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The study aimed to verify the prediction of general work performance by a perception of a leader as a security provider (LSP) in tram drivers. Contextual performance (job dedication) was a mediator in the predictive model. The research sample consisted of 196 tram drivers, 62.22% of the organization's tram drivers. All participants shared the same leader, the head of the tram operation. They completed quantitative cross-sectional self-administered surveys. Results showed that job dedication (contextual performance) predicted the general performance. Job dedication as a partial mediator enhanced the percentage of the general performance's explained score from 15.3% to 26.3%--predicted by perceiving the leader as a safe figure. Discussion suggested further analyzing the functions of a leader as an attachment figure in work settings and their connections to the other organizational behavioral variables. Functions of emotionality and separation distress did not relate to the work performance of tram drivers. Secure-based leadership and focus on job dedication fostered the tram drivers' general work performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More experience results in better performance, usually. In most tasks, the more chances to learn we have, the better we are at it. This does not always appear to be the case in time perception however. In the current article, we use three different methods to investigate the role of the number of standard example durations presented on performance on three timing tasks: rhythm continuation, deviance detection, and final stimulus duration judgement. In Experiments 1a and 1b, rhythms were produced with the same accuracy whether one, two, three, or four examples of the critical duration were presented. In Experiment 2, participants were required to judge which of four stimuli had a different duration from the other three. This judgement did not depend on which of the four stimuli was the deviant one. In Experiments 3a and 3b, participants were just as accurate at judging the duration of a final stimulus in comparison to the prior stimuli regardless of the number of standards presented prior to the final stimulus. In summary, we never found any systematic effect of the number of standards presented on performance on any of the three timing tasks. In the discussion, we briefly relate these findings to three theories of time perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Al-Kharaqi's Muntahá al-idrak fi taqasim al-aflak (The Utmost Attainment on the Divisions of the Orbs): The First Comprehensive Hay a Work on Ptolemaic Cosmology. Next he introduces the contents of al-Kharaqi's I Muntahá i , accompanied by a commentary on select chapters (Chapter 3) and positioning this treatise as the earliest comprehensive I hay a i work. The introduction begins with a biographical account of al-Kharaqi's life and works, clarifying the existence of two contemporaneous scholars sharing the same I nisba i , namely al-Kharaqi, which modern scholars have often confused and subsequently recognized as a single individual (Chapter 1). [Extracted from the article]

As a kind of job characteristic, feedback often occurs in the organization in order to improve employee performance. Based on leadership identity theory, this study developed a conceptual model involving supervisor developmental feedback, job crafting and job performance. the authors then targeted a large manufacturing enterprise in Hunan, China, obtaining 337 valid data using an on-site questionnaire survey. The data was analyzed using a hierarchical linear regression method, showing that supervisor developmental feedback was positively related to job crafting and employee job performance, and this job crafting was positively associated with employee job performance and partially mediated the relationship between supervisor developmental feedback and employee job performance. Managerial implications and directions for further research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the case of New York City teachers' interpretations of the labels that are assigned to their performance to explore how teachers experience teacher evaluation systems. Based on our analyses of 141 interviews with New York City teachers, we argue that the ordinal performance labels assigned to teachers by New York City's Advance teacher development and evaluation system—Highly Effective, Effective, Developing, and Ineffective—have meanings that extend beyond how they locate teachers in relation to one another, or in relation to an absolute standard of teaching performance. The labels can evoke powerful emotions in teachers, and may stymie policymakers' hopes that they will be motivated by the labels to redouble their efforts to teach well. Teachers' reactions to the labels can also reveal their strategies to resist the redefinition of teachers' work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Jane Addams has long been recognized as a pioneer in North American pragmatism, efforts to develop her thought into a distinct research program have been limited. This article develops Addams's work as a method of sociological inquiry by focusing on her notions of "perplexity," "moral adjustment," and "sympathetic understanding." Emphasizing the essential role of language in moral conflicts and reconstruction, the article incorporates Charles Wright Mills's concept of "vocabularies of motives." Together, these notions offer a framework for exploring the moral dilemmas that care workers experience when responding to the imposition of standardization of their working practices. A case study demonstrates how care workers, while coping creatively with the effects of a service reform, develop motive vocabularies in defense of their professional ethics. Such situated creativity on "the shop floor" of social services remains relatively under-explored and under-theorized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined gender differences in the experiences of 923 officer cadets attending Canadian Military Colleges and 135 officer cadets attending civilian universities who completed a survey. Overall, the findings revealed that the experience of officer cadets in civilian universities was more positive, gender neutral, and their institutions' values and culture were a better fit for them compared to their peers in Canadian Military Colleges. For officer cadets