bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
SPSS-X Procedure and Standalone Programs for the Mokken Scale Analysis: A Nonparametric Item Response Theory Model
Authors: Kingma Johannes , Taerum Terry
Published: March 2007

A nonparametric item response theory model, the Mokken scale analysis, and program are described. Three scaling procedures are distinguished: a search procedure, the evaluation of the whole set of items, and the extension of an existing scale. All procedures provide a coefficient of scalability for all items that meet the criteria of the Mokken model, and an item coefficient of scalability for every item. Four different types of reliability coefficients are provided, both for the whole set of items and the set of scalable items. In order to analyze whether the established Mokken scale is invariant across different subgroups, a test of robustness is performed by employing a statistic T which approaches a chi-square distribution with p - 1 degrees of freedom (where p is the number of groups to be compared). The robustness test serves as a goodness of fit test for the established scale. The program is written in FORTRAN 77. Two versions are available: An SPSS-X procedure program (which can be used with the SPSS-X mainframe package) and a standalone program suitable for both mainframe and microcomputers.
The Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses of the Latent Structure of the Study Attitudes and Methods Survey for a Sample of 176 Eighth-Grade Students
Authors: Welsh Marianne , Bachelor Patricia , Wright Claudia R. , Michael William B.
Published: March 2007

The data obtained from the sample of 176 eighth-grade students on the SAMS (Short Form) which was subjected to an obliquely rotated (promax) factor solution produced at least four meaningful dimensions of study attitudes and methods. Further, the results from the confirmatory maximum likelihood factor analysis yielded a six-factor oblique solution as providing the closest degree-of-fit.
A Comparison of the 1978 and 1984 Forms of the Wide Range Achievement Test with the Wais-R for Rehabilitation Agency Adults
Authors: Stevenson James D.
Published: March 2007

This study compares standard scores from norms of the 1984 Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised, and the 1978 form for 30 clients of the California Department of Rehabilitation; standard scores for both are compared with WAIS-R VIQ, PIQ and FSIQ. Age range is 18.33 years, to 60.08 years, (M = 30.08, SD = 9.58 years). 1978 WRAT mean scores were: Reading 87.20, Spelling 84.10, Arithmetic 84.20. The 1984 WRAT-R mean scores were: Reading 75.47, Spelling 74.50, and Arithmetic 75.57. Mean WAIS-R IQ scores were: VIQ = 82.07, PIQ = 87.73, FSIQ = 83.23. Mean score differences between 1978 and 1984 forms were all significant at p = .001. Comparison of all WRAT scores and WAIS-R IQ's shows lesser mean score difference of 1978 WRAT to WAIS-R. Choice of WRAT form found to have impact on diagnostic conclusions when evaluating adults for learning disability.
Tests for Normality and Measures of Skewness and Kurtosis: Their Place in Research Reporting
Authors: Hopkins Kenneth D. , Weeks Douglas L.
Published: March 2007

Even though research interest is typically greatest for questions pertaining to central tendency and, to a lesser degree, variability, knowledge about the nature of a measure or variable is impoverished when information about the shape of the frequency distribution is ignored. This paper makes the point that descriptive and inferential measures of non-normality should be a routine part of research reporting, along with graphic displays of the frequency distribution of important variables. This point is especially true for research involving measures with non-arbitrary metrics where the shape of the distribution is not affected by measurement artifacts.
Correlations of National Teacher Examination Core Battery Scores and College Grade Point Average with Teaching Effectiveness of First-Year Teachers
Authors: Moore Don , Schurr K. Terry , Henriksen L. W.
Published: March 2007

Correlations of National Teacher Examination Core Battery scores and college grade point average with a measure of teaching effectiveness were evaluated for 493 first-year teachers. The correlation was higher for GPA (r = .28) than for the Core Battery (R = .16). The Core Battery did not improve the prediction of teacher effectiveness over using only GPA.
The Separate Constructs of Communication Satisfaction and Job Satisfaction
Authors: Gregson Terry
Published: March 2007

A sample (N = 310) of certified public accountants (CPAs) was surveyed using modified versions of the Job Descriptive Index (Smith, Kendall, and Hulin, 1969) and the Downs and Hazen (1977) communication satisfaction questionnaire. Many past researchers have found communication related to job satisfaction. However, past researchers apparently have never investigated the possibility that employees may view communication to be inseparable from job satisfaction. The items that comprise the Job Descriptive Index and the communication satisfaction questionnaire were factor analyzed jointly in order to ascertain whether the respondents viewed communication and job satisfaction to be separate constructs.
Factor Analyses of Measures of Home Environment
Authors: Reynolds Arthur J. , Lee Jason S.
Published: March 2007

