“Maleness” Revisited

My response to the preceding commentaries draws on recent events such as the Thomas/Hill hearings to illustrate some of my central arguments in “Feminist Skepticism and the ‘Maleness’ of Philosophy.” I also attempt to clarify frequently misunderstood aspects of my use of gender as an analytical category, and discuss why, in my opinion, we should continue to care about the “maleness” of philosophy.     

INTERVIEWER VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY: AN INDIVIDUAL ANALYSIS APPROACH

Interviewer reliability, validity, and strategy for information integration were studied by analysis of data across interviewers and, also, by within, individual interviewer analysis. Candidates ( N = 412) for selection to a military division of a national defense organization were interviewed by 10 female interviewers and assessed on nine behaviorally anchored dimensions. Candidates ( N = 131) subsequently admitted to officers' training school were evaluated, for the purposes of this study, on 19 dimensions and on an overall evaluation taken at six and twelve week points. Results of analyses of data across interviewers indicated that interviewers functioned in a similar fashion, using few of the dimensions in their decisions whereas analyses of individual interviewers indicated higher reliability and individual differences among interviewers' strategy formation. Analysis across interviewers of the relationship of the interview decision to six and twelve week training performance evaluations indicated no validity for the interview decision. Analysis of individual interview strategies revealed differences among the interviewers only at the six week point. Results are discussed with regard to methodological problems, interview strategy differences, criteria dimensionality, fruitfulness of individual, within interviewer analyses, and purpose of the interview.     

DETECTING JOB DIFFERENCES: A MONTE CARLO STUDY1

A monte carlo computer study was conducted where the statistical power of the univariate repeated measures ANOVA design proposed by Arvey and Mossholder (1977) to detect job differences was investigated. Also investigated was the relative value and usefulness of omega-squared estimates to indicate job similarities and differences. Job profile means and covariance structures were generated by using data from six relatively similar jobs and six dissimilar jobs based on Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) data bank information. Different combinations of job differences (4 conditions), number of job raters (2 conditions), and violations of statistical assumptions (3 conditions) were generated (1000 sets for each of the 24 combinations) and each data set analyzed using the ANOVA design. Results indicate that testing for statistical significance is not as useful in determining job differences as examining the omega-squared estimates. Specifically, the omega-squared estimates for the interaction of the Jobs × Dimension effect is a relatively sensitive and stable indicator of job differences regardless of the number of raters and violations of the statistical assumptions.     

ASSESSING COMPANY EMPLOYMENT IMAGE: AN EXAMPLE IN THE FAST FOOD INDUSTRY

Historically, there has been little guidance from the recruitment literature on how organizations can assess the image that potential applicants hold of their company as a place to work. We demonstrate the application of a technique for identifying employment image dimensions that are most critical in distinguishing among companies in the same industry, and show how this information can be used to assess companies relative to their competitors on these dimensions. We used a forced-choice inductive methodology to identify relevant dimensions of company employment image in the fast food industry, and randomly assigned high school students ( n = 336) and retirees ( n = 102) to describe 1 of 8 well-known fast food companies on the dimensions. In addition, respondents indicated their general image of the targeted company as a place to work. We were able to identify dimensions that both discriminated between companies and predicted general image, and graphically benchmarked one company against other companies on image dimensions.     

Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop: Help for the Job-Insecure Employee

Although the U.S. economy is flourishing, a segment of the workforce still faces job insecurity as a salient feature of employment. As companies focus on competition and profit margins, workers are confronted with threats to their identities based on real or anticipated job loss. This article focuses on features of job insecurity that affect threatened workers, those who remain, and the organizations in which they work. Recommendations are given regarding assisting job-insecure employees using career counselors, consultants, or outplacement specialists.     

Relationships Between Contraceptive Behavior and Love Attitudes,Sex Attitudes,and Self-Esteem

The current research took into account two previously developed models of effective contraceptive behavior, a model emphasizing interpersonal variables and a model emphasizing intrapersonal variables. The purpose was to identify variables related to contraception that could be addressed during contraceptive counseling and to aid persons in deciding the most effective contraceptive method within the context of an intimate relationship. The research used questionnaire responses from 350 male and female college undergraduates. Results indicated some support for aspects of both models, with modest relationships between contraceptive behavior and attitudes toward both love and sex, and self-esteem. The difficulties of developing a comprehensive model of contraceptive behavior are discussed, as are some practical implications of this research.     

EMPLOYMENT TEST VALIDATION FOR MINORITY AND NONMINORITY PRODUCTION WORKERS

The purposes of the present study were (a) to examine the validity of selected employment tests potentially useful in selecting production workers engaged in the construction of boxboard containers and (b) to evaluate the applicability of the tests to minority and non-minority workers. Using data collected from 100 production workers employed by the same company but located in two different geographical regions, it was found that a short test battery was potentially useful in selecting production employees without necessarily introducing unfair racial bias. Implications of the results for future research studies and test validation efforts involving differential and single-group validity are discussed.     

Student rights: a program for counselors

Students are increasingly aware of their rights as “persons under our Constitution.” At the high school level especially, they are questioning, challenging, and, with the help of the courts, defining the limits of school officials' authority in some areas of personal freedom and school discipline. Not only should counselors give students information and support on their rights but they should also work for the recognition and protection of those rights by the entire school community. This article offers a Model Student Bill of Rights and suggestions for counselors on how to implement that Bill.     

EVEN MORE IDEAS ABOUT METHODOLOGIES FOR DETERMINING JOB DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES

McIntyre and Farr (1979), Hanser, Mendel, and Wolins (1979), and Lissitz, Mendoza, Huberty, and Markos (1979) comment on the repeated measures Analysis of Variance design suggested by Arvey and Mossholder (1977) to detect job differences and similarities. These authors propose alternative procedures to determine job differences. We, in turn, point out here that the problems specified by these critics may not be as severe as they indicate, and that some problems are even nonexistent. Moreover, the alternative solutions they suggest also have their own limitations. Finally, we propose an additional procedure–a multivariate approach to repeated measures data–which might be useful in the context of detecting job differences. It appears as if there are assumptions and limitations to both the univariate and multivariate approaches to the problem; these assumptions and limitations are delineated more precisely in the present paper.