Problems in Families with Gifted Children: Implications for Counselors

The authors consider, through a review of relevant literature and personal observation, the larger context of the family life of gifted children. The purpose is to identify possible problem areas for the counselor to assess and to suggest directions that the counseling process might take.     

DEVELOPMENT OF MULTIPLE JOB PERFORMANCE MEASURES IN A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF JOBS

The goal of criterion development in Project A was to construct multiple measures of the major components of job performance such that the total performance domain for a representative sample of the population of entry-level enlisted positions in the U.S. Army was covered. These measures were to be used as criteria against which to validate both experimental and existing predictors of job performance. The initial model specified that performance is multidimensional within two major categories of dimensions designated as organization-wide and job specific. The development strategy involved describing the total domain of job content via extensive task analyses and critical incident analyses, generating the critical performance dimensions that constitute it, constructing measures for each dimension, and evaluating each measure using expert judgment and field test data. The specific measures developed consisted of rating scales, tests of job knowledge, hands-on job samples, and archival records. The major steps in the job analyses, content sampling, instrument construction, and instrument evaluation are described, and the final array of criterion measures is presented.     

Characteristics of on Organizational Environment which Stimulate and Inhibit Creativity*

The study investigated the characteristics of Brazilian organizations which affect creativity. A sample of 25 workers were interviewed. The respondents answered several questions about the characteristics of a work environment which promote and inhibit creativity, and about factors in their own work environment that contribute to the promotion or inhibition of creativity. Content analysis of the transcribed interviews indicated 10 categories of stimulants and 11 categories of obstacles to creativity. Among the most mentioned stimulant factors to creativity were organization support, organization structure, support from the boss, and colleagues' support. On the other hand, some of the most prevalent obstacles to creativity were organization structure, boss characteristics, personal relationships, and organization culture. Results are discussed in terms of the similarity with data obtained in other contexts.