The incidence and wage effects of overeducation

Data gathered from a recent national sample of workers on educational requirements and attainments are used to examine the extent and economic effects of overeducation. Nearly 40 percent of the U.S. work force-and about 50 percent of black males-have more education than their jobs require. But we also find that “surplus” education does have economic value. The individual return to an additional year of surplus education was positive and significant for all major demographic groups. The estimated return is, however, only about half the size of the return to an additional year of required education.     

Selected reference aids for small medical libraries

This annotated list of 178 items is compiled as a guide to the development of the reference collection in a small medical library.Arrangement, following the pattern of the previous revision, is by broad subject groups. Titles are chiefly in English. Textbooks in subject fields have been omitted since these are covered adequately in several comprehensive guides to the literature.     

A Grounded Theory of Master's‐Level Counselor Research Identity

A grounded theory approach was used to examine the research identity of 17 master's‐level counseling trainees and practitioners. The emergent theory gave an understanding to sources of variation in the process and outcome of research identity. The authors provide recommendations for counselor educators to use with current and former students.     

Considering student retention as a complex system: a possible way forward for enhancing student retention

This study uses multilayer minimum spanning tree analysis to develop a model for student retention from a complex system perspective, using data obtained from first-year engineering students at a large well-regarded institution in the European Union. The results show that the elements of the system of student retention are related to one another through a network of links and that some of these links were found to be strongly persistent across different scales (group sizes). The links were also seen to group together in different clusters of strongly related elements. Links between elements across a wide range of these clusters would have system-wide influence. It was found that there were no elements that are both persistent and have system-wide effects. This complex system view of student retention explains why actions to enhance student retention aimed at single elements in the system have had such limited impact. This study therefore points to the need for a more system-wide approach to enhancing student retention.     

Are the Multidimensional Body Self-Relations Questionnaire Scales stable or transient?

Body image is an important concept when assessing mental health and, thus, a target for intervention work. The common approach to assess body image is via self-report and, consequently, it is important to assess stability and susceptibility of items to random change. Participants (N = 99, aged: 18–30 years) completed the 34-item Multidimensional Body Self-Relations Questionnaire-Appearance Scales (MBSRQ-AS) twice, separated by two weeks. Stability was quantified by calculating the test–retest differences for each item, with a stable item showing 90% of respondents’ differences within a criterion of ≤±1. This method was used in preference to correlation, which is a test of association rather than agreement. Analyses identified 29 stable items. Five items were found to be unstable including the entire “Appearance Evaluation” scale. One particular unstable question, Q9 = “Most people would consider me good-looking”, revealed strong associations with both gender and weight status. Forty-four per cent of “overweight” respondents changed their minds by more than ±1 compared with only 10% of “normal-weight” participants, suggesting that being overweight is associated with uncertainty and instability. We suggest that future research is needed to investigate why such factors as being overweight appear to be linked to instability in self-report measures of body image.     

A latent growth curve approach to investigating developmental dynamics and correlates of change in children's perceptions of physical competence.

In both the physical and academic domains interest has recently grown regarding developmental change in children's perceptions of competence. Recent advances in statistical methodology, such as latent growth modeling, enable the researcher to analyze developmental trends from both an inter- and intraindividual perspective, thus serving to increase our understanding of correlates of change in perceived competence. Using latent growth modeling, the purpose of the present study was to investigate developmental change in children's perceived competence at physical skills, examining maturational factors and chronological age as possible correlates of change. Subjects were male adolescents (N = 94). Data were collected during the child's sixth, eighth, and ninth grade school years. Results revealed a good fit for the hypothesized model, which specified mean level changes in the variables over time and an interrelationship among the latent chronometric common factors. Although a significant relationship existed between maturation and perceived competence, no significant relationship was evident between chronological age and perceived competence. Findings are discussed with particular reference to the utility of latent growth curve models for assessing developmental processes at both the inter- and intraindividual level.