ALBERT

Notizen: Two studies are reported which compare more and less successful account officers (debt collectors) in terms of their emotional intelligence, measured using the BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory. The findings support the view that higher levels of emotional intelligence lead to enhanced job performance. Implications for selection are considered in the conclusion.

Notizen: Although there has been an increase in the use of telephone interviews for graduate recruitment by companies in the UK, there is little evidence attesting to their equivalence with traditional face-to-face selection interviews. A total of 70 candidates applying to a multinational oil corporation received both face-to-face and telephone interviews as the first stage of the 1996 graduate recruitment milkround. Group A (N = 41) received an initial face-to-face interview followed by a telephone interview and group B (N = 29) a telephone interview followed by a face-to-face interview. Findings indicate that candidates received significantly lower ratings when interviewed by telephone than when interviewed face-to-face (p ≤ 0.001). A significant interaction was also found (p ≤ 0.05) with candidates who received face-to-face interviews following telephone interviews demonstrating improved performance in their face-to-face interviews. The practical implications of these findings for companies wishing to use telephone interviews are discussed.

Notizen: This article examines the reform of public services management in Europe drawing on material from Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. It considers the limitations of interpreting changing public service employment relations in terms of a convergence towards the new public management and outlines an alternative interpretation of these reforms.

Notizen: Books reviewed: European Trade Unions, Michael Whittall What Workers Want,John Monks The Clerks: A history of APEX 1890-1989,Kay Gilbert

Notizen: This article overviews developments in industrial relations in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland since the fall of the communist regimes in 1989, and assesses the extent to which key developments in these countries reflect both change and continuity from the communist period. We explore the four main institutions through which industrial relations have been conducted: trades unions, workers’ councils, employer organisations, and the tripartite arrangements involving representatives of unions and employers with the state.

Notizen: The article explores the diffusion of employment practices from the foreign operations of multinational companies to those in the home country. Specifically, it uses data from ten mini-case studies to examine the type of multinational in which this phenomenon, termed ‘reverse diffusion’, is most likely to be found.

Notizen: Law seeking to provide protection for pregnant workers has proved to be complex and uncertain. This article aims to examine the legislation — recently amended — and case law and to assess their effectiveness. The conclusion is that a coherent scheme is emerging but that the level of maternity pay remains problematic.

Notizen: Books reviewed:A. W. Bob Coats, Living With The CenturyPaul Blyton, Negotiating Flexibility: The Role of the Social Partners and the StateDavid Buchana, Thinking About Management: Implications Of Organizational Debates For Practice

Notizen: This article examines the debate on reforms in industrial relations law in India, needed to support its economic liberalisation programme. Analysing a distinctively Indian experience of state intervention in industrial relations, it concludes that the thrust of the reform should be towards entrusting union recognition and promotion of dispute settlement to an authority that is independent of the state executive.

Notizen: The TUC’s political role has been in the forefront of its function for most of its history and has revived with the election of new Labour. This article argues that the TUC’s current political approach is unlikely to contribute towards significant union resurgence in the workplace or politically.

Notizen: Drawing on a strategic choice model, this article examines the extent to which public service organisations have used their newly established employment relations discretion. Constrained by external pressures and upstream decisions on purpose and structure, the exercise of genuine choice is seen to vary between organisations and according to the nature of the issue.

Notizen: The Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA 1974), passed twenty-five years ago, has been hailed as a significant advance for organised labour and a model for modern work-place regulation. This article argues that, contrary to conventional interpretations, the making of the Act was dominated by business interests. We suggest that the Act’s emphasis on self-regulation and goal-setting made it vulnerable to deregu-latory initiatives, which are unlikely to be reversed by new Labour in the foreseeable future.

Notizen: This article uses a survey of RCN safety representatives to examine the operation of the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977. The survey’s findings indicate that while NHS employers have become more supportive of such representatives, many are still failing to comply with their statutory obligations.

Notizen: Books reviewed: Young People in the Workplace: Job, Union and Mobility Patterns,Richard Disney Weaving Work and Motherhood,Jan Druker Organizational Misbehaviour,Susanne Tietze Law of Employment: Practice and Analysis,Kenneth Miller

Notizen: This article draws on data collected as part of a project investigating the role of workplace disciplinary and grievance procedures and their influence, if any, on employment tribunal claims of unfair dismissal. It focuses specifically on small firms and small sites of larger firms and examines the question of fairness from two perspectivesÂfirst, in relation to the managerial treatment of employees in matters of discipline, and secondly, by consideration of whether employment tribunals are unfair to small employers who defend claims.