in Canadian Military Colleges, the results revealed that women were less likely to perceive gender equality in the way they were treated, the fairness of complaint mechanisms, and being treated with respect compared to men. Men in Canadian Military Colleges were less likely to perceive gender equality in performance standards than women. There were no gender differences in experiences for officer cadets in civilian universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards released standards for music education in 2014. These standards are guided by artistic processes and measured by performance standards specific to content areas and grade levels. As school districts in the United States adopt the Core Arts Standards for their music programs, it is imperative that modern band teachers demonstrate how their curriculum aligns with this new framework. Modern band is one approach to popular music education that is particularly well suited to address this new framework; the emphases of songwriting, improvising, critical listening, and group work in a learner-centered modern band class/ensemble are associated with a wide variety of standards. This article explores connections between popular music pedagogies and each of the processes in the Core Arts Standards and examines which standards may be most appropriate for modern band contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural performance of standard steel sections in long-span constructions gradually deteriorates due to wider and slighter webs that tend to buckle. This is the characteristic problem of plane webs. Corrugated steel web plates allow a considerable reduction of weight and increasing the web capacity of the beam. The experimental test results of optimal designed corrugated web beams, fortifying thin-walled steel girders without stiffeners, under load conditions, have been compared with the 3-D plane strains finite elements (FE) model in this paper. The span of fabricated corrugated web beams (CWB) is chosen as 5 m. These optimally designed CWB are exposed to a single concentrated loading, two-point loading, and partially distributed loading, respectively. The design methods for CWB are firefly optimization and hunting search algorithms. The implementation of design constraints is based on the EUROCODE, DIN, and DAST-Ri. 015 code provisions. The load-displacement curves, the residual load capacity, and the failure form of eighteen tested corrugated web beams are inquired in depth along the experimental process. The structural analysis software ANSYS is used for the simulation of the experimental study, the verification of all test results, and the investigation of the behavior of failure forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global clinical trials depend on a range of standards in order for research results to be comparable. As standardization is more than a mere technical exercise, tensions can arise when things are not uniform. This paper uses empirical data from interviews with principal investigators as well as Clinical Research Organization and pharmaceutical industry representatives working in India's clinical trial industry to critically examine the ways Indian researchers navigate quests for standardization. It turns the analytical lens to the often obfuscated work of standardization aiming to transcend the biological and cultural specificity of research participants and research sites. Drawing on the concept of local biologies, it illustrates that the universal body presumed by clinical trial methodology is, in fact, a specifically Euro-American one: Indian participants not only need to be made globally comparable but also aligned with the drugs' future consumers. Focusing on the tensions between biomedicine's postulation of bodily universality and trial participants' local biologies, this paper advances recent interventions problematizing the structural violence undergirding global clinical trials. It also contributes to the literature on local biologies in its discussion of how these are negotiated in Indian for-profit clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The delivery of patient care in the United Kingdom is under increasing financial pressure. The need to continuously improve service delivery while making financial savings is challenging. Alongside this, National Health Service (NHS) Trusts must provide a suitable educational environment that meets the needs of all learners while meeting performance standards and targets set by external regulating authorities. This research addresses the gap in literature concerning educational culture in the NHS. Methods: This case study examines the delivery of postgraduate medical education in the workplace. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 lead educators in the Medical Division of a North West NHS Trust to glean their insights into what works and what needs to change. Results: A thematic analysis of the transcripts revealed a number of factors that facilitated and hindered educational opportunities for doctors in training, including the role of leadership, the demands of external regulatory authorities, and the pressures on frontline staff to deliver safe, personal, and effective care. Conclusion: Opportunities for developing a collaborative approach between educational and clinical leaders and the individuals delivering education in the workplace to enhance the educational environment are discussed. Finally, an evaluatory toolkit based on the themes emerging from the data is proposed, as a resource for other health care organisations to help improve the delivery of workplace-based medical education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment and evaluation at all levels of educational systems have become policy priorities for many countries. Two common reasons for this are student learning expectations and accountability. Although much effort has been put into the creation and refinement of content standards, standardized tests, and methods for using testing results, there has been less attention paid to the development of performance standards (proficiency levels) that greatly affect policy decision making. The present study investigates the Objective Standard Setting Model (OSS) as an improved criterion-referenced method for setting multilevel performance standards. To demonstrate how OSS can be employed for performance standard setting, our study used data from preservice teachers