A study of the validity of the Sales Comprehension Test and Sales Motivation Inventory in differentiating high and low production in life insurance selling.

"Sixty ordinary life insurance agent volunteers were obtained from 17 companies operating in Nebraska. All were experienced life insurance salesmen. The population was dichotomized unequally into 'successful' and 'unsuccessful' groups on the basis of insurance sold during the previous calendar year. All men completed the Sales Motivation Inventory and Sales Comprehenhion Test… . Scores of the two instruments, when combined, yielded a t significant at the .01 level." "These findings suggest that the Sales Motivation Inventory is capable of differentiating the more competent life insurance salesmen from the less competent life insurance salesmen in the geographical area covered, and under the circumstances of this study." 29 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A factor analysis of managers' ratings.

Assignment ratings on 97 insurance company division managers, for a list of 20 assignments, were factor-analyzed into an orthogonal solution containing a general factor and five group factors. The group factors were named: "Skill in dealing with others," "Judgment," "Effectiveness in supervising the work," "Effectiveness in planning the work," and "Effectiveness in improving operating efficiency." The general factor accounted for more of the variance than any of the group factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial and sexual outcome in women with Turner syndrome

Results of an inquiry in adults patients (18-53 years of age) coming from three centers (1 in Rouen & 2 in Paris), 213 questionnaires were sent. 105 answers were received. Scholar achievement: only secondary cycle in 6%, Secondary cycle + professional course in 22% and tertiary cycle in 44%. No scholar ship in 2%, 26% were still ongoing studies. Professions: 18% are unemployed (24%), Secretary jobs: 10%, Health professions (altogether): 18%, Teachers: 8%, Clerks: 7%, Executive jobs: 8% and Miscellaneous jobs: 5%. 3% have an handicapped status. The small height was a career obstacle in 29%. Affective life. Age of first sexual intercourse was 19-22 years. 17 are or were married and 15% are living in couple. But 58% have not any sexual life whatsoever. These women are divided on the ways to cure the sterility. Few among the oldest have attempted adoption or medically assisted procreation, with each time low rate of success. 26% have psychological disturbances which were serious in 6% mainly due to depression.     

Curriculum trends in nurse-midwifery education. Views of program directors

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which nurse-midwifery education programs are addressing the practice competencies that have been recommended by the Pew Health Professions Commission and others as essential for effective practice in the 21st century. This study was part of a larger survey of eleven health professions education programs. The 56 nurse-midwifery program directors whose names and addresses were provided by the American College of Nurse-Midwives were surveyed by mailed questionnaire, with a response rate of 59% (n = 33). The study sought to identify current and ideal emphasis placed on 33 broad topics, most important curriculum topics, and barriers to curriculum change as perceived by respondents. Findings revealed that nurse-midwifery program directors would like to see greater emphasis placed on every topic except one (tertiary/quaternary care). Desired increases ranged from .04 to 1.36. The overall mean rating for all topics was 3.51 for current emphasis (5-point scale) and 4.18 for ideal emphasis, both of which were higher than any other survey group. The greatest desired increases (> 1.00) were for "primary care," "managed care," "use of electronic information systems," and "business management of practice." Respondents identified "primary care," "health promotion/disease prevention," and "accountability for cost-effectiveness and patient outcomes" as the most important topics. The top three barriers to curriculum change were identified as "already crowded curriculum," "inadequate funding," and "limited availability of clinical learning sites," the last being statistically significant compared with other survey groups. Findings indicate that nurse-midwifery program directors perceived that they are adequately addressing most of the curriculum topics, while continuing to focus on the need for curriculum change as the health care environment changes.     

The teaching of psychology in high school.

Psychology is taught as a separate subject of instruction in some high schools in at least 40 states, probably in all of them. According to the 1948-50 Biennial Survey of Education, roughly fewer than 10% of the high schools offer a course under the title "psychology," and the enrollments in psychology courses is about 1% of the high school population. Purposes for which instruction in psychology is offered, educational preparation and experience of teachers, licensing or certification requirements, textbook and other teaching materials, methods of presentation, and attitudes toward the teaching of psychology in high schools are discussed. 63 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A study of counseling center hiring practices: What does it take for a woman to be hired?