This study employed exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis techniques to probe the dimensionality of measures of home environment. Thirty-five (35) demographic, attitudinal, and behavioral indicators were derived from telephone interviews with a probability sample of 2000 parents of seventh-graders participating in a national longitudinal study. The measures included such frequently used indicators as socioeconomic status, home resources, parent expectations, and parent-child communication. LISREL analysis with cross-validation supported a two-factor structure over alternative specifications. The factors were interpreted as family resources and communication-interaction. Results indicate that comprehensive measures of home environment are needed in studies of familial influence on educational and psychological outcomes.
Normative and Comparative Data on the Career Decision Scale: An Initial Study with a Sample of South African Students
Authors: Pretorius T. B.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of the present study was to assess the psychometric properties of a translated version (Afrikaans) of the Career Decision Scale (CDS) for use with black South African students. A total of 104 Afrikaans-speaking senior high school students (53 males and 51 females) completed an Afrikaans version of the CDS. The internal-consistency reliability estimate obtained was 0.77 for the Certainty Scale and 0.82 for the Indecision Scale. The means of the sample on the two scales of the CDS as well as the distribution of percentile ranks as compared to a grade equivalent sample in the United States are also reported. The findings provided initial support for the use of the CDS with South African students.
A Social Validation of College Examinations
Authors: Runco Mark A. , Okuda Shawn M. , Thurston Becky J.
Published: March 2007

Social validation procedures were used to compare views held by professors and students concerning college examinations. In the first phase of this project, four groups of participants (21 professors and 126 students representing psychology and biology) listed characteristics of good and poor tests. The characteristics given by the groups were somewhat similar, although very few ideas were given about the results of examinations (e.g., range of scores). A socially valid questionnaire was constructed from the most commonly cited characteristics, and four additional groups of professors ( n = 25) and students ( n = 102) were asked to rate the importance of each. MANOVAs indicated that the professors and students gave significantly different ratings, but there were only slight differences between the two disciplines, and no differences between those who reported having taken measurement or testing classes and those who had not. The differences between professors and students were especially clear in ratings of Instructions and Question characteristics of tests. In contrast, items from the questionnaire concerning the Coverage and Content of an examination were given similar ratings by the four groups. The results suggest a number of ways that professors can construct examinations which students will respect.
First-Order and Higher-Order Creative Ability Factors in Structure-of-Intellect Measures Administered to Sixth-Grade Children
Authors: Michael William B. , Bachelor Patricia
Published: March 2007

This investigation is one in a series of re-analyses of those correlation matrixes consisting of structure-of-intellect (SOI) creativity tests devised by the late J. P. Guilford and his associates. Application of more recent exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic methodologies in comparison with those employed by Guilford and his associates provides a means for obtaining more objective, parsimonious, and possibly insightful interpretations of constructs underlying his creativity measures. Thus, the twofold purpose of this study was to ascertain for a sample of 403 sixth-grade children evenly divided by gender (a) the extent to which the first-order factors identified by Merrifield, Guilford, and Gershon in Report 27 from the Psychological Laboratory at the University of Southern California (May, 1963) could be replicated and (b) the degree to which higher-order factors could account for the covariance among the SOI measures in the correlation matrix. Three of Guilford's hypothesized creativity factors of ideational fluency, sensitivity to problems, and expressional fluency were replicated accompanied by a fusion of two of his hypothesized factors of originality and spontaneous flexibility into one dimension. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a general dimension reflecting primarily divergent production of semantic content could account for a large portion of the identifiable covariance among creativity measures. Application of goodness-of-fit indexes revealed that oblique higher-order factor models associated with three types of operations, two kinds of contents, and six forms of products did account for slightly more covariance than did the general factor model. Among all substantive models the oblique first-order nine-factor model provided the optimal fit. It was concluded that Guilford and his associates tended to extract and to rotate too many factors and that a more parsimonious interpretation of the factor structure of creativity tests than that afforded by Guilford could be realized.
Effects of Ignoring Correlated Measurement Error in Structural Equation Models
Authors: Reddy Srinivas K.
Published: March 2007

The implications of ignoring correlated error on parameter estimates in some simple structural equation models are examined. Ignoring correlated measurement error not only affected the acceptability of a model based on goodness-of-fit measures, but also affected the parameter estimation. Ignoring within-construct correlated error does not affect the estimates of the structural parameter but overestimates the associated measurement parameters. It is shown analytically and empirically that ignoring positive between-construct correlated error overestimates the structural parameter linking the two constructs. The effects become more pronounced with decreasing reliability in measurement.
Cutoff: A Fortran Program for Establishing Thresholds for Screening Indices
Authors: McKenzie Dean P. , Clarke David M.
Published: March 2007

