Major Instrument Research Articles

Extent of the Usage of Behavioural Counselling in the Management of Bullying among Secondary School Students in Enugu Education Zone of Enugu State, Nigeria

The purpose of the study was to examine the extent of the utilization of behavioural counselling in the management of bullying among secondary school students in Enugu Educational Zone of Enugu State. The study was guided by Krumboltz and Thoresen's (1969) behavioural theory and Albert Bandura's (1986) social learning theory. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population of the study was two thousand, one hundred and seventy-one qualified teachers (2, 171), while random sampling was used to acquire a sample of 217 respondents made up of 22 Director of Academics, 21 Counsellors and 174 teachers all spread across the 31-government owned secondary schools in Enugu Educational Zone. Questionnaires and scheduled interviews were used as the major instruments for data collection. The study reliability coefficient of 0.68 was obtained. The analysis of the data was done using descriptive statistics. The findings of the study showed that school counsellors' systemic approach, befriending strategy, peer mentoring and group therapy as behavioural counselling techniques in the management of bullying. From the findings of the study, collaboration is required between parents and the school in the all-round formation of their children, while students, on their part, are required to make their voices heard and stand up for each other in situations of bullying. There is also the need for more trained professionals for counselling activities in schools.

Intersecting Disability and Poverty in the Global South: Barriers to the Localization of the UNCRPD

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) remains in place as the major disability rights instrument recognising that all persons with disabilities must enjoy human rights and freedoms as every other person. However, the CRPD does not automatically confer realization of these rights. In practice, its implementation is met by multiple hurdles, most pronounced at the local level in the Global South, where disability and poverty intersect. This article reports on findings from a study in five countries (Kenya, Philippines, Jamaica, Guatemala, and South Africa) looking at the extent to which the CRPD is being implemented locally in contexts of poverty, and the factors and processes impacting this localization. The findings highlight multiple barriers, becoming more pronounced in local rural areas. These include weak and fragmented organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), political and legal issues, and a siloed approach where disability is marginalised in mainstream areas, including development. These barriers are accentuated as intersectional dimensions are factored in, including indigeneity, age, gender, race, and ethnicity. Overall, each local context is left to its own devices, with urban stakeholders, unknowing of what life in poverty is like and how this reframes the CRPD in discourse and practice at the forefront. Our study concludes that there is a profound need for an informed, contextualized, intersectional, and geopolitical analysis where poverty is kept sharply in focus. This is essential to move beyond unrealistic assumptions about disability rights frameworks and to work towards truly localized and transformative efforts.

EXAMINING THE SUITABLE PALLIATIVES IN CUSHIONING THE REMOVAL OF FUEL SUBSIDY IN NIGERIA

Various operational indicators pinpoint fuel subsidy as a major instrument in poverty reduction in Nigeria. However, its removal in 2023 by the administration of president Bola Ahmed Tinubu may have constitute a major obstacle to Nigeria’s Poverty reduction. It has been contended and reiterated that several interventions in the form of palliatives may have significant improvement in cushioning the economic hardship of fuel subsidy removal. Plagued with the challenges of Conflicts, insecurity and insurgency, the debate on the suitable operational palliatives to cushion or reduce the economic hardship of fuel subsidy removal exacerbate this study. Putting into consideration the economic fragility of the most populous country in Africa which palliatives best suit Nigerians. The operational theory for this study includes Progressive Social Theory, Geographical Disparities Theory, Cyclical Interdependence Theory and theory of Social Exclusion /Cumulative Disadvantage. The nature of the study was a qualitative one, and the content analysis method was used to analyse the secondary data. The study found that lack of transparency in previous palliatives particularly during Covid-19 pandemic fueled public skepticism in the present government fuel subsidy removal palliatives. It, therefore, recommends that there should be accountability and transparency in the distribution of fuel subsidy removal palliatives as a way of enhancing public confidence in the process. It also recommends the inclusion of other stakeholders besides party loyalists, such as community leaders, civil society groups, opposition party, and academia in the palliative committee.

