Trainability assessments and work samples : a field study and a meta-analysis : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University

This study compared a work sample test with a trainability test for the prediction of typing students grades. A meta-analysis of the work sample literature was also carried out. Participants in the work sample trainability test comparison were 89 female first year Polytechnic typing students. Students were randomly assigned to either the work sample group or the trainability test group. Tutors then administered the relevant predictor and data was collected. Scores on the predictors were later correlated with the students grade in their second terms test. All the obtained correlations were found to be highly significant although the results unexpectedly revealed that the error score on the work sample was the best predictor overall. It was suggested that the tutors inexperience in administering trainability tests, their greater familarity with work samples and certain deficiencies in the criterion may have contributed to the unexpected trend in the data. Meta-analysis was used to cumulate and average results from many different studies which examined work samples. Studies which utilised training criteria were analysed seperately from those which employed job proficiency criteria. Results from the analysis showed substantial remaining variance following correction for statistical artifacts. The studies were then grouped according to Robertson and Kandola's (1982) classification of work samples in order to identify potential moderator effects. Meta-analysis of subgroups revealed that for all categories, with the exception of group discussion/decision making, considerable variance still remained following correction for statistical artifacts. It is suggested in the discussion that further research on work samples is required, particularly the development of a classificatory system which can accurately and reliably distinguish between types of work samples. Possibilities for future research on trainability tests are also explored

THE LINGUISTIC TERMINOLOGY AND WAYS OF FORMING TERMS IN ALBANIAN LANGUAGE TEXTBOOKS, IInd - IXth GRADES

Terminology, as a system of specific terms is an integral part of every field of knowledge, science, and production activity, but linguistics deals with the identification, procession and the codification of relevant terms within a terminological system. As a concrete field of study, terminology is related to the study of specialized terms used in science, technology, culture, art, medicine. In this paper, we will bring valuable innovation to the development of linguistic terminology and it is observed the ways of building linguistic terms, especially those used in the Albanian language textbooks of primary and secondary education in II-IX grades. Based on these textbooks, but also on the theoretical contributions of native and foreign terminologists it is highlighted the diversity of forms and ways in which linguistic terms are formed, the place they have in our textbooks divided by the relevant disciplines, classes in which they are used and the age of learners. In this paper are considered the most productive tools that provide language scientific terms, classified per its subsystems. This paper also displays valuable scientific contribution to the development of global terminology in general and the Albanian terminology.  Article visualizations

Tipare të kulturës politike në Shqipërinë post-komuniste

Studimi i kulturës politike tënjë vendi luan një rol shpjegues mbi kuptimin e dinamikës së sistemit politik, lindjes dhe konsolidimit të institucioneve demokratike në shoqëri të caktuara. Qëllimi i këtij punimi ështëtë argumentojë se kultura politike në Shqipërinë post-komuniste nuk është kongruente me institucionet demokratike të vendit, pasi kjo kulturë politike ka trashëguar ndikime të shumta gjatë sistemit totalitar komunist, për gati pesëdekada. Ndikimet dhe pasojat e totalitarizmit mbeten ende të patrajtuara nga shoqëria shqiptare, për këtë arsye është me interes të veçantë hulumtimi i këtyre temave. Përmes analizimit të komponentëve të kulturës politike mund të shpjegojmë fazën e konsolidimit demokratik të një shoqërie, nivelin e pjesëmarrjes qytetare në demokraci dhe performancën institucionale, në këtë rast të Shqipërisë. Supozimi bazë i këtij punimi është se kultura politike post-komuniste në Shqipëri e ka frenuar procesin e konsolidimit demokratik në vend, përgjatë një procesi të papërfunduar të tranzicionit, nga sistemi totalitar në sistemin e shteteve liberal-demokratike. Metodologjia e përdorur në këtë punim është e natyrës cilësore, me qasje interpretative e analitike. Kuadri teorik i punimit mbi bazën e të cilit interpretohet, analizohet dhe tipizohet kultura politike postkomuniste shqiptare mbështetet tek teorikët si Almond, Verba, Inglehart e të tjerë

Enabling Scalable and Sustainable Softwarized 5G Environments

The fifth generation of telecommunication systems (5G) is foreseen to play a fundamental role in our socio-economic growth by supporting various and radically new vertical applications (such as Industry 4.0, eHealth, Smart Cities/Electrical Grids, to name a few), as a one-fits-all technology that is enabled by emerging softwarization solutions \u2013 specifically, the Fog, Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC), Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) paradigms. Notwithstanding the notable potential of the aforementioned technologies, a number of open issues still need to be addressed to ensure their complete rollout. This thesis is particularly developed towards addressing the scalability and sustainability issues in softwarized 5G environments through contributions in three research axes: a) Infrastructure Modeling and Analytics, b) Network Slicing and Mobility Management, and c) Network/Services Management and Control. The main contributions include a model-based analytics approach for real-time workload profiling and estimation of network key performance indicators (KPIs) in NFV infrastructures (NFVIs), as well as a SDN-based multi-clustering approach to scale geo-distributed virtual tenant networks (VTNs) and to support seamless user/service mobility; building on these, solutions to the problems of resource consolidation, service migration, and load balancing are also developed in the context of 5G. All in all, this generally entails the adoption of Stochastic Models, Mathematical Programming, Queueing Theory, Graph Theory and Team Theory principles, in the context of Green Networking, NFV and SDN

