Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are versatile task organizers that hold promise as assistive technologies for people with cognitive-behavioral challenges. This delayed randomized controlled trial compared two groups of adult workers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to determine whether the use of an Apple iPod Touch PDA as a vocational…

Graduate attributes and course learning outcomes are an integral part of higher education in Australia. Testing the performance of graduates in the workplace with regard to graduate attributes and course learning outcomes is a not a common occurrence. This study has road tested the graduate attributes and course learning outcomes of a bachelor…

This paper investigates how student-workers' performance can be assessed through the notion of work-role performance, on the basis of three behavioral-related dimensions (proficiency, adaptivity, and proactivity), and proposes a definition of performance prior to graduation. By taking into account the accumulation of work experience, this article…

Direct-observation techniques were used to analyze the occupational skills of both employed and unemployed adults. Results indicated that employed adults performed significantly better than unemployed on each of 13 job-related skills assessed. These differences were found for both job-findings and job-retention skills. (Author)

Studied whether women trained in management are as assertive as men with similar training and identified factors that contribute to assertive behavior. Data included measured characteristics and supervisors' job performance ratings. Results indicated that women are as assertive as men and perform equally well on the job. (Author)

In order to compare the practice of school psychology by doctoral and nondoctoral practitioners, the National School Psychology Questionnaire was sent to a nationwide, random sample of practicing school psychologists employed in public school settings. Responses from 869 school psychologists (142 doctoral practitioners and 727 nondoctoral…

Using meta-analytic techniques, 54 studies were analyzed for differences in competencies of technically and professionally educated nurses. The research examined (1) the difference in three generic competencies (conceptual, human, functional) between nurses educated in technical versus professional programs, and (2) the relationship between the…

A study was conducted to determine whether deaf and hearing students generated different quantities of errors on word processing documents in a mainstreamed class. It also examined whether these students measured up to job-ready work quality standards. A literature review focused on the following topics: (1) needs assessment for deaf adult…

A study assessed the applicability of the American Institutes for Research (AIR) procedures' Performance-Against-Standard form for use in personnel evaluation by the Ohio Cooperative Extension Service. The study also compared relevant test construction approaches identified in the literature to those used in the AIR study in attempting to confirm…

A study was undertaken to determine the operational reading levels and skills of beginning office employees and to compare the readability of classroom and on-the-job materials. Clerks and secretaries who had been employed for two years or less were observed and interviewed to collect the data. Statistical analysis revealed that secretaries read…

A study compared job-performance-aided (JPA) training developed for a nontechnical area (census enumerator/interviewer) with training developed using the instructional systems design (ISD) model. (JPA training, an elaboration of the ISD approach, requires redesign of job reference materials into job-performance aids to simplify training and job…

A study of records for 1 large U.S. company revealed that employees with positive drug screens were fired, whereas workers who self-disclosed drug/alcohol problems remained employed. Both groups were offered substance abuse intervention, and some previously fired workers were rehired after they received treatment. Accident results showed that…

As part of an educational needs assessment, a survey was conducted by William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) in Palatine, Illinois, of Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) and of administrators at institutions known to employ CNA's. Survey instruments were mailed to two groups. The first group, 153 administrators at institutions employing CNA's, were…

A study investigated ways employers and their apprentices and trainees perceive how these employees' English language and literacy (ELL) skills affect their learning and performance in the workplace in the current context of New Apprenticeships. The research design and methodology involved sending an opinion survey to a stratified random sample of…

Performances of 45 individuals with varying degrees of formal and informal training in machining and programming were compared on tasks designed to tap intellectual changes that may occur with the introduction of computer numerical control (CNC). Participants--30 machinists, 8 machine operators, and 7 engineers--were asked background questions and…