Examined the effect of raters' level of self-acceptance on the ratings of 3 types of candidates for counselor jobs: a "traditional," woman, a "feminist," and a candidate with sex unspecified. Ss were 81 male counseling center directors, associate directors, and assistant directors. Self-acceptance was measured by the Phillips Self-Acceptance Scale. Ss rated candidates on 6 variables on 5-point Likert-type scales. Results of 2 * 3 analyses of variance reveal that Ss with higher self-acceptance were more likely to evaluate all candidates as more competent to help clients. The feminist candidate was rated significantly higher than the other 2 candidates on potential to deal with a wide range of emotional problems and on preparation to develop outreach programs. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aggression and sexual offense in Asperger''s syndrome

PURPOSE: To determine the accuracy of adolescents' self-report of health insurance coverage, using parents' report as a comparison standard. METHODS: Two separate samples of urban, school-based adolescents and their parents completed self-administered questionnaires about type of health insurance coverage. Sample 1 included 123 and Sample 2 included 93 adolescent-parent pairs. Percent agreement and the kappa statistic were determined for each of the sample groups, and for males versus females and older (> 14 years) versus younger (< or = 14 years) adolescents. RESULTS: In Sample 1, 33% of adolescent respondents responded "don't know" to the question about type of insurance coverage, and 4% left the question blank; in Sample 2, 3% answered "don't know," with none leaving the question blank. For Sample 1, we found a 57% rate of agreement of adolescents with their parents, and a corresponding kappa of .21. Females and older subjects demonstrated greater accuracy, with kappa's all in the range .13-.29. In Sample 2, 73% of subjects agreed with parents' report, with a kappa of .48. Females and older subjects also demonstrated greater accuracy, with the highest kappa of .59 demonstrated by older females. Excluding those responding with "don't know," we found overall percent agreement with parents of 87% in Sample 1 and 73% in Sample 2; the corresponding kappas were .47 and .51. Females demonstrated higher agreement with parents in both samples. The results stratifying by age were inconsistent. In Sample 1, privately insured subjects were more accurate reporters than those either on medical assistance or uninsured. In Sample 2, no differences were seen by type of insurance. CONCLUSIONS: Many adolescents do not know their health insurance coverage status. However, for those who did claim to know, acceptable rates of accuracy using both percent agreement and the kappa statistic were demonstrated. Further research is needed to determine how information about insurance is communicated to adolescents and how this knowledge affects access to and use of health services.     

Background and prospects of the Community Health Act

Japan was defeated in World War II and almost all of the nation was demoralized by the destruction and damage to much of the nation. The medical and health care system during and before World War II needed to be reformed radically and fundamentally since almost all medical and health institutes were destroyed. On the other hand, many health personnel came back from overseas after the war. Japanese modern medicine had developed on the basis of German medicine; however, many aspects of American medicine, including public health and democracy, were rapidly introduced following the end of World War II. The American type of health center was established and many laws concerning medical and health care were enacted in 1947-1948. One of them was "The Health Center Law." The National Health Insurance Act was enacted in 1958 and the total population has been covered by health insurance plans since 1961. Many physicians quit the health centers and they have worked as clinicians under the National Health Insurance scheme, because health centers were introduced before adequate education and research existed in the field of public health. On the other hand, the health insurance scheme was in its golden age during the high economic growth period of the 1960s. Japan has succeeded in all forms of modern technology and economy for the past 30 years and is now one of the top nations in the field of medical and health care, such as the numbers of clinics and hospitals and beds, the frequency of consulting with a doctor, length of hospital stay, examinee rates in mass health examinations in the community and workplace and so on. Health conditions have changed drastically from the 1950s to the present. Therefore, health centers do not fit current health needs. For example, mortality from tuberculosis, acute infections diseases and also stomach and uterus cancers and apoplexy have decreased rapidly while mortality from chronic diseases, especially lung, breast and rectal cancers, and myocardial infarction have increased gradually. Changes of life style resulting from rapid economic growth are suspected to be important causes of the change in the prevalence of these diseases. Mass health examination was important and effective as a preventive measure against tuberculosis, especially as a means of early detection and early treatment. However, it is not now effective against chronic diseases. The screening examination has resulted in identifying many patients suspected of being ill. Every examiner must be able to distinguish pathologic findings from physiologic changes of aging. Every patient must, therefore, understand his/her individuality and evaluate the result of his/her efforts to improve life style by receiving a health examination. Accordingly, the aim of health examination has changed from early detection to health support for the examinee. During the decades when life expectancy was less than 50 years of age, it was not necessary for people to plan for retirement. Moreover, there was little burden on younger generations to provide care for the aged people because there were few old people more than 70 years of age and the birth rate was high. Nowadays, elderly people face many years of life after retirement and there are too many aged people in relation to the number of younger persons. As for medical care services, many new medical needs have emerged in recent years, including "quality of life," "palliative medicine in terminal care," "establishment of a primary care system" and "comprehensive care connecting health and medical care with welfare" etc. Improved living standards resulting from economic growth, called the "economic miracle" internationally, have helped to bring about a rapid and wide range of change in daily lifestyle, such as eating habits, working conditions and environment. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has made every effort to revise the laws in relation to health and medical care systems, in order to adjust to recent     

