Two and One-Half Decades of Leadership in Measurement and Evaluation

This article explores the role of professional organizations, such as the American Association for Counseling and Development's (AACD) Association for Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development (AMECD) division, and the possible futures of such groups. It is suggested that AMECD and similar groups are experiencing a similar set of social and professional pressures. Aspects of the missions of creating and disseminating measurement and evaluation expertise are discussed. It is suggested that the explosion in knowledge has created new tensions involving special challenges for members of AMECD and related groups. Nevertheless, some remarkable recent accomplishments can be readily identified, and are noted here.     

Reading Disability: A Model for the Genetic Analysis of Complex Behavioral Disorders

Family, linkage, and twin studies of reading disability are briefly reviewed, and evidence is presented from the twin component of the Colorado Reading Project that implicates genetic factors in the expression of reading disability. Recently developed behavioral genetic methodology is outlined, which provides an estimate of the magnitude of these genetic effects. The present report details the application of this methodology to reading performance data obtained from 96 identical twin pairs and 72 fraternal twin pairs in which at least one member of each pair was identified as reading disabled. Results indicate that approximately 50% of the reading deficit observed in the probands may be attributed to genetic factors. Although such an analysis assumes that reading disability is a homogeneous disorder, there may exist alternative forms with differing genetic etiologies. To test this hypothesis, the methodology can be extended to assess differential genetic etiology in alternative subgroups of disabled readers.     

Leadership Style,Anonymity, and Creativity in Group Decision Support Systems: The Mediating Role of Optimal Flow

ABSTRACT Prior research indicates that flow, a psychological state characterized by concentration, enjoyment, and intrinsic motivation, may be linked to creativity of individuals participating in computer-mediated meetings. A laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of leadership style (transactional contingent reward and transformational) and anonymity level (identified and anonymous) on flow and creativity of 159 undergraduate students working in groups performing a creativity task using a Group Decision Support System (GDSS). Results demonstrated that flow mediated effects of leadership on creativity in a GDSS context, and its role may be moderated by anonymity. Results also indicated that both flow and anonymity were required for enhancing creativity in a GDSS context. Implications for practice and research are discussed.     

Beyond Ecclesiocentricity: Navigating between the Abstract and the Domesticated in Contemporary Ecclesiology

In this article I seek to explore how ecclesiology might be apocalyptic, with all the ‘otherness’ and invisibility that implies, while at the same time properly concrete. In engaging the contemporary debate about ecclesiocentricity I suggest that an account of historical participation in the history of Jesus Christ by the Spirit will benefit from both a mimetic ontology and a christologically disciplined approach to the marks of the church. According to such an approach, the church is more clearly discerned as a eucharistic and dispossessive sociality.