bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Teen Court: An Examination of Processes and Outcomes
Authors: Harrison Paige , Maupin James R. , Mays G. Larry
Published: March 2007

Teen courts are becoming a popular mechanism whereby to process youngsters charged with relatively minor offenses. There has been limited systematic analysis of teen courts to identify either their successes or failures. This study examines the teen court of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, including its processes and apparent recidivism rates. The 478 participants were randomly selected from the program and traced through the local Juvenile Probation and Parole Office (JPPO) database. Interviews were conducted with a teen court staff member, JPPO staff members, and former teen court participants. A 25% recidivism rate was found between 1994 and 1998, affected by gender, age, the presence of a prior referral, whether the youngster completed the teen court program, with whom the juvenile resided, and the severity of the jury sentence. The study—the first of its kind for this court—was able to identify some of the successes and shortcomings of this county's teen court.
Health-Related Issues in Prisoner Reentry
Authors: Hammett Theodore M. , Roberts Cheryl , Kennedy Sofia
Published: March 2007

Correctional inmates and ex-offenders are disproportionately burdened by medical and mental health problems. This article reviews the state of programs and research in five health-related issues important to these inmates' successful transitions to the community: discharge planning, community linkages, and continuity of care; adherence to treatment regimens; availability of housing; quick access to benefit programs; and the particular needs of dually and triply diagnosed individuals. In general, such services are currently inadequate, although there are exemplary programs and promising strategies in some of these realms. Additional research is needed to evaluate current programs and encourage their replication and enhancement. The disproportionate share of the nation's total burden of health problems found among inmates and the potential public health and fiscal benefits of an improved response should make this research a high priority.
Riverboat Gambling and Crime in Indiana: An Empirical Investigation
Authors: Wilson Jeremy M.
Published: March 2007

Despite the proliferation of riverboat gambling, few studies have rigorously investigated a link between riverboat gambling and crime. Literature regarding routine activities theory and resort and traditional casino tourism suggests that offenses may increase with the enhanced opportunities for crime provided by the influx of gamblers. Focusing on Indiana communities, this study explored the connection by examining via interrupted time series analyses index offenses and simple assaults over 286 weeks in Hammond and index, driving under the influence, public intoxication, disorderly conduct, and prostitution offenses over 57 months in Rising Sun. The casinos were not found to increase crime in Hammond but were associated with increases in aggravated assaults and thefts in Rising Sun. These somewhat attenuated effects on crime suggest the enhanced criminal opportunity created by riverboat casinos did not increase the overall frequency of individual offenses as might be expected from routine activities theory and related tourism literature.
The Probation Officers' Search for Credibility: Ball Park Recommendations
Authors: Rosecrance John
Published: March 2007

Based upon fifteen years of experience as a probation officer and qualitative interviewing of court personnel, I present an ethnographic account of decision-making processes used by probation officers in preparing presentence recommendations. Frequently, probation recommendations serve only to endorse prearranged judicial agreements. When actual decisions are required, the range of recommendations is generally encompassed within narrow parameters. Individual probation officers discern these informal parameters by responding to cues provided by (1) judges, (2) prosecuting attorneys, and (3) probation supervisors. When a recommendation seems likely to meet the approval of these three entities, it is deemed appropriate or “in the ball park.” The anticipatory nature of the ball park phenomenon seriously questions traditional concepts that sentencing judges “follow” probation recommendations.
Racial Minority and Female Employment in Policing: The Implications of “Glacial” Change
Authors: Walker Samuel
Published: March 2007

This article reviews the issues surrounding the employment of racial minorities and women by American police departments. It places particular emphasis on the extent to which slow but uneventful change forces a reconsideration of our understanding of the police. The article reviews the available data on police employment and examines the issues surrounding the factors associated with progress toward equal employment opportunity, the impact of changing employment practices on police performance, public attitudes, and the dynamics of the police subculture.
Violent Youth in Adult Court: Process and Punishment
Authors: Rudman Cary , Hartstone Eliot , Fagan Jeffrey , Moore Melinda
Published: March 2007

Despite the widespread transfer of violent youth from juvenile to criminal court, there is little empirical knowledge of the transfer process, rate of transfer, or of case outcomes, sentences, and placements of transferred juveniles. This study examines these issues for 177 violent youths considered for transfer in four urban areas, comparing court outcomes for youths transferred to criminal court with those for youths retained in juvenile court. Varying procedures, criteria, and court rules result in case processing time averaging 2.5 times greater for transferred youth. Most spend this time in detention. Violent youth considered for transfer are adjudicated at a high rate for the offenses as charged in both juvenile and criminal court. Plea bargaining for charges rarely occurred. Youth considered for transfer but retained by the juvenile court received maximum commitments and placements within the jurisdictional limits of the juvenile justice system. Transferred youth convicted in criminal court received even more severe sanctions both in nature and length. Alternatives to incarceration were rarely used by either the juvenile or criminal court.
The Theory and Research Behind Neighborhood Watch: Is it a Sound Fear and Crime Reduction Strategy?
Authors: ROSENBAUM DENNIS P.
Published: March 2007

