EXAMINING RATING SOURCE VARIATION IN WORK BEHAVIOR TO KSA LINKAGES

We examined Work Behavior to knowledge, skill, or ability linkage ratings for 9 jobs to determine the degree to which differences in the ratings were due to rater type. We collected ratings from incumbents and 2 types of job analysts: project job analysts (analysts knowledgeable of the job) and nonproject job analysts (analysts with very little or no knowledge of the job). In our analyses of the data, we calculated means, standard deviations, effect sizes, and correlations for each rater type, as well as compared the reliability of the ratings. We also estimated variance components for each job by conducting generalizability analyses ( Brennan, 1983 ; Shavelson, Webb, & Rowley, 1989 ). Our findings indicate that the level of linkage ratings is similar across rater types, that it is important to obtain ratings from multiple raters regardless of rater type, and that ratings from job analysts may be more reliable than those of incumbents.     

Dearly Departed: How Often Do Congregations Close?

We establish for the first time a national mortality rate for religious congregations by determining the 2005 status of congregations in the 1998 National Congregations Study sample. The annual mortality rate for religious congregations is 1 percent, which is among the lowest mortality rates ever observed for any type of organization. This unusually low mortality rate probably indicates an organizational population whose weakest members live on in a weakened state rather than an organizational population that is unusually robust all the way down to its most vulnerable members.     

Parent Characteristics as Antecedents of Maternal Gatekeeping and Fathering Behavior

The present study examined the role of prebirth parent characteristics as predictors of maternal gatekeeping (mothers' attempts to encourage or discourage fathers' interaction with their infant) and fathering behavior. Parents' idealization of their relationships within their families of origin, beliefs about the roles of fathers, and personality attributes (negative emotionality and communion) were assessed before their infant's birth. At 3.5 months postpartum, maternal gatekeeping behaviors (negative control, facilitation) and fathers' involvement and competence with their infants were assessed during observation of triadic play and child care. Results suggest reciprocal relations between maternal gatekeeping and fathering behavior. Furthermore, greater paternal communion was associated with greater paternal competence during play, whereas greater maternal communion was associated with lower paternal competence during child care. Greater maternal communion and greater maternal idealization related to fathers' lower relative involvement during play. As for maternal gatekeeping behavior, high negative emotionality in 1 parent was only accompanied by high levels of inhibitory maternal gatekeeping when the other parent had less progressive beliefs about the father's role. The implications of these findings for clinicians and practitioners are discussed.     

The Religious Dynamics of Decision Making on Gay Rights Issues in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1993–2002

In recent decades, homosexuality has emerged as a truly national political issue. As a result, the U.S. Congress is increasingly called upon to consider and set policy on an array of issues related to the status of gay men and lesbians. This article investigates legislator decision making pertaining to gay issues in the U.S. House of Representatives. Specifically, we examine the effect of several indicators on legislator support for progressive gay policies, including ideology, partisanship, and the characteristics of district religious affiliation. We use additive indices of legislator support for progressive gay policies, and use logit and ordered logit to derive estimates of influence. The findings indicate that even while legislator partisanship and ideology largely structure decision making, legislators are also highly responsive to the presence of conservative Protestants and (to a lesser extent) Roman Catholics in their constituency .     

Relational closeness: Comparing undergraduate college students' geographically close and long‐distance friendships

Abstract As interpersonal relationships change with the advent of new technology, researchers need to reexamine their theoretical constructs ( R. G. Adams, 1998 ). This study uses survey methodology to examine college undergraduates from the United States. It explores the concept of relational closeness by comparing how geographically close and long‐distance friends define closeness in their relationships. It assesses prior methods of defining and measuring closeness in interpersonal relationships for the impact of physical distance between the friends. Differences illustrate factors that are important in understanding relational closeness in general and in long‐distance relationships in particular.     

The Effects of Classroom Guidance on Children's Success in School

The authors investigated the effects of classroom guidance on children's classroom behavior, attitudes toward school, and achievement in language arts and mathematics. Pretreatment and posttreatment data were collected on each variable for the treatment and control groups. The study involved 896 children (grades 4 and 5) from 18 different schools in North Carolina. The children came from virtually every geographic region of North Carolina and represented varying economic, social, and cultural environments. Eighteen school counselors volunteered to lead the guidance sessions for children in the treatment group. Results showed the treatment group (n = 453) improving and the control group (n = 443) declining on two measures of classroom behavior and on a single measure of attitude toward school. The differences in score changes between the groups on all these measures were statistically significant (p<.001). The results showed no significant differences in language and math grade changes between the groups. The differences in language grade changes between the groups approached significance (p<.10, however, with the treatment group's language grades improving and the control group's language grades not changing.     

A Perspective for Roffers,Cooper, and Sultanoff

Roffers, Cooper, and Sultanoff conclude that there is support for the use of skill-based training methods to increase counselor trainees' skill applications, but there is a great need to assess whether trainees' skills lead to positive client outcome. The author presents a perspective on the extensive evidence that already exists to support the connection between trainees' skills and positive client outcome.