Notizen: The reliance of traditional job analysis on job incumbents as the primary source of work-analytic data is critically examined. It is argued that the sole use of incumbents is practically and theoretically unjustified. The incorporation of non-incumbents to the work analysis process is advocated, especially when abstract human attributes and strategic requirements are evaluated. The time and resource savings afforded by the use of mechanical estimation of work dimensions are also discussed. A revision of traditional formats of data collection in job analysis such as paper-and-pencil surveys and face-to-face interviews is proposed. Instead, the potential work-analytic uses of electronic records of work information nowadays available in electronic performance monitoring systems are outlined.

Notizen: This article is focused on the evidence related to the criterion and construct validity of interview, its adverse impact on minority groups and the applicant reactions. Based on the content of the questions included in personnel interview, two types of interview made by found: conventional structured interview and behavioural structured interview. With regard to criterion validity, evidence shows that, in general, interviews may be used to predict job performance and, specifically, behavioural structured interviews show the highest validity coefficients. Although construct validity was less well investigated, there is currently a number of studies carried out in order to clarify what constructs are assessed by interviews. It was shown that conventional structured interviews and behavioural structured interviews clearly measure different constructs. With regard to group differences, interviews show only a small adverse impact, but this impact decreases if behavioural structured interviews are used. In connection with applicant reactions, more negative applicant reactions appear with behavioural structured interviews than conventional structured interviews. Practical implications and future lines of research are suggested.

Notizen: Decision-making capabilities are absolutely crucial to a manager. Unfortunately, existing methods of assessing managers in this area for selection and development purposes (in-tray exercises, situational interviews, ability tests, etc.) leave a lot to be desired. This article focuses on an alternative for assessing managerial decision making – the situational inventory – and presents research findings and information on practical applications. Detailed findings are also presented for ‘Scenarios’, the UK’s first published situational measure of managerial judgement.Situational inventories work by presenting participants with realistic but difficult real-life management scenarios. Each scenario is accompanied by a number of possible responses which participants rate for effectiveness in dealing with the scenario. Participants’ ratings are then scored against a set of ideal answers, producing an assessment of current decision-making ability. Decision-making ability can be developed in individuals, making feedback invaluable to participants.Evidence that has been accumulating in the United States and the UK for at least 15 years is presented to support the general situational inventory approach. Additionally, specific evidence is presented for ‘Scenarios’. It was found to correlate significantly with a number of managerial performance and responsibility indicators while appearing to be largely separate from existing psychometric (ability and personality) tests.

Notizen: Books reviewed:Jeffrey S. Schippmann Strategic Job ModelingNeal Schmitt and David Chan Personnel Selection: A Theoretical ApproachPaul Iles Managing Staff Selection and Assessment

Notizen: Global competition has forced corporations to invest overseas in order to gain or maintain competitive advantage. International investment entails not only the movement of capital, machinery, and products but also the spread of corporate cultures to host countries. This is so because, to maintain managerial consistency among its branches, a multinational corporation (MNC) will attempt to transplant its management system to any country in which it invests.However, it is also recognized that cultural contexts differ markedly among nations, and that multinational firms must adjust their management practices to accommodate specific conditions in host-country environments.

Notizen: In 1998 the British Trades Union Congress established an Organising Academy to train a new generation of paid union organisers. This article reviews the first two years of the Academy and offers an initial evaluation. It seeks to gauge whether the initiative has prompted innovation in organision policy in unions and led to successful organising outcomes.

Notizen: Three hundred and eighty-six voluntary agreements on European Works Councils are examined for material that might support their role in transnational consultation on health and safety in Europe. A significant percentage do indeed support the potential development of consultation on health and safety at this level, both substantively and with representation on health and safety at enterprise level. However the support is uneven and in a number of areas it is relatively weak.

Notizen: This article investigates the association between employee share ownership (ESO) and employee involvement (EI) in an employee-owned firm.Based on data from the firm’s employers and employees, the article concludes that the mere presence of share ownership is no guarantee on increased involvement for employees, highlighting instead the significance of other variables.

Notizen: This commemtary reviews the operation of the trade union commissioners abolished by the Employment Relations Act 1999, and the initiative to have new powers to the Certification Officer concerning the regulation of internal union affairs.

Notizen: Books reviewed:Colin Bryson, The Insecure WorkforceThomas Murakami, Employment Relations: Individualisation and Union Exclusion-An Interanational StudyDr Stephen Heycock, More with Less: Work Reorganization in the Canadian Mining IndustryG.C Harcourt, The Development of Economics in Western Europe since 1945

Notizen: This article brings new evidence to bear on the employment and human resource effects of competitve tendering and contracting. Drawing on a database of over two hundred workplace agreements, the article examines the impact of compulsory competitive tendering on employees’ pay and employment arrangements in the Australian local government sector. The findings are contextualised in the light of evidence on the outcomes of a similar contracting regime in Britain.

