3. Assessment of Val id ity In Computer-Based Test Interpretations

The use of computers to interpret psychological tests is a hot topic, both within psychology and without. It is hot in the sense of giving rise to an increasing number of books and articles (e.g., Butcher, 1985, 1987; Eyde, 1987; Krug, 1987). It is hot in the sense of giving rise to an ever-increasing number of business enterprises (compare any recent APA Monitor with an issue from 1981). It is hot in the sense of capturing the attention of the news media (e.g., Petterson, 1983). And it is hot in the sense of giving rise to increasing controversy within psychology itself. In a Science editorial Matarazzo (1983) expressed concern lest computer-based test interpretations (CBTIs) fall into the hands of unqualified users, his bottom line being: Until more research establishes that the validity of application of these computer products by a health practitioner is not dependent on the practitioner\u27s experience and training in psychometric science, such automated consultations should be restricted to ... qualified user groups. Matarazzo (1985, 1986) has continued to write in that same vein, causing others to take up the cudgels to defend CBTI (Ben-Porath & Butcher, 1986; Fowler & Butcher, 1986; Murphy, 1987). Lanyon (1984) in his chapter on personality assessment in the Annual Review of Psychology, indicated that he was concerned by the proliferation of CBTI systems: There is a real danger that the few satisfactory services will be squeezed out by the many unsatisfactory ones, since the consumer professionals are generally unable to discriminate among them .... and ... lack of demonstrated program validity has now become the norm (p. 690). Finally the Subcommittee on Tests and Assessment of the American Psychological Association (APA) Committee on Professional Standards and the APA Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment have developed standards for the area (American Psychological Association, 1986). I published an article describing attempts to establish the validity of CBTIs and made some suggestions regarding the shape future attempts might take (Moreland, 1985). The heat generated by the debate over CBTI seems not to have dissipated; however, some light seems to have been shed on the field since I was writing in 1984. In view of all this, a revision and expansion of my earlier efforts seems timely. SOME HISTORY The use of machines to process psychological test data is not a recent innovation (Fowler, 1985). A progression from hand scoring materials through a variety of mechanical and electronic scoring machines to the digital computer, has freed successive generations of beleaguered secretaries and graduate students from laborious hand scoring of objective tests . The first information concerning scoring machines for the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB) appeared in 1930 (Campbell, 1971). These initial machines were very cumbersome, involving the use of 1,260 Hollerith cards to score each protocol. In 1946, Elmer Hankes, a Minneapolis engineer, built the analogue computer that was the first automatic scoring and profiling machine for the SVIB (Campbell, 1971). A year later, he adapted the same technology to the scoring of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) (Dahlstrom, Welsh, & Dahlstrom, 1972). In the mid 1950s, E. F. Lindquist\u27s Measurement Research Center in Iowa City began to use optical (answer sheet) scanning devices instead of card-based scoring equipment. In 1962, National Computer Systems linked an optical scanner with a digital computer and began scoring both the SVIB and the MMPI (Campbell, 1971; Dahlstrom et aI., 1972). Most automated test scoring still employs optical scanning/ digital computer technology and the number and types of tests scored by this method have grown exponentially during the last three decades. Though automated scoring is most easily accomplished for objective tests with a limited number of response alternatives, sophisticated computer programs have also been developed to score the narrative responses elicited by projective techniques (e.g. , Gorham, 1967). Prior to the advent of these programs, extensive training, if not professional expertise, was required to score projective tests. Similar programs have also been developed to evaluate other types of complex verbal productions (e.g., Tucker & Rosenberg, 1980). In addition to keeping nerves from becoming frayed, automated scoring frees psychologists to spend more time in other functions, such as psychotherapy, where computer technology is not so advanced (see, however, Colby, 1980). It also enables more individuals to undergo psychological assessment. Finally, though not completely immune from the slings and arrows of human imperfections (e.g., Fowler & Coyle, 1968; Grayson & Backer, 1972; Weigel & Phillips, 1967), computer scoring appears to be more reliable than that done solely by humans (Greene, 1980, pp. 25-26; Klett, Schaefer, & Plemel, 1985). A computer, once correctly programmed, will apply scoring rules with slavish consistency, whereas fatigue and other human frailties may render the psychologist, graduate student, or secretary inconsistent in the application of even the most objective scoring rules (Kleinmuntz, 1969)