completing an assessment literacy test in a pre- and posttest environment. Using OSS, performance standard levels of proficient and excellent were established with clear content-related descriptions of growth in student content mastery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global change calls for more active approaches to forest risk management. To avoid unforeseen backlashes, it is necessary to examine the general public’s acceptance of the risk management strategies. By drawing on different theoretical approaches (threat and prevention, performance evaluations, and forest cognitions), the present study examines predictors of acceptability in the general public in three counties in Sweden (N = 1,026). As expected, appraisals of threat mediated the effect of threat awareness on belief in risk prevention, and when examining performance evaluations, trust in responsible actors influenced acceptability via procedural satisfaction. However, the threat and prevention approach and the performance evaluation approach only explained low levels of the variance in acceptability of the examined strategies. Nevertheless, stronger ecological forest values, and favoring broadleaved forests, were found to be important to the acceptability of proactively implementing a more diverse forest to meet the expected challenges associated with global climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In combination the Okishio theorem (1961) and a theorem due to John Roemer (1981) imply that a capital-saving technical change could simultaneously (1) reduce production costs and therefore be adopted by profit-maximizing capitalists, (2) make the economy less productive because it is retrogressive, yet (3) raise the rate of profit even while the real wage remains constant. But how can a technical change which makes the economy less productive make capitalists better off if workers are no worse off? This article resolves this conundrum, and goes on to prove a third theorem which provides a way in the Sraffian framework to calculate precisely how much any individual technical change, introduced in any particular industry, increases labor productivity in the economy as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In applications of cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs), practitioners usually face the difficulty of choosing appropriate CDMs and building accurate Q-matrices. However, functions of model-fit indices that are supposed to inform model and Q-matrix choices are not well understood. This study examines the performance of several promising model-fit indices in selecting model and Q-matrix under different sample size conditions. Relative performance between Akaike information criterion and Bayesian information criterion in model and Q-matrix selection appears to depend on the complexity of data generating models, Q-matrices, and sample sizes. Among the absolute fit indices, MX2 is least sensitive to sample size under correct model and Q-matrix specifications, and performs the best in power. Sample size is found to be the most influential factor on model-fit index values. Consequences of selecting inaccurate model and Q-matrix in classification accuracy of attribute mastery are also evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Indirect magnetic resonance (MR) arthrography is a non-invasive method for shoulder imaging. However, there are no studies that have examined the diagnostic performance of indirect MR arthrography for the diagnosis of rotator cuff tears in a large patient population. Purpose: To assess the diagnostic performance of indirect fast spin-echo (FSE) MR arthrography for the diagnosis of rotator cuff tears at 3.0 T. Material and Methods: A total of 149 patients who had undergone indirect shoulder MR arthrography followed by arthroscopic surgery were enrolled in this retrospective study. Two musculoskeletal radiologists evaluated images from each patient for the presence of supraspinatus-infraspinatus (SSP-ISP) or subscapularis (SSC) tendon tears. Using the arthroscopic findings as the reference standard, the overall diagnostic performance and detection rates for SSP-ISP and SSC tendon tears were calculated. Results: The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of readers I and II for the diagnosis of SSP-ISP tendon tears were 94% and 95%, 89% and 85%, and 93% and 93%, respectively. The sensitivity of imaging for detection of SSP-ISP tendon tears by readers I and II were 100% and 100% for full-thickness tears and 84% and 86% for partial-thickness tears, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of readers I and II for the diagnosis of SSC tendon tears were 80% and 76%, 89% and 93%, and 85% and 85%, respectively. Conclusion: Indirect MR arthrography is useful for the detection of SSP-ISP and SSC tendon tears. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Most research in the area of dynamic decision making in general and stock-flow failures in particular is conducted with the help of computerized simulations as task environments or paper-based tasks of simple dynamic systems.Purpose. The purpose of this article is to investigate if stock-flow failures persist in naturalistic decision making environments.Methods. For this purpose, a tangible stock-flow experiment is used. It asks participants to meet a target level of water in a glass by pouring water through a funnel as fast as possible. We then compare their performance with a purely cognitive task (a manufacturing task).Results. Participants on average did not significantly perform better in a tangible stock-flow task than in a paper-based test of a comparable task. In addition, individual performance in the tangible task cannot be related to performance in a similar paper-pencil stock-flow task.Conclusions. An implication of this study is that tangible stock-flow tasks are as difficult for humans to control as are purely cognitive tasks. Further research should address individual differences between the two task modes (tangible vs. cognitive). A limitation of this study is the usage of only one tangible stock-flow task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study the effects of different levels of column axial load on seismic performance of Welded Flange Plate (WFP) connections with different panel zone strength are presented. Finite element method was used to do this investigation and reliability of the modelling method was verified by comparison