Cultural differences in the perception of critical interaction behaviors in global virtual teams

We investigated whether members of virtual teams from the U.S., India, and Belgium perceived the same interaction behaviors to be critical for team functioning as Dutch members from an earlier study. Thirteen virtual team workers from the U.S., 11 from India, and 11 from Belgium were interviewed by means of the Critical Incident Technique Flanagan [Flanagan, J. C. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51, 327–358]. The total number of critical incidents from all countries was 493 and most incidents could be grouped into the same 13 categories as those found in the original Dutch study. However, the results showed that the distributions of the critical incidents from the American, Indian, and Belgian respondents differed from those of the Dutch. Indian and Belgian respondents also mentioned a new category of critical incidents: Respectfulness. The cultural differences were interpreted by means of Hofstede's [Hofstede, G. (2001). Cultures consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California, U.S.: SAGE Publications] dimensions.     

Validity Issues in Test Speededness

Speededness refers to the situation where the time limits on a standardized test do not allow substantial numbers of examinees to fully consider all test items. When tests are not intended to measure speed of responding, speededness introduces a severe threat to the validity of interpretations based on test scores. In this article, we describe test speededness, its potential threats to validity, and traditional and modern methods that can be used to assess the presence of speededness. We argue that more attention must be paid to this issue and that more research must be done to set appropriate time limits on power tests so that speed of responding does not interfere with the construct measured.     

Relationship of Apgar scores and Bayley mental and motor scores.

Infants with 0-3 Apgar scores at 1 minute had significantly lower 8-month mental and motor scores than infants with 7-10 scores and significantly lower mental but not motor scores than infants with 4-6 Apgar scores. Correlations indicated significant relationships (independent of birth weight) between Apgar scores and Bayley mental and motor scores for random, Colored Portuguese, and total samples but not for Negroes and whites. Results demonstrated a significant difference in Apgar scores by 8-month classifications with significantly lower scores for children classified as abnormal, and by longevity with significantly lower scores for neonates who died within 2 days.     

Design of minimum sensitivity multiple loop feedback bandpass active filters

A method is described for determining multiple loop feedback topologies which yield minimum sensitivities for symmetrical, all-pole bandpass filters. The procedure begins with a follow-the-leader feedback (FLF) topology and additional feedback loops are constructed until minimum sensitivity is achieved. Filters comprised of identical second-order sections and non-identical sections, respectively, are considered.     

Visual information-processing speed in reflective and impulsive children.

A backward-masking procedure was used to measure the rate of visual information processing in 8- and 10-year-old reflective and impulsive children. The test stimulus (TS) and the masking stimulus (MS) which followed it were presented tachistoscopially. The subject's information-processing threshold was defined as the next highest TS-MS interval above the interval where at least 3 of the 4 TSs were incorrectly identified. Reflective children were significantly faster than impulsive children at processing information. This finding was related to research indicating that reflective and impulsive children employ similar cognitive strategies; it was suggested that performance differences between these children might be related to reflective children employing their strategies with more adequate information.