the Hope Indicator Questionnaire (HIQ), which was designed to measure the latent variable of hope; and to identify antecedent variables which impact upon hope. A nonexperimental study with four-week test-retest was designed to examine the psychometric properties of the HIQ. Reliability of the HIQ was tested by 4-week stability. Internal consistency reliability was also performed on the HIQA. Validity of the HIQ was examined by content validity, exploratory factor analysis, convergence, and predictive causal model testing. Data were collected and analyzed from 111 subjects who did not have life threatening health problems during their study participation. Sixty (54%) were female, 83 (75%) were religious believers. The majority (66%) were Caucasian. The age ranged from 18 to 79, with the mean age of 38.95 (S.D. = 16.12). Results showed that low stabilities were found in the HIQP and HIQB (.52 and .45). Stability coefficient and internal consistency for the HIQA were .71 and .92. Satisfactory content validity of the HIQA was demonstrated by a three-member panel. The exploratory factor analysis confirmed that a latent factor was extracted from the three scales in the HIQ. Convergent validity was established by satisfactory correlations with the Herth Hope Scale (HHS) (.58) and Beck's Hopelessness Scale (HS) (-.42). The proposed predictive model was partially supported by the study when perceived functional support was measured by a modified Shang's Perceived Functional Support measure. Antecedents for both HIQ and HHS hope were explored. Personal control and perceived functional support were direct antecedents for HIQ hope while HHS hope was directly affected by personal control and chance control. Other variables (i.e. support network, religion and demographics) were indirect antecedents to HIQ and HHS hope through those direct antecedents. Additional analysis was accomplished on comparisons of the HIQ an

The reliability coefficient, p(xx), has long been accepted as an index of the stability, repeatability, and precision of psychological tests. Because pxx measures the proportion of the variance in a set of scores attributable to variation among individuals, values of p(xx) are sometimes compared to justify using particular tests in studies of individual differences. Values of p(xx) are also sometimes compared to justify using particular tests in experimental research. The latter practice is usually justified by arguing that larger values of p(xx) imply greater measurement precision and, therefore, potentially greater sensitivity to experimental treatments. That argument is not generally correct because the individual variation measured by p(xx) is frequently confounded with measurement error in the denominators of significance tests. The effects of this confounding lead to 'paradoxical' situations in which reliability, as measured by p(xx), may be inversely related (or unrelated) to experimental precision, as measured-by the reciprocal of experimental error. Because the power of an experiment increases with precision, as just defined, conditions that invert or negate the relationship between p(xx) and precision also invert or negate the relationship between p(xx) and power. These considerations do not mean that the reliability coefficient is necessarily irrelevant to experimental research. Because experimental designs differ in the degree to which they are influenced by individual variation, a consideration of the value of p(xx) a specific test yields will sometimes provide information about the best design in which to use that test. Statistics, Psychometrics, Reliability, Power.

File characteristics: Text file; 1 file ;binary character set. Physical description: 1 computer diskette; 3 1/2 in.;high density; 1.4MB. System requirements: Post-script. A brief review of the history of polychotomous item response models is provided. After describing a new polychotomous item response model (Model 8), example of the Operating Characteristic Functions obtained when Model 8 is applied to a real test data are given. In general, inspection of goodness-of-fit plots indicates that Model 8 provide superior data fit and higher them information functions that the well-known 3-parameter logistic (dichotomous) them response model. A simulation of computerized adaptive testing (CAT) that used the actual item response s of applicants for military enlistment shows that Model 8 would be superior to the 3-parameter logistic model in a CAT environment. In this investigation, Model 8 increased test reliability by an amount that is equivalent to a 25% increases in test length., Also available in hardcopy as AD-A272 832.