with experimental available records in documents. Fifteen sub-assemblages of WFP connections were generated by means of ABAQUS software. The aim was to enhance the knowledge about the consequence of column axial load level on cyclic behaviour and fracture potential of the connections with different panel zone strength for external joints in Steel Moment Resisting Frames (SMRFs). Results showed that cyclic behaviour including hysteresis loops and energy dissipation were not affected significantly by increasing column axial load regardless of the panel zone strength. It was also found that increase of the fracture potential due to increase in column axial load became less pronounced when the panel zone strength was decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Samsoeum was traditionally used for treatment of a respiratory disease. Objective: The simultaneous determination of eight major compounds, ginsenoside Rg3, caffeic acid, puerarin, costunolide, hesperidin, naringin, glycyrrhizin, and 6-gingerol in the Samsoeum using a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with diode array detection (DAD) and an electrospray ionization mass spectrometer was developed for an accurate and reliable quality assessment. Materials and Methods: Eight compounds were qualitative identified based on their mass spectra and by comparing with standard compounds and quantitative analyzed by HPLC-DAD. Separation of eight compounds was carried out on a LUNA C18 column (S-5 μm, 4.6 mm i.d. ×250 mm) with gradient elution composed of acetonitrile and 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid. Results: The data showed good linearity (R2 > 0.9996). The limits of detection and the limits of quantification were <0.53 μg and 1.62 μg, respectively. Inter-.and Intra-day precisions (expressed as relative standard deviation values) were within 1.94% and 1.91%, respectively. The recovery of the method was in the range of 94.24-107.90%. Conclusion: The established method is effective and could be applied to quality control of Samsoeum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Counterproductive work behaviors are notoriously difficult to measure in applied settings. As a result, many organizations are unable to reliably evaluate the frequency and antecedents of these behaviors. Exit surveys provide a unique opportunity for measuring potentially sensitive organizational issues but have yet to be widely adopted for measuring counterproductive work behaviors. The present paper describes a case study in which an exit survey was designed to study counterproductive work behaviors in a large telecommunications company. The results of this study suggest that a similar methodology may be beneficial for other organizations looking to better understand and manage these potentially damaging behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective training programs are critical for successful employee performance. The same can be said for volunteer programs. Volunteers need to have the knowledge and skills necessary to fulfill the mission of the organization. In this study, we examine the impact of training methods and trainees’ demographic factors on the effectiveness of a training program for a voluntary program. Survey results (N = 5,727) indicate a very low percentage of participation (16.46%) in the voluntary program after training. Responses also indicate that content knowledge recall after training is affected by training year (the year receiving training), industrial sector, calling history, and training delivery method. Participants’ desires for retraining are also impacted by the type of training received, the industry sector, as well as past participation in the program. Recommendations for voluntary training programs based on study results and future research directions are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objectives: The authors outline the difference between content and performance standards and the rationale for standard setting at a medical college. The principles of the college's standard setting processes for the written and objective structured clinical examination summative assessments are discussed in greater detail.Conclusion: There is no evidence of any single standard setting method to be the best. Multiple methods exist and will have varied results when applied. The judgement of a panel of subject experts remains an important component of the standard setting process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expectations and how they are communicated influence employees’ motivation, effort, goals, efficacy and performance. This study examined faculty performance evaluation standards and processes of 60 academic departments in research universities for motivationally relevant elements. Characteristics were systematically analysed to understand their content and motivational implications. They were examined for features influential on employee engagement, effort, persistence, innovation and organizational commitment, in an iterative, qualitative process. The researchers distilled eight key features of performance standards with influential, research-based motivational implications and analysed how they are demonstrated in the standards. These eight motivationally positive components were evident, but not consistent across these standards. Findings suggest that higher education institutions re-examine their faculty performance standards, consider their motivational messages and implications. Further research on faculty performance standards is also indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to use differential item functioning (DIF) and latent mixture model analyses to explore factors that explain performance differences on a large-scale mathematics assessment between examinees allowed to use a calculator or who were afforded item presentation accommodations versus those who did not receive the same accommodations. Data from a state accountability assessment of mathematics for students in Grade 8 were analyzed. More than 73,000 students participated, of which 12,268 were students with disabilities (SWD) receiving test accommodations. DIF analyses detected performance differences between examinees without accommodations and those who used a calculator or those where the item presentation was altered. Latent performance class analyses revealed that performance differences were associated with item difficulty and abilty in