Is Open Access Equal Access? PACER User Fees and Public Access to Court Information

Our country has a long history of striving for openness and transparency in government processes. In 1978, the United States Supreme Court held, “It is clear that the courts of this country recognize a general right to insect and copy public records and documents, including judicial records and documents.” Long before America’s high court recognized this common law principle, court records were historically accessible for inspection by lawyers, journalists, land title companies, credit agencies, academics, and members of the general public. These individuals were also permitted to take notes as a part of their right to inspect court documents. Having free access to copies (i.e. reproductions), however, was a completely different matter. Unlike the right of free inspection, the right of free copies did not exist, and copies of court records could be extremely expensive to citizens seeking the information. For example, in 1853, a copy of a court document was ten cents a page, a steep price for the mid-nineteenth century. One could even make an argument that the right to simply inspect court documents was not actually “free” for many, due to the associated travel costs of physically going to the courthouse in an era before mass transportation and the internet

Book Review: Bonds of Union: Religion, Race, and Politics in a Civil War Borderland, by Bridget Ford

Review of: Bridget Ford. Bonds of Union: Religion, Race, and Politics in a Civil War Borderland. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2016. Pp. 383. Cloth, $45.00

Organized for Service: The Hicks Classification System and the Evolution of Law School Curriculum

This article traces the origins and development of the Hicks Classification System, an in-house organizational scheme used by the Yale Law Library from the late 1930s to the 1990s. It explores the relationship between the Hicks Classification System and the changing pedagogical methods of the law school curriculum during the early part of the 20th century. It provides a brief biographical sketch of Frederick C. Hicks, creator of the scheme, the need for a legal classification system, a detailed analysis of Hicks’s scheme, its finding aids, and a discussion of the inherent cultural biases in the system

Harold Camping and May 21, 2011: Rationalizations, Leader Responses, and Gender Differences Following a Failed Prophecy

Previous studies regarding failed prophecies have focused on believers responses following a failed prophecy, along with how believers rationalize and convince others of the prediction\u27s fulfillment. The literature does not address the reaction of leaders following a failed prophecy or indicate a gendered experience within prophetic groups. This case study looks at the May 21st, 2011 rapture prediction, and subsequent failure, of Harold Camping. My research investigates new rationalizations utilized by followers and leaders of a prophetic ministry, observes the reaction of a leader towards critics, and recognizes a gendered dynamic at play within apocalyptic communities. Upon transcribing podcasts from Family Radio\u27s \u27Open Forum\u27 radio call-in program, patterns and themes important to the followers of the ministry, as well as Camping himself emerged. I find rationalizations not present in other studies, unique responses from the prophet towards critics and followers, and gender differences amongst believers and non-believers

