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Results from two studies provided strong evidence for the validity of the HiSET® tests, thereby demonstrating that HiSET is a well-developed battery of tests with passing and college and career readiness (CCR) standards that, when met, provide a pathway to postsecondary education, better employment opportunities and wages, and a better quality of life to those who are unable to experience a traditional high school education. Positive relationships exist between HiSET scores and both high school grades and ACT scores, including high levels of agreement between HiSET CCR indicators and ACT CCR indicators. Therefore, evidence supports the claim that HiSET scores are measures of high school equivalency, preparedness for middle skills jobs, and college readiness. Furthermore, there is evidence that passing the HiSET provides value to stakeholders. Passing the HiSET battery is associated with gaining academic and personal skills, college enrollment, employment gains (e.g., obtaining employment, obtaining more full-time employment, wage increases, and improvement in a job or position), and quality-of-life improvements.

Researchers and practitioners in postsecondary and workplace settings recognize the value of noncognitive constructs in predicting academic and vocational success but also perceive that many students or employees are lacking in these areas. In turn, there is increased interest in interventions designed to enhance these constructs. We provide an empirically informed theory of change (ToC) that describes the inputs, mechanisms, and outputs of noncognitive construct interventions (NCIs). The components that inform this ToC include specific relevant constructs that are amenable to intervention, intervention content and mechanisms of change, methodological considerations, moderators of program efficacy, recommendations for evaluating NCIs, and suggested outcomes. In turn, NCIs should provide benefits to individuals, institutions, and society at large and also advance our scientific understanding of this important phenomenon.

Researchers, theorists, and practitioners have expressed a renewed interest in the longitudinal dynamics of personality characteristics in adulthood, including organic life span trajectories and their amenability to volitional change. However, this research has apparently not yet expanded to include the Dark Triad (psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism), despite approximately 2 decades of research that has thoroughly examined other important issues related to construct validity and interpersonal behavior. We argue that researchers in postsecondary, occupational, and community-based settings are in a unique position to study the important phenomenon of Dark Triad malleability, as they are less hindered by obstacles in clinical and forensic contexts that have generated largely inconclusive results. In this article, we discuss several examples of methods for evaluating, quantifying, and interpreting Dark Triad malleability, examples of relevant extant training programs, possibilities for developing new programs, and factors that may moderate training efficacy, including Dark Triad levels themselves. Beyond addressing a fundamental question regarding the nature of these traits, the Dark Triad's destructive tendencies suggest that efforts to reduce them would provide myriad societal benefits and could propel Dark Triad research in an important new direction.

We reviewed the current state of the literature on the intervention-based development of interpersonal skills (e.g., teamwork, leadership) and intrapersonal skills (e.g., personality, motivation, etc.) relevant to success in workplace contexts. We adopted a multidisciplinary approach to our review, evaluating research from 39 reviews and meta-analyses from several fields such as educational psychology, industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology, medicine, and personality psychology, among others, to examine the extent to which noncognitive constructs change as a result of intervention. We discuss key findings and trends and conclude by identifying gaps in the literature and directions for future research. Overall, findings suggest optimism regarding the malleability of noncognitive constructs.

Purpose: To report a case of rapidly progressing rhino-orbital cerebral mucormycosis that was particularly difficult to diagnose, initially presenting as orbital apex syndrome. Major findings: In this case, a 59-year-old male patient with uncontrolled diabetes presented with a history of facial pain with no ocular involvement. Within 1 day of hospitalization, the patient developed complete ophthalmoplegia and total visual impairment of the right eye. Over the course of 2 hospital stays, several biopsies resulted in no significant histopathological findings, and several cultures resulted in growth of only a single colony of rhizopus mucor from the sinonasal mucosa. Given the high clinical suspicion of an invasive fungal infection, a universal PCR test was performed from a rapidly developing abscess in the frontal lobe and confirmed a diagnosis of mucormycosis. Conclusions: Orbital apex syndrome is a significant diagnosis that can be caused by a variety of factors, including those of fungal, bacterial, neoplastic, or inflammatory origin. Fungal infections, are a particularly concerning cause of orbital apex syndrome, given their ability to penetrate in and through the orbit to the brain, often resulting in an alarmingly high mortality rate. Mucormycosis, specifically rhino-orbital cerebral mucormycosis, is a very severe opportunistic invasive fungal infection, most often afflicting the immunocompromised. A clinician must be very thorough in their workup so as to not miss such a devastating diagnosis. Histopathology and cell cultures are currently the gold standard for diagnosis, with the potential to augment their technical success through the use of molecular techniques, such as universal PCR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined Italian and U.S. children's performance on the English and Italian versions, respectively, of the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS; Naglieri & Conway, 2009; Naglieri & Das, 1997), a test based on a neurocognitive theory of intelligence entitled PASS (Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive; Naglieri & Das, 1997; Naglieri & Otero, 2011). CAS subtest, PASS scales, and Full Scale scores for Italian (N = 809) and U.S. (N = 1,174) samples, matched by age and gender, were examined. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis results supported the configural invariance of the CAS factor structure between Italians and Americans for the 5- to 7-year-old (root-mean-square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.038; 90% confidence interval [CI] = 0.033, 0.043; comparative fit index [CFI] = 0.96) and 8- to 18-year-old (RMSEA = 0.036; 90% CI = 0.028, 0.043; CFI = 0.97) age groups. The Full Scale standard scores (using the U.S. norms) for the Italian (100.9) and U.S. (100.5) samples were nearly identical. The scores between the samples for the PASS scales were very similar, except for the Attention Scale (d = 0.26), where the Italian sample's mean score was slightly higher. Negligible mean differences were found for 9 of the 13 subtest scores, 3 showed small d-ratios (2 in favor of the Italian sample), and 1 was large (in favor of the U.S. sample), but some differences in subtest variances were found. These findings suggest that the PASS theory, as measured by CAS, yields similar mean scores and showed factorial invariance for these samples of Italian and American children, who differ on cultural and linguistic characteristics. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

