International Guidelines on Computer-Based and Internet-Delivered Testing: A Practitioner's Perspective

This article sets out a practitioner's perspective on the International Test Commission (ITC) guidelines. After setting the scene and describing the testing environment in which the need for the Guidelines on Computer-Based and Internet-Delivered Testing (ITC, 2005) is established, the article goes on to identify specific issues of relevance to the international practitioner. The main contributions made by the guidelines are each addressed in the light of their perceived relevance and utility. In the process, a number of limitations are identified, and suggestions as to how these might be overcome are offered. The article concludes by welcoming the guidelines as offering a constructive and relevant baseline from which to take the testing industry forward in a time of rapid technological change.     

Design and Development of the ITC Guidelines on Computer-Based and Internet-Delivered Testing

This article describes the design and development of the International Test Commission's (ITC, this issue) Guidelines for Computer-Based and Internet-Delivered Testing. It examines some of the reasons why the ITC Council decided to invest in a program of research, consultation, and conferences designed to develop internationally agreed-on guidelines specifically aimed at computer- and Internet-based testing and describes the methodology involved in developing and disseminating the guidelines. Through a process of reviewing relevant literature and organizing conferences and wide consultations, a set of internationally recognized guidelines that highlighted good practice issues in computer/Internet testing were developed. The guidelines will raise awareness among all stakeholders in the testing process of what constitutes good practice in computer/Internet testing and can be used as a benchmark to set local standards and guidelines. Further issues are raised from the research, not least the need to ensure that with advances in technology and science comes the updating of training in tests and testing to keep up with such advances.     

Adaptation transculturelle de tests et échelles de mesure psychologiques : guide pratique basé sur les Recommandations de la Commission Internationale des Tests et les Standards de pratique du testing de l’APA

Thirty years ago, Vallerand (1989) wrote a pioneering article entitled “Toward a methodology for the transcultural validation of psychological questionnaires: Implications for research in the French language”, whose success has never failed, as well as its usefulness. However, considerable progress has been made in the field of test development and test adaptation since the publication of this article, notably with the publications (and their updates) of the ITC Guidelines for Translating and Adapting Tests (2017) by the International Test Commission, and of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (2014) by the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the American Psychological Association (APA), and the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME). Based on these two key references, the present article aimed to update the procedure proposed by Vallerand. Without claiming to replace these major references, on the contrary, our objective here is to propose a 10-step procedure for adapting tests and psychological measures originally developed for other cultures and/or languages, a sort of framework guiding in step-by-step manner the adaptation of tests and the validation of their scores.     

Disruption,dialogue, and swerve: Reflective structured dialogue in religious studies classrooms

This article focuses on Reflective Structured Dialogue as a set of practices developed in the context of conflict resolution that are well suited to handling quotidian uneasiness and extraordinary moments of disruption in religious studies classrooms. After introducing Reflective Structured Dialogue's history, goals, and general practices, the authors consider its uses in classroom settings. They argue that a classroom in which teachers understand themselves as facilitators, and in which students are experienced in structured dialogue practices – including being comfortable in a state of intellectual “wobble” – is one more apt to be able to engage with, and more likely to benefit from, disruptive events.     

Use of Educational and Psychological Tests Internationally

Les aspects internationaux du développement et de l'usage des tests sont traités ici, en particulier pour situer les articles de cette édition spéciale. On présente succinctement l'utilisation internationale des tests ainsi que l'histoire, l'impact des conditions externes et internes, les normes et les lignes directrices du développement et de l'usage des tests. On parle aussi des organisations régionales et internationales actives dans le domaine du développement et de l'usage des tests, sans oublier les initiatives de structures comme la Commission Internationale des Tests.
International aspects of test development and use are described, in part, to provide a context for other articles in this special issue. The history of test development and use, external and internal conditions that impact test development and use, test use internationally, together with standards and guidelines for test development and use are summarised. Regional and international organisations providing leadership in test development and use as well as leadership efforts by the International Test Commission and others are discussed.     

Broadway Musicals and the Christian Sermon: Communicating Moral Reasoning,Church Values,and Prosocial Behaviors

This article considers the influence of Broadway musicals on the spiritual growth, prosocial attitudes, church values, and moral reasoning of adults when used in Christian congregational worship. Can a church structure and use Broadway musicals in sermons to encourage its lay congregation to identify moral reasoning and recognize core church values and prosocial ideas through sermons based on Broadway musical theater? We applied humanistic psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning and development considered along with the church's stated core values and prosocial behavior to test if these themes were reflected in the rhetoric of sermons based on Broadway musicals presented from 2008–2015. Findings indicate that this series was well received by the congregation and leadership. Suggestions for further research and church applications for Christian education are given. This research highlights the importance of church archives and library support for the further development of information about the church and its role in society.     