Intragender Relationship of the Traditional Ilorin Women in Domestic Front: Lessons for Modern Muslim Women

The traditional Ilorin society was renowned for peaceful coexistence among its people and decorum in the family domain. Families made Islamic principles their watchwords and the genders collaborated to ensure that marital obligations were efficiently performed. This paper focuses on the pattern of family management displayed by traditional Ilorin women to facilitate peaceful cohabitation and efficient performance, as wives and mothers. The study is historical and ethnographic, dwelling on the system’s pattern of orientation and integration of new wives, division of domestic chores, collaborative nurturing of children, fraternity system and disciplinary measures. The major instruments for data collection are interview, observation, documented studies and Islamic texts. The study revealed religious faithfulness as their inspiration and Islamic ethics of gentility, mutual support, collaboration among women cohered to channel the family course. These were borne out of sincere love and unity which translated into peace and harmony in the home and the society. The paper submits that if modern women can embrace this Islamic interactive etiquette and hold the marital duties in high esteem, as done by the traditional Ilorin women, there will be family cohesion, meaningful progress in the society

Maintenance Culture of Road Infrastructure and Socio Economic Development in Uyo Local Government Area Akwa Ibom State Nigeria

The focus of this study was on the maintenance culture of road infrastructure and the socioeconomic development in Uyo Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The study was guided by the assumptions of Talcott Parsons' Structural Functionalism Theory. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population of this study consisted of critical stakeholders which included eleven (11) Councilors, Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary and technocrats – Head of Local Government Service, Director of Finance, Director of Works, and Director of Environmental Health as key informants; and key workforce in AKROIMA and FERMA were part of the participants. The sample size for the study was 40 participants who were selected using purposive and snowballing non-probability sampling techniques. The study adopted observation, key informant interview (KII) and in-depth interview guide (IIG) as major instruments. The findings showed, among others, that maintenance culture is minimally felt in Uyo Local Government Area as a result of the slow response of the maintenance agencies to the deplorable roads in the area. Equally, prompt release of funds distorted by bureaucratic processes constituted a major hindrance to quick response which has affected the access to vital socio-economic institutions and marred the pace of socio-economic development in the study area. The study recommended stakeholders' concerted efforts through advocacy, support, and concern geared toward road maintenance for the development of social life and economic well-being.

Social Factors Influencing Tobacco Consumption Among Adolescents in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

The study examined social factors influencing tobacco consumption among adolescence in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State. Specially, the study examined the role of family and peer group members on tobacco consumption among adolescence in Ikot Ekpene. The study adopted survey research design. The population of the study (2245) covered three most populated secondary schools where most of the adolescents were found in cluster for easy sampling. Taro Yamane formula was used to select 340 sample size. The researcher adopted judgmental and cluster sampling techniques, while questionnaire was the major instrument for data collection. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics such as mean, frequency and percentage. The Hypotheses were tested with a multiple regression model. The descriptive statistics revealed that intake of tobacco products by parents and older siblings, tobacco products availability, exposure in the family and family orientation on consumption structure were the major family conditions that triggered adolescent tobacco consumption in Ikot Ekpene. Also, consumption of tobacco by classmates and gender; consumption of tobacco products by friends in school and consumption of tobacco products by age grade and peer group indices affect adolescence tobacco consumption in Ikot Ekpene. The study recommended that parents and guardians of adolescence should not indulge in tobacco consumption before their children and wards. This will help to streamline adolescence tobacco consumption.

Strategic Agility and Organizational Performance in Selected Manufacturing Firms in South-South Nigeria

This paper focused on the influence of strategic agility on organizational performance in selected manufacturing firms in South-South Nigeria. The general objective of the study was to examine the effect of strategic agility on organizational performance in selected manufacturing firms in South-South Nigeria. The research questions and hypothesis were formulated to work with the research objective. A survey research design was adopted for the study and a sample size of 177 respondents were drawn from the population of 319. The major instrument for data collection was structured questionnaire administered to the respondents using Bowley’s formula for proportionate representation from the population. The data collected were analyzed using simple percentage and Simple Linear Regression Analysis. Results showed that strategic agility dimension of strategic leadership and organizational flexibility had a statistical influence on organizational performance with X1= R2 = 666 and X2 = 763 at 0.05 level of significance. Based on the findings of the analysis, the study concludes that, the dimensions of strategic agility (strategic sensitivity and core competence) are relational aspect that affects organizational performance. Consequently, it is recommended that every organization should be empowered with the dimensions of strategic agility to help them navigate complex and ever-changing business environment successfully.