This article takes a critical look at the theory and research behind the highly touted community crime prevention strategy known as Neighborhood Watch. While correlational studies of neighborhoods and citizen participation are numerous, there is a paucity of rigorous experimental evaluations that test the proposed “Implant Hypothesis,” that is, that collective citizen participation (and the social processes it allegedly activates) can be implanted in neighborhoods where it does not currently exist. However, there are both theoretical and empirical reasons to challenge some of the basic assumptions underlying the Neighborhood Watch approach to reducing crime, reducing fear of crime, and restoring a sense of community. The hypothesis that Watch programs increase fear of crime and may have other effects is examined. The implications of this assessment for theory development and public policy are explored.
The Jailing of Juveniles in Minnesota: A Case Study
Authors: Schwartz Ira M. , Harris Linda , Levi Laurie
Published: March 2007

Minnesota is nationally recognized for its enlightened criminal justice policies. It was the first state where policymakers implemented a comprehensive system of sentencing guidelines for adults and developed sound policies regarding the use of imprisonment. As a result, Minnesota has one of the lowest rates of incarceration of adults in the country and is one of only a handful of states with prisons that are not severely overcrowded. Unfortunately, the juvenile justice system in Minnesota has not kept pace with the advances in the adult area. For example, Minnesota has one of the highest incarceration rates for juveniles. This is primarily due to the fact that large numbers of young people are committed for relatively short periods of time to county operated training schools. Also, Minnesota is one of the states where large numbers of juveniles are admitted to county jails and municipal lockups each year. This article takes a close look at the problem of the jailing of juveniles in Minnesota and explores the implications for policymakers, juvenile justice professionals, public interest groups, and child advocates.
Social Organization and Differential Association: A Research Note from a Longitudinal Study of Violent Juvenile Offenders
Authors: Reinarman Craig , Fagan Jeffrey
Published: March 2007

Social-structural dimensions of the work of Sutherland and Cressey are typically neglected in favor of the social-psychology of differential association, which attempts to explain individual crime and delinquency in terms of socialization and learning. In this article we follow a lead from Don Cressey's article, “Epidemiology and Individual Conduct,” and explore how differential social organization may be related to differential association. Using data from a 3-year follow-up study of 130 serious juvenile offenders, we attempt to assess whether the effects of differential association variables (and others from competing theories) vary according to the social-class characteristics of the delinquents' social areas. While differential association variables were found to be the strongest predictors of delinquency, we were unable to demonstrate that their predictive efficacy varied significantly by the social class of the delinquents' social areas.
The Kennedy-Johnson Years, Social Theory, and Federal Policy in the Control of Juvenile Delinquency
Authors: Binder Arnold , Polan Susan L.
Published: March 2007

The programs implemented under the social policy of the Kennedy-Johnson administrations included, as substantial components, those aimed at the prevention and control of juvenile delinquency. Influential in determining operational directions for the delinquency programs were theories particularly prominent during the 1960s-opportunity and labeling. From the perspectives of long-lasting results and continuity of policy, the approaches were not successful. There would seem, however, as much reason to question the modes of execution of theorems as the adequacy of theories to account for the failures.
Reducing Juvenile Detention Rates or Expanding the Official Control Nets: An Evaluation of a Legislative Reform Effort
Authors: Frazier Charles E. , Lee Soon Rae
Published: March 2007

Reform-oriented laws in the area of juvenile justice, despite their specific intent, generally have negative as well as positive potential. Changes in law designed to reduce the juvenile population under state control are a case in point. Research shows that the effect of such laws often is to increase rather than decrease the number of juveniles subject to official control. When the effect of a law designed to reduce the population of juveniles under state control is to cause that population to increase, it is commonly called “net widening.” The present study examines a recent change in Florida's juvenile detention law that was designed, in part, to reduce overcrowding in the state's secure detention facilities.
Forecasting the Long-Term Impact of Washington's Sentencing Guidelines: A Roller Coaster Ride
Authors: Olson Glenn
Published: March 2007

In the early 1980s Washington State developed a simulation forecast for inmate populations that was used to estimate the impact of the state's pioneering sentencing guideline initiative. This process presented forecasting challenges that occurred in three phases over a 10-year period. Different types of forecasting challenges were specific to each of the three phases. These challenges are described along two dimensions: forecast horizon and level of detail. Various combinations of horizon and detail sometimes required mutually exclusive assumptions that yielded much different results.
The Impact of Demographic Variables on Public Opinion Regarding Juvenile Justice: Implications for Public Policy
Authors: Schwartz Ira M. , Guo Shenyang , Kerbs John J.
Published: March 2007