addition to accommodation status. Results support validity studies that use mixture models that can consider context variables related to item type, academic skills, and accommodations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Humans pay close attention to the reputational consequences of their actions. Recent experiments indicate that even very subtle cues that one is being observed can affect cooperative behaviors. Expressing our opinions about the morality of certain acts is a key means of advertising our cooperative dispositions. Here, we investigated how subtle cues of being watched would affect moral judgments. We predicted that participants exposed to such cues would affirm their endorsement of prevailing moral norms by expressing greater disapproval of moral transgressions. Participants read brief accounts of two moral violations and rated the moral acceptability of each violation. Violations were more strongly condemned in a condition where participants were exposed to surveillance cues (an image of eyes interposed between the description of the violation and the associated rating scale) than in a control condition (in which the interposed image was of flowers). We discuss the role that public declarations play in the interpersonal evaluation of cooperative dispositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the subject of management control and tries to create a performance measurement system for social enterprises, that is, how to measure success. Three reference fields for management are analyzed: (a) economic-financial performance, linked to the determination of general performance (profits, value added, etc.) and analytic results (production-cost of services, efficiency indicators, etc.); (b) social effectiveness, to measure the quantity and quality of work undertaken and to identify its impact on the intended beneficiaries and the community; and (c) institutional legitimacy, verifying conformity with law and mission statement. In integrating these aspects, we propose a multidimensional controlling framework that is appropriate to the management of a social enterprise. We try to demonstrate the validity of the theoretical model through the illustration of an Italian empirical case: the work integration social enterprise “Ulisse.” [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Based on Mitchell and Silver's (1990) tower-building paradigm, the authors performed two experiments on multilevel quantity goals, strategies, and performance in task-interdependent groups. The study compared four goal types: IG (individual goal), GG (group goal), IG + GG (individual + group goal), and NSG (nonspecific goal). IG yielded low cooperation and performance, whereas, unexpectedly, NSG yielded high cooperation and performance. To explain this finding, we discerned two goal-setting components: Goal referent (performance-level targeted; individual/group) and goal specificity. Mediation analyses suggest that referent triggers a cooperation/competition mechanism, explaining the lower IG performance, whereas specificity triggers a speed/ accuracy mechanism, explaining the higher NSG performance. We conclude that individual goals can interfere with cooperative processes and group performance, and, for time-constrained interdependent tasks requiring speed and accuracy, specific difficult quantity goals may promote risk taking, thereby obstructing goal attainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research suggests that competitive work environments may influence individual's attitudes, behaviors, stress, and performance. Unfortunately, adequate measures of competitive environments are lacking. This article traces the development of a new multidimensional competitive work environment scale. An initial 59-item pool covering five dimensions of a competitive environment was generated and scrutinized. Then, using two independent data samples, the authors psychometrically analyzed, organized, and reduced the items using a combination of exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and item response theory. The final scale consists of 20 items across five distinct dimensions: competition for tangible rewards, nontangible rewards, recognition, status, and competition influenced by coworkers. Results indicate that the final multidimensional scale maintains strong psychometric properties and provides preliminary evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Implications and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effects of active workstation designs on speed and error during typing, mouse pointing, and combined type and mouse-use tasks. Background: Office ergonomics has focused on musculoskeletal disorder prevention; however, increasing computer-based work also increases health risks associated with inactivity. Workstations allowing computer users to walk or cycle while performing computer tasks have been shown to demand sufficient energy expenditure to result in significant health benefits. However the performance effects of being active while using a computer have not been documented. Method: Thirty office workers (16 female, 15 touch typists) performed standardized computer tasks in six workstation conditions: sitting, standing, walking at 1.6 km/h and 3.2 km/h, and cycling at 5 and 30 watts. Performance, perceived performance, and heart rate were measured. Results: Computer task performance was lower when walking and slightly lower when cycling, compared with chair sitting. Standing performance was not different from sitting performance. Mouse performance was more affected than typing performance. Performance decrements were equal for females and males and for touch typists and nontouch typists. Conclusion: Performance decrements maybe related to both biomechanical and cognitive processes. Active workstations may be less suitable for mouse-intensive work and susceptible users. Application: Although active workstations may result in some decrement in performance, their ability to increase daily energy expenditure may make them a feasible solution for workplace inactivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various analyses have used the transfer rate as a performance indicator for community colleges, but the question of what constitutes an appropriate denominator in the transfer-rate equation remains a point of contention. This article examines the potential drawbacks of using student-reported educational goals to