The relation of organizational process orientation to effectiveness and efficiency in elementary public schools

Organizational psychology has identified four recurrent organizational models (rational goal, open systems, human relations, and internal processes), each placing different emphases on internal and external organizational processes. Using a sample of 122 elementary schools in a large suburban school district located outside a metropolitan area, the present study examined the relation of school emphases on internal and external processes to school effectiveness and efficiency. Consistent with hypotheses, inefficient schools (lower-than-average student achievement test scores, adjusted by the percentage of students enrolled in the free and reduced-price meal program and per-pupil expenditures) were identified by the human relations model or as inward-directed with emphasis on the quality of student-school staff interpersonal relationships, by higher levels of student enjoyment, and by smaller student enrollments and smaller student-faculty ratios. Contrary to expectation, results showed that effective schools (higher-than-average student achievement test scores) were best described in terms of the rational goal model or as outward-directed, with emphasis on involving and empowering parents and on internal structure, control, and inflexibility (i.e., more school order and discipline). Results are discussed in terms of the broader organizational literature, specifically, competing organizational value orientations, effects of organizational structure and member characteristics on organizational process orientation, and the use of organizational process orientation as means to achieve organizational effectiveness and efficiency.     

Perceptions of Liver Transplant Candidates with or Without an Alcohol Use History

Cirrhosis secondary to alcohol use is a primary cause of liver disease and a medical condition for which liver transplantation is a viable treatment option. However, there remains considerable debate within both the lay and the medical communities regarding the distribution of a scarce medical resource to adults with alcoholism. This study examined college students' perceptions toward an adult, presented in a written vignette, for whom liver transplantation was medically indicated. The influence of gender (female and male) and alcohol use history (no alcohol history, alcoholism history with long-term abstinence, alcoholism history with current use) on these ratings was examined. Subjects rated the adult presented with no alcohol history more positively than they did the adults presented with a history of alcoholism. Also, the adult with no alcohol history was more likely to be offered transplantation and was given higher priority ratings for transplantation by subjects. While subjects' own alcohol use history and organ donor registration status were not associated with ratings, having a family member with an alcohol problem and personally knowing a transplant recipient were related to more favorable ratings toward the adult presented in the vignette. Implications of these findings as well as limitations of the study are discussed.     

The Revised Conners' Parent Rating Scale (CPRS-R): Factor Structure, Reliability, and Criterion Validity

The Conners' Parent Rating Scale (CPRS) is a popular research and clinical tool for obtaining parental reports of childhood behavior problems. The present study introduces a revised CPRS (CPRS-R) which has norms derived from a large, representative sample of North American children, uses confirmatory factor analysis to develop a definitive factor structure, and has an updated item content to reflect recent knowledge and developments concerning childhood behavior problems. Exploratory and confirmatory factor-analytic results revealed a seven-factor model including the following factors: Cognitive Problems, Oppositional, Hyperactivity-Impulsivity, Anxious-Shy, Perfectionism, Social Problems, and Psychosomatic. The psychometric properties of the revised scale appear adequate as demonstrated by good internal reliability coefficients, high test-retest reliability, and effective discriminatory power. Advantages of the CPRS-R include a corresponding factor structure with the Conners' Teacher Rating Scale—Revised and comprehensive symptom coverage for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and related disorders. Factor congruence with the original CPRS as well as similarities with other parent rating scales are discussed.     

Aggression Observation Scale for Group Psychotherapy

An observational scale to record aggressive behaviors, defenses, and interventions that occur during a psychotherapy group has been developed. Content and process items were included. The content items focus on the spoken material and are on a continuum of increasing group members' awareness of and responsibility for their anger. The process items are directed to underlying psychodynamic issues on a continuum from avoiding anger, to indirect and then expression of anger. Leader interventions (responses) are also included. The development of the scale, the Aggression Observation Scale for Group Psychotherapy (AOSGP), is described including pilot testing and reliability and validity findings.     

Behavioral assessment and analysis of mechanical restraint utilization on a psychiatric,child and adolescent inpatient setting

A behavioral assessment and analysis of mechanical restraint utilization on a child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient unit was performed to identify contextual variables associated with implementation. The most frequent antecedent conditions correlated with restraint were when staff initiated physical contact towards a patient and when a patient refused to go to, or remain in, the “quiet room” when instructed. These interactions were seen as staff-initiated encounters that elicited aggressive responses from patients and increased the likelihood of restraint because the physical intervention and “quiet room” procedures were implemented in the absence of a comprehensive treatment formulation, and without reference to behavior-specific guidelines. Recommendations to reduce the use of mechanical restraint with child and adolescent inpatients by isolating functionally controlling variables are presented. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The accuracy of four approximations to noncentralF

The accuracy of the two-moment, three-moment, square root, and cube root approximations to the noncentralF distribution was assessed using 7,920 entries from Tiku’s (1967) power tables. Tiku’s tables list exact values of β for α= .005?.05, ν₁ = 1?12, ν₂ = 2?120, and ?= 0.5?3.0. Analysis of the errors showed generally satisfactory performance for all four approximations. The three-moment approximation was most accurate, registering a maximum error of only .009. The other three approximations had maximum errors of ±.02, except for the square root approximation at ν₂ = 2, where maximum errors of .05 occur. Approximation error increased with decreases in ν₁ and, less consistently, with increases in ν2. Error was nonmonotonically related to ?. A second investigation explored the accuracy of the approximations at values of αranging from .10 to .90. All four approximations degraded substantially in this situation, with maximum errors ranging from ?.09 to .05. If the analysis is restricted to cases where ν₁ τ; 1 and ν₂ τ; 2, maximum errors drop to roughly ±.03. We conclude that the approximations perform reasonably well for small αand moderately well for larger values, if certain restrictions are imposed. From a computational standpoint, however, there is little advantage to using approximate as opposed to exact methods unless exact values ofF _α are known in advance.     

The economics of spiritual luxury: The glittering lobby and the parliament of religions

Richard H. Roberts's article on the theoretical setting of the 1993 World's Parliament of Religions is an example of the contradictions that result when scholars of religion presume that religion is autonomous or sui generis. By conceiving of religious experiences as independent variables that have socio‐political and economic implications, but not causes, such scholarship romanticises and thereby depoliticises historical, human interactions and institutions. Despite his efforts to portray globalised religion as an active, oppositional force, contradictions in Roberts's essay suggest that global religion is itself a commodified construct dependent on the process of mythifxcation to gloss over concrete differences in class, race and gender.     

Gender Differences in Experiences with Couples Treatment for IPV

Evidence suggests that conjoint treatment can be effective for certain violent couples in certain situations (Finkel in Rev Gen Psychol 11:193–207, 2007; LaTaillade et al. in J Cogn Psychother 20:393–410, 2006; Fals-Stewart et al. in J Consult Clin Psych 73:239–248, 2005; Stith et al. in J Marital Fam Ther 29(3):407–426, 2003). However, not as much is known about which aspects of conjoint treatment make a difference, nor if male and female participants experience these elements of treatment differently. Knowing which components of couples’ treatment clients perceive as helpful—and whether their perceptions differ by gender—will allow us to redefine models with an eye toward making them more effective. In this study we used qualitative methods to examine the aspects of a particular couples’ treatment program (Stith and McCollum in Aggress Violent Beh 16(4):312–318, 2011) that clients found useful while also considering the differences between men’s and women’s responses. Fourteen couples, in which the male had been identified as the primary aggressor, were interviewed multiple times to gain their perspectives about components of the program they found helpful and their suggestions for program improvement. Themes are analyzed by gender. Implications for treatment and future research are provided.