Parafraud in biology

The concept of parafraud is described as “illogical or improper behaviour towards other peoples’ views or publications,” and 19 different kinds of common practices coming under this heading are listed. Ways of combating it are suggested. Dr. Hillman was the Reader in Physiology at the University of Surrey from 1968 to 1995 and Director of the Unity Laboratory of Applied Neurobiology from 1970 to date.     

Comparing choice and questionnaire measures of the acceptability of a staff training procedure

We compared questionnaire and choice measures of acceptability while evaluating effects of staff familiarity versus unfamiliarity with the system used to monitor performance during a training program. Staff members rated both monitoring formats equally favorably on the questionnaire, whereas when given a choice, they frequently chose the familiar format and never chose the unfamiliar format. These results suggest that traditional questionnaire evaluations may not be sufficiently sensitive measures of acceptability relative to choice measures.     

Organizational characteristics of empowering community settings: A multiple case study approach

Although empowerment is often cited as a major guiding construct for community psychology, relatively little is known about the characteristics of empowering community settings. The current paper uses a multiple case study methodology to generate a number of key organizational characteristics of empowering community settings to guide future work in the area. In-depth, multilevel, longitudinal research was conducted on three empowering community settings: a religious fellowship, a mutual help organization for persons with severe mental illness, and an educational program for African American students. The organizational features found to characterize all three settings were (a) a belief system that inspires growth is strengths-based, and is focused beyond the self; (b) an opportunity role structure that is pervasive, highly accessible, and multifunctional (c) a support system that is encompassing, peer-based, and provides a sense of community; and (d) leadership that is inspiring, talented, shared, and committed to both setting and members. Limitations of the research are discussed, and directions for future research suggested.     

Honest research

The origins of research projects, the duties of supervisors and research workers, the subjective elements in research and the difficulties of publication are reviewed, as a guide to the complexities of executing an honest research project. It is assumed that research carried out with maximal intellectual integrity will result in real advances.     

Occupational stress within a U.K. higher education institution

Occupational stress in a U.K. higher education institution was investigated during a period of considerable organizational change. All employees, including academic, support and manual staff, were invited to participate anonymously in the survey. The results, based on the Occupational Stress Indicator, showed that employees reported significantly poorer mental and physical well-being, and greater job dissatisfaction, than a normative group. The findings suggested that female employees were at greater risk from adverse effects of occupational stress. Predictors of distress and job dissatisfaction were identified. The study concluded that occupational stress is a significant problem, and that further investigation is required in other similar institutions.     

Teacher Use Of Interventions In General Education Settings: Measurement And Analysis Of The Independent Variable

This study examined the integrity with which 4 general education teachers implemented an intervention designed to improve the academic performance of elementary school students. Treatment integrity was measured daily using permanent products. The results showed that the 4 teachers markedly increased the integrity of the delivered treatment when they were provided with performance feedback. The results suggest that academic performance improved for the group of students as integrity improved.     

The Person/Environment Dynamics of Employee Empowerment: An Organizational Culture Analysis

Using an organizational culture framework, this case study examines the critical preconditions necessary for employee empowerment and highlights how the multiple cultures within one public bureaucracy differently impacted their implementation. SERVE, a large human service organization, initiated an employee empowerment program that contradicted and thus collided with many elements of its overall organizational culture. Despite the best intentions of the organizational leaders, upper management support, and opportunities for participatory decision making, the organization could not foster the critical preconditions needed for employee empowerment. Leaders had difficulty expanding the employees' power and promoting member inclusion. Concurrently, most employees rejected these new opportunities for control and distrusted the leader's intentions. Yet, despite the widespread rejection of these empowerment initiatives, most employees described their work lives as empowering. The role the local site subculture played in promoting employee empowerment is examined. We discuss how a localized (vs. system-wide) empowerment endeavor may be a more appropriate and feasible focus for public bureaucracies seeking to initiate greater staff empowerment. Particular attention is paid to the interaction between individuals and their environments, and how this interaction affects the empowerment process.     

Rewarding safety belt usage at an industrial setting: Tests of treatment generality and response maintenance

An incentive program to motivate seat belt use was implemented at a large munitions plant. Seat belt usage was assessed daily at an entrance/exit gate of the industrial complex when employees arrived for work in the morning and departed in the afternoon. During treatment incentive fliers, which prompted seat belt usage and gave belt wearers opportunities to win prizes, were distributed only in the afternoon. Seat belt wearing increased from baseline means of 20.4% and 17.3% during the morning and afternoon, respectively, to averages of 55.5% during afternoon departures and 31.1% during morning arrivals. During follow-up, mean belt use dropped almost to baseline levels. Categorizing vehicles according to driver sex and license plate number enabled a study of belt wearing practices of individuals, and revealed that the incentive program influenced some drivers to wear their seat belts during morning arrival when incentives were not distributed (i.e., treatment generalization) and during a follow-up period after the incentives were withdrawn (i.e., response maintenance).     

Task clarification, performance feedback, and social praise: Procedures for improving the customer service of bank tellers

Customer service for bank tellers was defined in terms of 11 verbal behavior categories. An audio-recording system was used to track the occurrence of behaviors in these categories for six retail banking tellers. Three behavior management interventions (task clarification, performance feedback, and social praise), applied in sequence, were designed to improve overall teller performance with regard to the behavioral categories targeted. Clarification was accomplished by providing clear delineation of the various target categories, with specific examples of the behaviors in each. Feedback entailed presentation of ongoing verbal and visual information regarding teller performance. Praise consisted of verbal recognition of teller performance by branch managers. Results showed that clarification effects emerged quickly, producing an overall increase in desired behaviors of 12% over baseline. Feedback and praise effects occurred more gradually, resulting in overall increases of 6% and 7%, respectively. A suspension of all procedures led to a decline in overall performance, whereas reinstatement of feedback and praise was again accompanied by performance improvement. These findings extend the generality of behavior management applications and help to distinguish between possible antecedent and consequent effects of performance feedback.     

EXPANDING THE IMPACT OF BEHAVIORAL STAFF MANAGEMENT: A LARGE-SCALE,LONG-TERM APPLICATION IN SCHOOLS SERVING SEVERELY HANDICAPPED STUDENTS

Experimental evaluations of behavioral staff management procedures usually have been limited to relatively small-scale demonstration studies. We evaluated a large-scale, long-term application of a staff management program designed to improve the functional utility of educational services for severely handicapped persons. The intervention, involving a brief in-service program followed by supervisory prompts and feedback, was implemented by three principals in four schools involving 21 classrooms. Implementation of the management procedures was consistently accompanied by increases in student involvement in functional educational tasks in each classroom. Further, the improved services continued throughout a 2-year follow-up period. Staff responses to a questionnaire indicated a high degree of staff acceptance of the management program. Results are discussed in terms of expanding the use of behavioral supervisory procedures from experimental demonstrations to actual adoption by existing human service agencies.