Notizen: In January 1999, 11 member countries of the European Union ‘irrevocably’ locked the foreign exchange values of their currencies to the euro, and they committed themselves to abandon their currencies in favour of the euro in 2002. As a result, these countries ceased to operate independent monetary policies. Monetary policy for the whole euro-zone became the responsibility of the European Central Bank (ECB), whose primary objective is to maintain a low and stable rate of price inflation for the euro currency. The rules governing Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) were laid down in the treaty of Maastricht in 1992. As conditions for entry to EMU, the treaty specified ‘convergence criteria’ which consisted of upper limits for several macroeconomic aggregates including, notably, a 3 per cent maximum for the ratio of the public sector deficit to GDP and 60 per cent for the ratio of public debt to GDP.1 In February 1998 the 11 applicant countries submitted statistical analyses relating to their satisfaction of these conditions. Despite doubts as to whether some of them had strictly met the conditions, the European Commission deemed them all eligible, and the euro was launched.2 The British government, though more clearly eligible than most other EU countries on the basis of the convergence criteria, decided to defer its decision on entry. In this paper we consider the arguments for and against Economic and Monetary Union, and in particular whether it would be in Britain’s interest to join. We begin with a brief review of the state of the European economy and an analysis of the first year performance of the new Euro currency.[Upper limi][Notable ca]

Notizen: This article chronicles industrial relations developments throughout the European Union (EU) during 1999. The information is gleaned from articles published by the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO). The text therefore contains numerical references to records contained in the EIRO database in order to allow the reader easy access to the relevant records. The article is divided into five sections. The first contains an overview of political, economic and legislative events at EU-level, the second looks at EU-level developments in employee representation, the third looks at the impact of European economic and monetary union (EMU) on industrial relations and collective bargaining and the fourth and fifth give a more detailed country-by-country analysis of main trends in key industrial relations areas—collective bargaining and industrial action; and employment creation, working time and new forms of work.

Notizen: This article examines the pressures for reform in the German model of industrial relations, with particular emphasis on the sectoral bargaining system. It assesses if, how and to what extent the German model with its proven track record should be reformed. The article advocates a reform path within the parameters of the excisting system in order to strike subtle balance between stability and change.

Notizen: Use of ability tests in personnel selection is addressed beginning with methodological issues. Studies are reviewed that show that almost all the validity of cognitive tests comes from general cognitive ability, g. Psychomotor ability is reviewed and found to have both higher- and lower-order factors, contrary to long-held beliefs. It was found that the higher-order general psychomotor factor was one source of validity of psychomotor tests. Additionally, psychomotor tests were shown to contain measures of g and to increment the validity of g-based measures very little.

Notizen: The application of meta-analysis, in particular validity generalization (VG) analysis, to the cumulative literature on the validity of selection tests has fundamentally changed the science and practice of personnel selection. VG analyses suggest that the validities of standardized tests and other structured assessments are both higher and more consistent across jobs and organizations than was previously believed. As a result, selection researchers and practitioners can draw on the research literature to make reasonably accurate forecasts about the validity and usefulness of different tests in particular applications. Distinctions between tests of validity generalization and tests of situational specificity are described, and difficulties in demonstrating that validity is constant across the different settings where tests are used are outlined.

Notizen: An important issue in personnel selection and test validation has been the nature of performance criteria and more specifically the existence of dynamic criteria. There is a continuing debate regarding the extent to which performance and validity coefficients remain stable over time. We examine research within work, laboratory, and academic settings and evaluate existing models of dynamic criteria. Building on previous models, we propose an integrative model of dynamic criteria that identifies important issues for ability and performance constructs and discusses how variables related to the task, job, and organization can affect the temporal stability of criterion performance and the ability-performance relationship.

Notizen: Sixty-two managers and human resource consultants rated a series of genuine résumés with covering letters. The résumés were manipulated to contain varying amounts of information about the candidate’s knowledge, skills and abilities (competency statements). This information appeared at different locations in the résumé and covering letter. In addition, half the managers were provided with extra job requirement details beyond the job advertisement. Managers rated the candidate résumés for candidate suitability, decision to interview and overall ranking. The inclusion of competency statements resulted in higher manager ratings. However, the location of the competency statements did not influence ratings given to résumés. Further, the extra information provided to managers did not influence their ratings. The results replicate and extend an earlier study by Earl, Bright and Adams (1998) and challenge the idea that selection decisions are largely based on the notion of applicant fit. The results suggest that the inclusion on the résumé of statements that address job competencies even in a general fashion will boost an applicant’s chances of being short-listed.