Antiepileptic drug-related cognitive complaints in seizure-free children with epilepsy before and after drug discontinuation

The cognitive complaints reported by children and their parents, as subjectively associated with antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment, were evaluated in seizure-free children before and after drug discontinuation. The aim of the design was to isolate the cognitive side effects of AEDs from other factors, such as the effect of seizures. Our inventory explored the following areas: "alertness," "concentration," "activation/ tiredness," "memory," "drowsiness," "depression," "aggressiveness," and "hyperactivity," using a 5-point Likert scaling procedure. One hundred two eligible patients were selected, each matched with a healthy control and assessed when still on antiepileptic medication. All children were seizure free for at least 1 year. The medication was then discontinued gradually over a 3-month period. Four months after the children were completely medication free, a second assessment was carried out, but only in the 83 children who remained seizure free and in their matched controls. The results of the reports made by the children themselves did not show differences with the matched controls, and only showed improvement after drug discontinuation for complaints about "tiredness." Parents of the children with epilepsy reported significant improvement in all areas related to "alertness and activation" after discontinuation of the drugs. The finding that only a limited number of children have cognitive complaints, both when still on AEDs and after discontinuation, may be in line with the reports that the major factor contributing to quality of life is whether patients are seizure free or still have seizures. All patients in this study were seizure free for a period >1 year, which may have caused the favorable pattern of response in our patient group.     

Cerebral plurality and the unity of self.

Recent findings from studies of commissurotomized human patients have revived controversies regarding the unity of consciousness and the "unicity of self." The issue is older and deeper than contemporary commentators generally acknowledge. Examination of historical versions of the dispute reveals a number of insights and confusions quite similar to those now filling the pages of contemporary journals. Because they fail to make necessary distinctions among such concepts as "self," "self-identity," and "personal identity," both the old and the new literatures are punctuated with logical incoherence. Once such key terms are analyzed, it becomes clear that the traditional notion of unified consciousness is largely unaffected by "split-brain" data. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Overlooked physical diagnoses in chronic pain patients involved in litigation, Part 2. The addition of MRI, nerve blocks, 3-D CT, and qualitative flow meter

This study followed 120 chronic pain patients referred to a multidisciplinary pain center. The referral diagnosis for many patients, such as "chronic pain," "psychogenic pain," or "lumbar strain," was frequently found to be incomplete or inaccurate (40%) following a multidisciplinary evaluation that used appropriate diagnostic studies, including magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, nerve blocks, and qualitative flowmeter. Significant abnormalities were discovered in 76% of the diagnostic tests. An organic origin for pain was found in 98% of these patients. The patients were discharged with objective verification of diagnoses including facet disease, nerve entrapment, temporomandibular joint disease, thoracic outlet syndrome, and herniated discs.     

Oakley Stern Ray (1931-2007).

Presents an obituary for Oakley Stern Ray. Ray was a teacher--whether in the role of professor, chief, or colleague. Late in his life, he described himself as having had four "day jobs," although he could not have accomplished so much if he had limited himself to daylight hours. He so completely inhabited each role that the colleagues he knew in one capacity were often unaware the others existed. These four careers were Veterans Administration (VA) psychologist, professor, author, and executive. He always had at least two of these careers going at the same time, usually three. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was productive in all four simultaneously. Oakley's 76th birthday was February 6, 2007; he died of leukemia on February 7, 2007. He is survived by his wife Kathy Ray, his sons Steve, Christian, and Tom Ray, his daughter Deb Scanlon, his grandchildren--and thousands of students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fakability of a forced-choice personality test under realistic high school employment conditions.

The Gordon Personal Profile was administered to junior and senior high school students for vocational guidance purposes. Three months later it was readministered as an employment test to students applying for jobs. Those not seeking jobs took the test again as a guidance test… .Individuals did not change their profile patterns substantially from a guidance situation to an employment situation, and mean increases for the group were found to be moderate." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The citation of Soviet scholars by Western psychologists": Reply to Bierschenk.