This paper describes a FORTRAN program that aids in the construction of screening tests by performing a type of ROC analysis as well as calculating measures such as sensitivity and specificity.
On the Assessment of Intrinsic, Extrinsic, and Amotivation in Education: Evidence on the Concurrent and Construct Validity of the Academic Motivation Scale
Authors: Vallerand Robert J. , Pelletier Luc G. , Blais Marc R. , Briere Nathalie M. , Senecal Caroline , Vallieres Evelyne F.
Published: March 2007

A new measure of motivation toward education has been developed in French, namely the "Echelle de Motivation en Education" (EME). The EME is based on the tenets of self-determination theory and is composed of seven subscales assessing three types of intrinsic motivation (intrinsic motivation to know, to accomplish
Linking the Standard and Advanced forms of the Raven'S Progressive Matrices in both the Pencil-And-Paper and Computer-Adaptive-Testing Formats
Authors: Styles Irene , Andrich David
Published: March 2007

The concepts of adaptive testing, already used by Binet, and concepts of modern or latent trait theory, already extended from psychophysics by Thurstone, have been brought together by the advent of the computer, particularly the PC. With these developments, it is likely that to test specific abilities, special tests will be constructed for administration only by a computer and not in pencil and paper format. In the meantime, many existing paper-and-pencil tests, which usually are not administered adaptively, are being computerised. Among important tests in the educational and psychological literature, and therefore candidates for computerised administration, are the Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM). Before some inferences can be made across different modes of presentation, however, it is necessary that the degree of consistency of the responses across the two modes be evaluated in a variety of circumstances and by a variety of processes. This paper describes use of the Rasch latent trait model to help (i) implement computerised administration of the standard and advanced forms of the RPM, (ii) compare the relative item difficulties of the computerised form with those from a pencil-and-paper administration of the same items to a different group of persons, and (iii) to convert scores between the advanced and standard forms of the RPM using the two modes of testing, and to compare these scores with the results of a traditional method of equating reported in the literature.
How Many Options is Enough for a Multiple-Choice Test Item?
Authors: Haladyna Thomas M. , Downing Steven M.
Published: March 2007

Textbook writers often recommend four or five options per multiple-choice item, and most, if not all, testing programs in the United States also employ four or five options. Recent reviews of research on the desirable number of options for a multiple-choice test item reveal that three options may be suitable for most ability and achievement tests. A study of the frequency of acceptably performing distractors is reported. Results from three different testing programs support the conclusion that test items seldom contain more than three useful options. Consequently, testing program personnel and classroom teachers may be better served by using 2-or 3-option items instead of the typically recommended 4- or 5-option items.
Validation of a Measure of Organizational Citizenship Behavior Against an Objective Behavioral Criterion
Authors: Becker Thomas E. , Randall Donna M.
Published: March 2007

This study examined the factor structure of a revised version of a measure of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and assessed its validity against an objective behavioral criterion. Ratings of employees' OCB were provided by managers of 16 restaurants in the fast service industry. The objective measure of behavior was whether or not employees returned an attitude survey. Factor analysis suggested that the revised OCB instrument adequately assesses two dimensions of OCB: altruism and conscientiousness. Further, as expected, survey respondents had higher mean levels of OCB than did nonrespondents. The results suggest that managers can perceive and assess subtle components of job performance with reasonable accuracy.
Sorting Data Sets and Computing Medians for Skewed Distributions
Authors: Dreger Ralph Mason
Published: March 2007

Clusters derived from data sets require meaningful interpretation, for which standard statistical packages, major spreadsheets, numerical computation texts, as well as the specialized Journal of Classification provide little help. Interpretation can be made from a profile of summary scores, means, or medians, representing distributions of scores. For such a profile, medians are preferable to means where the distributions are highly skewed. To automate computation of medians in either ordered or unordered sets of scores, a program, SHELMEDS.BAS, was written incorporating the very fast Shell-Metzner sort algorithm and routines for odd or even numbers of scores.
The Correction for Attenuation
Authors: Muchinsky Paul M.
Published: March 2007