Despite much research, skepticism remains over the possibility of profiling scholastic cheaters. However, several relevant predictor variables and newer diagnostic tools have been overlooked. We remedy this deficit with a series of three studies. Study 1 was a large-scale survey of a broad range of personality predictors of self-reported cheating. Significant predictors included the Dark Triad (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy) as well as low agreeableness and low conscientiousness. Only psychopathy remained significant in a multiple regression. Study 2 replicated this pattern using a naturalistic, behavioral indicator of cheating, namely, plagiarism as indexed by the Internet service Turn-It-In. Poor verbal ability was also an independent predictor. Study 3 examined possible motivational mediators of the association between psychopathy and cheating. Unrestrained achievement and moral inhibition were successful mediators whereas fear of punishment was not. Practical implications for researchers and educators are discussed. (Contains 3 footnotes, 4 tables, and 1 figure.)

Although many studies have examined individual difference predictors of cheating, insufficient attention has been given to several important personality variables (the Big Five, perfectionism, and subclinical psychopathy). Moreover, insufficient use has been made of concrete indicators of naturalistic scholastic cheating. Using a computer-based behavioral measure, we examined the correlates of multiple-choice exam cheating in several large undergraduate classes. In Study 1, 291 participants completed a comprehensive battery of personality measures. Their cheating on several subsequent exams was best predicted by their level of subclinical psychopathy. A possible artifact is that those high in subclinical psychopathy are less scholastically competent--a factor known to predispose cheating. To address this possibility in Study 2 (N=150), we included measures of cognitive ability and a pre-course knowledge test. After controlling for both ability and prior knowledge, subclinical psychopathy remained a significant predictor of cheating behavior. Demographic variables such as gender, ethnicity and major did not add significantly to the prediction of cheating. Implications for educators and researchers of cheating are discussed.

Previous research has questioned the educational value of taking introductory courses in psychology. Study 1 confirmed the usual null to negative associations between taking introductory psychology and performance in a subsequent psychology course. Study 2 showed that, after controlling for IQ, there was actually a positive association between taking introductory psychology and performance on a psychology knowledge pretest, which, in turn, was positively associated with course performance. Partial correlation analyses suggested that the apparent disadvantages of introductory psychology are an artifact of self-selection. Specifically, although taking introductory psychology provides beneficial knowledge, the choice to take the course may indicate a maladaptive scholastic style-possibly antiscientific mindedness. We recommend advertising psychology courses more properly as science-oriented to avoid misleading potential students.

Developed an item characteristic curve estimation of signal detection theory based personality data. Results for 266 college students taking the Overclaiming Questionnaire (D. Paulhus and N. Bruce, 1990) suggest that this method is a reasonable approach to describing item functioning and that there are advantages to this method over traditional item response theory models. (SLD)

A study is conducted on (Me2DAP)Pt(G)2 complexes (G = N9-substituted guanine derivative; Me2DAP = 2,4-bis(methylamino)pentane with N, C, C, and N stereochemistries of S,R,S,R, S,R,R,R and R,R,R,R) using NMR and CD spectroscopy and molecular mechanics and dynamics calculations. Results show that the favored Me2DAP chelate ring conformations were chair. Two head-to-tail rotamers and one or two head-to-head rotamers were also observed.

H NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography and molecular mechanics/dynamics (MMD) calculations were used to prepare and study (PtXsub2(Mesub2DAP)) complexes. An understanding of the conformations of the coordinated ligands was gained, and the study provides a useful base for investigating the utility of a molecular mechanics/dynamics method, using a force field suited to nucleic acids.

To study the effects of amine ligand bulk, molecular mechanics calculations and NMR spectroscopy is utilized. According to the results, platinum complexes with bulky amine ligands react with two guanines but only one methionine.

Me2DAPPt(GpG) complexes were characterized by NMR and CD spectroscopies and molecular mechanics and dynamics(MMD) calculations. Steric and hydrogen-bonding interligand interactions result in an interplay between the Me2DAP ligand influencing GpG conformation and vice versa.