determine which students are included in the denominator and notes how the behavioral signal approach — based on the courses students take and complete — may be a more appropriate alternative. In addition, the article discusses the prospects of employing a "transfer opportunity diagnosis" based on multiple indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores some of the similarities and differences between two approaches to the study of work that use moving images. The first approach, most notably practised by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, 'dissected' the movement of workers' bodies in the pursuit of efficiency. The second approach has emerged in the last few decades from ethnomethodology and conversation analysis. The article notes how shared technologies for data collection and shared interests in work practice belie more fundamental differences in analytic orientation. The article uses this comparison to highlight the potential contributions that the more recent corpus of studies can make to our understanding of work; an understanding that prioritizes the methodic practices in and through which members of society accomplish, experience and constitute work and organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to document the cognitive aftereffects of exposure to uncoupled motion and the time course of recovery from these aftereffects. Background: Uncoupled motion refers to a situation in which an individual is simultaneously exposed to two asynchronous motions, either real or virtual. These environments are a challenge for designers because technology that is supposed to increase the user's task performance may actually lead to decreased task performance. Method: In the study, 11 male participants, (median age = 32 years) with prior flight experience (median = 600 hr) were exposed to an uncoupled motion environment consisting of a flight simulator on a vertically oscillating platform. Participants completed a cognitive test battery, a balance test, and a dynamic visual acuity test preexposure, immediately postexposure, and 2, 4, 6, 8, and 24 hr postexposure. Results: The uncoupled motion scenario led to significant cognitive aftereffects that cannot be solely attributed to motion sickness. These aftereffects lasted between 2 and 4 hr postexposure. The scenario generated some physiological aftereffects that lasted between 1 and 2 hr postexposure. However, it is likely that these aftereffects can be attributed to motion sickness. Conclusion: Uncoupled motion can cause unappreciated effects, such as degraded cognitive performance. Application: System designs that create uncoupled motion need to be evaluated for the potential to generate operator impairment, and designs should be modified to minimize this potential wherever possible. When redesign is not possible, system-use guidelines should be developed to minimize impairment. The current results suggest operators avoid performing cognitively demanding tasks for at least 2 hr postexposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The management of project teams is evolving from managing technical processes to focusing on psychosocial determinants of performance. This trend puts a strain on project management theory and practice. Past meta-analyses on the cohesion-performance relationship show a positive correlation. However, they integrate effect sizes across different types of teams and settings. To clarify this issue for project teams, this meta-analysis differentiates 33 cohesion-performance correlations depending on whether teams are project, production, or service teams in organizational or academic settings. Results show that types of teams and settings are moderators. Project teams in organizational and academic settings show large effect sizes and differ from other teams. Theoretical considerations point to five interrelated modifiers: task uncertainty, task versus outcome performance, student samples' mental representation of the project outcome, and group heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research indicates that work-family conflict interferes with family far more than it interferes with work. Conservation of resources provides a possible explanation: when shifting resources from family is no longer sufficient to maintain satisfactory work performance, then workers must acquire additional resources or reduce investments in work. One source of such additional resources could be high performance peers in the work group. The performance of workers with resource-rich peers may be less adversely affected by work-family conflict. In this study, 136 employees of a wholesale distribution firm (61% women, 62% minority) working in groups of 7 to 11 in manual labor and low-level administrative jobs rated their own work-to-family conflict. Their supervisors rated workers' performance. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that work-to-family conflict increasingly adversely affected job performance as work group performance decreased. Hence, work group performance may be an important moderator of the effects of work-family conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The validity and reliability of curriculum-based measures in reading as indicators of performance and progress for secondary-school students were examined. Thirty-five grade 8 students completed reading aloud and maze-selection measures weekly for 10 weeks. Criterion measures were the state standards test in reading and the Woodcock–Johnson III Test of Achievement. Different time frames for each measure were compared. Most alternate-form reliability coefficients were above .80. Criterion-related validity coefficients ranged from .77 to .89. No differences related to time were found. Only maze selection reflected significant growth, with an average increase of 1.29 correct choices per week. Maze growth was related to the reading performance level and to change on the Woodcock–Johnson III from pre- to posttest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pernicious paradox in human motivation is the occasional reduced performance associated with tasks and situations that involve larger-than-average rewards. Three broad explanations that might account for such performance decrements are attentional competition (distraction theories), inhibition by conscious processes (explicit-monitoring theories), and excessive drive and arousal (overmotivation theories). Here, we report