Learning as Leaving Home: Fear,Empathy, and Hospitality in the Theology and Religion Classroom

The article is a response to this journal's call for papers on metaphors for teaching, and also draws from a previous publication in which Kent Eilers developed a methodology for teaching global theologies. In this methodology, the ultimate goal was the development of “hermeneutical dispositions of empathy, hospitality, and receptivity toward culturally diverse voices” (2014, 165). This article considers the goals of Eilers' methodology, and others like his, and how it is that the metaphors of “leaving home” and “communal imagination” highlight the importance of the ambient and interpersonal features of a classroom and their effect on the attainment of the above goals. In so doing, it extends the conversation beyond content and methodology in teaching theology and religion into the realms of philosophy of education, as well as the fields of moral and values education. It is contended that the metaphors informed by these areas of study facilitate the attainment of such goals, and similar ones, by demonstrating that the cultivation of an ambience of care, trust, and compassion within the classroom constitutes an essential foundation for learning in which students “leave home” and cultivate “communal imagination.” The article finishes with practical suggestions for educators in theology and religion.     

Post‐September 11th Perspectives on Religion,Spirituality, and Philosophy in the Personal and Professional Lives of Selected REBT Cognoscenti

The purpose of this article was for selected Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) cognoscenti to examine the impact of the events of September 11th, 2001, on their beliefs about religion, spirituality, and their personal philosophy—including the role of evil in the universe and the implications of these issues on their use of REBT. The degree of consistency of the authors' views with classical REBT theory and philosophy was examined. The authors are current or former members of the Albert Ellis Institute's International Training Standards and Policy Review Committee, of which Albert Ellis, REBT's founder, is also a member.     

The development and effectiveness of memory strategies in kindergarten and elementary school: Findings from the Würzburg and Göttingen longitudinal memory studies

This article reports findings of the Würzburg and Göttingen Longitudinal Memory Studies, which focused on children's verbal memory development. The studies started with 102 (German) kindergarten children in Würzburg and 86 second-graders in Göttingen who were tested on various memory measures, including sort-recall, memory capacity, metamemory, and verbal IQ. Assessments were repeated nine times, with adjacent measurement points separated by 6-month time intervals. The main goals of the studies concerned the assessment of utilization deficiencies during the course of strategy development, the analysis of factors influencing the effectiveness of strategy use, and the occurrence of multiple strategy use. Findings confirmed the outcome of previous longitudinal studies in that semantic organization strategies were not always accompanied by superior recall, but utilization deficiency problems were comparably rare. Strategy effectiveness was shown as being affected mainly by memory capacity and by children's tendency to engage in multiple strategy use. However, children did not start to apply multiple strategies effectively until the end of Grade 2.     

Kant,Reichenbach, and the Fate of A Priori Principles

Abstract: This article contends that the relation of early logical empiricism to Kant was more complex than is often assumed. It argues that Reichenbach's early work on Kant and Einstein, entitled The Theory of Relativity and A Priori Knowledge (1920) aimed to transform rather than to oppose Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. One the one hand, I argue that Reichenbach's conception of coordinating principles, derived from Kant's conception of synthetic a priori principles, offers a valuable way of accounting for the historicity of scientific paradigms. On the other hand, I show that even Reichenbach, in line with Neo‐Kantianism, associated Kant's view of synthetic a priori principles too closely with Newtonian physics and, consequently, overestimated the difference between Kant's philosophy and his own. This is even more so, I point out, in the retrospective account logical empiricism presented of its own history. Whereas contemporary reconstructions of this history, including Michael Friedman's, tend to endorse this account, I offer an interpretation of Kant's conception of a priori principles that contrasts with the one put forward by both Neo‐Kantianism and logical empiricism. On this basis, I re‐examine the early Reichenbach's effort to accommodate these principles to the paradigm forged by Einstein.     

Excursions in Rorschachlandia: Surveying the scientific and philosophical landscape of Hermann Rorschach's Psychodiagnostics

This article examines the milieu of Hermann Rorschach's Psychodiagnostics (1921/2021) under development between 1911 and his death in 1922 and explores new evidence about the direction Rorschach's test might have taken after publication of Psychodiagnostics. This includes direct and indirect influences from turn of the century continental philosophy and science and innovative colleagues in the Swiss psychiatric and psychoanalytic societies. The availability of newly translated scholarship, including the correspondence between Ludwig Binswanger and Hermann Rorschach following the 1921 publication of Psychodiagnostics, Binswanger's posthumous 1923 commentary in the International Journal of Psychoanalysis, and recent new translation of Psychodiagnostics, permits a fresh appraisal of the milieu and foundations of Rorschach's development. Understanding these sources and influences opens new vistas in reappraising the nature of Rorschach's “test theory” which Rorschach considered undeveloped at the time of his death. This paper presents new evidence that, under the influence of Rorschach's close colleague, Ludwig Binswanger, the Geisteswissenschaften and phenomenology might have figured prominently in future developments. The paper concludes that Rorschach, preoccupied with considerations of kinesthetic subjectivity in his innovative conceptualization of human movement responses, was a nascent phenomenologist whose untimely death cut short further developments in his theory of the test.     