Cultural Diversity and Youth Leadership Development in Nigeria

One of the important characteristics of culture is diversity. This makes every nation of the world a unique entity. Rather than a blessing, cultural diversity has become a tool of oppression, domination, nepotism, injustice, disparity and discrimination in the hands of political actors and influential citizens in Nigeria. In the fight against police brutality that gave birth to a dramatic event tagged “End Sars Protest” on 20th December 2020, Nigerian youths demonstrated unity in diversity. On the contrary, the same youths are major instruments of various secessionist movements and agitating groups such as Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Movement for The Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSON), The Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), and Yoruba Nation. What a paradoxical situation! Against this background, this study focused on youth’s awareness of Nigeria's cultural diversity and its implication for leadership development. The study explored social leadership development theory as a theoretical framework while adopting descriptive survey research design and structured questionnaires to gather information. The population for the study is comprised of the members of the Coalition of Nigerian Youth on Security and Safety Affairs (CONYSSA) alongside the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN). As a result, the study adopted a purposive stratified random sampling method to select a specified number of respondents from each youth organisation within the coalition and National Youth Council of Nigeria. Then, the data collected were analysed by Microsoft Data Analysis Tool Pack and Integrated with Microsoft Excel for easy display and graphical illustration. From the findings, the study recommends that youth organisations in Nigeria should adopt a cultural approach to leadership development in their training schemes. Also, the government of the Nigerian public and private sectors should make a policy of cultural inclusion and create a sensitisation platform to educate people on the uniqueness of Nigeria's cultural diversity.

Arming Fortress Europe? Spaces and Instruments of Economic Patriotism in EU Armament Policy

How does the EU adapt its policies in response to current global changes? Extant scholarship has shed light on the EU’s geopolitical turn by analysing it as either a shift away from neoliberalism or a reshuffling of EU–US relations. This article makes the case for studying how these two dynamics interact. To do so, I draw on the economic patriotism framework, which focuses on the links between types and spaces of economic interventionism. Economic patriotism instruments can take various forms depending on their type (liberal/protectionist instruments) and space of reference (national/EU/transatlantic/international). From this perspective, the EU has responded to global changes by shifting from liberal to protectionist instruments of economic patriotism. However, the design of these policy instruments reflects compromises between the preferences of policymakers who adopt liberal/protectionist and Europeanist/Atlanticist positions. As policy instruments can create room for compromise because they allow various positions to converge, EU protectionist economic instruments cater to Atlanticist and liberal preferences too. This article illustrates this argument by means of EU armament policy. Using official documents and interviews, I analyse changes in EU economic patriotism by looking at the two major policy instruments: the 2009 Defence Procurement Directive and the 2021 European Defence Fund. Whereas the 2009 Directive reflected liberal economic patriotism anchored in the transatlantic space, the European Defence Fund illustrates tensions between types and spaces of economic interventionism in the EU’s geopolitical turn: Some clauses protect the EU from foreign interference, but its political-economic space of reference remains strongly transatlantic.

Compensation and Reward System of Employees in a Business Organization a focus on TOTAL Nigerian Plc

The objective of the study is to find out how much impact the reward system of TOTAL Plc Asaba has on its employees. The theories assumes expectancy theory according to Victor Vroom and Remuneration method with a sample size drawn from a population of 200 obtained from 2006 National census figures. The sample size was determined using Yaro Yameni’s random sampling technique. The questionnaire was the major instrument used to obtain data. All the hypothesis tested received statistical significance findings for His research indicated that a significant relationship exist between fair reward system and improved employee performance in Nigeria Asaba Plc. The study recommends a develop reward policies and practices that support the achievement of business goals.

Impacts of Emotional Labour on Employee Retention in The Health Sector

The health sector is one industry where a human-oriented approach predominates and interpersonal relationships are more intense. According to research, these professionals must display the appropriate emotions when dealing with patients and their families. Employees must, therefore, put in their emotional labour in addition to their cerebral and physical labour to meet these demands, although there aren't many studies in this field. The study aimed to investigate the effect of emotional labour on employee retention in the Ghanaian health sector using professional health workers at Bechem Government Hospital in the Tano South Municipality as the unit for analysis. The study was conducted at the Bechem Government Hospital in the Tano South Municipality of Ghana. The basic random sample method was used to choose the research participants. A sample size of 110 professional health workers was used. The major data collection instrument utilised by the researcher was a questionnaire. A descriptive statistic and an inferential statistic (such as an independent t-test) were used to run the data acquired using the study questions. From the findings, it was revealed that professional health workers, on average, exhibited high levels of emotional labour. Also, among the findings, it was revealed that emotional labour affects health workers’ retention. The study concludes that emotional labour is crucial in determining employees' work outcomes. Therefore, It is recommended that management of health institutions should often discuss and offer advice on the individual's professional development, explaining how this position will meet that demand.