incentive-dependent performance decrements in humans in a reward-pursuit task; subjects were less successful in capturing a more valuable reward in a computerized maze. Concurrent functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed that increased activity in ventral midbrain, a brain area associated with incentive motivation and basic reward responding, correlated with both reduced number of captures and increased number of near-misses associated with imminent high rewards. These data cast light on the neurobiological basis of choking under pressure and are consistent with overmotivation accounts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of "scientific excellence" is taking on increasing importance in the development of research policies in many nations. However, scientific excellence is difficult to define because of its multidimensional and highly complex character. This work contributes to the state of the art by exploring an effective, simple, and inexpensive bibliometric methodology that further identifies "excellent" centers of research by beginning with the individual researchers affiliated with such centers. The study concentrates on public research organizations in Italy, analyzing 109 scientific categories of research in the "hard" sciences and 157 centers of excellence operating in 60 of these categories. Findings from this first application of the methodology should be considered exploratory and indicative. With a longer period of observation and the addition of further measurements, this methodology could be extended and adapted to a variety of national and supranational contexts, aiding policy decisions at various levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A one-year follow-up study examined the role of developmental challenges, personality (dependency, self-criticism, and personal efficacy), and support systems in adaptation among Israeli emerging adults (N = 236) participating in a preparatory academic program. Participants were assessed during their enrollment in the preparatory academic program and one year later, after graduation, when their academic success or failure could be determined. Personal efficacy predicted higher levels of goal investment and goal progress, as well as more positive life events. In contrast, self-criticism predicted lower goal investment, higher goal stress, and a reduced number of positive events. Self-criticism also predicted elevated levels of a motivation and an increase in depressive and anxiety symptoms. Paternal social support predicted young people's more favorable adaptation one year later. Among young adult males, academic failure predicted later level of symptoms and more negative events. These findings encourage further examination of the role of personality and family relationships in the transition to adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leadership, currently prescribed as a key requirement for effective school organization and management, is examined here as a rhetorical or discursive device, as a 'turn', in the sense used in literary and sociological discussion of the linguistic turn. In the educational sphere, a tacit separation of leadership from issues of governance and management is becoming apparent. This move may be significantly related to an aestheticization of learning, and what is said to be increasingly the performative nature of its application in educational institutions in England. Leadership is inherently relational, but institutes and sustains unequal power relations. The paper argues that a significant distinction should be understood between performance and performativity, analogous to 'event' and 'possibility', which affords unrealized ethical and emancipatory opportunities for educational practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in end-of-year accountability exams has increased dramatically since the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. With this increased interest comes a desire to use student data collected throughout the year to estimate student proficiency and predict how well they will perform on end-of-year exams. This article uses student performance on the Assistment System, an online mathematics tutor, to show that replacing percentage correct with an Item Response Theory estimate of student proficiency leads to better fitting prediction models. In addition, it uses other tutor performance metrics to further increase prediction accuracy. Prediction error bounds are also calculated to attain an absolute measure to which the models can be compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Findings reported here are from a secondary analysis of in-home, semistructured interviews with a subsample of 9 participants from a larger study examining the perspectives of parents of children with Asperger Syndrome (AS) concerning what contributes to and detracts from their children's quality of life at school. Audiotaped interview data used in the secondary analysis had already been gathered by a trained interviewer and then transcribed verbatim. The secondary analysis followed a modified grounded theory approach. Major themes identified are highlighted, specifically, how quality of life is affected by (a) awareness of AS in the school system, (b) quality of social interaction, (c) the role of the teaching staff and professionals, and (d) the role of the institution and educational structure. Implications, recommendations, and future research directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the outlook of school governance in terms of both educational excellence and community enhancement. It states that primary schools are seen not only as serving their main function of educating but as a moving force for promoting and sustaining a sense of cooperation within their schools and in the local area, making the school the community centre. With this setting, governing bodies can be a natural conduit for building social capital inside the school and within their local area.