Subjective contours provide an opportunity to explore the limits of correspondence matching in motion. A new class of subjective contour which is a by-product of motion processing is examined within the context of the dual process models of retinal motion processing proposed by Braddick (1980) and Anstis (1980), as well as the more recent first-order/second-order formulation proposed by Cavanagh and Mather (1989). These kinetically induced figures are created by displacing a surface defined by dots which change randomly from frame to frame over a static random dot background. Despite the fact that local form information is uncorrelated throughout the motion sequence, the resulting phenomenal percept is that of a "sparkling" surface which translates across the background. The results of five experiments were not, however, fully consistent with predictions based on either model. An extension of the criteria necessary for the long-range system to be operative would accommodate the data within the context of the short-range/long-range model, whereas a more detailed definition of the properties and relationships between second-order attributes would accommodate the data within the framework of the first-order/second-order model.

This research addressed the need to assess the validity of existing health-related quality of life instruments, by evaluating two such instruments: the Quality of Well-Being Scale and the MOS-HIV-34 Health Survey. One hundred adult male HIV-infected patients across six HIV disease classifications were used as subjects in San Diego, California. The research had three objectives: (1) to evaluate the convergent validity of the two health-related quality of life instruments using four surrogate criterion measures--CD4 levels, beta-2 microglobulin levels, disease classification, and age; (2) to reweight the four preference weights of the Quality of Well-Being Scale using a category rating method and comparing these preference weights currently in use; and (3) to evaluate the linearity of the preference weights currently in use and the preference weights derived in this research using functional measurement theory. It was found that the Quality of Well-Being Scale had greater convergent validity than the MOS-HIV-34 Health Survey. The preference weights currently in use for the Quality of Well-Being Scale dimensions did not differ from those derived in the HIV-infected sample, thus supporting the continued application of the weights now in use for weighting the Quality of Well-Being Scale in HIV-infected patients. The preference weights currently in use and those derived in this research were linear, a finding which supports the use of the Quality of Well-Being Scale in health care policy decision-making.

In the interest of early identification and prevention of dissociative disorders, this author has contributed to the research history of various screening instruments and has commented on the degree to which such instruments are appropriate for screening subjects in a college population. The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES; Bernstein & Putnam & Putnam, 1986) was administered to approximately 2500 college freshmen. Subjects from various levels of the distribution of DES scores were recalled to the laboratory for further testing on the abbreviated version of the Structured Clinical Interview for Dissociative Disorders (Mini-SCID-D) (Steinberg, Rounsaville & Cicchetti, 1987) to determine how many of these subjects might actually qualify for a diagnosis of dissociative disorder. The results of this study supported the factor structure of the DES as reported by Ross, Joshi, and Currie (1991). In addition, the DES evidenced a significant predictive relationship with the Mini SCID-D. The research was designed to screen a population at large for dissociative tendencies, the results of which will be useful to people who wish to identify ostensibly normal individuals who may be at risk for dissociative disorders. This research was supported in part by Grant #MH35856 from the National Institute of Mental Health to John F. Kihlstrom.

Adult memory for verbatim and gist information was tested immediately and after a 12-day delay in three experiments within the framework of fuzzy-trace theory, (e.g., Brainerd & Reyna, 1990; Reyna & Brainerd, 1991) using a crossed, within-subjects false recognition design which controlled for the amount of verbatim and gist in recognition stimuli and for the difficulties mentioned by Fletcher (1992). Instruction to recognize gist or verbatim information was a between-subjects factor. Experiment 1 investigated sentence recognition and misrecognition of inferences for spatial and linear sentences. Subjects exhibited both verbatim memory for the presented premises and gist intrusion for sentences that differed in surface form but shared the same gist. Relationships between presented premises and their inferences were independent when subjects interrogated verbatim traces to answer memory questions, and gist traces to answer reasoning (inference) questions. Subjects used gist to verify sentences in the meaning condition, and dependencies between premises and inferences were largely positively dependent. Overall, Experiment 1 replicated Reyna and Kiernan's (in press) findings with children, suggesting that adults do not qualitatively differ from children in the processing of verbatim and gist representations. Experiment 1's results rule out a constructivist account of memory (e.g., Bransford and Franks, 1971). Experiment 2 investigated recognition of inflected (e.g., past tense and plural) verb and noun word pairs, and misrecognition of analogous pairs. Results were similar to Experiment 1 as subjects used verbatim traces for verification in the memory condition. When processing for patterns, however, some subjects appeared to use a phonological rule, whereas others appeared to use a semantic rule. Experiment 3 investigated recognition of interpretations of novel Literal and Perceptual metaphors. Results were largely similar to those of Experiments 1 and 2. However, nega

