Reliability of job evaluation: Differences across sex-typed jobs

Recent work has questioned whether a single job evaluation instrument can reliably measure jobs from different job families. To test this, a generalizability study was done to determine the reliability of three job evaluation instruments: one for male-dominated jobs, MIMA-Shop, one for female-dominated jobs, MIMA-office and one which evaluated both types, FES. Initial results indicated that the latter instrument suffered no loss in reliability, and that all three instruments were equally highly reliable. A second analysis evaluated the reliability of the FES for male-dominated jobs separately from the reliability of the FES for female-dominated jobs. These results indicated no significant difference in reliability for male-dominated jobs and for female-dominated jobs. Implications of these findings were discussed.A previous version of this paper was presented at the 95th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association at New York City, August 1987.     

HyperCard administration of a block-design task

HyperCard (Atkinson, 1987) is a new development environment for the Macintosh that shows promise for use in psychological research and testing. In this paper, we discuss the development of HyperCard stackware with which a block-design task similar to that of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) can be administered. The reliability and validity of the computerized block-design task was evaluated by administering both the computerized task and the WAIS-R subtest to college undergraduates. Results indicated that the computerized task’s reliability compared favorably with that of the WAIS-R subtest. Validity coefficients were equivocal; although an elapsed-time measure showed moderate correlation between the tasks, the numbers of designs correctly completed in each condition were not significantly correlated.     

TIMEX2: A modified C-language timer for PC AT class machines

Emerson (1988) provided a simple C-language timing routine for use with PC AT class machines. Unfortunately, this version of the timing routine makes use of nonstandard functions that are not available in all C-language packages. A modified version of this timing routine that does not make use of one of these nonstandard functions is provided. This version of TIMEX runs under the widely available Microsoft C 5.1. The need and availability of the remaining four nonstandard C functions is discussed. Constants needed to convert the timing routine units into seconds and milliseconds are also provided.     

Using the microcomputer as a visual aid in the statistics classroom

A microcomputer running a spreadsheet program makes an excellent visual aid for demonstrating statistical concepts and procedures. Some advantages of this setup over traditional visual aids are described. Several statistical demonstrations that I have found to work well are presented.     

A comparison of inexpensive statistical packages for microcomputers running MS-DOS

The purpose of the present paper is to describe and compare some inexpensive software packages that calculate a variety of statistics on microcomputers running MS-DOS. For each package, hardware requirements, program capabilities, limitations, accuracy, error handling, and other features are considered.     

The on-line voyeur: Promises and pitfalls of observing electronic interaction

Studies that compare objective data on communication activity to data provided in verbal reports have indicated that verbal report data are not as accurate as one might hope. Researchers of communication have used verbal reports as their primary source of data because it presents a cheap and easy way to collect the data. This paper presents an easy alternative involving the study ofelectronic communication: a method that allows the collection of objective information on electronic communication, thus avoiding the problems associated with self-reports. The paper reviews the available literature on the accuracy of self-reports of communication, presents the instrument used to collect the objective electronic communication data, and discusses some of the difficulties and limitations encountered in implementing a study using the instrument.     

Statistical analysis of fuzzy-set data from neuronal networks

In this study, we describe the process of transforming neuron polarization values that meet the assumptions of ratio data into ordinal data. This is a crisp-to-fuzzy set transformation. A computerized simulation of the application of this process is discussed and nonparametric methods of analyzing fuzzy-set data are presented.     

Automation of learning-set testing: The video-task paradigm

Researchers interested in studying discrimination learning in primates have typically utilized variations in the Wisconsin General Test Apparatus (WGTA). In the present experiment, a new testing apparatus for the study of primate learning is proposed. In the video-task paradigm, rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) respond to computer-generated stimuli by manipulating a joystick. Using this apparatus, discrimination learning-set data for 2 monkeys were obtained. Performance on Trial 2 exceeded 80% within 200 discrimination learning problems. These data illustrate the utility of the video-task paradigm in comparative research. Additionally, the efficient learning and rich data that were characteristic of this study suggest several advantages of the present testing paradigm over traditional WGTA testing.