Several types of parameterizations of attribute correlations in cognitive diagnosis models use the reduced reparameterized unified model. The general approach presumes an unconstrained correlation matrix with K(K-1)/2 parameters, whereas the higher order approach postulates K parameters, imposing a unidimensional structure on the correlation matrix between the latent skills. This article investigates the differences in performance between the correlational structure parameterizations (a general structure, a higher order single-factor structure, and a baseline uniform distributional approach constraining the attributes to be independent) across a wide variety of simulated multidimensional attribute spaces. Results suggest that the correlational approaches perform equally well with respect to classification and item parameter estimation accuracy, regardless of the violations of the assumptions of the higher order model. Findings suggest the general robustness of the higher order model and the associated estimation procedure. The three approaches are also used to analyze a real-world test; results suggest that such tests can be analyzed effectively by the higher order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The profile of students is changing, with an increase in first-generation and adult students. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in college perceptions between first-generation and continuing-generation adult undergraduates while controlling for demographic variables. The study and hypotheses are grounded in the Model of College Outcomes for Adult Students. it was hypothesized that first-generation students would report higher importance and lower satisfaction scores on the following variables: instructional effectiveness, academic advising, registration effectiveness, campus climate, safely and security academic services, admissions and financial aid effectiveness, and service excellence. The results revealed that sex (more females) accounted for variance between first- and continuing-generation students on importance. There were no differences regarding satisfaction. With a higher number of female adult and first-generation students, higher education should better examine how to meet these students 'needs. Recommendations for future research and practical implications are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Police departments have traditionally assessed their performance through crime-related activity measures that often have little to do with good police work and offer little hope for prediction of exemplary performance. This article suggests some progress can be made in predicting superior performance by considering an earlier stage in a police officer's career where performance is well-defined and measurable: the police academy. Using recruit performance data (n = 1,556) from a large metropolitan police department, the article uses linear and logistic regression, as well as Chi-square Automatic Indicator Detector (CHIAD), to identify predictors of superior performance in the academy. A number of interesting findings emerge with regard to factors that offer predictive value--reading level, age, gender, and race--and those that do not--college education, military experience, and residency. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications for recruitment, selection, and training, as well as for measuring and predicting performance on the street. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article extends recent work on the relationship between personality and career self-efficacy by examining relationships across two new inventories with scales for identifying human strengths. The Healthy Personality Inventory (HPI) has 17 content scales tapping an array of positive personality measures. The CAPA Confidence Inventory (CCI) has 6 broad, 27 basic, and 6 engagement styles measures of career self-efficacy. In a sample of college students, hypothesized correlations between personality and self-efficacy were generally confirmed. A number of unexpected relationships also were found, such as the HPI Creative scale predicting social and enterprising confidence. These inventories show promise for continued research, theory development, and assessment practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research has demonstrated a relationship between happiness and workplace success. For example, compared with their less happy peers, happy people earn more money, display superior performance, and perform more helpful acts. Researchers have often assumed that an employee is happy and satisfied because he or she is successful. In this article, the authors review evidence in support of an alternative hypothesis—namely, that happiness is a source of why particular employees are more successful than others. To this end, the authors consider evidence from three types of studies—cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental—that relate happiness to various work outcomes. Taken together, the evidence suggests that happiness is not only correlated with workplace success but that happiness often precedes measures of success and that induction of positive affect leads to improved workplace outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has clearly shown the relationship between subjective well-being and work performance, even though there is debate over the causality of that relationship (i.e., does subjective well-being cause higher work performance or does greater work performance lead to subjective well-being?). Regardless, researchers and practitioners would agree that having employees who are productive and have high subjective well-being is valuable. The purpose of this article is to review research in this area and to discuss strategies for promoting well-being at the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Standard-setting methods are widely used to determine cut scores on a test that examinees must meet for a certain performance standard. Because standard setting is a measurement procedure, it is important to evaluate variability of cut scores resulting from the standard-setting process. Generalizability theory is used in this study to estimate standard errors of cut scores resulting from two standard-setting methods: item rating (Angoff-based) and mapmark (bookmark-based) methods. In this study, two different generalizability (G) study designs and four different decision (D) study designs were examined, and the impact of varying different aspects of the study design and universes of generalization was examined. Results suggest that cut scores were generally consistent for both methods. The first round standard setting contributed the most to the overall variability for the mapmark method. Also, it is clear that there is no one standard error associated with a certain cut score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]