Does Vagueness Exclude Knowledge?

On two standard views of vagueness, vagueness as to whether Harry is bald entails that nobody knows whether Harry is bald—either because vagueness is a type of missing truth, and so there is nothing to know, or because vagueness is a type of ignorance, and so even though there is a truth of the matter, nobody can know what that truth is. Vagueness as to whether Harry is bald does entail that nobody clearly knows that Harry is bald and that nobody clearly knows that Harry is not bald. But it does not entail that nobody knows that Harry is bald or that nobody knows that Harry is not bald. Hence, the two standard views of vagueness are mistaken.     

LANGUAGE AND HUMAN NATURE:KURT GOLDSTEIN'S NEUROLINGUISTIC FOUNDATION OF A HOLISTIC PHILOSOPHY

Holism in interwar Germany provides an excellent example for social and political influences on scientific developments. Deeply impressed by the ubiquitous invocation of a cultural crisis, biologists, physicians, and psychologists presented holistic accounts as an alternative to the “mechanistic worldview” of the nineteenth century. Although the ideological background of these accounts is often blatantly obvious, many holistic scientists did not content themselves with a general opposition to a mechanistic worldview but aimed at a rational foundation of their holistic projects. This article will discuss the work of Kurt Goldstein, who is known for both his groundbreaking contributions to neuropsychology and his holistic philosophy of human nature. By focusing on Goldstein's neurolinguistic research, I want to reconstruct the empirical foundations of his holistic program without ignoring its cultural background. In this sense, Goldstein's work provides a case study for the formation of a scientific theory through the complex interplay between specific empirical evidences and the general cultural developments of the Weimar Republic.     

WHY EMPLOYEES DO BAD THINGS: MORAL DISENGAGEMENT AND UNETHICAL ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

We examine the influence of individuals’ propensity to morally disengage on a broad range of unethical organizational behaviors. First, we develop a parsimonious, adult‐oriented, valid, and reliable measure of an individual's propensity to morally disengage, and demonstrate the relationship between it and a number of theoretically relevant constructs in its nomological network. Then, in 4 additional studies spanning laboratory and field settings, we demonstrate the power of the propensity to moral disengage to predict multiple types of unethical organizational behavior. In these studies we demonstrate that the propensity to morally disengage predicts several outcomes (self‐reported unethical behavior, a decision to commit fraud, a self‐serving decision in the workplace, and supervisor‐ and coworker‐reported unethical work behaviors) beyond other established individual difference antecedents of unethical organizational behavior, as well as the most closely related extant measure of the construct. We conclude that scholars and practitioners seeking to understand a broad range of undesirable workplace behaviors can benefit from taking an individual's propensity to morally disengage into account. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.     

Integrative Shifts for the Theory and Practice of Family Systems Therapy

This paper describes several disagreements among approaches to family therapy and proposes two conceptual shifts providing a more integrative perspective. The first shift focuses on the implications of different ways therapists orient themselves to the developing structures of the therapy system and to the disabled structures of the client system. The second shift reconsiders theoretical approaches in terms of the types of distance they require of the therapist and the types of information these distances provide and ignore. Finally, the paper also discusses a means for classifying the different types of goals therapists establish for their clients, emphasizing that these goals must be consistent with the clients' views of themselves and the world.     

STATISTICAL POWER OF TRAINING EVALUATION DESIGNS

Sample size requirements needed to achieve various levels of statistical power using posttest-only, gain-score, and analysis of covariance designs in evaluating training interventions have been developed. Results are presented which indicate that the power to detect true effects differs according to the type of design, the correlation between the pre- and posttest, and the size of the effect due to the training program. We show that the type of design and correlations between the pre- and posttest complexly determine the power curve. Finally, an estimate of typical sample sizes used in training evaluation design has been determined and reviewed to determine the power of the various designs to detect true effects, given this sample-size specification. Recommendations for type of design are provided based on sample size and projected correlations between pre- and posttest scores.     

THE INFLUENCE OF SUBORDINATE AGE ON PERFORMANCE RATINGS AND CAUSAL ATTRIBUTIONS

Three issues were examined in this study relative to the role of subordinate age in performance evaluations. First, it was found that supervisors rated older subordinates lower than younger subordinates doing the same job. Second, differences between self-ratings of performance and supervisory ratings seemed to be a function of the subordinate's age. Third, a significant age × performance interaction was detected on ability attributions.     

Organizational Costs of Sexual Harassment

Working women were surveyed regarding their probable initial reactions to different forms of sexual harassment. Many indicated they would either quit their jobs or report sexual harassment to external authorities. Discusses organizational costs of sexual harassment, ways of preventing such costs, and implications for employment counselors.     

The Use of Groups in Religiously Based Helping Relationships

The author examines the use of the small group modality for providing helping services in religious settings and the use of religious-spiritual content in small helping groups. Included is a review and critique of various types of service, including group therapy, marital treatment, marriage enrichment, growth groups, and assertion training. Issues of philosophy and implementation are discussed; recommendations are made for the training and practice of persons who engage in religiously oriented helping relationships.     

WHEN POLITICS PAYS: FACTORS INFLUENCING MANAGERIAL COMPENSATION DECISIONS

Pay allocation decisions of 123 industrial uniform industry managers were investigated. Results showed that the managers awarded higher pay raises to a subordinate when they were dependent on the subordinate's expertise. Political connections led to a higher raise for the subordinate only when the subordinate made a dependency threat.     

The Employability Inventory: An Overview

the background, development, content and validation of the Employability Inventory, an instrument designed to assess knowledge of job seeking, job retention, and job success. Usefulness of the inventory in both counseling and education.