This article examines the statistical correction for attenuation and the controversies surrounding the procedure. Although originally developed for test construction purposes, the correction for attenuation is also used in meta-analysis and assessments of validity generalization. Since Spearman's classic article in 1904, correct use and interpretation of the correction for attenuation has been debated. The logic of the double and single correction formulae is discussed as well as the correction producing validity coefficients greater than 1.00. Three types of misapplications and misinterpretations of the correction in published literature are presented. The article concludes with arguments pertaining to the use of the correction formula, and it attempts to sharpen the focus of issues that have led to differences of opinion about its meaning and purpose.
Ethnic Group Representation in Test Construction Samples and Test Bias: The Standardization Fallacy Revisited
Authors: Fan Xitao , Willson Victor L. , Kapes Jerome T.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of the present study is to test empirically the tenability of the hypothesis that tests tend to be systematically biased against ethnic groups with smaller or no representation in the test standardization sample. Two test construction models were developed under tight experimental controls: one with differential representation of ethnic groups (White, African American, Hispanic, and Asian) in the test development sample, and the other with maximum representation of one ethnic group (100%) in the test development sample. The findings revealed that underboth test construction models, consistently there is no systematic bias against the group(s) with smaller or no representation in the test construction samples. The empirical results support the integrity of the sampling and item selection procedures widely used in psychometric practice.
Determinants of the Quota Selection Inequality Phenomenon: Clarification of the Basis for Gillett's (1991) Findings
Authors: You Soon-Hyung , Stone-Romero Eugene F
Published: March 2007

Gillett showed that under quota selection, the expected mean test scores of minority selectees are always lower than those of majority selectees, even though the scores come from populations with identical distributions. Although Gillett reported levels of expected mean score differences between two quota-selected samples, he provided no information about the standard errors of these mean differences. In addition, he failed to provide a clear explanation of the basis for the inequality of the means. Therefore, the present study examined (a) the standard errors of the quota-selected sample means and (b) the sampling distributions of these means using a Monte Carlo simulation. The overall purpose was to clarify the basis for the expected differences between the mean scores of majority and minority selectees. Results showed that the quota selection inequality results from differences in sampling error between the quota-selected samples that are attributable to the relative sizes of the majority and minority samples.
The Importance of Structure Coefficients in Structural Equation Modeling Confirmatory Factor Analysis
Authors: Thompson Bruce
Published: March 2007

A general linear model (GLM) framework is employed to suggest that structure coefficients ought to be interpreted in structural equation modeling confinmatory factor analysis (CFA) studies in which factors are correlated. The computation of structure coefficients is explained. Two heuristic data sets are used to make the discussion concrete. The benefits from using CFA structure coefficients are illustrated using two additional studies.
The Influence of Hemispheric Dominance on Scores of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Authors: Hartman Steve E. , Hylton Jaime , Sanders Ronda F.
Published: March 2007

For 75 medical students and 248 undergraduates (samples treated separately), principal components analysis (PCA) revealed that the TF and El scales of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) each defined its own principal axis. On the most important first component, however, the SN and JP scales of the MBTI, together with the Hemispheric Mode Indicator (HMI), share most of their variance. Thus, the MBTI appears to sample only three bipolar personality dimensions rather than the four that use of "type tables" implies, and one of these shares substantial variance with the cognitive paradigm of hemispheric dominance. The authors consider some of the possible explanations for the apparent confluence of these two paradigms as operationalized by the MBTI and HMI.
Correcting for Measurement Error Attenuation in Structural Equation Models: Some Important Reminders
Authors: Bedeian Arthur G. , Day David V. , Kelloway E. Kevin
Published: March 2007

The increasing popularity of structural equation models that correct for attenuation due to measurement error is noted. The methods by which structural models correct for the effects of measurement error are reviewed. Next, implications of such disattenuation for interpreting the results of structural equation models are considered. Recommendations are advanced for addressing the practice of disattenuation, and caution is urged in drawing inferences based on disattenuated parameter estimates.
Development and Validation of a Work Domain Goal Orientation Instrument
Authors: Vandewalle Don
Published: March 2007

This article describes the development and validation process for an instrument to assess goal orientation (an individual disposition toward developing or validating one's ability in achievement settings). In contrast to previous goal orientation instruments, three goal orientation dimensions are identified (learning, avoid, and prove), and the instrument is domain specific to work settings. The results of exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis (internal consistency and test-retest), confirmatory factor analysis, and nomological network analysis all support the conclusion that the instrument operationalizes the theorized three-dimensional construct.
Structure of Figural Forms A and B of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking
Authors: Clapham Maria M.
Published: March 2007

This study analyzed the structure of the subscores obtained through streamlined scoring of 334 adults' responses to Figural Forms A and B of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). The results of principal components analyses indicated that one general creativity factor adequately represented the subscores of both Form A and Form B. An empirical comparison of the factor structures of Form A and Form B indicated that these forms have an equivalent structure. The results of commonality analyses confirmed that the five subscores of each form provide very little unique variance and suggested that a new subscore, resistance to premature closure, may be a better indicator than fluency is of the divergent thinking skills measured by the figural TTCT.
To Trim or Not to Trim: Tests of Location Equality Under Heteroscedasticityand Nonnormality
Authors: Lix Lisa M. , Keselman H. J.
Published: March 2007