YOUNG ENGLISH LEARNERS’ ANXIETY: THE CASE IN INDONESIAN ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM

It is a common phenomenon that English language learners suffer from anxiety when they step into a language class, especially in the oral-focused lesson. This situation is experienced not only by adult English learners but also by the young ones who are learning in English-speaking classes at the elementary school level. Language anxiety they have is triggered by or originated from numerous factors, including the teacher’s identity factor. A teacher who is a ‘native’ speaker of the language is believed to gear greater anxiety among English as a foreign language learners resulted in passiveness and withdrawal from oral activities in the class. Referring to the circumstance, this study, was conducted to see the level of anxiety in English speaking classes which were taught by a native English speaker teacher (NEST) as well as to see the possible aspects evoking foreign language anxiety among young English learners. This present research, particularly, involved 69 active students of Tarakanita 1 elementary school in Jakarta. The research data was collected using a qualitative method with a set of questionnaires as a major data collection instrument, embracing three key indicators namely fear of communicating, fear of negative evaluations, and testing anxiety. To identify similarities and differences among students of differing anxiety levels, five categories: very low, low, moderate, high, and very high anxiety are applied. Quantitative analysis of the data revealed that the participants exhibit different levels of anxiousness in speaking English with a native English speaker. The highest percentage fell at high level category which was applied for the three aforementioned indicators. Pertaining to the factors influence might arouse anxiety in speaking class fear of communicating, contribute as much as the other two: fear of negative evaluations, and testing anxiety. The findings of this study are expected to benefit both teachers and students. It is hoped that students will develop more awareness towards factors, as anxiety, that may hinder them from mastering English-speaking skill and find solutions to overcome anxiety in speaking. Moreover, teachers are hoped to be more understanding and concerned with the anxiety young English learners experience and help them reduce their anxiety during the classroom performance through implementing various strategies.

Job Enrichment And Employees’ Satisfaction In Nigeria: A Study of Nigerian Police Force And Nigerian Security Civil Defense

This study investigated the relationship between job enrichments and employees’ satisfaction of the Nigerian Police Force and Nigerian Security Civil Defense Corps in the zonal command headquarters in Delta, Edo and Bayelsa States. Primary data (questionnaire) was the major instrument of data collection which was administered on three hundred and eight (308) officers in the Nigerian Police Force and three hundred and eighty (380) officers in the Nigerian Security Civil Defense Corps thus amounting to six hundred and eighty-eight (688) respondents. Out of the 688 administered questionnaires, four hundred and ninety-five (495) were fully completed and retrieved. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics (simple percentages, frequency counts, mean, median, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values, skewness, kurtosis, Karl Pearson correlation), diagnostic statistics (variance inflation factor, Breusch-Pagan Cook Wiesberg, Ramsey regression specification-error and Cameron & Trivedi’s Decomposition tests) and inferential statistics (simple regression). The regression results revealed that while skills variety (F=0.48; Prob. F=0.4905>0.05) had insignificant effects on employees’ satisfaction, task identity (F=140.02; Prob. F=0.0000<0.05), task significance (F=185.65; Prob. F=0.0000<0.05), task autonomy (F=49.28; Prob. F=0.0000<0.05) and feedback from job (F=214.94; Prob. F=0.0000<0.05) had significant effects on employees’ satisfaction. Given the findings, it was recommended among others that Nigerian Police and Civil Defence Commissions should adopt these job enrichment strategies as it would accord personnel the opportunity to use the range of their abilities in promoting the Commissions’ goals and in turn, the their satisfaction levels. This study contributes to knowledge by using the enriched job characteristics model of Hackman and Oldham (1975) in describing the relationship between job enrichments (task identify, significance, autonomy, skill variety and job feedback) employees’ satisfaction in Nigeria.