Reply's to a comment by Bernhard Bierschenk (see record 2009-09661-001) on the current authors original comment in the November 1985 issue of the American Psychologist. Bierschenk has objected to the current author's reference to Marx, Engels, and Zeigarnik as "Soviet scholars." In the case of Marx and Engels, he is absolutely correct—they are not "Soviet scholars" in the literal, geographic sense—and Solo thanks him for his response. However, Solo is defending his labeling of Zeigarnik as a "Soviet scholar." Even though she was an early member of the "Bediner Schule," studied with Lewin, and published some early works in the German Inn mmm% she spent most of her professional life at Moscow State University and other Russian institutions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A survey on return to work and fitness for work in Japan: the systems provided in corporate regulations and their application

We conducted a survey to evaluate the current situation and the application of systems for return to work (RTW) and fitness for work (FFW) in Japanese companies. Self-administered questionnaires were mailed to 351 occupational health (OH) physicians listed in the membership directory of the Japan Society for Occupational Health published in 1990. The item of information sought were the size and industrial type of the company, the organization of OH staff, the process of assessment of RTW, the provision for sick leave in corporate regulations, the FFW criteria, and job training systems for RTW. Of the 145 companies from which questionnaire replies were received from OH physicians (response rate: 41%), 123 (85%) were manufacturing industries. When classified according to the number of employees, 41 (28%) had 3000 or more, 66 (46%) had between 1000 and 2999, 26 (18%) had 999 or fewer and 12 (8%) were unknown. 144 companies (99%) had provisions on temporary retirement in their corporate regulations. As for who makes compensation during temporary retirement, 66 (48%) and 61 (44%) companies answered "both company and health insurance society" and "health insurance society alone," respectively. 136 companies (94%) carried out assessment of RTW, and involved OH professionals and other related staff in the process of assessment. In the majority of cases, the OH physicians were in charge of the decision-making process on RTW and were authorized to make the final decision. In the companies with 3000 or more employees, the cases of longer-term sick leave were assessed in a more complete process than those of shorter-term sick leave. 119 companies (88%) conducted on additional health examination to assess the employee's FFW. Sixty-four companies (47%) had standardized criteria on FFW. One hundred and eighteen companies (83%) had job training systems for employees' RTW, and they mainly introduced restricting one's job and/or reducing one's work-load. It was suggested that complete systems for RTW and FFW were more available among companies with 3000 or more employees than among companies with 2999 or fewer employees.     

Determination of the minimal clinically significant difference on a patient visual analog satisfaction scale

OBJECTIVE: To determine the minimal clinically significant difference (MCSD) on a visual analog patient satisfaction scale. METHODS: The authors prospectively collected patient satisfaction evaluations during a clinical trial assessing the effect of introducing personal television sets on overall patient satisfaction from their ED encounters. Patient satisfaction was assessed with 2 scales: a 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS) (0 = least satisfied, 100 = most satisfied) and a 7-point categorical scale ("terrible," "mostly dissatisfied," "mixed," "partially satisfied," "mostly satisfied," "pleased," and "delighted"). The differences between the mean VAS scores of "delighted" and "pleased" patients, and between "pleased" and "mostly satisfied" patients were used to determine the MCSD on the VAS. Reliability of each of the scales was determined. RESULTS: 181 patients were evaluated. Mean age was 41 years; 59% were female. On a subset of 19 patients, the VAS yielded an interobserver correlation of 0.93. The kappa measurement of agreement on the categorical scale was 0.77. The mean difference between "delighted" and "pleased" patient VAS satisfaction scores was 6.8 mm (95% CI, 1.3-12.3 mm). The mean difference between "pleased" and "mostly satisfied" patient VAS satisfaction scores was 10.7 mm (95% CI, 5.5-15.8 mm). CONCLUSION: The MCSD in patient satisfaction scores measured with a 100-mm VAS was approximately 7-11 mm. Future studies evaluating differences in patient satisfaction should be designed to detect this difference.     

The relationship between attitude toward the Army and the acceptance accorded QM items of issue.

Using an attitude questionnaire, 3 groups of soldiers (n = 24) who were selected as "favorable toward the Army," "neutral," and "disposed against Army life," were asked to evaluate for acceptability 14 articles of standard QM issue. Results indicated that differences in general attitude toward the Army affect evaluations of articles of use and wear, and suggest that these attitudinal differences are more important in influencing the acceptability of some articles than of other. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors in sales success.

For the job of combination agent, an objective measure of job performance was correlated with each of 17 other variables in a sample of 346 agents, on whom were also obtained scores on a test of life insurance knowledge and data on life insurance ownership. "The data presented are consistent with the conclusion that the salesman's belief in his product (as measured by his own buying behavior) and his motivation are more important in determining how well he does his job than is product knowledge. Length of service shows no significant relation to job performance." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)