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    An exploration of the validity and reliability of "Managerial Reading Assessment", a cognitive ability test : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1999) O'Hare, Mary Alice
    Cognitive ability tests are generally considered in the empirical literature to be one of the most valid predictors for selecting managerial level staff. However, very few of these tests have been specifically designed and developed for managers. Managerial Reading Assessment (MRA) is an original cognitive ability test which has been created for this purpose. Because critical thinking skills, particularly the ability to draw inferences, are regarded as being crucial to the successful performance of a manager's job, this test specifically targets this skill. The present study investigated the validity and reliability of Managerial Reading Assessment (MRA) to assess its potential as a selection test for managers. A total of 97 voluntary participants, the majority of whom were drawn from junior to senior levels of management, were recruited from their place of work to take part in this research. Respondents were asked to complete the test and return it by mail. To evaluate the validity of the MRA, two criterion measures (salary and highest educational level achieved) were adopted. When education was utilised as the criterion, a validity coefficient of rho=0.39 was obtained, significant at the 0.01 level. The size of this correlation is comparable to those obtained for other cognitive ability tests. The internal consistency of the test was computed using the alpha coefficient. The results indicate that this test is also reliable. More study would need to be conducted to further assess the psychometric properties of this test.
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    An investigation of the relationships between social contact (telework) and job satisfaction : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1999) Leung, Jade
    The present study aimed to examine the relationship between the social contact and job satisfaction of teleworkers. Telecommunications and computer technology has enabled the development of work arrangements that allow employees to perform their work at home. This is the basic premise of telework, that work can be conducted away from the office using computers and telecommunications technology to transmit and receive work. Although surveys and anecdotal evidence indicate that social isolation is one of the major reported drawbacks of telework especially for women, there have been no in-depth studies investigating this. It has also been speculated that personality, especially introversion, may be related to workers being satisfied with telework and that having a mentor reduces the social isolation of teleworkers but again, no investigation has been carried out to examine these claims. Seventy-six subjects (35 males and 41 females) answered a self-report questionnaire. Correlational analyses were carried out and findings suggest that the first hypothesis that telework involves low social contact and is not satisfying, was only partially supported. Results indicate that there is only a moderate relationship between job satisfaction and the quality of social contact. The second hypothesis that females would not be satisfied with telework because females have a greater affiliative need was not supported. In fact, it was reverse was found the relationship between social contact and job satisfaction was stronger for male teleworkers. The third hypothesis that extroverts will not be satisfied with telework was supported, the relationship between the quantity of all social contact and job satisfaction was stronger for extroverts than introverts. The fourth hypothesis that telework will be satisfying for those with a mentor could not be investigated due to lack of data. It was concluded that the relationship between social contact and job satisfaction was not as strong for teleworkers as speculated which means that social isolation may not be as great a problem as suggested. However, the small sample size limits the ability to generalise the results to the population and further research needs to be done to develop more sensitive measures for social contact and telework.
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    Increasing seatbelt usage in logging skidders through behaviour modification and seatbelt design : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1994) Sullman, Mark J. M.
    This study examined methods for increasing seatbelt usage in one type of heavy logging machine (the skidder). This machine is used extensively for extracting felled trees and transporting them from where they are cut down to a central processing area. Preliminary investigations suggested that the operators of these machines failed to wear their seatbelts because they were poorly designed and because the operators simply forgot. A survey of the literature on increasing safety behaviours found that the two most powerful techniques were behaviour modification and human factors engineering (or ergonomics). Therefore, these were the two techniques used here. The standard seatbelts were redesigned to make them easier to use and an orange flashing reminder light was installed into the machines of seven full-time skidder operators. These machines were operating in either Kaingaroa, Rotoehu, Tahorakuri or Te Whakao Forests in the central North Island of New Zealand. The experiment used a multiple baseline single subject design, with the subjects receiving each treatment twice. With the installation of the redesigned seatbelt, mean seatbelt usage for six subjects rose from 21% to 31%. One subject refused to wear a seatbelt throughout the experiment. Installing the reminder light increased seatbelt usage by a further 1%. Removing the new seatbelt design caused usage to drop 16%. A further decrease of 5% occurred with the return to baseline phase when the reminder light had also been removed. The second introduction of the new seatbelt resulted in an increase in usage from 10% to a mean level of 46%. This was increased a further 22% with the reintroduction of the reminder light. The results showed that an easier to use seatbelt in combination with a reminder light can increase the level of seatbelt usage. The results also provide further evidence of the power of both behaviour modification techniques and human factors engineering in the field of occupational safety.