Faculty in Faith-Based Institutions: Participation in Decision-Making and Its Impact on Job Satisfaction

This study examined full-time faculty in Christian, faith-based colleges and universities and investigated the type of impact their participation in the decision-making process had on job satisfaction. Previous studies have examined relationships among faculty at state universities and community colleges, yet little research has been examined in the area of full-time faculty at faith-based universities. This study sampled 145 full-time faculties at faith-based universities and examined the demographic variables of gender, age, years of teaching experience, degree, rank and salary groups, and participation. Regression analysis indicated that there were no significant relationships, while t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed no significant differences. Discussion of the findings focused on possible reasons these findings differ from those in studies investigating public colleges and universities.     

Recall of word lists is enhanced with increased spreading activation

ABSTRACT

Some evidence exists supporting a relationship between spreading activation in semantic/lexical memory networks and episodic memory. However, the results have been mixed and there have been no investigations examining whether a relationship exists between variability in spreading activation and episodic memory. Hence, we sought to investigate these potential relationships. Thirteen individuals were administered the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test–Revised (HVLT-R) and the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT). The average word frequency of all the “F” words generated on the COWAT was used as a measure of spreading activation. Variability in spreading activation was assessed by calculating the variability of the word frequencies from the COWAT across time. The results confirmed our hypotheses, with significant negative correlations found between free recall on the HVLT-R and both the average word frequency and measures of variability in spreading activation.     

Effects of Mothers' Overestimations and Underestimations of Their Children's Intellectual Ability: A Reanalysis of Hunt and Paraskevopoulos

Hunt and Paraskevopoulos reported (1980a) that mothers' tendency to overestimate their children's performances on intelligence-test items had a strongly negative correlation with children's intellectual ability, whereas their tendency to underestimate had a negligible correlation. Those findings were misleading side effects of the method used to measure mothers' tendencies to overestimate and underestimate. Appropriate alternative measures are suggested in the present article, and results that would have been obtained with them are approximated. According to this reanalysis, mothers' tendencies to both overestimate and underestimate have modest but significant negative correlations with children's intellectual ability. Mothers' tendency to make accurate estimations has a moderately strong positive correlation with children's intellectual ability.     

Suicide Risk Prediction: A New Approach*

A computer program that collects suicide risk factors by computer interview from persons with thoughts of suicide and processes the data to provide risk predictions has been written and pilot tested. Patient acceptance of the interviewing technique was good; more than half of the patients interviewed preferred the computer to a doctor as an interviewer. Bayes Theorem is used to process the data collected against a subjective data base. In a retrospective study comparing risk predictions made by the computer with predictions by experienced clinicians, the computer was more accurate in predicting suicide attempters (p .01) and slightly less accurate in predicting nonattempters. The program is economical, can be used wherever a telephone and a computer terminal are available, and is readily and uniformly modified to include new data.     

Remembering is in the details: Effects of test-list context on memory for an event

We examined how recognition judgements for a set of event details are influenced by the relative difficulty of the other details included on the test. Participants viewed a crime event and then assigned remember/know judgements to details on a recognition test. In Experiment 1, details of medium difficulty were more likely to be classified as remembered when mixed with hard details rather than easy details. Similarly, in Experiment 2, medium details presented in blocked format were more likely to be classified as remembered when preceded by a block of hard details rather than a block of easy details. The test-list context thus appears to influence how participants define remembering. In Experiment 3, informing participants of the relative difficulty of the upcoming block of details eliminated the blocking effect. Implications for accounts of remember/know judgements and for conducting memory interviews are discussed.     

The tasks of self-managing hepatitis C: The significance of disclosure

The narratives of those with hepatitis C were viewed through the lens of Corbin and Strauss’ [Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (1988). Unending work and care: Managing chronic illness at home. The Jossey-Bass health series and The Jossey-Bass social and behavioral science series. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.] self-management model for chronic illness, using qualitative methodology. Fifteen Australian hepatitis C positive interviewees described the challenges and turning points in adjusting to their diagnosis. The data were analysed using open- and closed-coding methods. Support was found for a self-management model encompassing medical, emotional and life role facets for those adjusting to life with hepatitis C. Unique challenges emerged beyond those described by Corbin and Strauss (1988 Corbin, J and Strauss, A. 1988. Unending work and care: Managing chronic illness at home, The Jossey-Bass health series and The Jossey-Bass social and behavioral science series San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.  [Google Scholar]), namely that disclosure impacted both positively and negatively on the tasks of self-management. It was concluded that self-management may be compromised by disclosure, particularly distress derived from hepatitis C-related stigma. The self-management tasks described contribute to broadening clinicians’ understanding of the challenges faced by those living with hepatitis C.     

Dimensionality of the Beck Anxiety Inventory in a Polytrauma Sample of OEF/OIF/OND Veterans: Findings From Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis

The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) is commonly used as a screening instrument for symptoms of anxiety in clinical settings. The factor structure has been researched in a variety of different clinical settings with results ranging from a 2- to 5-factor structure. The purpose of this study was to explore the factor structure of this instrument in a polytrauma veteran sample. A sample of 304 veterans was used for this study. All subjects were administered the BAI screening measure as part of an evaluation in an outpatient polytrauma clinic. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted for half of the sample, followed by confirmatory factor analysis for the remaining sample to determine the best model. Factor analyses revealed that a 5-factor model provided a best fit. It is interesting to note that previously identified models of the BAI with other types of samples did not provide the best fit for this polytrauma sample. The BAI may provide additional information for clinicians when examining the 5-factor model with veterans in polytrauma settings. The factor structure of the BAI includes 1 factor (i.e., personal safety) that may be unique for veterans who have served in combat zones.