LOG-LINEAR MODELING IN PERSONNEL RESEARCH

Log-linear modeling is a discrete multivariate statistical technique that is designed specifically for analyzing data when both the independent and dependent variables are categorical or nominal. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the utility of this technique in personnel research. The paper (a) discusses behavioral areas of application, (b) compares log-linear modeling with chi-square and regression analysis, (c) presents the basic principles and hypotheses of log-linear modeling, and (d) shows how the technique is used.     

Reflections on a Multicultural Internship Experience

During the 1986–1987 academic year, the author worked as a predoctoral intern in a multicultural counseling training program. In this article the author shares his reflections on the internship and provides potential trainees with a vicarious experience of the following important challenges encountered in multicultural counseling: (a) addressing the fears involved in crossing cultural boundaries, (b) learning about and working with ethnic-minority groups, (c) developing culturally appropriate counseling skills, and (d) confronting ethnocentrism. As a case study in multicultural training, this article supports the training models of Pedersen (1988) and Sue, Akutsu, and Higashi (1985). Implications of the author's experiences for counselor training are discussed. Durante el año académico 1986–1987 el autor trabajó como interno predoctoral en un programa de entrenamiento de consejería multicultural. En este artículo el autor comparte sus reflexiones del internado y describe a los potenciales practicantes los importantes desafíos que se pueden encontrar en la consejería multicultural: (a) los miedos que hay en cruzar fronteras culturales; (b) trabajar con grupos de minorias étnicas y aprender de ellos; (c) el desarrollo de habilidades de consejería culturalmente apropiados; y (d) el enfrentarse al etnocentrismo. Este articulo, como un caso de estudio en entrenamiento multicultural, sostiene los modelos de entrenamiento de Pedersen (1988) y Sue, Akutsu, y Higashi (1985). Se discuten las implicaciones de las experiencias del autor para el entrenamiento de consejeros.     

Facilitating information exchange in small decision-making groups

The present study examined the effects of several conditions on the information flow during unstructured discussion in small groups. We build on the experimental work of Stasser and his colleagues on information sampling. The results of their research suggest that groups often fail to exchange information effectively. Three experiments with a 2×2 factorial design were set up to look for conditions that could facilitate the exchange of unshared information in particular. In a first study, we replicated the experiment of Stasser and Titus (1987). The main results of the original study were confirmed; additional discussion content analysis of video-recorded material made further differentiation possible. Apart from the mere mentioning of items during discussion, the reactions to and the repetition of the items were analysed. In the second experiment we introduced partially shared information and we made group members aware of the unique information that they can contribute. In the third experiment the nature of the task was manipulated and an attempt was made to prevent an information bias in favour of decision-supporting items. Conditions that significantly enhance the dissemination of unshared information were found. An empirical basis was gathered so that the guidelines for effective information sampling as they were laid down by Stasser (1992) could be reformulated.     

RETEST EFFECTS ON IDENTICAL AND PARALLEL FORMS IN CERTIFICATION AND LICENSURE TESTING

Examinees who take credentialing tests and other types of high-stakes assessments are usually provided an opportunity to repeat the test if they are unsuccessful on initial attempts. To prevent examinees from obtaining unfair score increases by memorizing the content of specific test items, testing agencies usually assign an alternate form to repeat examinees. Given that the use of multiple forms presents both practical and psychometric challenges, it is important to determine if unwarranted score gains occur. Most research indicates that repeat examinees realize score gains when taking the same form twice; however, the research is far from conclusive, particularly within the context of credentialing. For the present investigations, two samples of repeat examinees were randomly assigned to receive either the same test form or a different, but parallel, form on the second occasion. Study 1 found score gains of about 0.79 SD units for 71 examinees who repeated a certification examination in computed tomography. Study 2 found gains of 0.48 SD units for 765 examinees who repeated a radiography certification examination. In both studies score gains for examinees receiving the parallel test were nearly indistinguishable from score gains for those who received the same test. Factors are identified that may influence the generalizability of these findings to other assessment contexts.     

AVERY DULLES,TEACHING AUTHORITY IN THE CHURCH,AND THE ‘DIALECTICALLY TENSE’ MIDDLE: AN AMERICAN STRATEGIC THEOLOGY

Father Dulles is now largely thought by friend and foe alike to be one of the most forceful voices for a renewed orthodoxy in the Church. Liberals see him as having turned his back on his younger radicalism; like many an older man, they suggest, he has grown more conservative with age. His experiences with certain forms of liberal Catholicism, while not changing his ideas about the Church, seemed to have alerted him to their potential for disaster. 1     

THE EFFECT OF TELEVISION AND RADIO ON CHILDREN'S CREATIVITY

The literature on creativity posits that creative abilities are stable and relatively impervious to short-term interventions. Several studies have, however, reported differential effects of media on children's imaginative play and thinking. The results of these studies are difficult to interpret owing to their reliance on nonstandardized measures of creativity. The present study examines the relative effects of television versus radio on children's creativity. Third and sixth graders were presented a story on television or radio and were then given an adapted version of the “Just Suppose” test of divergent thinking developed by Torrance (1974). Responses were scored in terms of ideational fluency, flexibility, and originality. The results indicated that the two media did not have a differential effect on children's creativity.     

ANALYZING UTTERANCES AS THE OBSERVATIONAL UNIT

If utterances are the observational unit of analysis and there are no sequential patterns to the interaction, two alternative statistical models may be applied. A hierarchical design in which utterances are nested within subjects and subjects are nested within treatment condition is considered. One method of analysis pools utterances within treatment condition; the other method collapses across utterances to obtain subject means. Inappropriate application of the pooling model instead of the subject means model can lead to Type I errors, decreased generalizability, and inflated variance estimates that attenuate univariate and multivariate correlations. The effect of utterance reliability on the apparent unidimensionality and parallelism of multiple indicators is also discussed.