The BASYS observation system for the analysis of aggressive behavior in classroom-settings

Educational or therapeutic measures of aggressive student behavior are often based on the judgments of teachers. However, empirical studies show that the objectivity of these judgments is generally low. In order to assess aggressive behavior in classroom settings, we developed a context-sensitive observational system. The observation system exists in a version for teachers in action as well as a version for the uninvolved observer. The teacher version allows categorizing aggressive behavior while teaching. The aim is to differentiate the perception and the judgments of teachers, so that the judgments can serve as trustable diagnostic information. The version for an independent observer, in addition, contains categories to collect information about the context in which aggressions take place. The behavior observation system was tested in four field-studies in regular and special classes. The empirical results show that, after training, teachers were able to make objective observations, and that aggressive behavior depends to a large extent on situational factors. The system allows identification of problematic people-environment relationships and the derivation of intervention measures.     

Dividing lines at the word boundary position helps reading in Chinese

Unlike in English, the Chinese printing and writing systems usually do not respect a word boundary when they split lines; thus, characters belonging to a word can be on two different lines. In this study, we examined whether dividing a word across two lines interferes with Chinese reading and found that reading times were shorter when characters belonging to a word were on a single line rather than on adjacent lines. Eye movement data indicated that gaze durations in a region around the word boundary were longer and fixations were closer to the beginnings and ends of the lines when words were split across lines. These results suggest that words are processed as a whole in Chinese reading, so that word boundaries should be respected when deciding how to split lines in the Chinese writing system. They also suggest that the length of return sweeps in reading can be cognitively guided.     

The Fakability of Bar-On's Emotional Quotient Inventory Short Form: Catch Me if You Can

We developed a method for estimating the dollar utility of changes in job performance associated with illnesses and their treatments. Then we applied this method to predict, for each job in the economy, the difference in productivity costs associated with the illness of Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis (SAR) and that due to the difference between 2 commonly used treatments of SAR. The findings suggest that workers are 5% less productive when affected by SAR, and that when workers treat their SAR with desloratadine (a nonsedating antihistamine) instead of diphenhydramine (an over-the-counter 1st-generation antihistamine), they are 7% more productive, translating to a daily productivity cost differential between the 2 treatments of $11 per day, or $2.6 billion annually. The jobs most affected require high amounts of selective attention and perceptual speed (e.g., Aircraft Pilots and Flight Engineers, and those in the fields of manufacturing, security, and emergency response).     

The Relationship Between Deployment and Turnover in Australian Navy Personnel

Increases in the frequency of operations tempo have focused attention on the relationship between deployment and separation from military service. This retrospective study explored the association between deployment and turnover over a 10-year period in Royal Australian Navy (RAN) personnel. Participants were 2355 males who served in the RAN during the period of the 1991 Gulf War (August 1990–September 1991); approximately half had been deployed to that conflict. Data were collected 10 years later as part of the Australian Gulf War Veterans' Health Study. During that 10-year period, 61% of participants left the RAN. The likelihood of separation decreased as number of deployments increased even when controlling for age, rank, and length of service. Personnel deployed to the 1991 Gulf conflict did not have a significantly higher risk of separation. The results provide evidence that deployment is not necessarily a risk factor for separation.     

Solving the Flagpole Problem

In this paper I demonstrate that the causal structure of flagpole-like systems can be determined by application of causal graph theory. Additional information about the ordering of events in time or about how parameters of the systems of interest can be manipulated is not needed.     

THE VALIDITY OF THE POTENTIAL LEVEL VIA LISTENING COMPREHENSION: A CAUTIONARY NOTE

Historical background and relevant research were examined to determine whether the commonly recommended procedure of determining the reading potential level via listening comprehension is valid in the primary grades. No support was found for the unstated assumptions necessary for this procedure's validity. And three major studies conclusively revealed that use of this procedure to identify children for remedial instruction would drastically over‐refer and would include vast numbers of primary grade children progressing normally in learning to read. Based on this evidence, it was concluded that listening comprehension definitely not be used to determine the reading potential level in grades 1‐3.     

How Lending Officers Construe Assessments of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Loan Applications: A Repertory Grid Study

Repertory grid technique and principal component analysis were used to map and analyze how 75 lending officers (LOs) viewed their assessments of small and medium-sized enterprises’ loan applications in one bank and region. A standard set of elements and constructs, derived during pre- and pilot studies, was used. Analysis of individual grids demonstrated that the principal components indicated the existence of similarities in LOs’ construing at an aggregated level. Analysis of the mean grid of all respondents indicated that the LOs were encouraged by the bank's lending strategy and supporting system(s) to perform “procedural lending” with a focus on hard and future-oriented information. At the same time, the LOs deemphasized relationship lending, in particular, personal relationships.     

Constructivism and Family Therapy

Personal construct and family systems theories can profit from an exchange of ideas concerning the relationship between their personal and interpersonal aspects of construction. This article examines three possible points of contact between the two orientations. First, we suggest that personal construct psychology could profit from addressing the important contributions of the family context to the development of each individual's system. Second, we address the impact of the person's constructions on the larger family system. Third, we suggest that the family system itself develops a system of shared constructions that define and bind its identity and interactions. Each of these areas of interface carries implications for therapy, and specific intervention techniques corresponding to each of these are discussed.