This article examines data from a 1991 national public opinion survey on attitudes toward juvenile crime/justice. Specifically, it explores the relationship between demographic variables and opinions toward trying juveniles in adult courts, giving them adult sentences, and sentencing them to adult prisons. The findings indicate that a majority of typical respondents favor trying juveniles in adult courts for serious felonies. Additionally, punitive attitudes toward juveniles decrease up to a certain age, usually around 50, and then increase. Findings also show that African-American parents are more supportive of punitive juvenile justice policies than other racial/ethnic groups with and without children.
Disposition Case Advocacy in San Francisco's Juvenile Justice System: A New Approach to Deinstitutionalization
Authors: Macallair Dan
Published: March 2007

This article examines the impact of defense-based disposition case advocacy in San Francisco commitment rates to state juvenile correctional facilities. Historically, this juvenile justice system committed a large percentage of youths to state institutions. These rates were strongly influenced by the probation system's penchant for recommending custodial confinement. Defense-based case advocates began presenting alternative disposition reports to judges in 1980. As a result, between 1980 and 1990, commitments to state correctional facilities fell 73%. The evidence suggests that case advocacy is an effective strategy for reducing commitments to juvenile correctional institutions.
Recent Gang Research: Program and Policy Implications
Authors: Howell James C.
Published: March 2007

Current knowledge of street gangs and related crime is limited. Media reports would have us believe that they account for the recent increase in juvenile violence; that they are spreading, mostly through establishment of satellite operations in other cities; that they have become extensively involved in drug trafficking; and that they are actively expanding these operations to other cities. This article reviews recent gang studies that shed light on the above assertions and increase our knowledge of gangs. Program and research implications for federal, state, and local entities along with recommended next steps are offered.
Attitudes and Practices of Federal Probation Officers Toward Pre-Plea/Trial Investigative Report Policy
Authors: Lanier Mark M. , Miller Cloud H.
Published: March 2007

Federal courts rely on information contained in pre-sentence investigations to determine sentence length. However, defendants do not have access to this prior to entering a plea. Thus many offenders have received sentences longer than what was anticipated during plea negotiations. The authors surveyed chief federal probation officers (n = 96) to measure the feasibility of pre-plea reports being prepared. The 68% response rate provided strong indication of practices and attitudes. Despite the increased work associated with such a system, some support does exist for the concept. Further, most respondents acknowledged that such a system would be beneficial to defendants.
Police Response to Mandatory Arrest Laws
Authors: Mignon Sylvia I. , Holmes William M.
Published: March 2007

Mandatory arrest laws, although controversial, have gained support as one mechanism for reducing domestic violence. This research examines how police officers responded to mandatory arrest statutes. Twenty-four police departments produced data on interventions in 861 cases of domestic violence. Implementing a mandatory arrest law significantly increased arrests of offenders, especially those in violation of a restraining order. Arrest was affected by injury to the victim, use of a weapon, use of alcohol, and presence of a witness. Police training was crucial to the implementation of the mandatory arrest statute.
Transcarceration and Social Control Policy: The 1980s and Beyond
Authors: Johnson W. Wesley
Published: March 2007

During the 1980s, punishment and control became increasingly complex. As a result, the relevance of various forms of noncriminal justice system control—welfare assistance, psychiatric intervention, and education—has been increasingly recognized. The interaction between the various forms of control is characterized as transcarceration. The analysis in this article incorporates data from 50 states to assess interaction between various forms of control, holding constant the influence of social and economic conditions. Multivariate analyses indicate transcarceral effects do exist. Policy implications are discussed in light of demands by the public for more effective social control and fiscal constraint.
Drug Policy and Community Context: The Case of Small Cities and Towns
Authors: McDermott M. Joan , Garofalo James
Published: March 2007

This article reports findings from a national assessment of drug problems and antidrug initiatives in small cities and towns in the United States. It examines the importance of drug problems in small jurisdictions, compared with other problems, the type of drug problems reported, the “most important” antidrug programs, and certain other issues. Implications for drug policy are discussed.
Cynicism, Fear, Communication, and Knowledge of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) among Juvenile Delinquents
Authors: Lanier Mark M. , Sloan John J.
Published: March 2007

Understanding attitudes toward AIDS among institutionalized juveniles is a crucial issue for administrators of health education programs. This study examined cynicism, fear, communicatin skills, and the impact of AIDS education. The results indicated that education is significantly related to objective knowledge and to cynicism about AIDS, but is not related to other attitudes about AIDS. Membership in racial minority groups was correlated with lower objective knowledge scores and greater cynicism. Although females possessed slightly less knowledge about AIDS, they were less cynical and reported practicing more precautionary behavior than males. Implications of these findings for juvenile correctional policy are discussed.
Are Girls More Difficult to Work With? Youth Workers' Perspectives in Juvenile Justice and Related Areas
Authors: Baines Margaret , Alder Christine
Published: March 2007