A psychometric scale to measure consumer perceptions of the aesthetic dimensions of consumer durable goods is developed in this dissertation. The scale contributes an approach to measuring how a consumer durable is perceived along various aesthetic dimensions of judgment, an approach to comparing alternative product designs along these dimensions, and a basis for segmenting markets based on consumer responses to aesthetic criteria. The scale development process followed here established the feasibility of a psychometric approach to measuring the perception and evaluation of the aesthetic qualities in the case of common consumer durables. Although there was evidence of reliability problems, the scale generally performed satisfactorily in terms of unidimensionality and discriminant validity. Further, it offered satisfactory discrimination among products that were a priori judged to be of different aesthetic quality. This scale represents an initial effort to calibrate consumption stimuli in terms of qualities apart from those that contribute to their functional value. It provides a way to go beyond uncalibrated consumer utterances and to circumvent the problems surrounding the comprehension of obtuse jargon used in the design literature. Although the present effort focused on consumer durables, the role of aesthetic qualities in core product design, primary and secondary packaging, and in promotional augmentation extends beyond the product categories studied.

A number of different methods for assessing the aesthetic quality of environments have been developed over the past 30 years. From methods that rely upon "experts" to judge the scenic quality of a landscape to methods that rely upon "naive" observers, all methods share the same basic interest: To explain or predict aesthetic quality between different environments. Although a number of attempts at integrating different methodologies have been recently reported, these have failed to produce an integrative theory of environmental aesthetics due to experimental and theoretical problems inherent in each design. The present study was designed to derive fundamental aesthetic principles for landscapes through the integration of the formal aesthetic, psychological, and psychophysical methods. This study addressed three basic questions: (1) What traits or constructs are being measured by environmental assessment methods currently used?, (2) Are these constructs independent of the methods used to assess them?, and (3) Can an integrative theory of environmental aesthetics be developed empirically? To answer these questions, the study focused on the construct validity of the measures within each method across four different landscapes, ranging from Alaska to the Southwest. Three categories of ratings were collected for each landscape, corresponding to the published procedures of each method. Initial factor analyses were run within each method across the four landscapes to determine what general environmental characteristics were measured by each method. A second-order factor analysis was used to derive basic aesthetic characteristics which transcend both method of measurement and landscape type. Multiple regression analyses were then used to predict the common aesthetic characteristics from the physical data of the landscapes. The experiment was designed to facilitate a new understanding of (1) whether universal principles of aesthetic quality exist across different environments

The psychometric properties of the Unit Cohesion Index, developed by Mangelsdorff et al. (1989) from the Platoon Cohesion Index (Siebold and Kelly, 1988), were further examined. Because of highly homogenous sample consisting of hospital personal and an over representation of officers, the factor solution of the previous study and its derived scales were accepted for the further analysis. The reliability estimates were considerably high in spite of that. The test-retest-reliability was very high as well. The preceived unit cohesion was in the moderately high range. This finding is of interest to commanders. Group comparisons showed that enlisted perceived a higher unit cohesion than officers. The other independent variables had no effect by themselves, but in combination with the rank group. Officers with 4 to 10 years in military service perceived less unit cohesion, especially when they themselves were new members in their units. The study points to this group of personnel to be focused on when concerned with unit cohesion in reserve hospitals. From a psychometric point of view the group comparisons showed that the questionnaire was not confounded with measuring or reflecting the independent variables. The questionnaire 'Unit Cohesion Index' turned out to be psychometrically sound.