Little Jeremy's Struggle with Autism,Schizophrenia and Parano a

Since its formulation by Bleuler in 1911, the generalisation of the term ''autism'', mainly due to its use by Kanner in 1943 and its remake by authors of Kleinian inspiration, implies problems which mislead us, blurring our perception and understanding of clinical realities. Our psychoanalytical possibilities can be enlarged by a clear knowledge of the history of psychoanalysis, a dynamic approach to psychiatric classification and to problems related to our conception of the setting. On the basis of a case history the author shows how a child and its family worked through major autistic symptoms and proposes new approaches to some psychoanalytical concepts.     

The Lessons of the Development of the First APA Ethics Code: Blending Science,Practice, and Politics

The Ethics Code of the American Psychological Association (APA) is a bedrock of the profession. The contextual factors of society affect the Ethics Code of the APA, resulting in an ever-changing document. The context of the reorganization of the APA after World War II created an initial impetus toward a formalized code. A key contextual feature of the Code's development was the use of the Critical Incident Technique, which was based in the empirical aspirations of the psychological field. This article explores the historical context around the APA's decision to draft an ethics code, reviews its development, and discusses its role for psychologists today.     

Qur'anic Covenants Reconsidered: mīthāq and ʿahd in Polemical Context

This article examines the Qur'an's use of 'covenant' (Arabic ?ahd and mīthāq). Recent scholarly attention to covenants in the Qur'an has hitherto largely hinged on modern questions of inclusivism, pluralism, or notions of Islamic salvation history. Most studies have focused on Q 7.172 (and its interpretations), which is usually treated as the most important covenantal verse in the Qur'an. The analysis here is intended to be not an exhaustive study of covenant in the Qur'an, but an attempt to re-orient the discussion in terms of the qur'anic usage as distinct from later categories, and to move away from the tendency to prioritize Q 7.172 as the central covenant verse. The article pays particular attention to the way in which the Qur'an re-contextualizes 'covenant' for its own theological ends, and argues that the Qur'an uses this motif for a multiplicity of purposes. To this end it highlights three elements of the Qur'an's covenant theology: (1) its prophetological connotations, (2) its association with legal injunctions and the Decalogue, and (3) its eschatological implications. All three components often serve polemical functions. The article also makes some brief observations concerning the relationship between the Qur'an's use of covenant and its Late Antique context.     

DELEGITIMIZING JEWS AND ISRAEL IN IRAN'S INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST CARTOON CONTEST

In 2006, the Iranian government-aligned newspaper Hamshahri sponsored The International Holocaust Cartoon Contest. The stated aim of the contest was to denounce “Western hypocrisy on freedom of speech,” and to challenge “Western hegemony” in relation to Holocaust knowledge. This government-backed initiative was a clear attempt to export the Iranian regime's anti-Zionist agenda. Using qualitative thematic analysis and Social Representations Theory, this article provides an in-depth qualitative analysis of the cartoons submitted to the contest in order to identify emerging social representations of Jews and Israel. Three superordinate themes are outlined: (i) “Constructing the ‘Evil Jew’ and ‘Brutal Israel’ as a Universal Threat;” (ii) “Denying the Holocaust and Affirming Palestinian Suffering;” (iii) “Constructing International Subservience to ‘Nazi-Zionist’ Ideology.” Although the organizers of the International Holocaust Cartoon Contest claimed that their aims were anti-Zionist, this article elucidates the overtly anti-Semitic character of the contest and its cartoons. It is argued that the cartoons exhibit a distorted, one-sided version of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and of Jewish history, and may therefore shape viewers' beliefs concerning Jews and Israel in fundamentally negative ways, with negative outcomes for intergroup relations and social harmony.     

Trying,Intentions, and the Processes by Which Goals Influence Performance: An Empirical Test of the Theory of Goal Pursuit1

A laboratory-based test of the theory of goal pursuit (Bagozzi & Warshaw, 1990) was conducted with results indicating substantial support for the theory. Goal attainment and task performance were predicted by a measure of trying, which was associated with the 4 mechanisms of effort, persistence, attention, and use of effective task strategies. Trying was predicted by an individual's intention to try. The intention to try was predicted by an attitude toward trying and a subjective norm toward trying. The individual's attitude toward the process and reactions to success and failure correlated with attitude toward trying. However, regression analyses indicated that the reactions toward failure did not contribute to the prediction of the attitude toward trying. Discussion focused on the utility of the theory of goal pursuit for understanding the processes by which goals influence performance.