Tests of mean equality proposed by Alexander and Govern, Box, Brown and Forsythe, James, and Welch, as well as the analysis of variance F test, were compared for their ability to limit the number of Type I errors and to detect true treatment group differences in one-way, completely randomized designs in which the underlying distributions were nonnormal, variances were nonhomogeneous, and groups sizes were unequal. These tests were compared when the usual method of least squares was applied to estimate group means and variances and when Yuen's trimmed means and Winsorized variances were adopted. Based on the variables examined in this investigation, which included number of treatment groups, degree of population skewness, nature of the pairing of variances and group sizes, and nonnull effects of varying sizes, we recommend that researchers use trimmed means and Winsorized variances with either the Alexander and Govern, James, or Welch tests to test for mean equality.
Partisanship and Environmental Policy
Authors: Lester James P.
Published: March 2007

Earlier studies involving the role of party in influencing environmental policies have argued that environmental policies are "'consensus issues," which transcend the partisan differences characteristic of most political issues. The present investigation examined the mediating effect of organizational structures on the relationship between Democratic partisanship and proenvironmental policy adoption within the fifty American states. As predicted, both Democratic partisanship and state organizational structures were positively related to the adoption of environmental control measures. However, withn "modernized" states (those with a professional legislature and a consolidated state environmental agency), partisanship was relatively unimportant in its effect on policy; in "fragmented" states (those with an unprofessional legislature and a decentralized state agency), Democratic partisanship was strongly related to environmental policy adoption. These findings suggest that the organizational structure may provide a stronger impetus for environmental policy adoption than transcient partisan politics.
Scaling Dispositions toward the Past
Authors: Taylor S. Martin , Konrad Victor A.
Published: March 2007

There is considerable evidence to suggest a high level of public appreciation of the past in contemporary North American society. Various explanations for this have been advanced but we lack a clear understanding of the personal orientations toward the past which underlie attitudes toward and behavior in the historical environment. This paper describes the development of scales to measure dispositions toward the past and offers evidence to support their reliability and validity. Four dispositions are identified-conservation, heritage, experience, and interest-and scales to measure each are developed and tested using data collected in a recent study of historical and prehistorical resource appraisal in Toronto, Ontario. Residents' scale scores confirm a very positive sentiment toward the past and the implications of this finding for the planning and management of historical and prehistorical resources are briefly considered.
Predicting the Scenic Quality of Forest Road Corridors
Authors: Schroeder Herbert W. , Daniel Terry C.
Published: March 2007

The use of scenic beauty maps to select scenic road corridors rests on two assumptions, which were tested in experiments using color slides of forest scenes. One experiment showed that the scenic quality of an individual scene did not depend on whether the scene was presented to observers as representing a general area or as part of a sequence of views from a road. The second experiment showed that the overall scenic beauty of a short sequence of slides representing a section of road could be predicted by the mean scenic beauty of the individual scenes within the sequence.
Post-Occupancy Housing Evaluations
Authors: Carson Daniel H. , Carson Florence , Margulis Stephen T. , Wehrli Robert
Published: March 2007

An avowed aim of post-occupancy housing evaluation is to assess the impact of housing programs or residential settings on occupants. Yet, research designs with control groups go unused in these evaluations, despite their direct relevance. To encourage such research designs, a field-tested model for the selection of respondents for treatment and control groups, under conditions that do not allow random assignment, is described. The model's adequacy is evaluated and its limitations are discussed.
Evaluating Open and Conventional Office Design
Authors: Marans Robert W. , Spreckelmeyer Kent F.
Published: March 2007

In an attempt to overcome limitations characteristics of past evaluations, a con ceptual model is presented as a guide to evaluators in collecting and analyzing data on office environments. A number of components of the model are then examined using data from a study of a new federal office building. Findings cooroborate those reported by others in showing that conventional offices are viewed more favorably by people occupying them than workers in either open or pooled office arrangements. The amount of workspace available to the worker is the most important factor associated with work station satisfaction, even after taking into account the type of work station and the workers' ratings of specific work station attributes. It is also demonstrated that people's feelings about the ambience of the agency within which they work and the architecture of the building influence their reactions to the immediate workspace. It is sug gested that space planners and designers who want their work appreciated by the user need concern themselves with the details of the workspace as well as the larger scale environment.
Distance and Scenic Beauty
Authors: Hull R. Bruce , Buhyoff Gregory J.
Published: March 2007