This research explored the frequently heard, but virtually unexamined, comment in juvenile justice practice that “girls are more difficult to work with.” The qualitative methodology entailed interviews with youth workers in juvenile justice and related programs in Victoria, Australia. Virtually all interviewees concurred with the judgment. Explanations were in terms of perceived differences in the complexity of the problems involved and in the behavior of young men and women. The relatively small number of young women affected both the extent of workers' experiences with and the range of services available to young women. The degree to which workers' assessments reflected gendered assumptions, or actual differences in behavior, could not be determined by this research. Nevertheless, the extent and intensity of this understanding revealed in this research indicates the need for further research so that its potential ramifications can be identified and addressed in juvenile justice policy developments.
Less-Than-Lethal Weapons and Police-Citizen Killings in U.S. Urban Areas
Authors: Bailey William C.
Published: March 2007

There appears to be general consensus in law enforcement circles that less-than-lethal weapons are effective in reducing police-citizen killings, but this “common wisdom” has not been subject to systematic empirical analysis. Considering a large sample of U.S. cities for 1990, this article examines the association between the availability to the police of various types of less-than-lethal weapons and general and race-specific justifiable homicide rates. The analysis produces no evidence that police killing rates are affected by the availability of less-than-lethal weapons.
HIV Risk and Injecting Drug Use: Implications for Rural Jails
Authors: Kane Stephanie , Dotson C. Jason
Published: March 2007

The Department of Justice estimates that 25% of all state prisoners have injected illegal drugs and that needle use is a major factor in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission among state prison inmates. But little is known regarding the problem in rural jails. Data presented here, based on interviews and questionnaires administered to inmates and staff in Indiana rural county jails, indicate that system management procedures may increase HIV risk to inmates and staff. Formulating policies on HIV risk for rural jails may prove crucial to epidemic management within particular institutions and may be a critical dimension of nationwide transmission patterns.
Poor Chic: The Rational Consumption of Poverty
Authors: Halnon Karen Bettez
Published: March 2007

A discussion of Poor Chic, or an array of fads and fashions in popular culture that make recreational or stylish `fun' of poverty, or of traditional symbols of working class and underclass statuses, challenges the reductionism of the view that `lifestyle' consumption has displaced consumption as a means of expressing social status (e.g. race, class, and gender). It is argued that the multiplicity of symbols involved in Poor Chic collectively represent lower class status and have referents in the material realities of poverty. Using numerous examples of Poor Chic in the United States and internationally since the 1980s, this article shows how the rational (controlled, efficient, predictable, and calculable) consumption of poverty symbols distinguishes class boundaries between the wealthy and the poor. Drawing on works by Ritzer, Bauman, Veblen, and others, Poor Chic is explained as the rational consumption of commodified poverty, involving postmodern `tourists' who `conspicuously' vacation in `vagabondage'.
Introduction: Analyzing Change in Latin America - Missed Opportunities and False Trails
Authors: Brachet-Marquez Viviane
Published: March 2007

This paper identifies and examines critically the theoretical changes enclosed in recent research on transition from authoritarian rule, democratization and democratic consolidation in Latin America. Three broad dimensions of democracy - political, legal-organizational and participatory - are inferred from these debates. The first, and by far most widely used, is a conglomerate of individual rights (of expression, association, suffrage, etc.) and competitive elections. The second adds to the first the conditions necessary to guarantee the exercise of citizenship (e.g. limitation of military prerogatives or equal implementation of the law); the third focuses on the process of citizen empowerment via organized collective action.

After culling from this literature a number of theoretical innovations (such as the critical reappraisal of authoritarian rule; the reconceptualization of the state; the shift in emphasis from structure to process; or the reconceptualization of the relation between politics and society and between capitalism and democracy), the paper shows how these innovative elements and the three conceptions of democracy defined above are interwoven in analyses of democratic transition and consolidation, and what balance between gains and unresolved problems this research effort represents.

