Counsellor role perceptions and preferences of Zimbabwe teachers of a Shona cultural background

Thurstone's Case V paired comparisons procedure was used to investigate the perceived role status and preferences of counsellor for a sample of Zimbabwe teachers of a Shona cultural backgroud (n = 312) in relation to type of presenting problem (personal; educational; employment) and as the teachers varied by gender, age, level of formal educationa and marital status. Counsellor expertise contrasted those of modern status (psychologist; church pastor; work supervisor) and traditional status (family members; traditional healer; friend). The teachers seemed to have an undifferentiated perception of counselling needs as measured by preferences for helper. Age jand level of formal education were significantly related to counsellor prefernces, with the older and less schooled teachers tending to endorse counsellors of a traditional status. The results are considered with respect to the provision as well as public image of counselling services in an African culture.     

The effect of signal probability on the slope of the receiver operating characteristic given by the rating procedure

Signal detection theory (SDT) requires that the slope of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) is independent of the probability of signal and noise. But it has been shown that when the rating procedure is applied to detection, the slope of the receiver operating characteristic may increase as a function of the probability of the signal (Schulman & Greenberg, 1970). This presents a serious problem for signal detection theory. This problem is examined in relation to a recent theory of criterion setting (Treisman & Williams, 1984), and an explanation for the effect of signal probability on ROC slope is derived which is compatible with SDT. Further data on the relation between signal probability and ROC slope are reported.     

Psychometric properties of the Wolpe-Lazarus assertiveness scale

The psychometric properties of the Wolpe-Lazarus Assertiveness Scale (WLAS) were evaluated with a sample of 100 male and 157 female psychiatric patients. There were no significant differences with regard to males and females for total WLAS scores. The WLAS seems to be internally consistent and has acceptable split-half and test-retest reliabilities. A factor analysis performed separately for males and females indicates that the 10 most prominent factors account for about 60% of the accumulated variance. The primary factor, shared by males and females, was labeled General Expressiveness. There was little evidence for the external validity of the WLAS when total scores were correlated with performance on a role play test. However, when WLAS factor scores were evaluated in light of role played performance, somewhat better evidence of the external validity of the WLAS was found in two of the factors for the females.     

The curfew bill as it relates to the juvenile and his family

Curfew laws have been instituted in cities across the United States in an attempt to control the rise in juvenile crime. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of a curfew law for Baltimore City based on interviews with city officals and concludes that the law in its present form will not bring about any significant change in the rate of delinquency. Alternative are suggested that might better get to the source of the problem. These include more youth and family counseling services, rehabilitative facilities, work study programs and shelter areas.     

Neural quantum theory: How strongly does the occurrence of rational intercept ratios support it?

The evidence for the neural quantum theory of sensory discrimination which is currently given most weight is the occurrence of intercept ratios involving small integers, such as 2:1. The importance ascribed to them derives from the implicit assumption that other theories of discrimination predict that they should be rare. This assumption is examined for the statistical decision model of discrimination. It is shown that if the latter applies, the frequency with which such ratios might be expected to occur would not be negligible and might be quite high. Thus such ratios give far less support to the neural quantum theory than has been supposed.     

The relationship between assertion and sociometric status of children

A correlational study was conducted in an effort to examine the relationship between children's level of assertive skill and their social (sociometric) status. The Ss were 15 male and 15 female elementary school children ranging in age from 9 to 11 yr. Each S was administered: (a) positive and negative peer nominations and roster and rating scale sociometrics; (b) self-report questionnaires concerning their assertive behavior; and (c) standardized interviews to assess knowledge of assertive behavior. In addition, teachers' ratings of children's interpersonal behavior were obtained. Results indicated some degree of correspondence between assertion indices and sociometric ratings. However, correlation coefficients generally were in the low-to-moderate range. Also, several scales from children's self-report and teacher's ratings of children's assertive behavior differentiated high- and low-popular children. Results are discussed in terms of: (1) the utility of employing multiple criteria in assessing social functioning of children; and (2) the need to determine empirically the relevance of assertive and other interpersonal skills in childrens' social repertoires.     

Paraconsistent logic and model theory

The object of this paper is to show how one is able to construct a paraconsistent theory of models that reflects much of the classical one. In other words the aim is to demonstrate that there is a very smooth and natural transition from the model theory of classical logic to that of certain categories of paraconsistent logic. To this end we take an extension of da Costa'sC ₁ ⁼ (obtained by adding the axiom A A) and prove for it results which correspond to many major classical model theories, taken from Shoenfield [5]. In particular we prove counterparts of the theorems of o-Tarski and Chang-o-Suszko, Craig-Robinson and the Beth definability theorem.     

The Age of Discoveries and Patriotism: James Darmesteter's Assessment of French Orientalism

The rapid development of Orientalism in the nineteenth century played a fundamental role in the expansion of our prior conceptions of various religious traditions. In this article, I will analyse James Darmesteter's assessment of the development of French Orientalism. He discussed this issue in his Essais orientaux (1883a). First, I will describe the discoveries mentioned by Darmesteter. Second, I will highlight his comments about the contributions of French scholars to the development of orientalism. Finally, I will analyse the relation between the Franco–German War (1870–71) and Darmesteter's Essais. The article will show that the military vocabulary used by Darmesteter is a clear indication of the impact of the war on his writing.