Cross‐cultural assessment of HIV‐associated cognitive impairment using the Kaufman assessment battery for children: a systematic review

Introduction: Despite improved efficacy of, and access to, combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), HIV‐associated cognitive impairments remain prevalent in both children and adults. Neuropsychological tests that detect such impairment can help clinicians formulate effective treatment plans. The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABC), although developed and standardized in the United States, is used frequently in many different countries and cultural contexts to assess paediatric performance across various cognitive domains. This systematic review investigated the cross‐cultural utility of the original KABC, and its 2nd edition (KABC‐II), in detecting HIV‐associated cognitive impairment in children and adolescents.Methods: We entered relevant keywords and MeSH terms into the PubMed, PsycInfo, EBSCOHost, ProQuest, and Scopus databases, with search limits set from 1983–2017. Two independent reviewers evaluated the retrieved abstracts and manuscripts. Studies eligible for inclusion in the review were those that (a) used the KABC/KABC‐II to assess cognitive function in children/adolescents aged 2–18 years, (b) featured a definition of cognitive impairment (e.g. >2 SD below the mean) or compared the performance of HIV‐infected and uninfected control groups, and (c) used a sample excluded from population on which the instruments were normed.Results and discussion: We identified nine studies (eight conducted in African countries, and one in the United Kingdom) to comprise the review’s sample. All studies detected cognitive impairment in HIV‐infected children, including those who were cART‐naïve or who were cART treated and clinically stable. KABC/KABC‐II subtests assessing simultaneous processing appeared most sensitive. Evaluation of the methodological quality of the selected studies by two independent reviews suggested that shortcomings included reporting and selection biases.Conclusions: This systematic review provides evidence for the cross‐cultural utility of the KABC/KABC‐II, particularly the simultaneous processing subtests, in detecting cognitive impairment in HIV‐infected children (including those who are clinically stable). Although the current results suggest there is justification for using the KABC/KABC‐II primarily in East Africa, further investigation is required to explore the instrument’s utility in other HIV‐prevalent regions of the globe.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138351/1/jia21412.pd

A developmental focus to admissions testing: admissions and placement standards development

With the introduction of the Admissions and Placement Assessment Programme (APAP) at the University of Port Elizabeth (UPE) in 1998, it was felt that many learners entering higher education needed some form of academic development. It was also felt that testing at admission should provide information about the level of learners' proficiency on core academic competencies, to assist with decision-making about academic development. This article describes how the research team went about defining performance standards on the battery of measures used at UPE using a multidimensional cluster analysis approach. K-means cluster analysis was used as a method to classify 380 examinees in the Faculties of Science, and Economic and Building Sciences into groups similar in levels of proficiency on the Admissions and Placement Battery (APAB). The top and bottom borderline clusters of the final cluster solution were used to set cut scores on the measures. The clusters and cut scores were validated on a hold-out sample of 725 learners. The cut scores successfully identified learners who were not yet proficient enough to be successful without support, but who would benefit from development, as opposed to those learners who probably would not benefit, or were not in need of development. The importance of using performance standards in a multidimensional manner was emphasised. (South African Journal of Higher Education: 2003 17 (3): 192-208

Batting related experiences of South African universities cricketers

OpvoedkundeSportwetenskapPlease help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected]

Thought sampling of cricketers during batting

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The value of a computerised learner information database system to foster development and accountability through information sharing

The diversity of learners at South African universities offers a challenge to educators to identify their development needs and to tailor the facilitation of learning experiences accordingly. The University of Port Elizabeth (UPE) has responded to this challenge by establishing an Admissions and Placement Assessment Programme (APAP) to assess the readiness levels of all incoming learners using an assessment battery. The creation of a computerised database has made it possible to provide faculties with information on the academic readiness of learners and the retention rates of high-risk learners, to track the academic progress of learners, and to stimulate institutional research and policy-making. The database has proved to be central in the success of the development-focussed APAP. This article will describe the structure and functioning of such a database within an admissions testing programme and show how this could serve as a model to foster development and accountability through information sharing. South African Journal of Higher Education Vol.16(2) 2002: 198-20

The cross-cultural utility of foreign- and locally-derived normative data for three WHO-endorsed neuropsychological tests for South African adolescents

Interpretation of neuropsychological tests may be hampered by confounding sociodemographic factors and by using inappropriate normative data. We investigated these factors in three tests endorsed by the World Health Organization: the Grooved Pegboard Test (GPT), the Children's Color Trails Test (CCTT), and the WHO/UCLA version of the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT). In a sample of 12-15-year-old, Afrikaans- and English-speaking adolescents from the Cape Town region of South Africa, analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) demonstrated that quality of education was the sociodemographic factor with the biggest influence on test performance, and that age also significantly influenced GPT and CCTT performance. Based on those findings, we provide appropriately stratified normative data for the age group in question. Comparisons between diagnostic interpretations made using foreign normative data versus those using the current local data demonstrate that it is imperative to use appropriately stratified normative data to guard against misinterpreting performance