The Impact of Passing the Professional in Human Resources Exam on Early Career Success for Undergraduates Entering the Human Resource Field

This study investigates the impact of passing the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification exam on the early career success of recent college graduates. Data were gathered from alumni of three Midwestern universities who earned an undergraduate degree in business administration (i.e., BBA) with a major in human resources. The survey was designed to measure early career success indicators including finding a job in the HR field, starting salary, and number of promotions. Results reveal that the probability of one's first job after graduation being in human resources was significantly greater for those who had passed the PHR exam compared with those who did not pass or did not take the exam. Passing the PHR exam was not associated with significant differences in starting salary or early career promotions. Implications, study strengths and limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Correlation between Changes in Stress-Induced Corticosterone Secretion and GR mRNA Levels

The current study was conducted to determine the potential relationship between stress-induced corticosterone secretion and corticosteroid receptor mRNA levels after 5 days of intermittent stress. In particular, we were interested in the rate at which animals terminate a stress response, and how this termination may be altered by repeated stress. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to either 5 days of restraint stress or 5 days of an unpredictable stress paradigm. Restraint-stress induced corticosterone secretion was measured on Days 1 and 5 in both groups, and animals were killed on Day 6. Glucocorticoid receptor (GR), and mineralocorticoid (MR) mRNA levels were determined using in-situ hybridization techniques. Five days of restraint stress caused an habituation of the plasma corticosterone response to stress measured 60 and 90 min post-stress initiation; this pattern of corticosterone secretion was not observed in the animals subjected to unpredictable stress. Five days of either stress paradigm did not alter MR mRNA levels measured within the hippocampus or GR mRNA levels within the hippocampus or the medial parvocellular division of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (mpPVN). However, an individual's GR mRNA levels measured within the CA1/2 region of the hippocampus and the mpPVN were significantly correlated with the degree of habituation of the corticosterone response to stress measured on Day 5. This suggests that an increase in the rate of termination of the stress response and levels of GR within the hippocampus and mpPVN may be functionally related.     

Analysis of visual and auditory rhythmic perception abilities of piano majors

7 male and 15 female college level piano majors representing three categories of majors served as subjects. Piano instructors were asked to rate subjects' sight-reading ability on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 indicated minimum sight-reading ability and 10 professional sighting. Subjects were exposed to 30 pairs of rhythmic stimuli from the rhythm subtest, Seashore Measures of Musical Talents, to determine whether the second pattern was the same or different from the first. The visual test was reproduced by a 7.5-v bayonet lamp and socket. These flashes were near exact replications of the original source with little or no detectable latency. Aural and visual presentations were significantly different and favorable for aural medium. A significant correlation of .60 was found between ratings of sight-reading and grade point average.     

Acetaminophen effects on behavioral thermoregulation in albino rats

Acetaminophen (N-Acetyl-p-aminophenol) was administered intraperitoneally to 15 Sprague-Dawley rats partitioned into 3 studies (5 rats per study) using a within subjects, repeated-measures reversal design. Behavioral thermoregulation was assessed in a cold Skinner Box using 5-sec. exposures of microwave radiation [Specific Absorption Rate = 0.34 Watts/kg/(mW/cm2)] as reinforcing stimuli under a fixed-interval 2-min. schedule of positive reinforcement. Doses of 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 mg/kg (in solutions of 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, and 5%) acetaminophen showed stable rates of operant responding for heat compared with significant changes in rates for comparable doses of aspirin in a 1993 study by Vitulli, et al. Weight reductions and temperature increases varied significantly with before-session and after-session measures, respectively. 1994-95 biochemical data of Murphy, et al. from humans following aspirin or acetaminophen ingestion which affect thermoregulation and sleep patterns are discussed in conjunction with behavioral data from rats.