Distance to major topographic features was found to be highly predictive of perceived scenic beauty of natural scenes. In addition, the hypothesis of a nonmonotonic functional relationship was supported. The implications of nonmonotonicity were addressed, including such things as the implied presence of maximal and minimal levels of impact. These implications were contrasted with Buhyoff and Wellman's (1980) suggestion of a monotonic logarithmic function and were compared with similar findings in experimental aesthetics (Berlyne 1974).
Research and Practice
Authors: Symes Martin , Duffy Francis , Ellis Peter
Published: March 2007

This article is concerned with the organizational context of coopera- tion between social scientists and designers in research and practice. It gives a brief background to the British experience in this field and outlines a number of issues that arise out of this. These concern task definition, working style and resource management. The case history concerns the experience of one group of research/practitioners over a period of ten years. Four projects are taken in time order:

(1) Journalism, which provides design guidance

(2) Design policy analysis for a multinational user group

(3) The evaluation for building design of sociotechnical change

(4) The provision of design recommendations for a new building type

Discussion suggests that the conflicts that arise in undertaking the more complex projects can be minimized by organizational subdivision, a strategy the case history firm has adopted. In conclusion, the article comments on the aim of creating a united intellectual position in a growing organization at the present time.
Exhibit Design and Visitor Behavior
Authors: Bitgood Stephen , Patterson Donald , Benefield Arlene
Published: March 2007

Measurements of visitor behavior were collected at selected exhibits in 13 zoos throughout the United States. Percentage of visitors who stopped at each exhibit and the duration of visitor viewing time were obtained at exhibits of various species. Visitor behavior was found to correlate with both the characteristics of animals (animal activity, size of species, presence of infant) and the architectural characteristics of the exhibits (presence of visually competing exhibits, proximity of visitor to animal, visibility of animals, physical features of the exhibit). These finding have several implications for designing zoo exhibits.
Units of Analysis and the Psychometrics of Environmental Assessment Scales
Authors: Richards James M. , Gottfredson Denise C. , Gottfredson Gary D.
Published: March 2007

The ecological fallacy involves interpreting results based on ecological entities, such as environmental settings, as applying to individuals. A less familiar error, the individual differences fallacy, involves interpreting results based on individuals as applying to settings. Although this second error has been quite common, little is known about the empirical consequences of using different units of analysis. This study examined the psychometrics of environmental scales when the units were individuals, observed settings, and "artificial" or random settings. Results confirm that settings rather than individuals are the appropriate units of analysis. However, methodological changes will be required beyond use of settings as units. In this study, standard reliability estimates based on settings were equivocal and only a special environmental index, the split-sample correlation, appeared adequate. Thus techniques specific to the problems of environmental research are needed.
Image Banks
Authors: Downing Frances
Published: March 2007

An image bank is defined in this research as the accumulation of an architectural designer's mental imagery of memorable past place-experience. The image bank provides the designer with "known" experience through which the "unknown"—a design problem—can be understood. This research studies the image banks of 117 individuals in two separate studies; 38 of which were professional architects, 38 were architectural graduate students exiting professional education, and 41 were architecture students just entering professional education. The frequency of source between three categories of a designer's lifetime—memorable mental images of places gathered during youth, during years of education, and (for professionals) during the years of practice—are determined. Frequency for the use of memorable place imagery in design is also compared. And finally, the integration of image banks between formal (learned exemplars from the history of "designed" architecture) and informal (memorable places generally of vernacular or common architecture) place imagery was studied through multidimensional scalogram analysis. It was found that practitioners possessed highly fluid image banks that provided an easy alignment of ideas no matter whether the ideas came from formal or informal exemplars. Students displayed more rigidity by keeping formal and informal place images separate in their image banks.
Urban Design Aesthetics
Authors: Nasar Jack L.
Published: March 2007

Design reviewers make judgments based on their opinion of how physical features influence the evaluative quality of the building and its surroundings. What features evoke favorable evaluative responses? Although some people may view aesthetics as qualitative and idiosyncratic, researchers have continued in their search for general principles. This article reviews that research, with particular attention to building exteriors. The article defines and examines three kinds of aesthetic variables-formal, symbolic, and schemas. It highlights the importance of enclosure, complexity, and order as formal variables, of style as a symbolic variable, and of atypicality in relation to schemas. It discusses the relationship of these variables to evaluative response. As different kinds of evaluative responses may be appropriate and desirable for different kinds of places, this article considers the dimensions of evaluative response. The analysis suggests that design review seeking pleasantness should encourage order, moderate complexity, and elements of "popular" styles; design review seeking excitement should encourage high complexity, atypicality, and low order; and design review seeking calmness should encourage high order and naturalness. Acknowledging potential variability across contexts, this article offers aesthetic programming and evaluation as alternate ways to develop and refine guidelines for design review.
From Individual Need to Community Consciousness
Authors: Wiesenfeld Esther
Published: March 2007