Two cognitive performance tests, Computer Interaction (CI) and Tower of Hanoi (HT), were generated as paper and pencil tests with alternate forms. The CI Test evaluates a person's transactions with a computer system (Radio Shack desk-top calculator EC-2004). The HT Test, a popular puzzle and test of logical reasoning, was adapted for discrete, forced-choice responses. In testing situations subjects are instructed and practiced extensively before independent variables are manipulated. Both tests are always timed. Our studies indicate these tests have high task definitions and stabilities. Repeated assessment produced stability (reliability) coefficients of > 0.70 and 0.80 for CI and HT, respectively. Stability was achieved on CI and HT (decision of POSSIBLE after 30 - 60 min of practice, i.e., 5-10 administrations. The decision of OPTIMAL on Ht required 60 - 90 min (10 - 15 administrations). The HT Test was also programmed on a briefcase computer (NEC PC-8201A) but this version has not been evaluated systematically. These methods produce tests with functional properties that may be useful to military or civilian psychometricians. Keywords: Test Development, Cognitive Tests, Test Stability (reliability), Tower Hanoi, Computer Interaction, Equivalent Test Forms.

Working Group 12 of the AGARD Aerospace Medical Panel was formed at the beginning of 1987 to investigate methods of assessing human performance. The major goal of Working Group 12 is to develop a standardised test battery, satisfying conventional psychometric criteria such as reliability, validity, and sensitivity, for which an extensive data base may be compiled. The intention is not to develop new tests, but to formalise the administrative protocol of tests that are already well-accepted. The data base for each standardised test will serve the following functions: (1) Compare individual scores to test norms: This may be useful, for example, in personnel selection, or in experimental studies in which practical constraints preclude the inclusion of a suitable control group. (2) Investigate the pattern of effects of a particular stressor: The data base will reveal those cognitive functions most susceptible to disruption by a given stressor, and the effects of variation in stressor intensity. (3) Compare different stressor effects on performance of the same set of tests: The development of theory may be facilitated by comparison of stressor effects, currently rendered difficult by test variations. (4) Investigation of the effects of 'incidental' variables: Since it is envisaged that contributions to the data base will include elementary subject and procedural information, it will be possible to investigate the effects of variables, such as age, sex, or time of day, that are not addressed directly by individual studies. Each member of the working group sent a simple questionnaire to researchers in his own country who are active in performance testing. The responses have been collated in the form of the present register which, it is hoped, will facilitate the communication between laboratories necessary for the success of the standardization programme., Text in English. Foreword in English and French.

Missoula, MT

Narrative data enable evaluators to understand other people's viewpoints without predetermining those viewpoints by using preselected questionnaire categories. Narrative data yield rich detail, insight, and information. However, reducing narrative data into meaningful conclusions is difficult and time consuming, and requires attention, commitment, and skill on the part of trained coders. The personal and situational characteristics of the coders (called value inertia and cognitive limitation biases) affect data reduction. The effects of coder exposure to expected project outcomes and the level of coder research methodology sophistication were investigated. Coders considered either sophisticated or naive in research methodology were exposed to positive, ambiguous, or negative project outcome expectations. The coders reduced, or categorized, 25 open-ended interview response sets into previously established positive, negative, and ambiguous statement-type, content-code categories. The effectiveness of coder training was also explored by computing generalizability (reliability) coefficients. High generalizability coefficients were found, regardless of level of exposure to project outcome expectations. This indicates that coders were able to code the same statements the same way and is an indication of the coders' ability to reproduce the results. Results of this study also indicate that evaluators should use sophisticated coders for the reduction of narrative data, given that option. Sophisticated coders appear more resistant to the effect of exposure to project outcome expectations, coding narrative data more positively with less variability than naive coders when exposed to positive outcome expectations.