The paper concludes on a note of caution, arguing that too many analysts have assumed that, with time, democratic electoral procedures would have a domino effect on non-democratic practices in other realms, which by and large has not been the case. As a result, we lack a theory of the transition from military guardianship to autonomous civilian rule; from the corporatist, clientelistic, corrupt and despotic state to the law abiding and accountable state; and from incomplete and ineffective to full and effective citizenship. To overcome this lacuna, we need to problematize the relationship between the different dimensions of democracy.
The Social Shaping of Radwaste Management: The Cases of Sweden and Finland
Authors: Lidskog Rolf , Litmanen Tapio
Published: March 2007

Today, all nuclear power countries seem to have geological disposal as their ultimate solution to the problem of highly radioactive waste. However, experience from many countries shows that this kind of siting is often a highly contested issue involving conflicts between actors on different levels. This paper analyses such conflicts as struggles between different actors aiming to realize their own perceptions and social definitions of the issue. The empirical objects consist of four recent radwaste conflicts in Finland and Sweden. It is found that ready-made definitions on the national level do not penetrate easily into the local level, but are instead produced and reproduced in mutual interaction between different groups on both local and national levels.
Decisional Participation and Teacher Satisfaction
Authors: Belasco James A. , Alutto Joseph A.
Published: March 2007

The following article examines the relationship between the levels of satisfaction experienced by teachers and their state of decisional participation. Following March and Simon and Katz and Kahn, satisfaction was defined as a willingness to remain within the current school organization despite inducement to leave. Decisional participation was defined as the discrepancy between current and preferred levels of participation.
Quality of Faculties and Programs of Graduate Departments of Educational Administration
Authors: Gregg Russell T. , Sims Paul D.
Published: March 2007

This study provides information concerning the factors considered by faculty members in departments of educational administration when they assess the quality of (1) a graduate faculty in the field and (2) programs offered by departments of educational administration. Data concerning the relative quality of graduate departments of educational administration in the United States, as rated by faculty members in 80 major departments of educational administration, are presented.
Educational Accountability in Michigan: Root and Branch
Authors: Bleecher Harvey
Published: March 2007

Chester L Barnard postulated four criteria by virtue of which organizational communications achieve authoritativeness: (1) the recipient can and does understand the communication; (2) the recipient believes the communication consistent with the purposes of the organization; (3) the recipient believes the communication compatible with his personal interest; and (4) the recipient is able mentally and physically to comply with the communication. These criteria of authoritativeness were made operational in a four-scale instrument (one for each principle) and mailed to 500 K-8 Michigan teachers to determine their perceptions of the authoritativeness of the state's educational accountability program. It was found that the teachers did not regard the communications of educational accountability as authoritative, and the theory predicts that the teachers will withhold their vital cooperation from the program.
Incumbent School Board Member Defeat Reconsidered: New Evidence for its Political Meaning
Authors: Mitchell Douglas E. , Thorsted Richard R.
Published: March 2007

This study reviews research on the defeat of incumbent school board members and presents new election data on 104 Southern California school districts. The findings confirm that incumbent defeat is episodic, but they challenge previous research regarding its nature and origins.
Two Images of Schools as Organizations: An Explication and Illustrative Empirical Test
Authors: Firestone William A. , Herriott Robert E.
Published: March 2007

Two competing images of schools that have attracted considerable attention are the rational bureaucracy and the anarchy or loosely coupled system. This article explicates these images and operationalizes them using survey data. High schools were found to have more characteristics of the anarchy while elementary schools corresponded more to the rational bureaucracy.
Evaluating the Performance of Principals: A Descriptive Study
Authors: Duke Daniel L. , Stiggins Richard J.
Published: March 2007

Building principals and district administrators were surveyed regarding procedures used to evaluate the performance of principals. Results suggest specific areas in which commonly used procedures could be improved. Differences of opinion between principals and their supervisors are discussed and implications are explored.
The Aesthetics of Leadership
Authors: Duke Daniel L.
Published: March 2007

The author conducts a brief analysis of contemporary approaches to understanding leadership. New approaches to the study of leadership are joined with a theory of aesthetics in developing an aesthetic-based leadership model. Four aesthetic properties of leadership are proposed along with ways these properties become manifest.
The School Work Environment and Teacher Career Dissatisfaction
Authors: Conley Sharon C. , Bacharach Samuel B. , Bauer Scott
Published: March 2007

The reform movement has focused primarily on issues of teacher preparation and compensation. However, as our schools are currently structured and managed, many teachers become dissatisfied with their careers regardless of their level of preparation and compensation. If we can discover the organizational work characteristics of schools that are associated with teacher career dissatisfaction, we may have a basis for changing the work environment of schools to ensure more continuous career satisfaction for teachers. Analyzing a sample of 42 elementary schools and 45 secondary schools in the state of New York, this article takes a step toward addressing this goal by investigating the organizational work characteristics that predict teachers' career dissatisfaction.
Teacher Leadership: Tensions and Ambiguities in Organizational Perspective
Authors: Smylie Mark A. , Denny Jack W.
Published: March 2007

This article presents the findings of an exploratory study of teacher leadership roles in a metropolitan K-8 school district. These findings suggest that the development and performance of these roles are mediated by the organizational contexts in which they are established. They thus suggest that teacher leadership should be approached as an issue of organizational development rather than solely as an issue of individual empowerment.
Vulnerability: A Concept Reconsidered
Authors: Button H. Warren
Published: March 2007