Quarantine Island: Australia’s Health Policy and Its Construction of International Law

Abstract This article explores the development of Australia’s policy approach towards communicable disease, both domestically and internationally. Drawing on archival records, it considers the methods used by federal and state governments to manage disease in Australia over time, analysing the key beliefs and priorities held by successive governments, and how these reflect Australia’s particular character and history. Against these domestic concerns, the article interrogates Australia’s approach to global health governance, with a particular focus on the state’s contributions to the drafting of major international health instruments on communicable disease. This analysis reveals the idiosyncratic nature of Australia’s health policy and the resulting impact on Australia’s contributions to the international legal system. It shows that Australia’s approach has consistently relied on the creation and preservation of an impermeable national border. This policy reflects an institutionalised belief, held continually since the early colonial period, that disease must be fully eradicated, and that this is best effected through taking advantage of the country’s geographic isolation. Domestically, this conception of disease control results in the adoption of strict quarantine requirements, immigration restrictions and broad discretionary powers regarding the entry of people and goods, while in the international context, Australia supports norms that facilitate its reification of its border. Accordingly, the article contextualises Australia’s health policy across four time periods of global health governance: the first sanitary conferences of the 19th and early-20th centuries, the post-World War II creation of the World Health Organization, the International Health Regulations 2005 revision project, and those Regulations’ operation before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article’s findings reveal the intrinsic connection between the unique domestic concerns of states and their approaches to international negotiations, which stymies the ability to generate effective cooperation globally. It clarifies this relationship and invites reflection on the resulting obstacles to international law’s progressive development.

On the effectiveness of democracy aid in post-civil war recipient countries

ABSTRACT Democracy aid has been a major foreign policy instrument over the past 30 years. However, it is not clear whether such aid has any meaningful effect on democratic development in recipient countries, as previous studies have yielded somewhat contradictory results. We contribute to the burgeoning literature on the effectiveness of democracy aid by arguing that recipient countries’ history of conflict constitutes an important moderator in the relationship between democracy aid and democratic development. Specifically, we develop a theoretical framework which examines the effects of two different types of democracy aid – top-down and bottom-up assistance – on democratic development in post-conflict recipient countries. Analysing data on 147 recipients over a period of 19 years (2002–2020), we find that while neither type has a significant general effect on democracy levels in recipient countries, bottom-up democracy assistance does have a positive and significant effect in post-conflict contexts, which suggests that post-conflict periods pose an opportunity for domestic pro-democracy actors and their international supporters to nudge their countries towards democratic development. These findings have implications for the literatures on democracy aid and conflict as well as policymakers interested in fostering democratic development abroad.

The use of professional audio external USB sound cards for building acoustics measurements

CSIRO purchased an open application programming interface for hardware with an ethernet connection from a major acoustical instrument manufacturer. Using this interface, the author developed software for fractional octave band filtering with linear and exponential averaging. He then extended this software to automatically measure reverberation time. Fast Fourier Transform and Stepped Sine software was also developed. He then realized that CSIRO also owned two professional audio external USB sound cards. One of these had eight analogue inputs and ten analogue outputs. The other had two analogue inputs and two analogue outputs. Both could supply 48 V phantom power on their analogue inputs. It is possible to purchase phantom power preamplifiers for professional measurement microphones, but CSIRO decided to purchase phantom power to IEPE pre-amplifier adaptors. This enabled the use of professional pre-polarized microphones with IEPE microphone preamplifiers and accelerometers with built-in IEPE preamplifiers. CSIRO also had external USB hardware from another acoustical instrument manufacturer. Upon opening this instrument, it consisted of a professional audio external USB sound card and an IEPE front end for the two analogue input channels. The author decided to produce a version of his software that could be used with these three external USB sound cards.

After Sales Services as Determinant of Customers’ Patronage of Satellite Products and Services: A Study of South-South Nigeria

In this study, we examined whether after sales services serve as determinants of customers’ patronage among selected satellite products/services companies in South-South Nigeria. To offer a novel view on the research theme, three (3) after sales service dimensions were employed, namely; product warranty, installation and delivery. Questionnaire was the major instrument of data collection, which was administered on four hundred respondents out of which three hundred and seventy-three were completely retrieved. Data obtained in were analysed using descriptive, diagnostic and inferential statistical techniques. Findings indicated that there is a significant relationship between the after sales services dimensions (product delivery, installation and warranty)and customer’s patronage of satellite products. The implication of the finding is that after sales services serve as determinants of customers’ patronage. In view of the findings, it is recommended that management of satellite products and services need to enhance their strategic plans aimed at further improving product delivery, installation and warranty by ensuring that their transmissions are more effective than ever before so as to attract more customers, increase profitability and market share. Again, the study recommends that management of satellite products and services need to improve on their product warranty, delivery and installation policies so as to further assure customers of improved and quality products as well as attracting more customers.

