95 research outputs found

    Investigating the validity of the Human Resource Practices Scale in South Africa : Measurement invariance across gender

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    The effective delivery of human resource management (HRM) services is often associated with positive organisational outcomes, including innovation. Within the context of HRM service delivery, as well as within the scope of innovative behaviour, gender differences are often researched. Research purpose: To effectively research the role of HRM services in organisations, including the effects thereof on innovation, instruments that yield valid and invariant measures for men and women are required..

    Die verband tussen trekangs, diensjare en posttraumatiese stresversteuring by polisiebeamptes

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    In the course of duty, officers of the South African Police Services face highly stressful, life-threatening situations. This article discusses a model in which trait anxiety and years of service were specified as potential predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder. Structural equation modelling produced a satisfactory fit between the model and the observed data. In combination trait anxiety and years of service account for about 30% of the variance in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The article also makes recommendations as to how these results may usefully be applied in order to prevent the development of post-traumatic stress disorder among police officers

    Plagiarism in South African management journals

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    Plagiarism by academics has been relatively unexplored thus far. However, there has been a growing awareness of this problem in recent years. We submitted 371 published academic articles appearing in 19 South African management journals in 2011 through the plagiarism detection software program Turnitin™. High and excessive levels of plagiarism were detected. The cost to government of subsidising unoriginal work in these journals was calculated to approximate ZAR7 million for the period under review. As academics are expected to role model ethical behaviour to students, such a finding is disturbing and has implications for the reputations of the institutions to which the authors are affiliated as well as that of the journals that publish articles that contain plagiarised material

    Validation of the children’s hope scale in a sample of South African adolescents

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    Abstract: The aim of this study was to examine the validity of the Children’s Hope Scale (CHS) (Snyder et al. 1997) among South African adolescents. Participants (n = 1062) in the greater Johannesburg area completed the CHS as well as measures of psychological well-being, coping self-efficacy, positive affect and negative affect. The CHS total score showed satisfactory reliability for research purposes (Cronbach’s α = .73). Criterion related validity was demonstrated as evident from statistically significant correlations between the CHS, its subscales (agency and pathways) and the criterion measures. Snyder’s two-factor model of hope was supported through confirmatory factor analysis. In accord with previous studies, results showed that item 5 loaded the pathways factor rather than the hypothesized agency factor. The results indicate that the CHS has satisfactory psychometric properties and can be implemented as measure of hope among South African adolescents using the total score rather than interpreting the subscale scores. The findings extend the application and measurement of constructs from the field of positive psychology to the African context

    The internal structure of the WRISc

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    Abstract: Personality-based integrity tests are used in selection procedures to reduce the chance of hiring employees who are likely to engage in counterproductive work behaviour. The present study reports the internal psychometric properties of a new personality-based measure developed for this purpose. Data collected from 1353 working adults were used to investigate internal consistency reliability, and to examine construct validity with confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis. Results showed that the reliability estimates for all the scales of the assessment were satisfactory. For the confirmatory factor analysis, inspection of the incremental (CFI and TLI) and absolute (RMSEA) goodness-of fit values found strong support for the construct validity of all the scales. Infit statistics from Rasch analysis provided further support for construct validity, with items from all the scales fitting the Rasch model. Combined the confirmatory and Rasch analysis demonstrated that unidimensional, coherent and meaningful latent constructs are being measured on the WRISc. Overall, results found excellent support for the internal psychometric properties of the instrument in a culturally diverse context

    Die verband tussen trekangs, diensjare en posttraumatiese stresversteuring by polisiebeamptes

    Get PDF
    In the course of duty, officers of the South African Police Services face highly stressful, life-threatening situations. This article discusses a model in which trait anxiety and years of service were specified as potential predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder. Structural equation modelling produced a satisfactory fit between the model and the observed data. In combination trait anxiety and years of service account for about 30% of the variance in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The article also makes recommendations as to how these results may usefully be applied in order to prevent the development of post-traumatic stress disorder among police officers

    Cross-cultural differences in the character strength of citizenship in South Africa

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    Abstract: The psychological conceptualisation of the character strength of citizenship as a trait ubiquitous across cultures is examined within the context of a diverse South African sample. The theoretically supposed elements common to the definition of citizenship as a dispositional trait (rather than a situational or cultural phenomenon) are examined by means of considering Peterson and Seligman’s (2004) conceptualisation of citizenship as espoused in their work on character strength and virtues. Using the Rasch model of item response theory the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) Value in Action Inventory (VIA) Citizenship scale was examined for fit and differential item functioning (DIF). A diverse sample of 902 South African university students who completed the Citizenship scale was examined for DIF as a function of self-asserted ethnicities and home language groups, which serve as indicators of culture within the South African context. The findings of the study suggest that while certain conceptual aspects of trait-based citizenship as espoused by Peterson and Seligman (2004) are common across the heterogeneous cultures (as defined by ethnicity and language group) examined, there is sound evidence that there are also qualitative distinctions that are exclusively a function of cultural grouping, suggesting difficulties with the exclusive conceptualisation of citizenship as an individual trait. The implications of these findings speak to the importance of considering citizenship as a nuanced and complex notion that requires further consideration in terms of the philosophical, theoretical and empirical qualification of its conceptualisation
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