This article analyzes the processes and stages through which individual actions undertaken to fulfill housing needs are transformed into collective actions when a group of individuals becomes aware of the scope and implications of its organization and participation in this endeavor and problematizes what it had assumed was "natural" about living in poverty. The author describes the stages of transforming an urban slum into an organized community, a process that includes the construction, improvement, and consolidation of people's dwellings; the provision of infrastructure, utilities, and facilities; and the evolution of social relations and the development of a sense of community that leads its members to seek collective solutions to their problems, demand respect for citizen's rights, and design strategies to fight for their achievement. These stages are based on information obtained from in-depth interviews with a sample composed of men and women residing in a Venezuelan barrio.
Windows in the Workplace
Authors: Leather Phil , Pyrgas Mike , Beale Di , Lawrence Claire
Published: March 2007

This article investigates the direct and indirect effects of windows in the workplace onjob satisfaction, intention to quit, and general well-being. The impact of three specific influencing mechanisms are examined: general level of illumination, sunlight penetration, and view. The extent to which these environmental features might moderate the negative consequences of job stress is investigated. The sample consisted of 100 white-and blue-collar workers who were employed in a large wine-producing organization in the Mediterranean region of Southern Europe. The results showed a significant direct effect for sunlight penetration on job satisfaction, intention to quit, and general well-being. A view of natural elements (i.e., trees, vegetation, plants, and foliage) was found to buffer the negative impact of job stress on intention to quit and to have a similar, albeit marginal, effect on general well-being. No effects for general level of illumination were found.
India: Makings of Little Cultural/Media Imperialism?
Authors: Sonwalkar Prasun
Published: March 2007

An efflorescence of the media in India during the 1990s, mainly in television, has revolutionized the South Asian mediascape. After the novelty of foreign channels wore off in the early 1990s, Indian channels consolidated their position, recorded the highest audience ratings and forced foreign channels to adopt local programming in a big way. The late 1990s added a new dimension with language-/region-specific channels displacing pan-Indian networks in localized markets, and also reaching out to the large diaspora across continents. Besides, Indian media products are increasingly being viewed in terms of cultural imperialism within South Asia along the same lines that western products were during the 1960s-70s. India's media strengths and vibrancy appear to pose some challenge to the trope of media imperialism. This article argues that the Indian media situation has the makings of `little cultural/media imperialism', and calls for a multi-centric perspective, as opposed to a linear West-centric perspective, to register the rapidity of changes in this age of globalization.
Displacing the News
Authors: Liebes Tamar
Published: March 2007

On the assumption that public space in contemporary democracies has shifted to the electronic media, this article points to a generic transformation of prime-time, whereby (in an era of increasing live broadcasting, commercialization and competition) the political talkshow may be replacing the news. On Israeli television, at least, the professional discourse of objectivity, unity and control (which characterized prime-time news in the monopolistic era of European-style public broadcasting) is being upstaged by the argument, conflict and sense of chaos that characterize the live political talkshow. These shows seem to vacillate between genuine negotiations among formal and informal representatives of various interest groups and wallowing in the ongoing drama of rhetorical contest at the cost of losing sight of long-term, structural issues. The article concludes with a comparison of the two major political talkshows - the one on the public channel, the other on the commercial channel.
Prestige Press Coverage of Us-China Policy During the Cold War's Collapse and Post-Cold War Years
Authors: Goodman Robyn S.
Published: March 2007

US journalists argue that post-Cold War foreign affairs press coverage is more independent than its Cold War predecessor. They claim that the US government's inability to adequately replace the Cold War paradigm and resulting confusion over foreign affairs have forced them to cover international relations in a more watchdog fashion. Scholars have virtually ignored such assertions. This study helps fill this research gap by examining whether US-China press coverage was more independent during the Cold War's breakup and post-Cold War years than during the Cold War proper. Content analysis of 1177 New York Times and Washington Post articles and 399 government publication articles found that press coverage was more independent during and after the Cold War's collapse and suggested that independent coverage was associated with journalists' renewed sense of watchdog obligations, increased access to sources and reduced national security risks.
Communicating the Right to Development
Authors: Linden Ank
Published: March 2007

The design of a human rights-based framework for communication policies in Third World countries is the main focus of this article. This instrument aims to promote the independence of public media, to increase people's access to public means of information and communication, and to ensure that these media are not abused as a vehicle or legitimation of human rights violations. It takes into account the rights and obligations of the four major parties involved: individuals in Third World countries, as the central subjects of development and active participants in and beneficiaries of the development process; formal Third World state representatives; donor governments, as bilateral partners of Third World governments; and the international community. It hopes to achieve this, finally, through a revision of political power structures in Third World countries, a greater impact of donor conditionalities and a better use of the international community's strategic position to promote universal respect for, and observance and protection of, all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Implementing Participative Management
Authors: Hennestad Bjørn W.
Published: March 2007