A recurrent pandemic limitation of research on school administration results from the use of myriad unrelated concepts. Consequently, outcomes of that research cannot be generalized or synthesized. However, reconsideration of some such concepts suggests that they can be replaced with more widely employed ones so as to integrate at least some research findings. A case in point is replacement of the explanatory concept of vulnerability.
Teacher Leaders and their Principals: Exploring the Development of New Working Relationships
Authors: Smylie Mark A. , Brownlee-Conyers Jean
Published: March 2007

This article presents the findings of an exploratory study of the development of new working relationships between teacher leaders and their principals. Using a micropolitical perspective, this study documents the interests and prerogatives that teacher leaders and principals bring to these new relationships and the strategies that they use to shape these relationships in ways consistent with those interests and prerogatives. The findings raise important issues concerning the principals' role in teacher leadership development as well as the broader social and normative contexts of schools in which principal-teacher leader work relationships develop and function.
American Theory and French Practice: A Theoretical Rationale for Regulating School Choice
Authors: Fowler Frances C.
Published: March 2007

This article develops a theoretical argument for regulating school choice, using neopluralist concepts. The theoretical framework is applied to documentary and interview data relating to a 30-year-old French choice policy. The article concludes that regulated school choice can achieve its goals, but that unforeseen difficulties may arise.
Postmodernism and Community in Schools: Unraveling the Paradox
Authors: Furman Gail C.
Published: March 2007

This article addresses the paradox of community building in schools characterized by diversity, posing it as the dissonance between modernist notions of community and postmodernism. The article attempts to unravel the paradox through a theoretical alignment of these concepts. A framework for postmodernism as descriptive social theory, nonnative/constructive social theory, and oppositional/deconstructive social theory is used to analyze community; a nested model for community possibilities in postmodern times is presented; and a concept of postmodern community for schools is explored. The implications of postmodern community for schools are discussed.
The Relative Effects of Principal and Teacher Sources of Leadership on Student Engagement with School
Authors: Leithwood Kenneth , Jantzi Doris
Published: March 2007

Survey data from an achieved sample of 1,762 teachers and 9,941 students in one large Canadian school district were used to explore the relative effects of principal and teacher leadership on student engagement with school. Results demonstrated greater effects of principal as compared to teacher sources of leadership on student engagement. The effects of principal leadership were weak but significant, whereas the effects of teacher leadership were not significant. Both forms of leadership were mediated by many of the same elements of the school organization.
Variable Selection Technique for Classification Problems
Authors: Henschke C.I. , Chen M.M.
Published: March 2007

This paper illustrates the usefulness of a variable selection technique when the linear discriminant function is used to develop a classification rule. A stepwise technique is given together with an illustration of how the expected loss can be reduced using fewer variables.
A Study of the Relationship of Iq and Cognitive and Personality Rigidity To Performance On Concept Learning Tasks
Authors: Corder Billie Farmer , Corder Robert F.
Published: March 2007

The present study is an attempt to objectively measure individual differences in concept in learning ability, and to study some personality and cognitive variables which may identify the successful concept learner when learning tasks are varied and require flexibility in approach. A concept learning test was administered to 113 college sophomores with an average to superior IQ range, who had been tested previously on two measures of cognitive rigidity, a measure of personality rigidity and the WAIS. The concept learning test included simple, disjunctive, and relational types of problems which were randomly presented and required subjects to vary their approach from task to task. Scores on the Alternate Uses Test of cognitive flexibility were significantly related to concept learning scores. The figural Adaptive Flexibility Test of cognitive flexibility, Rokeach Dogmatism Scale, and WAIS scores showed no significant relationship to concept learning on these tasks. It was hypothesized that cognitive flexibility, as measured by the Alternate Uses Test, may represent an important dimension of learning behavior which is not measured by a standardized IQ test composed of items emphasizing convergent thinking.
A Method to Determine the Congruity of Dimensions Across Instruments
Authors: Terranova Carmelo
Published: March 2007

This procedure can be used to ascertain if the same variables have been measured by different instruments. High school seniors responded to two semantic differential instruments, containing dissimilar concepts purporting to measure the same variables, both before and after attending a college summer orientation program. Principle components were extracted from the before as well as from the after data. Before-after component combinations were found to be highly similar, thereby providing not only for interpretations of change across the variables but also providing a heuristic for further research possibilities.
Predictive Validity of High School Rank and Sat Scores for Minority Students
Authors: Dalton Starrette
Published: March 2007