The culture of referendum in Albania: Technical and theoritecal reflections on the abrogative referendum

The aim of this paper is to analyse the Albanian constitutional and legal framework on referenda, in general, focusing special attention to the abrogative referenda of a law or part thereof. Given the absence of any concrete case of an abrogative referenda held in Albania, which does not creates very much room for discussion in that regard, the paper, through a comparative approach on the referenda culture in other european states, aims at offering to the reader a more complete view on the mechanisms and guarantees enjoyed by voters and the effective way of their use, in order to give life to the direct democracy, but without replacing the representative one. In addition, part of the analyses will be the powers of the Constitutional Court for the ex ante constitutional review of the issue subject to a referendum, the review of constitutionality of the referndum and of its results. In this context, the paper will focus on the constitutional case-law as a tool for increasing the referenda culture and shaping the constitional order, as well as a source of standards and values. Another objective of the paper is to open a discussion on the need for the reception of referenda-related standards elaborated in those European countries, where the culture of helding a referenda and the case-law on the regard is enriched and may serve as a qualitative basis for further reference

Effect of Dancing on a Visuospatial Working Memory Task and Mood

Abstract The cognitive advantages of dance have been researched for many years. However, the amplitude of mechanisms on the brain-dancing intersection still needs to be understood. One of them is the influence of dancing on visuospatial working memory. The direct link to causality between the two is still unclear. Exercise is an activity that is ubiquitously known to uplift mood. With dancing being both an aerobic exercise and a social activity, its prowess to be a better mood enhancer is juxtaposed with a more traditional exercise routine. In this pretest/posttest study, Zumba dancers (n=23) are compared to a control group of exercisers using gym equipment (n=23) to determine which group scored better in a visuospatial working memory (VSWM) test and how each group scored on a 6-point self-assessed mood scale. Results from the VSWM task showed a significant interaction effect between the study and control groups. The non-dancers decreased in mean scores posttest compared to pretest; whereas the dancers had no significant difference in mean scores at pretest and posttest measures. The mood scale outcome showed that the dancers reported significantly higher scores than the control group during the pretest and posttest. This study advocates the potential of social dancing as a health-promotive measure towards improving cognitive health as it relates to highly positive emotions. Further investigation into the direct visuospatial link to dance suggests a more controlled experimental design and more advanced instruments to assume a more comprehensive understanding of the construct are required. Keywords: Zumba, dance, visuospatial working memory, working memory task, exercise, mood, between-subjects designAbstract The cognitive advantages of dance have been researched for many years. However, the amplitude of mechanisms on the brain-dancing intersection still needs to be understood. One of them is the influence of dancing on visuospatial working memory. The direct link to causality between the two is still unclear. Exercise is an activity that is ubiquitously known to uplift mood. With dancing being both an aerobic exercise and a social activity, its prowess to be a better mood enhancer is juxtaposed with a more traditional exercise routine. In this pretest/posttest study, Zumba dancers (n=23) are compared to a control group of exercisers using gym equipment (n=23) to determine which group scored better in a visuospatial working memory (VSWM) test and how each group scored on a 6-point self-assessed mood scale. Results from the VSWM task showed a significant interaction effect between the study and control groups. The non-dancers decreased in mean scores posttest compared to pretest; whereas the dancers had no significant difference in mean scores at pretest and posttest measures. The mood scale outcome showed that the dancers reported significantly higher scores than the control group during the pretest and posttest. This study advocates the potential of social dancing as a health-promotive measure towards improving cognitive health as it relates to highly positive emotions. Further investigation into the direct visuospatial link to dance suggests a more controlled experimental design and more advanced instruments to assume a more comprehensive understanding of the construct are required. Keywords: Zumba, dance, visuospatial working memory, working memory task, exercise, mood, between-subjects desig

Time spent with children and working parents’ willingness to medicate ADHD-like behaviors

How much time parents spend with their children is likely to influence their judgments of children’s behaviors and the behaviors themselves. In the diagnosis of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), parents are key informants and decide whether their children should receive medication. This exploratory study investigates the relationship between working parents’ willingness to medicate ADHD-like behaviors and the time they can spend with their children during a regular workday. The participants (409 parents of 5- to 17- year-old children reporting having no child with emotional or behavioral problems and 87 reporting having such a child) were drawn from a population-based telephone survey of parents stratified by race and ethnicity in two urban Florida counties. Path analysis models, controlling for selected sociodemographic and household variables, showed that spending more time with one’s children during a regular workday and self-identifying as African American were negatively related to willingness to medicate among parents of children with problems. Among parents reporting no children with problems, only the number of children in the household and the parenttype household showed relationships to willingness to medicate, while mothers were more likely than fathers to spend more time with children. These observed relationships were of moderate effect but underscore the importance to initiate studies using valid measures of quantity and quality of parental time spent with ADHD children, and to query parents on these points when assessing the information they provide to clinicians