Notizen: Books reviewed:Jeffrey S. Schippmann, Strategic Job ModelingNeal Schmitt and David Chan, Personnel Selection: A Theoretical ApproachPaul Iles, Managing Staff Selection and Assessment

Notizen: The purpose of the study was to examine how specific aspects of adaptive testing influence test-takers pre-test reactions. Specifically, three different psychological reactions were examined in the study: perceived fairness of the test, attitude toward the test, and expectations about the test. Fifty-three undergraduates were presented with descriptions of hypothetical selection tests that were manipulated to reflect characteristics of adaptive tests that differ from traditional paper-and-pencil tests. The results indicate that certain features of adaptive tests, such as the inability to skip questions, may adversely impact test-takers' reactions. Implications for test designers are discussed.

Notizen: Some job tasks do not lend themselves to formal on-the-job assessment because they do not occur with sufficient regularity to permit the standardized measurement required in validational research. The preparation of incident reports by police and security officers is such a job task. The production of accurate, literate incident reports is important because these reports are often required in legal proceedings. Their standardized evaluation on the job is not practical because incidents occur at unpredictable intervals with highly variable content. Given the limitations of on-the-job performance criteria, we developed a standardized work sample by preparing sets of non-verbal drawings depicting incidents, each of which required a written descriptive report by security officers. A total of 187 security officers completed a cognitive and personality test battery and criterion incident reports based on the standardized materials. Reports supported the usefulness of the standardized work sample, as well as the validity of the test battery – 100% of participants in the upper quartile of the test score distribution produced satisfactory reports, while only 17% of those in the lowest quartile produced satisfactory incident reports. A number of advantages of structured work samples as criterion measures are noted, including their greater standardization, the elimination of range restriction problems by administering them to all job candidates, the opportunity to obtain expert evaluations of work samples at remote sites, and their face and content validity resulting in acceptability to job candidates and to decision makers.

Notizen: Contemporary models of job performance are reviewed. Links between task performance, contextual performance, organizational citizenship behaviors, counterproductivity and organizational deviance are pointed out. Measurement issues in constructing generic models applicable across jobs are discussed. Implications for human resource management in general, and performance appraisal for selection and assessment in particular, are explored. It is pointed out that the different dimensions or facets of individual job performance hypothesized in the literature are positively correlated. This positive manifold suggests the presence of a general factor which represents a common variance shared across all the dimensions or facets. Although no consensus exists in the extant literature on the meaning and source of this shared variance (i.e., the general factor), rater idiosyncratic halo alone does not explain this general factor. Future research should explain the common individual differences determinants of performance dimensions.

Notizen: The Internet has already had a dramatic impact on the way in which recruitment and selection are carried out in North America, and the impact is increasingly being felt in terms of changes in practice in Europe and Asia-Pacific. The paper presents a picture of the current development of the Internet as a medium in general and as a recruitment and selection medium in particular. The new medium has enabled the widespread adoption of computer-based assessment and it is predicted that it will replace paper as the default medium before very long. A range of issues are raised and discussed. These include security, confidentiality, authentication, control of assessment conditions, control over practice and equality of access. It is argued that as the second generation of users takes over from the first generation, so inequality of skill and access are becoming less and less of an issue. Finally, some potential areas of abuse of the system are noted and a call is made for the development of international standards to protect the rights and interests of test providers, test users and test takers.

Notizen: A job requirements approach to biodata item specification, similar to the content-valid job analysis approach developed by Pannone (1984), is used to predict customer service. Applicants rate the extent to which their current and previous jobs involve tasks and behaviours that have been identified through an analysis of the target job. On a sample of 245 employees in an international hotel, the criterion-related validity of job requirements biodata compares favourably with traditional construct-oriented biodata measures of customer service, cognitive ability and personality (Conscientiousness, Agreeableness and Extroversion). The job requirements approach provides a simple, direct and content-valid method of biodata item specification. As the approach can also be tailored for particular jobs or organizations, validity is also potentially optimized.

Notizen: This article sets out to provide evidence of the convergent and discriminant validity of a recently developed leadership questionnaire to support the assessment and development of leadership in organizations, the Transformational Leadership Questionnaire (TLQ). The TLQ was developed on the basis of eliciting constructs of leadership from managers working at different levels (executive, top, senior, middle) in two large parts of the UK public sector, using a Grounded Theory approach.Evidence is presented that eight scales which measure different aspects of transformational leadership are significantly correlated with each of five criterion variables, even when the instrument is used in a public sector different from the one in which it was developed.Discriminant analysis indicated, however, that the relationship between the scales and the criterion variables is not consistent for the different groups and sub-groups of managers, divided by level, by sex, and by level x sex. These latter data were interpreted, in the light of the ‘range of convenience’ corollary of Kelly's Personal Construct Theory, and of the concept of ‘substitutes for leadership’, as evidence that certain TLQ scales have particular relevance to certain groups and sub-groups of managers, and thus of the discriminant validity of the instrument, and further evidence of its construct validity.