Prevention of Destructive Fishing Practices: Prospects and Challenges in Law Reform

Destructive fishing practices have been identified as a common problem in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The major causes for destructive fishing in Northern region are increasing the demand for fish consumption, lack of alternative jobs for early dropout schoolchildren, increased gear efficiency, policy failure of existing laws, and poaching by Indian and Southern migratory fishers. The dynamiting, bottom trawling, monofilament net, stake net, brush pile fisheries, purse seines and scuba diving have been identified as the most common destructive fishing practices in the Northern region. Consequences of destructive fishing practices include unintentional killing of target and non-target fish and other marine organisms, hampering local fishing activities such as operations of gill nets and fiber plastic boats and threatening environmentally sensitive marine ecosystems in Sri Lanka. The entire fishing sector in Sri Lanka is regulated by mainly the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act No. 2 of 1996 and the Fisheries Act No. 59 of 1979 enacted by the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DFAR). The Fisheries Act No. 59 of 1979 prohibits fishing by foreign boats in Sri Lankan waters with provisions to impose penalties for any violations. However, major loopholes which are not included in the act comprise of type of fishing gear, methods and harmful material that are prohibited and specific penalty system for usage of banned fishing gear, materials and methods. At the international level, Sri Lanka has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) established to outline a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. Furthermore, the major international instruments ratified by Sri Lanka are “The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), The Conservation of Biological Diversity (CBD), and The Conservation on International Trade in Endangered species (CITES). However, these legal instruments have not been regulated in the Sri Lankan fishing sector. Therefore, it is necessary to revise the existing laws with proper law enforcement while considering geographical regions, type and abundance of marine resources, oceanography, ecology, social aspects and regular monitoring system of fishing practices to maintain the sustainability of marine resources.

The Effect of Non Audit-Services on Auditor’s Professional Scepticism: Stakeholders Perceptive

This study investigates the effect of the provision of non-audit services on Auditor’s professional scepticism evidence from accounting practitioners in Abia State. The study used the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) domiciled in Abia State. The data for the study were generated from primary source: questionnaires were the major instrument for data collection. The instrument was subject to both content and faces validity by experts. Three questions were structured in Likert scale form and the formulated hypotheses were tested with ordinary Logistic regression using SPSS package. The study found that non-audit services have no effect on auditor’s scepticism, the auditor’s objectivity during his course of audit procedure. The study therefore recommends that the audit committee should have full oversight of the auditor’s scepticism including the nature and extent of the work they do and their fees. The auditors been a professional should strive to maintain his integrity during the course of his duties bearing in mind that good name is better than riches. The audit committee should make his charter public and this should give investor information about how the audit committee chooses its auditors and how it decides the type of services they can provide.

Paper-based and computer-based admission tests for medicine – are they equivalent?

Admission tests are among the most widespread and effective criteria for student selection in medicine in Germany. As such, the Test for Medical Studies (TMS) and the Hamburg Assessment Test for Medicine, Natural Sciences (HAM-Nat) are two major selection instruments assessing applicants’ discipline-specific knowledge and cognitive abilities. Both are currently administered in a paper-based format and taken by a majority of approximately 40,000 medicine applicants under high-stakes conditions yearly. Computer-based formats have not yet been used in the high-stakes setting, although this format may optimize student selection processes substantially. For an effective transition to computer-based testing, the test formats’ equivalence (i.e., measurement invariance) is an essential prerequisite. The present study examines measurement invariance across test formats for both the TMS and HAM-Nat. Results are derived from a large, representative sample of university applicants in Germany. Measurement invariance was examined via multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis. Analyses demonstrated partial scalar invariance for both admission tests indicating initial evidence of equivalence across test formats. Generalizability of the results is examined, and implications for the transition to computer-based testing are discussed.