This article tells the story of an attempt to transform the management of Extrusion Company from a traditional to a participative form. It is based on a longitudinal study of this endeavor. The chief executive officer initiated the attempt in a way that created commitment but that led later to disappointment and frustration and, still later, to more relaxed expectations. After more than 2 years, however, the outcome of this transformation endeavor remains undecided. The article analyzes what happened and suggests the term instrumental change management to signify the insufficient attention that was paid to the change process, which seems in turn to account for the lack of change momentum. It further suggests that this term indicates the importance of a leadership dimension as well as a management dimension if organizational transformation is to occur.
Generating Reflexivity from Partnership Formation
Authors: Chikudate Nobuyuki
Published: March 2007

This study aims to incorporate a reasoning generated from phenomenology and the sociology of knowledge into the analysis of business partnership. The core conceptions in this study are the control of knowledge and reflexivity. This study applied these concepts to the advancement of practitioners’reasoning capability, for institutional change. In-depth interview data taken from a pharmaceutical corporation with laboratories located in the Tokyo area provide enrichment to bridge the gap between theoretical argument and practitioners’ experiences.
Approximate Three-Dimensional Solutions for Symmetric Laminates Under Inplane Loading *
Authors: Rybicki E.F.
Published: March 2007

A three-dimensional equilibrium finite element analysis is used to obtain approximate stress solutions for some finite symmetric laminates under inplane loading. The analysis is based on a comple mentary energy formulation. Obtained stress solutions at the center section of the laminate are compared with solutions for uniform axial strain that are available in the literature. A comparison of the stress distributions obtained at the center and end sections of the laminate shows that a large τyz stress can occur at the end section and a large τxz can occur at the center section. The influence of laminate stacking sequence on the predicted σz is also presented.
Fracture Toughness of Carbon-Carbon Composites
Authors: Guess T.R. , Hoover W.R.
Published: March 2007

The fracture toughnesses of two carbon-carbon composites and ATJ-S graphite were determined from the load-deflection responses of single- edge-notched specimens subjected to three-point bending. The resistance to crack initiation in the presence of a pre-existing flaw (machined notch) was examined using the linear elastic fracture mechanics parameters of critical stress intensity factor Kc, and critical strain energy release rate Gc. The resistance of the materials to both crack initiation and propagation was determined using the work-of-fracture parameter γ F. Both the fracture toughnesses and the failure modes (delamination or crack propagation colinear with the notch) were found to be strongly dependent on material characteristics.
Effect of Fiber Positioning on the Effective Physical Properties of Composite Materials
Authors: Elsayed M.A. , Mccoy J.J.
Published: March 2007

Bounds that incorporate both fiber shape information — i.e., 3 shape factors — and fiber positioning information — i.e., 2 packing parameters — are derived for the transverse effective thermal conductivity of a fiber reinforced composite. Comparisons are made with the previously presented bounds by Hashin [3] and by Beran and Silnutzer [2]. An illustration is presented to demonstrate the potential utility of controlling fiber posi tioning to improve the design of a composite material.
B-1 Composite Horizontal Stabilizer Development
Authors: Ludwig Walter , Erbacher Herman , Visconti Joseph
Published: March 2007

The design of the composite horizontal stabilizer for the B-1 aircraft has evolved after ten years of experience in the design, processing and testing of graphite and boron epoxy structures. A concentrated effort has been made to develop a stabilizer configuration which makes optimum use of graphite and boron materials to obtain a reasonable weight and production cost saving.

The procedures used for the design, test data from the major elements, results of the full scale static test and production cost data are presented.

The resulting composite structure has demonstrated a weight saving of 15% for the total stabilizer and 21% for the composite box over the exist ing metal configuration. Cost savings of 17% are indicated in production.
Fracture of Boron/Aluminum Composites with Discontinuities
Authors: Mar James W. , Lin Kuen Y.
Published: March 2007

Boron/aluminum laminates in symmetric layups of [±45] and [±45/02] containing discontinuities in the form of holes and slits were tested in tension. Both layups exhibited decreases in failure stress with discontinuity size. However the two exhibited quite different failure modes. The [±45 ] failed with interlaminar shear as the dominant mode whereas the [±45/02] specimens reacted to discontinuities catastrophically in a manner suggestive of the effect of cracks on homogeneous metals. A correlation is proposed for the fracture of the [±45/02] laminate.