Notizen: Traditional approaches to comparing the utility of two tests have not systematically considered the effects of different levels of selectivity that are feasible and appropriate in various selection situations. For example, employers who hope to avoid adverse impact often find they can be more selective with some tests than with others. We conducted two studies to compare the utilities of two tests that differ in costs, validity, and feasible levels of selectivity which can be employed. First, an analytical solution was conducted starting with a standard formula for utility. This analysis showed that for both fixed and variable hiring costs, a higher-cost, lower-validity procedure can have higher utility than a lower-cost, higher-validity procedure when the selection ratios permissible using the two procedures are sufficiently (yet realistically) different. Second, using a computer simulation method, several combinations of the critical variables were varied systematically to detect the limits of this effect in a finite set of specific selection situations. The results showed that the existence of more severe levels of adverse impact greatly reduced the utility of a written test with relatively high validity and low cost in comparison with an assessment center with lower validity and higher cost. Both studies showed that the consideration of selectivity can yield surprising conclusions about the comparative utility of two tests. Even if one test has lower validity and higher cost than a second test, the first may yield higher utility if it allows the organization to exercise stricter levels of selectivity.

Notizen: Demonstrating procedural justice through a focus on the psychometric job-related approach to selection continues to be the most effective means for employers to meet legal requirements and potential claims of unfair treatment. A study of selection practice in a large local UK City Council reports how a structured, highly ‘job-focused’ approach can result in negative perceptions about the fairness of the process, its outcomes and effectiveness. Its findings reveal an organizational dilemma – how to develop selection systems that are sufficiently robust in terms of demonstrating maximum procedural fairness and objectivity to withstand potential litigation but are sufficiently flexible to accommodate those other factors which influence individual perceptions of fairness. It considers the future of the highly structured approach in the light of pressures to develop selection processes which can meet the needs of rapidly changing organizational structures as well the expansion of anti-discrimination legislation and litigation.

Notizen: Books reviewed:Robert M. Guion Assessment Management, and Prediction for Personnel DecisionsMark Parkinson Using Psychology in Business: A Practical Guide for ManagersRobert Folger and Russell Cropanzano Managing Staff Selection and Assessment

Notizen: The present study investigated the impact of physical attractiveness and résuméquality on the evaluation of job applicants in the screening phase of the selection process. One hundred and eighty participants were asked to imagine they were a recruiting officer and to screen an application for the position of graduate trainee manager. Participants read a job advertisement and one of two versions of a curriculum vitae, which differed in quality. Attached to the front page of each curriculum vitae was a passport-sized head-and-shoulders photograph of either an average or an attractive female. A control condition with no attached photograph was also included. Participants judged the likelihood with which they would offer an interview to the applicant, the quality of the application, and the likely starting salary they would offer the applicant. Results indicated that attractiveness had no impact when the quality of the application was high but that attractiveness was an advantage when the application was mediocre. When the résumé quality was average the attractive applicant was evaluated more positively than the control, no photograph, applicant; an attractive photograph boosted the evaluation of a mediocre application. Results are discussed in terms of discrimination and implications for the field of human resource management.

Notizen: This research reports an investigation into the relationship between neuroticism, extraversion and cognitive test performance in a real selection situation. Strong support is found for the proposition that neuroticism is associated with lower performance on numerical reasoning tests in stressful situations and that the obtained scores provide a significant under-estimate of the neurotic's true ability in such circumstances. The state-trait model of anxiety and the concept of cognitive interference appear to provide an adequate explanation of the findings. The implications of these findings for the assessment of cognitive ability in selection are discussed.

Notizen: There are very few studies of the differential prediction of work and training performance for immigrant groups in the Netherlands. Scores on the General Aptitude Test Battery, an intelligence test, and the Amsterdamse Biografische Vragenlijst (ABV), a frequently used Dutch personality test, and training data for 78 immigrant and 78 Dutch trainee truck drivers were collected. Lautenschlager and Mendoza’s (1986) method of step-down hierarchical regression analysis was used to check for bias in the prediction of training results. Some predictor-criterion combinations showed differential prediction, especially with less cognitive and less objective criteria. The results with respect to the intelligence test appear to be in line with the findings of the US literature.