3. Assessment of Val id ity In Computer-Based Test Interpretations

The use of computers to interpret psychological tests is a hot topic, both within psychology and without. It is hot in the sense of giving rise to an increasing number of books and articles (e.g., Butcher, 1985, 1987; Eyde, 1987; Krug, 1987). It is hot in the sense of giving rise to an ever-increasing number of business enterprises (compare any recent APA Monitor with an issue from 1981). It is hot in the sense of capturing the attention of the news media (e.g., Petterson, 1983). And it is hot in the sense of giving rise to increasing controversy within psychology itself. In a Science editorial Matarazzo (1983) expressed concern lest computer-based test interpretations (CBTIs) fall into the hands of unqualified users, his bottom line being: Until more research establishes that the validity of application of these computer products by a health practitioner is not dependent on the practitioner\u27s experience and training in psychometric science, such automated consultations should be restricted to ... qualified user groups. Matarazzo (1985, 1986) has continued to write in that same vein, causing others to take up the cudgels to defend CBTI (Ben-Porath & Butcher, 1986; Fowler & Butcher, 1986; Murphy, 1987). Lanyon (1984) in his chapter on personality assessment in the Annual Review of Psychology, indicated that he was concerned by the proliferation of CBTI systems: There is a real danger that the few satisfactory services will be squeezed out by the many unsatisfactory ones, since the consumer professionals are generally unable to discriminate among them .... and ... lack of demonstrated program validity has now become the norm (p. 690). Finally the Subcommittee on Tests and Assessment of the American Psychological Association (APA) Committee on Professional Standards and the APA Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment have developed standards for the area (American Psychological Association, 1986). I published an article describing attempts to establish the validity of CBTIs and made some suggestions regarding the shape future attempts might take (Moreland, 1985). The heat generated by the debate over CBTI seems not to have dissipated; however, some light seems to have been shed on the field since I was writing in 1984. In view of all this, a revision and expansion of my earlier efforts seems timely. SOME HISTORY The use of machines to process psychological test data is not a recent innovation (Fowler, 1985). A progression from hand scoring materials through a variety of mechanical and electronic scoring machines to the digital computer, has freed successive generations of beleaguered secretaries and graduate students from laborious hand scoring of objective tests . The first information concerning scoring machines for the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB) appeared in 1930 (Campbell, 1971). These initial machines were very cumbersome, involving the use of 1,260 Hollerith cards to score each protocol. In 1946, Elmer Hankes, a Minneapolis engineer, built the analogue computer that was the first automatic scoring and profiling machine for the SVIB (Campbell, 1971). A year later, he adapted the same technology to the scoring of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) (Dahlstrom, Welsh, & Dahlstrom, 1972). In the mid 1950s, E. F. Lindquist\u27s Measurement Research Center in Iowa City began to use optical (answer sheet) scanning devices instead of card-based scoring equipment. In 1962, National Computer Systems linked an optical scanner with a digital computer and began scoring both the SVIB and the MMPI (Campbell, 1971; Dahlstrom et aI., 1972). Most automated test scoring still employs optical scanning/ digital computer technology and the number and types of tests scored by this method have grown exponentially during the last three decades. Though automated scoring is most easily accomplished for objective tests with a limited number of response alternatives, sophisticated computer programs have also been developed to score the narrative responses elicited by projective techniques (e.g. , Gorham, 1967). Prior to the advent of these programs, extensive training, if not professional expertise, was required to score projective tests. Similar programs have also been developed to evaluate other types of complex verbal productions (e.g., Tucker & Rosenberg, 1980). In addition to keeping nerves from becoming frayed, automated scoring frees psychologists to spend more time in other functions, such as psychotherapy, where computer technology is not so advanced (see, however, Colby, 1980). It also enables more individuals to undergo psychological assessment. Finally, though not completely immune from the slings and arrows of human imperfections (e.g., Fowler & Coyle, 1968; Grayson & Backer, 1972; Weigel & Phillips, 1967), computer scoring appears to be more reliable than that done solely by humans (Greene, 1980, pp. 25-26; Klett, Schaefer, & Plemel, 1985). A computer, once correctly programmed, will apply scoring rules with slavish consistency, whereas fatigue and other human frailties may render the psychologist, graduate student, or secretary inconsistent in the application of even the most objective scoring rules (Kleinmuntz, 1969)

A near-field scanned microwave probe for spatially localized electrical metrology

We have developed a near-field scanned microwave probe with a sampling volume of approximately 10 micron in diameter, which is the smallest one achieved in near-field microwave microscopy. This volume is defined to confine close to 100 percent of the probe net sampling reactive energy, thus making the response virtually independent on the sample properties outside of this region. The probe is formed by a 4 GHz balanced stripline resonator with a few-micron tip size. It provides non-contact, non-invasive measurement and is uniquely suited for spatially localized electrical metrology applications, e.g. on semiconductor production wafers.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Appl. Phys. Let