Creating a more inclusive journal: the Journal of the Medical Library Association's evolving process for selecting editorial board members

The Journal of the Medical Library Association (JMLA) selects new editorial board members every year. In the spring of 2021, JMLA used a new process for reviewing and selecting applicants for the limited number of open editorial board positions. This reevaluation of the selection process was spurred by a desire to create a more diverse and representative board. Changes to the procedures for selecting new editorial board members included having an open call for editorial board members, creating an application form, creating a selection committee to screen applicants, creating a form for the selection committee to extract data from applications, and creating a two-step process for screening and then selecting board members. As part of construction of this new process, areas for continued improvement were also identified, such as refining the application form to allow more specific answers to areas of interest to the selection committee. The newly created selection process for editorial board members constitutes a significant change in JMLA processes; however, more can be done to build on this work by further refining the selection process and ensuring that new members are selected in a transparent and streamlined manner.     

False-performance feedback does not affect punching forces and pacing of elite boxers

Prior research indicates that providing participants with positive augmented feedback tends to enhance motor learning and performance, whereas the opposite occurs with negative feedback. However, the majority of studies were conducted with untrained participants performing unfamiliar motor tasks and so it remains unclear if elite athletes completing familiar tasks respond in a similar fashion. Thus, this study investigated the effects of three different versions of false-performance feedback on punching force (N), pacing (force over time) and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) in 15 elite amateur male boxers. Athletes completed a simulated boxing bout consisting of three rounds with 84 maximal effort punches delivered to a punching integrator on four separate days. Day one was a familiarisation session in which no feedback was provided. In the following three days athletes randomly received false-positive, false-negative and false-neutral feedback on their punching performance between each round. No statistical or meaningful differences were observed in punching forces, pacing or RPE between conditions (P > 0.05; ≤ 2%). These null results could stem from the elite status of the athletes involved, the focus on performance rather than learning, or they may indicate that false feedback has a less potent effect on performance than previously thought.     

A multidimensional motivation instrument

Individual empirical studies of motivation show little divergent validity of various factors and call for better measures, especially multidimensional instruments. The same conclusions were reached from a meta analysis of 40 motivation studies by Uguroglu and Walberg (1979). After a study of approximately 50 instruments that measured motivation constructs of social, emotional, and physical self-concept; locus of control; and achievement motivation, among others, a 23-anchored-item questionnaire using a five-point scale was developed that included these factors. The instrument was administered in May of the first and second year to 115 students in grades three through eight. The purpose of the research was to operationalize and field test a motivation instrument using multidimensional measures; also to consider whether any change would occur in the correlation of a multidimensional instrument to various achievement measures over unidimensional ones. Results of the study show the correlations of motivation to academic achievement, test-retest reliability, and the predictive validity of a multidimensional instrument.     

Youth on the street: Abuse and neglect in the eighties

This paper discusses the findings of a study of runaways and homeless youth who were interviewed on the street the last week of every month on five week nights from late afternoon until 2 a.m. over a period of one year. The data derived from 489 interviews provided some interesting insights. Two distinct groups emerged from the analysis, generating a tentative hypothesis that the true "runners" tend to leave their homes with the intention of not returning and thus their runs are extended; the second group, designated "in and outers," use the run as a temporary coping mechanism. Their runs tend to be impulsive and of short duration. The study found that runaways (in particular the runners) are at great risk of being drawn into illegal activities. Major factors affecting this risk are distance from home and length of time on the run. A significant proportion of the youth interviewed had run from substitute care arrangements, and a disturbing implication emerging from the research is that adolescents in our society suffer from systemic abuse and neglect. One outcome of this piece of research was the opening of a safe house for early runners in January 1987. The operation of the house includes careful compilation of data to further advance understanding of the runaway population and its needs.     

Parent training research: An analysis of the empirical literature 1975–1985

This project was designed to provide a retrospective analysis of the parent training literature during the last decade. Eighteen journals with behavioral psychology, clinical/counseling psychology, school psychology, and special education emphases were selected for review. Data related to the number of articles published in each journal, year of article publication, referral problem, and contributing institution were collected. Results indicate that behavioral journals published the most empirically based parent training articles (66%), followed by clinical/counseling psychology (26%), special education (6%), and school psychology (3%) journals. Parents with noncompliant, handicapped, or abused/neglected children comprised the majority (58%) of research participants. Suggestions for involving school psychologists in parent training research and broadening the focus of parent training to include preventive, as well as remedial, efforts are presented.     

Immigrant perpetrators in the news: A terror management approach to resultant hostility,perceived vulnerability,and immigration issue judgment

This study found that mortality salience in TV news activated more hostile attitude toward the perpetrators and negative judgment on the immigration issue. Social group difference influenced news viewers’ immigration issue judgment, but did not affect their resultant hostility and perceived vulnerability. More negative attitudes emerged toward the immigration issue when immigrant perpetrators were portrayed negatively in the news. News viewers with exposure to mortality salience in TV news reported more negative toward immigrants. Exposure to mortality-related elements in TV news could lead to social conflicts that were viewed as a severe threat by U.S. government and policymakers.     

Texts

Made in America: Immigrant Students in Our Public Schools. Laurie Olsen, New York: The New Press, 1997, 276 pages, $25.00 (hardcover), ISBN 1–5658–4400–9, and $14.95 (softcover), ISBN 1–5658–4471–8.

The Power of Their Ideas: Lessons for America From a Small School in Harlem. Deborah Meier, Boston: Beacon Press, 1995, 190 pages, $12.00 (softcover). ISBN 0–8070–3111–9.

Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow: Meeting the Challenge of Our Multicultural America & Beyond. Paul D. Christiansen and Michelle Young, San Francisco: Gaddo Gap Press, 1996, 376 pages, $29.95 (softcover). ISBN 1–8801–9218–7.     

The WISC-R and Woodcock-Johnson tests of cognitive ability: A comparative study

The Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery has become a popular instrument for assessing students with learning problems. Previous research has indicated a possible discrepancy between overall scores on the WISC-R and the congnitive portion of the Woodcock-Johnson with samples of learning disabled (LD) students. The current study, conducted with samples of students not designated as LD, also found significant differences in the mean scores between the two measures. The hypothesis that the difference between measures is a function of grade level was not supported. Other findings of the current study, coupled with previous research, suggest that the congnitive portion of the Woodcock-Johnson may be loaded with verbal factors.     

A validity study of the Kinetic school drawing technique

Kinetic School Drawings were obtained from 100 fifth-grade students. The drawings were analyzed along a number of dimensions thought to measure “negative” affect. Significant correlations with academic achievement were found for a number of measures, and the results of a stepwise multiple regression were significant. In general, the study supported the validity of the technique.