Notizen: While EI is often seen as the integrating thread weaving consistency into organization effectiveness interventions, a measurement tool is needed to bring the concepts of Emotional Intelligence to life. The Hay 360 Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI) provides such an assessment and development tool for building EI competencies in the workplace. This article aims to inform practitioners about ECI and provide some indication as to its potential. Productivity differentials, contribution to Selection, impact on sales, and EI as the key to Leadership are considered. The article concludes from the macro-level and considers: ‘How to develop an Emotionally Intelligent Organization’

Notizen: The European Union (EU) finished off the twentieth century with more action than vision. A large number of issues were raised—often with surprising energy and enthusiasm—and yet we are no closer to understanding the nature of Europe’s future at the start of the new millennium than we were at the end of the last. Indeed, the temptation is to write off the year 1999 as a period of great expectations and modest accomplishments. Early rhetoric about the impact of EMU on world financial markets, about Europe’s progress toward resolving the jobs crisis, about efforts to tackle corruption, and about the inevitability of enlargement seem hyperbolic to say the least. The prolonged depreciation of the euro-dollar exchange rate, the allegations linking François Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl in illegal campaign financing, the smoldering violence in Kosovo, the persistence of European unemployment, and the resounding electoral achievements of the right-wing Austrian Freedom Party, all conspire to suggest that Europe is defined more by the shadow of the past than by any vision of the future. The argument in this essay is that such an assessment would be in error. Europe may not have come close to achieving any of the grand objectives suggested by the flurry of activity in 1999. However, by placing too much emphasis on the work that remains we risk discounting unnecessarily the achievements that have been made. The politics of 1999 was more a ‘spring cleaning’ than a pivotal moment in European affairs. As with any spring cleaning, what is important is to focus on is what was discarded and what was retained. Such reordering of the past often involves uncomfortable confrontations. It usually also sets the stage for more constructive activity in the future. Thus where 1999 offered more action than vision, perhaps more time can be devoted to vision than action in the years to come. This argument is made in four sections. Three of these provide a functional overview of developments during the course of the year. The first section deals with institutional matters, specifically as these relate to the Commission and the Parliament. The second turns to economic issues, and focuses on economic and monetary union (EMU) and employment. The third examines the area of foreign affairs, and draws attention to the development of a European security identity and the acceleration of enlargement. Building on this overview, the fourth section provides an assessment of what has been achieved and what remains to be accomplished.

Notizen: Greenfield sites have been seen as the most favourable setting for the adoption of HRM-style high-commitment work practices. We present a comparative study of Scottish and New Zealand greenfield employers’ attempts to replicate a high-commitment philosophy. After outlining the proprietary recipes of the organisations, we analyse a number of factors that threatened or undermined the practice of the philosophy and show how managers continued to rely on the language of high-commitment by repackaging and re-presenting the same philosophy.

Notizen: Books reviewed:Michael Poole, Employee Participation in Europe: A Case Study in the British and French Gas IndustrialsEmmanuel Mermet, The Role of Employer Associations and Labour Unions in the EMU-Institutional Requirements for European Economic PoliciesTorsten Müller, The Establishment of European Works Councils - From Information Committee to Social ActorPhilip James, Prevention at the WorkplaceMichal Federowicz, Polish Transition Ten Years - Processes and PerspectivesMichael Gold, Fundamental Social Rights at Work in the European CommunityA.V.Jose, Labour Law and Industrial Relations in Italy

Notizen: The article argues that despite the imminent introduction of the Employment Relations Act 1999, unions face a difficult environment in which to achieve recognition deals in the voluntary sector. However, it also highlights how some large charities are re-evaluating their position on employee representation in response to government legislation and that unions can use these developments to encourage further growth.

Notizen: The introduction of the National Minimum Wage provides an opportunity to examine whether hotel managers act strategically. Most of our sample are affected by this wage floor, and their managers have selected clear response strategies. The majority, 55 per cent, planned to adopt cost minimisation techniques and one third the quality enhancement route.

Notizen: Union responses to ageism and the early exit phenomenon are here examined, based on documentation received from some 40 British unions. Our results show that though age discrimination is now accorded some prominence in union agendas, policies towards exit are only partially informed by current conceptions of ageism.

Notizen: The general evidence supporting the use of work sample tests (good criterion — related validity, positive applicant reaction and job preview capability) is reviewed, limitations are also noted. The extent to which work sample tests may be used to limit adverse impact in selection is reviewed and the extent to which work sample tests may be used to complement other selection instruments, in particular, cognitive ability tests, is discussed. Work sample tests are based on attempts to embody key tasks within the job in a selection instrument. Five distinctive (though not mutually exclusive) types of work sample tests are identified and validity evidence is reviewed. Key dimensions (bandwidth, fidelity, task specificity, necessary experience, type of tasks and mode of presentation and response) are identified and used to compare different types of work sample tests.

