The Interaction Between Role Structures and Self-Conceptions in Fostering Different Types of Self-Esteem in Innovative and Traditional Elementary Schools*

A two-dimensional model of inner and outer self-esteem is discussed wherein inner self-esteem is hypothesized to be an outcome of self-evaluations of performance in prominent role identities. Outer self-esteem is hypothesized to be related to self-evaluations of both prominent and nonprominent role identities. The research context is a comparison of the different processes facilitating self-esteem in innovative schools (emphasis on student-initiated activities and control) and traditional (emphasis on pre-determined curriculum and teacher-administrator control). Data across school type demonstrate a modest correlation between positive self-evaluations of performance in prominent role identities and both types of self-esteem. The data suggest that high evaluation of performance in nonprominent role identities is related to outer self-esteem but not to inner self-esteem. Further empirical clarification of the concepts was established by viewing the relationships within school type. In the innovative schools both types of self-esteem were predominantly related to positive evaluations of prominent role identities, whereas in the traditional schools both types of self-esteem were related to both performance in prominent and nonprominent role identities. Thus the theoretical distinction gained partial support while the process of gaining self-esteem was shown to be essentially different between alternate school structures. Controls for social desirability, race, sex, and father's occupation did not change these findings.     

Decomposing three dimensional contingency tables

A simple box-like diagram makes the task of teaching or analyzing three dimensional contingency tables much easier. Little is to be gained using the log-linear model and iterative procedures, as all but one hypothesis can be tested and necessary statistics calculated with a hand-held electronic calculator and without iterations.     

AN ANALYTIC FORM FOR THE CUMULATIVE DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION OF THE BELL-DOKSUM STATISTIC

A closed form analytic expression for the Bell-Doksum Statistic is developed. The use of the generalized hypergeometric function to evaluate the expression is demonstrated, and a table of critical values for 2 n 25 is presented.     

Health professionals' attitudes toward abortion

Attitudes toward abortion, as obtained in a 1971 nationwidesurvey, are presented for students and faculty in nursing, medicine,and social work, and are compared to attitudes of the generalpopulation. Attitudinal differences are examined among the professions,between students and faculty, and in terms of religion. Theresults reveal implications for the abortion-related servicesprovided by health professionals.     

Public opinion surveys as guides to public policy and spending

Public opinion surveys purport to express the public's opinion. The literature on survey techniques has, however, recognized various potential limitations to the validity of survey results. While improved survey methodology may reduce statistical bias and improve validity, it cannot avoid the implicit weighting of preferences. This normative aspect of surveying has often been unrecognized or disguised as a purely technical matter. Such things as sample selection, choice of survey instrument and the method of aggregating results will each contribute to a pattern of preference weights. Several common survey techniques are examined in this light. It is proposed that no single ‘correct’ method of preference aggragation exists. Increased public recognition of, and debate on this normative aspect of surveying is recommended.     

On More Reliably Employing the Concept of "Reliability"

Confusion has resulted from using the term "reliability" tomean both measurement-error variance and sampling-error variance.This article discusses the conceptual similarities and differencesbetween the various types of variance subsumed under "reliability"in order to distinguish among them.     

Conflicts of interest in academic research: policies, processes, and attitudes

Few studies have examined academic researchers' understandings or attitudes toward conflict of interest policies even though these understandings and attitudes represent a crucial component of both compliance and educational efforts. This study reports the results of a large-scale, cross-sectional survey of research faculty at the nine campuses of the University of California regarding their understandings of and attitudes toward campus conflict of interest policies. We gathered information on their general assessments of investigators with financial ties to industry sponsors and reactions to the process of implementing conflict of interest policies at their respective campuses. We surveyed 1,971 faculty members from the nine-campus University of California system and had 779 responses (39% response rate). The sampled faculty were in the ten departments with the most number of financial disclosures at each campus. We utilized the WebSurveyor software to create a secure, online, 21-item survey. Our study reveals faculty with complex, sometimes contradictory, feelings about academic-industry relationships and highlights perceived gaps in policy and process. Most respondents were concerned about unlimited financial relationships, but a sizable number also viewed campus policies as irrelevant. Some expressed considerable anger over the process of policy implementation, rejecting the policies on the basis of professional and individual self-determination and moral integrity. Our study suggests the need for renewed efforts to encourage awareness of the relevance of conflict of interest policies for all faculty, new efforts to increase understanding of the situational nature of conflicts of interest, and reexamination of the processes of policy implementation at the campus level.     

Combining Food Frequency and Survey Data to Quantify Long-Term Dietary Exposure: A Methyl Mercury Case Study

Twenty-four-hour recall data from the Continuing Survey of Food Intake by Individuals (CSFII) are frequently used to estimate dietary exposure for risk assessment. Food frequency questionnaires are traditional instruments of epidemiological research; however, their application in dietary exposure and risk assessment has been limited. This article presents a probabilistic method of bridging the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) food frequency and the CSFII data to estimate longitudinal (usual) intake, using a case study of seafood mercury exposures for two population subgroups (females 16 to 49 years and children 1 to 5 years). Two hundred forty-nine CSFII food codes were mapped into 28 NHANES fish/shellfish categories. FDA and state/local seafood mercury data were used. A uniform distribution with minimum and maximum blood-diet ratios of 0.66 to 1.07 was assumed. A probabilistic assessment was conducted to estimate distributions of individual 30-day average daily fish/shellfish intakes, methyl mercury exposure, and blood levels. The upper percentile estimates of fish and shellfish intakes based on the 30-day daily averages were lower than those based on two- and three-day daily averages. These results support previous findings that distributions of "usual" intakes based on a small number of consumption days provide overestimates in the upper percentiles. About 10% of the females (16 to 49 years) and children (1 to 5 years) may be exposed to mercury levels above the EPA's RfD. The predicted 75th and 90th percentile blood mercury levels for the females in the 16-to-49-year group were similar to those reported by NHANES. The predicted 90th percentile blood mercury levels for children in the 1-to-5-year subgroup was similar to NHANES and the 75th percentile estimates were slightly above the NHANES.