Psychological Testing and Constitutional Rights

The federal government uses psychological tests throughout the employment process-in hiring, promoting, and retiring its employees. Some of these tests probe into the most intimate aspects of an individual\u27s life. Do these tests produce their intended results? Are they necessary for effective government service? Do they unreasonably interfere with the private lives of the individuals tested? These and other questions have been asked with increasing frequency recently, and the author, who was counsel to the Senate Subcommittee which has been investigating governmental psychological testing, attempts to answer some of them in this article

The role of perceived self-efficacy in the development of musical ability: what can the study of successful musicians tell us about teaching music to able children?

The role of perceived self-efficacy is important to human social development and to learning in general, but how it relates to music talent development is not well understood. This article explores the concept of perceived self-efficacy as it relates to the development of musical talent by considering what is meant by the concepts of high ability in music and self-efficacy, and by discussing the results of interviews with successful professional musicians. The interview data suggest the need for four aspects of self-efficacy to be present in order to fully develop talent: individual judgement of capability; a belief that outcomes are tied to individual actions; self-regulation of activities related to learning; and persistence in the face of difficulties. The implications of this for music teaching are also discussed

NASA's Space Launch System: Affordability for Sustainability

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Space Launch System (SLS) Program, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center, is charged with delivering a new capability for human exploration beyond Earth orbit in an austere economic climate. But the SLS value is clear and codified in United States (U.S.) budget law. The SLS Program knows that affordability is the key to sustainability and will provide an overview of initiatives designed to fit within the funding guidelines by using existing engine assets and hardware now in testing to meet a first launch by 2017 within the projected budget. It also has a long-range plan to keep the budget flat, yet evolve the 70-tonne (t) initial lift capability to 130-t lift capability after the first two flights. To achieve the evolved configuration, advanced technologies must offer appropriate return on investment to be selected through the competitive process. For context, the SLS will be larger than the Saturn V that took 12 men on 6 trips for a total of 11 days on the lunar surface some 40 years ago. Astronauts train for long-duration voyages on platforms such as the International Space Station, but have not had transportation to go beyond Earth orbit in modern times, until now. To arrive at the launch vehicle concept, the SLS Program conducted internal engineering and business studies that have been externally validated by industry and reviewed by independent assessment panels. In parallel with SLS concept studies, NASA is now refining its mission manifest, guided by U.S. space policy and the Global Exploration Roadmap, which reflects the mutual goals of a dozen member nations. This mission planning will converge with a flexible heavy-lift rocket that can carry international crews and the air, water, food, and equipment they need for extended trips to asteroids and Mars. In addition, the SLS capability will accommodate very large science instruments and other payloads, using a series of modular fairings and adapters to configure the rocket for the mission. The SLS affordability plan includes streamlining interfaces, applying risk-based insight into contracted work, centralizing systems engineering and integration, and nurturing a learning culture where the question Why? is often asked and the answer "Because we've always done it that way" is rarely heard. The SLS Program will deliver affordable space transportation solutions for the Orion Multi-Purpose Cargo Vehicle s first autonomous certification flight in 2017, followed by a crewed flight in 2021. As this briefing will show, the SLS will offer a global infrastructure asset for robotic and human scouts of all nations

The perceptions of non music staff and senior management of the impact of the implementation of the Musical Futures approach on the whole school

This research aimed to provide an account of the impact of the Musical Futures approach on the wider school community in Musical Futures ‘Champion Schools’. Questionnaires were completed by 344 non-music teachers. Interviews were undertaken with members of senior management teams. The majority of staff indicated that Musical Futures had had a positive impact on student motivation, well-being, self-esteem and confidence and had encouraged students to work together. There was less agreement that it had improved student concentration, organisation and students’ attitudes towards learning and academic progression. The interviews provided deeper insights into the issues relating to implementation

What impact does teaching music informally in the classroom have on teachers, and their pedagogy?

The aim of this research was to explore the impact of the adoption of the Musical Futures (MF) approach on secondary school music teachers working in MF Champion schools. The research took place over 3 years in 3 phases with 28 teachers completing questionnaires exploring the impact on their confidence, skills and pedagogy and 30 being interviewed individually. Data from the interviews provided greater insights into the questionnaire responses. Most teachers reported that MF had helped them to become a more effective teacher, more confident in teaching music and had increased their enjoyment. MF changed the nature of teaching and learning with a more student-led approach being adopted. Managing this workshop approach on a daily basis, for some teachers, was exhausting and stressful. Overall, the adoption of the MF approach had a wide range of benefits for teachers but there were issues relating to the logistics of managing small group work

Can the adoption of informal approaches to learning music in school music lessons promote musical progression?

The aim of this research was to explore the impact of the adoption of the Musical Futures approach on the musical progression of students in Musical Futures’ Champion schools. The research took place over three years in three phases with 733 students and 28 music teachers completing questionnaires. Data from the interviews with 39 staff and focus groups of 325 students provided greater insights into the questionnaire responses. Overall, teachers reported that Musical Futures had enhanced the musical progression of their students and increased take up at Key Stage 4. In some cases this had led to changes in the qualifications on offer with an emphasis on those which were vocational rather than academic. This created some tensions in catering for the needs of different groups of students who had a range of different musical skills

Teachers’ perceptions of the impact on students of the Musical Futures approach

Music education has faced considerable challenges in trying to bridge the gap between music in young people's lives and that taking place in the classroom. The ‘Musical Futures’ (MF) initiative aimed to devise new and imaginative ways of engaging young people, aged 11–19, in music activities through a process of informal learning based on popular music. This research aimed to explore teachers’ perceptions of the impact of adopting the MF approach on students’ learning and attainment. Twenty-eight music teachers completed questionnaires and 30 were interviewed. The majority of music staff agreed that since doing MF, students demonstrated higher levels of attainment, greater enjoyment of and positive attitudes towards music lessons, enhanced musical and performance skills, team working, concentration, confidence, listening skills, musical understanding and independent learning