Notizen: Research conclusions in the social sciences are increasingly based on meta-analysis, making questions of the accuracy of meta-analysis critical to the integrity of the base of cumulative knowledge. Both fixed effects (FE) and random effects (RE) meta-analysis models have been used widely in published meta-analyses. This article shows that FE models typically manifest a substantial Type I bias in significance tests for mean effect sizes and for moderator variables (interactions), while RE models do not. Likewise, FE models, but not RE models, yield confidence intervals for mean effect sizes that are narrower than their nominal width, thereby overstating the degree of precision in meta-analysis findings. This article demonstrates analytically that these biases in FE procedures are large enough to create serious distortions in conclusions about cumulative knowledge in the research literature. We therefore recommend that RE methods routinely be employed in meta-analysis in preference to FE methods.

Notizen: The properties of a modular neural network system designed to forecast movements of the long gilt futures contract are examnined. The examination illustrates that diagnostic measures can effectively inform end-users of the system when appropriately to switch modules given the likelihood of the degradation of forecasts. The modelling is based upon periods of market sentiment, and the inductive data models encapsulated, within the modules of the neural network system, are investigated. The models track, and also provide knowledge of , underlying market characteristics in different periods of market sentiment. The research provides deductions concerning the (dis-)similarity of underlying characteristics in differing periods of market sentiment.

Notizen: The paper presents a method for helping knowledge engineers in modelling the knowledge involved in sequential diagnosis. In particular, we consider sequential diagnosis as a process which occurs in the following type of scenario: (1) there exist some candidate hypotheses which are to be pursued; (2) for each hypothesis there are some alternative tests which might be executed to pursue it; (3) the available knowledge about the world precludes projecting into the future (in other words, the available knowledge about the world does not afford the information needed for planning sequences of tests, i.e. for projecting the consequences of possible sequences of actions and picking the best sequence); (4) the choice of the next test (or tests) is made on the basis of the current state of knowledge; (5) the outcome of a test execution is affected by uncertainty. The suggested method addresses the problem of engineering the knowledge experts use for making decisions under uncertainty. A practical example of the method is also presented: at any time of the diagnostic process the expert is provided with a dynamically updated list of suggested tests in order to support him or her in the decision-making problem about which test to execute next.

Notizen: The Internet offers a large potential for delivery of various information-based services, including the services of intelligent applications. As the availability of the Internet has grown, its value as a medium for the delivery of expert systems in particular has increased. There are now a large number of expert systems available on the Internet, including applications in industry, medicine, science and government. Though the Internet provides several advantages for expert system development, it also presents some special problems. These advantages and disadvantages are explored in more detail in this paper. The paper also presents a review of several Internet-based expert systems with a representative sample of publicly available applications, and a discussion of typical tools for developing Internet-based expert systems. A case study of an Internet-based expert system is presented as well.

Notizen: This paper describes a connectionist inference architecture which performs standard symbolic inference on a subclass of first-order predicate calculus. This work first involves constructing efficient connectionist mechanisms to represent basic symbol components, dynamic bindings and basic symbolic inference procedures, and devising a set of algorithms which automatically translates input descriptions to localist neural networks. These connectionist mechanisms are built by taking an existing phase-locking mechanism and extending it further to obtain desirable features to represent and manipulate basic symbol structures. The existing phase-locking mechanism represents dynamic bindings very efficiently using temporal synchronous activity between neuron elements but has fundamental limitations in supporting standard symbolic inference. The extension addresses these limitations. The extended system encodes a significant subset of a Horn clause language in a connectionist style.

Notizen: Connectionist network learning of context-free languages has so far been applied only to very simple cases and has often made use of an external stack. Learning complex context-free languages with a homogeneous neural mechanism looks like a much harder problem. The current paper takes a step toward solving this problem by analyzing context-free grammar computation (without addressing learning) in a class of analog computers called dynamical automata, which are naturally implemented in connectionist networks. The result is a widely applicable method of using fractal sets to organize infinite-state computations in a bounded state space. An appealing consequence is the development of parameter-space maps, which locate various complex computers in spatial relationships to one another. An example suggests that such a global perspective on the organization of the parameter space may be helpful for solving the hard problem of getting connectionist networks to learn complex grammars from examples.