It has been argued that the Scholastic Aptitude Test is a better predictor of academic success for minority students than is high school achievement. The relative predictive validities were examined for a sample of minority students with typical predictor variable truncations absent. Results confirmed that high school achievement is a less effective predictor for minority students than it is for nonminority students. However, contrary to previous findings for minority students, high school achievement appeared to be a better predictor than was the Scholastic Aptitude Test. The combination of predictors was superior to high school achievement alone as a predictor for both "overachievers" and "underachievers."
A Comparison of the Stability of Factor Analysis, Principal Component Analysis, and Rescaled Image Analysis
Authors: Velicer Wayne F.
Published: March 2007

Theoretical problems with the factor analysis model have resulted in increased interest in component analysis as an alternative. It is therefore of interest to assess empirically some of the asserted differences between the methods. One of the positive features sometimes attributed to factor analysis, as opposed to component analysis, is superior stability of results under sampling from a population of variables. The comparative stability of three methods, Maximum Liklihood Factor Analysis, principal component analysis, and rescaled image analysis, is investigated. Random samples are drawn from a "population" of variables. The sample pattern is then compared with the corresponding population pattern. The results suggest that none of the three methods can be considered superior with respect to stability.
Interrelationships Between Analysis of Variance and Correlational Analysis
Authors: Silverstein A.B.
Published: March 2007

A set of rules is given for finding average variances and covariances from mean squares, and the reverse. These rules serve the same purpose as the recursion formulas provided by Stanley and Wiley (1962), but do not require a knowledge of matrix algebra. A four-factor design is used to illustrate their application.
Factor Structures of Spanish-Speaking and Non-Spanish-Speaking Children on Raven's Progressive Matrices
Authors: Corman Louise , Budoff Milton
Published: March 2007

Item responses of Spanish- and English-speaking children on Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices were submitted to principal components analyses and varimax rotations. Four factors were obtained which corresponded to readily identifiable problem types. The finding that three of the four factors were comparable for the two groups of subjects indicated the factorial invariance of the Raven test with children from different cultural backgrounds.
A Subroutine for Computing Item Efficiency and Associated Probabilities
Authors: Hofmann Richard J.
Published: March 2007

A subroutine for use in any item analysis program is provided. This routine computes the efficiency of a test item, the exact probability of obtaining this efficiency, and the chance probability of obtaining a greater efficiency for an item, given its difficulty level, discrimination index, and sample size.
The r-Point Biserial Limitation
Authors: Karabinus R.A.
Published: March 2007

A study was made of the r-point biserial coefficient using four non-normal distributions for the continuous variable: rectangular, bimodal-normal, bimodal-peaked, and bimodal-peaked and skewed. Ns of 10,30, and 100 were used. It was argued that linearity was the main assumption required when using Pearson correlations and that the usual maximum r -point biserial of .798 could be exceeded when the shape of the continuous variable more nearly approached that of the dichotomized variable. Correlations were found over .80 with rectangular distributions, and over .90 with bimodal-peaked distributions.
Attempt to Construct a Scale for the Measurement of the Effect of Suggestion on Perception1
Authors: Gheorghiu V.A. , Hodapp V. , Ludwig C.M.
Published: March 2007

A scale based on experimental methods has been prepared for measuring the effects of indirect suggestion upon perception. Three categories are included: (1) distorting the interpretation of presented stimuli, (2) inducing sense-impressions in the absence of adequate stimuli, and (3) producing insensitivity to stimuli that are objectively present. Test situations were designed for tactual, auditory, and visual perception. The scale was tested on a sample of 112 students from the 11th and 12th grades of a large city high school (58 girls and 54 boys).

Most of the item intercorrelations were positive and many significantly so. Eliminating the 9 lowest items of 21 left 12 for a reduced matrix, with the first factor accounting for 23% of the total variance. There were no special factors attributable to sensory modality. By summing the scores on the 12 items, a scale was produced with a reliability of .82.

Difficulties and limitations are discussed, along with the potential applications of such a scale in the study of socially important behaviors.
A Computer Program for Item Selection Based on Maximum Internal Consistency
Authors: Serlin Ronald C. , Kaiser Henry F.
Published: March 2007

Internal consistency as one rationale for item selection from the universe of possible test items is discussed. Formulae, derived by Lord (1958), are presented which relate the maximum internal consistency of a test to the largest eigenvalue of the interitem correlation matrix. A computationally feasible stepwise procedure is suggested which selects a subset of the original test items that yields maximum internal consistency. The characteristics of a computer program designed to perform these calculations for an input score matrix are described.
Validation of the Teacher's Assessment of Students' Aptitudes Form—Tasaf
Authors: Magalhaes Gomes Marcia P.R. , Da Rocha Bastos Lilia , Nobre Scheeffer Ruth , Michael William B.
Published: March 2007