This project represents a descriptive study of 35 chronically mentally ill (CMI) adults enrolled in a community-based vocational rehabilitation program during the 1981 calendar year. As part of their first month in the program, subjects were administered a screening battery consisting of the Trail Making Test, Reitan-Indiana Aphasia Screening Test, Reitan-Klove Sensory Perceptual Examination, Valpar Independent Problem Solving Work Sample (IPSWS) and Wide Range Interest Opinion Test (WRIOT). Correlations were derived among these and with other variables, including the Work Adjustment Rating Form, schizophrenic versus nonschizophrenic psychiatric diagnosis, time in program and period of competitive employment resulting from program involvement. The issue of medication and its potential for impacting on subjects' performance in the program was also addressed. The neuropsychological measures in the battery were significantly correlated among themselves and discriminated between schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic CMI subjects in the sample with 100% accuracy. However, results on neuropsychological tests did not predict whether or not a subject would realize competitive employment during the year of the study. Both schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic subjects produced average performances in the impaired range of functioning according to published criteria for the neuropsychological instruments, although schizophrenic subjects consistently performed closer to the normal population. Vocational instruments included in the battery appeared to measure a more heterogeneous set of functions than the neuropsychological tests, and did not appear to represent a vocational factor. Two scores from these vocational instruments, Valpar IPSWS and WRIOT Negative Bias, were combined with Trail Making Test (Part A) scores in a discriminant function that classified subjects with 81% accuracy on attainment of competitive employment status. Over half (56%) of the people who participated for

Several alternatives to the Kuder and Richardson formula number 20 (KR20) were compared for accuracy using simulated and actual data sets. Coefficients by Loevinger (1948), Horst (1954), Raju (1982), and Cliff (1984) as well as the Kuder and Richardson formulae numbers 8 and 14 were examined. These alternative reliability coefficients were compared by (1) simulation of tests with varying degrees of item difficulty dispersion, subject proficiency, reliability, and length, and (2) use of the norming samples of the Curriculum Referenced Tests of Mastery (Charles E. Merrill Publishing Co., publisher) for grades four, six, and eight. Most of the coefficients examined proved no more accurate than the KR20 and several were decidedly worse. All coefficients, with the exception of Loevinger's, were affected by item difficulty dispersion. Two coefficients, the KR8 and Horst, were found to have potential as KR20 substitutes. These two coefficients are discussed with recommendations made as to the appropriate use of each one.

An experiment designed to discover whether the results of laboratory studies dealing with general (almanac) information are relevant to the applied case when the true answer is unknown. Using short-range prediction questions as subject matter, the experiment indicates that, in general, Delphi procedures are at least as effective with short-range prediction as they have been for almanac material. Eight groups, of about 20 each, of upperclassmen and college graduates were given short-range prediction questions to answer in a 2-round Delphi exercise. Satisfactory answers were obtained for 32 of the 40 questions. Correlations between standard deviation and accuracy, and between group self- rating and accuracy, were significantly higher for the prediction than for the almanac questions. Half the groups generated estimates of the 3 quartiles of the distribution; the other half generated point estimates. No significant difference was observed between these two kinds of estimates., Report on the Group Judgment Technology project.

The importance of physical proficiency measures to the selection and evaluation of Army personnel can scarcely be questioned. Examination of the duty assignments prevalent in various Army jobs indicates clearly that physical strength, endurance and coordination are often highly important factors in job success. At the United States Military Academy in particular, considerable attention has been devoted to physical training and to the measurement of various aspects of physical abilities or physical proficiency among cadets at West Point. Various tests of physical proficiency were introduced in the physical aptitude entrance examination procedure or studied for possible use. They have been examined both as individual measures and as component parts of various batteries. Several factor analyses of large batteries of physical proficiency measures, physical education, grades, and other variables were accomplished in previous studies. These studies had as their objective the identification of basic underlying physical ability variables that possess the simplifying statistical characteristics frequently referred to as simple structure. These basic variables, or factors, aid in understanding the nature of the scores, in eliminating duplicating measures, and in suggesting new tests., Presented at Conference on the Design of Experiments in Army Research Development and Testing (8th) held at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC on 24-26 October 1962. This article is from ADA419759 Proceedings of the Eighth Conference on the Design of Experiments in Army Research Development and Testing