A simple proof of a personnel classification theorem

A simple algebraic proof of a theorem defining the optimal solution to the personnel classification problem is given. If a set of constants, one for each job, are known, the theorem indicates that each individual should be classified by adding the constants to the estimates of the individual's productivity in the several jobs and selecting the job for which the resulting sum is highest. The opinions expressed are those of the author and are not to be construed as reflecting official Department of the Army policy.     

The role of perceptions of political tactics in predicting turnover from behavioral intentions

The role of behavioral intentions in predicting turnover has received considerable attention in recent years. The purpose of the present study was to examine the potential moderating impact of a person's perceptions of political tactics (PPT) on the relationship between turnover intentions and voluntary turnover. The research sample consisted of 404 white-collar employees working for a textile manufacturing firm. Logistic regression indicated support for the hypothesized moderator effect. Results suggested that turnover intentions were less predictive of turnover for individuals who perceived political tactics to be useful in attaining organizational success as compared to those who perceived them not to be useful. Future research suggestions are provided.     

Recall and recognition of self-performed acts

Summary In Experiment 1, recall and recognition of 80 action phrases were compared under two encoding conditions: verbal and motor (performing the denoted acts). Memory performance was better under motor encoding than under verbal encoding, and more so in recognition than in recall. We assume that this finding is due to the item-specific effect of a specific motor component in the memory trace after enacting. In Experiments 2 and 3 we further investigated whether false-alarm rates are dependent on the motoric similarity of distractor items. The rate of false alarms was lower under motor encoding than under verbal encoding, but the motoric similarity of distractor items to list items did not influence the false alarms. The results were interpreted as support for the assumption that motor encoding enhances item-specific information in relation to verbal encoding, but that during verbal recognition the motoric quality of the depicted movement is not processed.     

Effects of left-hand preference on postinjury measures of distal motor ability

The relationship of preinjury left-hand dominance for motor performance to postinjury distal motor skills following penetrating brain wounds in patients without overt hemiplegia was examined. We studied 13 controls, 13 right-hemisphere brain-damaged patients, and 11 left-hemisphere brain-damaged patients on motor tasks measuring reaction time, strength, and coordination. Our results indicated that no persistent deficits were seen on distal motor tasks in left-handed adults who suffered a penetrating brain wound. These findings are compatible with the relative sparing of persistent neuropsychological deficits in left-handers following brain damage.     

Telephone counseling increases cessation rates among young adult smokers.

During June 2000-May 2001, the American Cancer Society conducted a randomized trial of telephone counseling among more than 3,500 current smokers who called to seek assistance in quitting. All eligible callers were randomized to receive either self-help booklets through the mail or booklets and up to 5 sessions of telephone counseling. Approximately 12% (420/3,522) of study participants were 18-25 years of age. Using intent to treat analyses, 3- and 6-month quit rates among both younger and older smokers were significantly higher among those who received telephone counseling than among those who received self-help booklets only. Three-month rates were 20% versus 9% for 18-25 year olds and 15% versus 10% for older adults. Results indicate that younger smokers can benefit from telephone counseling.     

Psychotherapie zwischen Narrativ und Qualit?tssicherung

Two important books and a psychotherapeutic quality study published in 2011 serve as background for the examination of the polar conditions that determine psychotherapeutic work: the laws of the narrative, i.e. of relating, which provides the contents of the psychotherapeutic work and quality assurance as the canon of the scientific, politically correct and governmental controls of psychotherapeutic practice. The narrative is a composition formally characterized by a course scheme and in terms of contents as an enactment of the first person narrator and a narrated first person. Different from daydreams it seeks public attention and the listener in order to evoke concern and identification. It transports wishes, anxiety, fulfillment and catastrophes. The narrative is the phenomenology of speech logic and interpersonal coherence and can be linked to different theories, above all psychoanalytical ones. For psychotherapy it opens the world of the ??I??, with its conflicts, assessments and stabilizing efforts in the interpersonal context. Quality control is also a scientifically based steering of practical work which is increasingly being manifested in psychotherapy as well as in medicine and other areas of life. A study of the Techniker Krankenkasse (Technical Health Insurance) concluded in May 2011, confirms the uselessness of time-consuming and costly control procedures in psychotherapy and emphasizes the importance of good training and further education, for which the study has attested a high quality for Germany.     

Which processes are involved in cognitive procedural learning?

Procedural memory is characterised by a relative resistance to pathology, making its assessment of the utmost importance. However, few studies have looked at the cognitive processes involved in cognitive procedural learning. In an initial experiment, we studied the role of different cognitive functions in massed cognitive procedural learning. Our results confirmed the existence of three separate learning phases and, for the first time, demonstrated the involvement of episodic memory and executive functions in the first learning phase. In a second experiment, we studied the effect of distributed learning conditions on the dynamics of procedural learning. This second study confirmed our results but showed that these conditions slow down the process of cognitive procedural learning. Our overall findings call into question the status of functionally autonomous memory system that is currently allotted to procedural memory, and suggest that the role of nonprocedural cognitive components should be taken into account in patient rehabilitation.     

You can't get something for nothing: Kierkegaard and Heidegger on how not to overcome Nihilism 1

This paper analyzes Kierkegaard's Religiousness A sphere of existence, presented in his edifying works, and Heidegger's concept of authenticity, proposed in Being and Time, as responses to modern nihilism. While Kierkegaard argues that Religiousness A is an unsuccessful response to modern nihilism, Heidegger claims that authenticity, a secularized version of Religiousness A, is a successful response. We argue that Heidegger's secularization of Religiousness A is incomplete and unsuccessful, that Heidegger's later work offers a reconsideration of the problem of modern nihilism, and that later Heidegger suggests a way out of nihilism which is compatible with Kierkegaard's Religiousness B sphere of existence.     

Using Recruiter Assessments of Applicants’ Resume Content to Predict Applicant Mental Ability and Big Five Personality Dimensions

Information provided on applicants’ resumes provides a convenient, cost–effective means for applicant screening. We sought to determine if recruiters’ assessments of the presence of certain types of information on job applicants’ resumes was related to applicants’ general mental ability and personality traits. Forty recruiters from 35 organizations assessed the extent to which specified items were present on the resumes of job applicants. Results indicated relationships between recruiters’ judgments regarding applicants’ resume information and applicants’ cognitive ability and Big Five personality characteristics. Implications for the use of resume information in the selection process are discussed.