College grade point average as a personnel selection device: ethnic group differences and potential adverse impact.

College grade point average (GPA) is often used in a variety of ways in personnel selection. Unfortunately, there is little empirical research literature in human resource management that informs researchers or practitioners about the magnitude of ethnic group differences and any potential adverse impact implications when using cumulative GPA for selection. Data from a medium-sized university in the Southeast (N = 7,498) indicate that the standardized average Black-White difference for cumulative GPA in the senior year is d = 0.78. The authors also conducted analyses at 3 GPA screens (3.00, 3.25, and 3.50) to demonstrate that employers (or educators) might face adverse impact at all 3 levels if GPA continues to be implemented as part of a selection system. Implications and future research are discussed.

The clinical picture and diagnosis of diphtheritic carditis in children.

UNLABELLED: During 1992 1996 we observed 122 children with diphtheria, 49 with the toxic form, in the region of Nizhny Novgorod in Russia. Sixty-four patients suffered from diphtheric carditis, 9 died. The clinical picture was characterized by a rapid development of heart and circulatory failure. ECG showed QRS alterations with intraventricular conduction impairment, sinus node dysfunction, ectopic rhythm disturbances and repolarization disturbances in all patients with carditis. Infarction-like ECG changes were typical for the pseudocoronary form with the worst prognosis. Echocardiographically there was left ventricular (LV) dilatation and depressed LV function, whereas LV muscle mass was increased. Myoglobin, LDH and CPK levels were elevated in each patient demonstrating significant differences between the various courses of disease. CONCLUSION: In diphtheria, the extent of hypermyoglobinaemia (> 2000 ng/ml) and an increased LDH1/LDH2 (> 1) ratio are reliable markers for the development of carditis indicating a poor prognosis.

Computer versus paper-and-pencil administration mode and response distortion in noncognitive selection tests.

This study examined the strength of the relationship between computerized and paper-and-pencil noncognitive selection measures. The tendency to engage in response distortion across these 2 modes was also assessed. The raw cross-mode correlations exceeded .90 for all of the substantive selection scales studied. Indeed, latent cross-mode correlations were estimated to be 1.0 for all of these scales. Mean score comparisons of 1 of the response distortion measures (i.e., the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding) suggested that response distortion in the computer-administration mode was significantly greater than response distortion observed with a paper-and-pencil format. However, administration mode did not influence scores on another measure of direct response distortion or any of the substantive selection measures administered.

Moderated regression analysis and Likert scales: too coarse for comfort.

One of the most commonly accepted models of relationships among three variables in applied industrial and organizational psychology is the simple moderator effect. However, many authors have expressed concern over the general lack of empirical support for interaction effects reported in the literature. We demonstrate in the current sample that use of a continuous, dependent-response scale instead of a discrete, Likert-type scale, causes moderated regression analysis effect sizes to increase an average of 93%. We suggest that use of relatively coarse Likert scales to measure fine dependent responses causes information loss that, although varying widely across subjects, greatly reduces the probability of detecting true interaction effects. Specific recommendations for alternate research strategies are made.

A weighted index of bilateral brain lesions.

Attempts to correlate the amount of bilateral brain injury with behavioral changes can be complicated if the lesions are bilaterally unsymmetrical in volume. Further complications are introduced if unilateral lesions are ineffective in producing behavioral changes. An index, W%, is proposed which is based on the product of the volumes of the damage on the right and left sides. The index ranges from 0 to 100 such that conditions of no injury or unilateral injury produce an index of zero. In contrast, relatively large values of the index are generated by symmetrical lesions. Grossly unsymmetrical lesions, in which one side is nearly intact, produce very low index values. For lesions that are bilaterally equivalent in volume, the percentage of tissue destroyed on either side is equal to 10 square root of W%. Some properties of the proposed index are discussed.

A metric for integrating theoretically related but statistically uncorrelated constructs.

When considering psychological constructs in a pairwise fashion, a 2 x 2 category system, based on median splits, is often adopted for analytic convenience. If theoretical focus is on an individual's integration of the two constructs, then categorical procedures are subject to information loss and unreliability in high density regions of the data. A continuous metric is proposed which ameliorates these problems and is suitable for correlational analyses. The construct of psychological androgyny is used for illustrative purposes.