If management's motives are clearly aimed at improved performance for individual and organizational growth, and if the process is applied faithfully both in spirit and in action, a measurable return on investment is virtually guaranteed. Therefore, the author calls for an effort that would integrate the performance-evaluation process into an…

Uses an examination of the expectancy variable in educational research to contend that there are weaknesses associated with conceptualizing teacher expectations of student performance and with the use of teacher expectations in research. Includes recommendations regarding the treatment of the expectation variable in future educational research.…

Steadiness, reaction time, anticipation timing, and finger dexterity of healthy rural older adults were assessed to discover if norms should be set for perceptual motor tasks based on age. Guidelines for assessment of fine manipulative performances of the elderly are proposed. (DF)

The influence of physical fatigue on motor skills learning was examined in a study where subjects were scored on performance of both fatiguing and learning tasks. Results are discussed. (DF)

Reports on a study (of 79 Navajo women) that compared the predictiveness of two types of learning experience (schooling and weaving) for pattern continuation skills across varying domains and contexts. Questions the notion that what is learned in particular experiences automatically improves skills in general. (KH)

In this review of the literature evaluating the effectiveness of continuing medical education (CME), 238 studies from 1935 to 1982 were reviewed and annotated using previously established and tested assessment criteria. CME interventions were found to have an impact on physician competence and, less consistently, on physician performance and…

High school teachers and an experienced leader provided assertiveness training for 148 female students in high school business and homemaking classes. Significant changes in performance self-esteem scores were found between pretesting and a three-month folLow-up. Low-self-esteem subjects showed greater increases than high-self-esteem subjects.…

Explored the effects of examiner familiarity, task complexity, and mode of response to the test performance of 79 speech and language impaired preschoolers who completed the Symbolic Mediation Test. Results showed children performed significantly better when tested by familiar examiners. Functioning did not depend on the task's complexity. (JAC)

Goal setting, empowering champions (individuals who make a difference in initiating change), faculty-initiated activities, and faculty-staff development opportunities are the four major factors in determining success in computing at the University of Georgia. Each of these areas is discussed. (JN)

Investigated cultural bias in the 46 verbal items of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) in 59 Anglo- and 59 Mexican-American children. Analysis of the data revealed that the majority of the verbal items of the MSCA are free from cultural bias. (JAC)

Investigated inhibition in a mixed-sex spelling bee, using a sample of 36 middle-class Black and 32 Hopi Indian preadolescents. Spelling scores indicated that high-skill girls in both cultures performed below their established levels of capability when opposing low-skill boys. In general boys were more eager to compete. (JAC)

Reviews the effects of vision changes commonly associated with aging (e.g., cataract, presbyopia, pupil changes) and examines their relationship to intellectual performance. Discusses variables related to intellectual functioning including motivation, education, test anxiety, and fatigue. (LLL)

Sleep patterns of elderly subjects (N=12) differed from young adult levels. When sleep variables were compared with individual changes in intellectual function measured across the seventh through 10th decades of life, a positive correlation was found between time in REM sleep and several longitudinal measures of mental functioning. (Author)

This paper reports on a study conducted for the Alabama State Department of Education. The study's purpose was to provide a clear perspective on the current abilities of school leaders to provide technology leadership in schools and school districts. All district superintendents and school principals who attended (N=341) the Alabama Renaissance…