For a sample of 100 girls and a sample of 120 boys of lower middle-class backgrounds from the standpoint of parental occupation, who were enrolled in eighth grade classes of a Brazilian public school in Rio de Janeiro, the validity coefficient of ratings by teachers of the standings of their students on each of 11 aptitude factors on the Teacher's Assessment of Students' Aptitudes Form (TASAF) was determined relative to criterion scores (unknown to the teachers) of students on each of 11 corresponding aptitude factors in a standardized test of differential aptitudes, known as the Battery of Tests of Differential Aptitudes (BTAD). Twenty-three of the 24 possible G indices of agreement were statistically significant beyond the .05 level. It was concluded that teachers for the most part were able to assess their students' aptitudes through use of the TASAF—a procedure saving considerable time and cost in relation to the requirements of the administration of standardized tests.
A Large Sample Procedure for Testing Coefficients of Ordinal Association: Goodman and Kruskal's Gamma and Somers' dba and dab 1
Authors: Berry Kenneth J. , Mielke Paul W. , Jacobsen R. Brooke
Published: March 2007

This paper describes a FORTRAN Extended computer program which computes Goodman and Kruskal's sample gamma and Somers' sample dba with column variable dependent and sample dab with row variable dependent. The program also provides associated standard errors, z-scores, and one- and two-tailed probability values.
A Method for Maximizing Split-Half Reliability Coefficients
Authors: Callender John C. , Osburn H.G.
Published: March 2007

An efficient algorithm (MSPLIT) for maximizing split-half reliability coefficients is described. Coefficients derived by the algorithm were found to be generally larger than odd-even split-half coefficients and KR-20 coefficients and were nearly as large as the largest of the coefficients from among every possible split-half arrangement.
The Validity of the Personal Orientation Inventory for Measuring the Effects of Training for Therapeutic Practice
Authors: Fischer Joel , Knapp Robert R.
Published: March 2007

The present study examines the effects of training counselors for the core therapeutic conditions of empathy, warmth, and genuineness in terms of increased levels of actualizing as measured by the Personal Orientation Inventory. Findings revealed significant differences between the experimental group and the contrast and control groups on the major Inner Directed scale and significant positive pretest to posttest changes for the experimental group on subscales of Spontaneity, Self-Regard, and Synergy. Correlations between POI scales and independent ratings of the core conditions showed that all three conditions of empathy, warmth, and genuineness were significantly related to the Inner Directed, Feeling Reactivity, and Spontaneity scales and that genuineness was also significantly correlated with the Synergy scale.
Intercorrelations of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised, the Slosson Intelligence Test, and the National Educational Developmental Test
Authors: Martin John D. , Kidwell Jane C.
Published: March 2007

For a primary middle-class Caucasian sample of 16 girls and 17 boys ( N = 33) enrolled in a secular private school in Clarksville, Tennessee Pearson, product-moment correlations were computed between the Slosson Intelligence Test (SIT) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC-R) Full Scale, Verbal, and Performance scores, and between National Educational Development Test (NEDT) scores and (a) WISC-R Full Scale and (b) SIT IQ scores. The coefficients obtained were, respectively, .79, .82, .50, .77, .77, all of which were significant beyond the .01 level.
An Alternative Test for Use With Likert-Type Scales
Authors: Whitney Douglas R.
Published: March 2007

Cooper recently described tests for use in determining whether or not one "pole" of an attitude scale is characteristic of a population. An alternative test is proposed that requires less restrictive assumptions and appears to offer better control over the Type I error rate for a wide variety of circumstances. Situations in which this test would be expected to be more powerful are also described.
The Factorial Validity of Three Forms of the Dimensions of Self-Concept Measure
Authors: Fernandes Lucia M. , Michael William B. , Smith Robert A.
Published: March 2007

For each of three samples of 145 elementary school (ES), 250 junior high school (JHS), and 166 senior high school (SHS) students who were administered one of three essentially parallel forms of a self-report inventory entitled Dimensions of Self-Concept (DOSC), efforts were made (1) to determine the empirical factor structure of each form, (2) to ascertain whether empirical (rotated) factors as interpreted corresponded to the five school-related a priori dimensions of the Aspiration, Anxiety, Academic Interest and Satisfaction, Leadership and Initiative, and Identification versus Alienation scales of the DOSC, and (3) to identify the extent of invariance in the empirical factor structure of the three inventory forms across the three samples. For the ES, JHS, and SHS samples, respectively, the orthogonal solution provided 2, 3, and 3 interpretable unidimensional factors, whereas the oblique solution yielded correspondingly 1, 4, and 3 identifiable unidimensional factors. Only a modest degree of congruence occurred between each of the five a priori or logically derived factor dimensions of the inventory and the identifiable empirical (rotated) factors. Only the single factor dimension of Anxiety was invariant across all three samples in both the orthogonal and oblique factor solutions. Anxiety appears to be a construct underlying self-concept that is associated with school learning at all grade levels studied.