Letters of Recommendation: Controversy and consensus from expert perspectives

Letters of recommendation (LORs) are a widely used selection tool with many issues associated with their use. To address some of these issues, 575 professionals in personnel‐related professions reported their experiences with LORs. We separated items into consensus, polarized, or neither categories. Experts reached consensus that letter inflation is a problem that may never be alleviated and that more weight is placed on letters written by someone the reader knows or from a prestigious institution or organization. Most items were polarized, suggesting substantial controversy in the field regarding LORs. Some items originally polarized reached consensus within profession (academic vs applied). Academic professionals reported using LORs more and placing more weight on their contents than applied professionals. Implications discussed include recommendations for future research and practice, such as the appropriate use of LORs, LOR formats, and training.     

Best Practices for Counselors Who Treat Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Counselors in settings as diverse as schools, corporations, and community agencies are well aware of the numbers of people in the United States who daily come in contact with stressors that are extreme and potentially traumatic. Automobile accidents, disasters, or encounters with interpersonal violence are ubiquitous. Professional counselors, regardless of their professional identification or the settings in which they work, are very likely providing services to many people who are in distress after traumatic exposures. These counselors would benefit from knowing what other mental health professionals consider to be best practices for preventing and treating posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSDs). The purpose of this article is to summarize for counselors those best practices that have been recently developed and published by a multidisciplinary expert group (E. B. Foa, J. R. T. Davidson, & A. Frances, 1999) in their article “Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.”     

Absolute vs Relative Performance Rating Formats: Implications for fairness and organizational justice

The choice of performance rating format may influence employees' fairness perceptions. Participants in two studies, one consisting of 208 participants and the other of 393 participants, evaluated the fairness of common relative and absolute rating formats. The participants in the second study also evaluated the fairness of two rating formats, one absolute and one relative, presented in organizational contexts of varying procedural and distributive justice. Results indicate that not only are absolute formats perceived as more fair than relative formats, but differences in fairness perceptions also occur among relative and absolute formats. Furthermore, it appears that rating format influences procedural justice, especially when outcomes are perceived as fair. Implications for organizations' appraisal practices are discussed.     

Decomposing the construct of ambivalence over emotional expression in a Chinese cultural context

The present study examined the construct of ambivalence over emotional expression proposed by King and Emmons ( 1990 ) in the Chinese context, and identified a factor structure different from those proposed in previous Western studies. The results of this study provided discriminant validity for this newly extracted two-factor structure of ambivalence, viz., Emotional Rumination and Emotional Suppression. Emotional Rumination was significantly predicted by the personality scales of introversion and inferiority, and the belief dimension of fate control, whereas Emotional Suppression was predicted by the personality scales of diversity, face, and harmony, and the belief dimension of social complexity. The different effects of Emotional Rumination and Emotional Suppression in predicting life satisfaction showed that emotional experience has its own specific characteristics in Chinese culture, and that responding to its emic characteristics will yield a more culturally responsive understanding of emotional experience and expression. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Life Reflection and Consequences of Older Adults' Relationships: An Empirical Study

Fifty‐eight Austrian adults, ages 65 to 99 years, participated in semistructured life reflections regarding their relationships with life partners, children, relatives, and friends. This study identified the consequences of the reflections, the implementation of the consequences, and the degree to which participants were satisfied with the life changes they made.     

Provision of Genetics Services on Guam

Guam’s geographic isolation and lack of community resources have resulted in unique healthcare needs. In 2006, the Western States Genetic Services Collaborative (WSGSC) conducted a genetics needs assessment and found that professional development is limited, families lack access to genetic services, and improved coverage of genetic testing is needed. With funding from the WSGSC, a Guam genetics outreach clinic was established and staffed by genetic counselors and a medical geneticist from Hawaii. Four clinics have been held to date. Although several challenges have been encountered, including minimal coverage of genetic testing by Guam insurance companies, limited referrals for families with private insurance, and inappropriate referral indications, the outreach clinic has been successful at increasing access to genetic services and improving professional development. With more collaborative work by staff from Guam, Hawaii, and the WSGSC, provision and reimbursement of genetic services and testing will continue to improve.     

Reasons given by UK churchgoers for their stance on evolution

A sample of 661 churchgoers from a range of Christian denominations in the United Kingdom was asked about Darwinian evolution (defined as the common origin of all species, including humans). Respondents were categorised as those who accepted the idea, those who rejected it, and those who were unsure or neutral. People in each category were given a number of statements that related to reasons why they might have held their particular stance, and responses were used to create summated rating scales. Reasons for accepting or rejecting evolution could be classified as broadly relating to the theory itself or to the religious consequences of the theory. Accepters saw the theory as rational and attractive, and one that allowed a role for God in shaping evolution. Rejecters saw the theory as unsupported by evidence and one that denied a role for God and/or contradicted Scripture. Those unsure or neutral seemed to be so because they lacked sufficient knowledge about evolution or the Bible, and/or because they were disinterested. Predicting which reasons were likely to be chosen by an individual was difficult, though there were significance differences in some cases between denominations and between those with or without education in biology or science.