Notizen: Holographic reduced representations (HRRs) are a method for encoding nested relational structures in fixed-width vector representations. HRRs encode relational structures as vector representations in such a way that the superficial similarity of the vectors reflects both superficial and structural similarity of the relational structures. HRRs also support a number of operations that could be very useful in psychological models of human analogy processing: fast estimation of superficial and structural similarity via a vector dot-product; finding corresponding objects in two structures; and chunking of vector representations. Although similarity assessment and discovery of corresponding objects both theoretically take exponential time to perform fully and accurately, with HRRs one can obtain approximate solutions in constant time. The accuracy of these operations with HRRs mirrors patterns of human performance on analog retrieval and processing tasks.

Notizen: Rough set theory (RST) offers an interesting and novel approach both to the generation of rules for use in expert systems and to the traditional statistical task of classification. The method is based on a novel classification metric, implemented as upper and lower approximations of a set and more generally in terms of positive, negative and boundary regions. Classification accuracy, which may be set by the decision maker, is measured in terms of conditional probabilities for equivalence classes, and the method involves a search for subsets of attributes (called ’reducts’) which do not require a loss of classification quality. To illustrate the technique, RST is employed within a state level comparison of education expenditure in the USA.

Notizen: The main goal of this paper is to show how relatively minor modifications of well-known algorithms (in particular, back propagation) can dramatically increase the performance of an artificial neural network (ANN) for time series prediction. We denote our proposed sets of modifications as the ’self-momentum’, ’Freud’ and ’Jung’ rules. In our opinion, they provide an example of an alternative approach to the design of learning strategies for ANNs, one that focuses on basic mathematical conceptualization rather than on formalism and demonstration. The complexity of actual prediction problems makes it necessary to experiment with modelling possibilities whose inherent mathematical properties are often not well understood yet. The problem of time series prediction in stock markets is a case in point. It is well known that asset price dynamics in financial markets are difficult to trace, let alone to predict with an operationally interesting degree of accuracy. We therefore take financial prediction as a meaningful test bed for the validation of our techniques. We discuss in some detail both the theoretical underpinnings of the technique and our case study about financial prediction, finding encouraging evidence that supports the theoretical and operational viability of our new ANN specifications. Ours is clearly only a preliminary step. Further developments of ANN architectures with more and more sophisticated ’learning to learn’ characteristics are now under study and test.

Notizen: This paper describes the design and implementation of an intelligent real-time supervision system for the monitoring and control of wastewater treatment plants. The system presents a hybrid structure which integrates knowledge engineering techniques and methodologies (an expert system based on production rules embodying non-mathematical or semiquantitative knowledge of unit operation) and algorithmic process-related methods (data acquisition, signal preprocessing, calculation of plant operation parameters etc.). The fundamental design aspects consist of temporal information treatment, artifact detection and a client- server structure which allows the telesupervision of various plants by a central system.

Notizen: Although many knowledge-based systems (KBSs) focus on single-paradigm approaches to encoding knowledge (such as production rules), human experts rarely use a single type of knowledge to solve a real-world problem. A human expert usually combines a number of reasoning mechanisms. In recent years, rule-based reasoning (RBR), case-based reasoning (CBR) and model-based reasoning (MBR) have emerged as important and complementary reasoning methodologies in the intelligent systems area. For complex problem solving, it is useful to integrate RBR, CBR and MBR. In this paper, a hybrid epidemic screening KBS which integrates a deductive RBR system, an inductive CBR system and a quantitative MBR system is proposed. The system has been tested using real epidemic screening variables and data.

Notizen: While knowledge-based systems are being used extensively to assist in making decisions, a critical factor that affects their performance and reliability is the quantity and quality of the knowledge bases. Knowledge acquisition requires the design and development of an in-depth comprehension of knowledge modeling and of applicable domain. Many knowledge acquisition tools have been developed to support knowledge base development. However, a weakness that is revealed in these tools is the domain-dependent and complex acquisition process. Domain dependence limits the applicable areas and the complex acquisition process makes the tool difficult to use. In this paper, we present a goal-driven knowledge acquisition tool (GDKAT) that helps elicit and store experts’ declarative and procedural knowledge in knowledge bases for a user-defined domain. The designed tool is implemented using the object-oriented design methodology under C++ Windows environment. An example that is used to demonstrate the GDKAT is also delineated. While the application domain for the example presented is reflow soldering in surface mount printed circuit board assembly, the GDKAT can be used to develop knowledge bases for other domains also.

Notizen: In this paper we propose a connectionist model for variable binding. The model is topology dependent on the graph it builds based on the predicates available. The irregular connections between perceptron-like assemblies facilitate forward and backward chaining. The model treats the symbolic data as a sequence and represents the training set as a partially connected network using basic set and graph theory to form the internal representation. Inference is achieved by opportunistic reasoning via the bidirectional connections. Consequently, such activity stabilizes to a multigraph. This multigraph is composed of isomorphic subgraphs which all represent solutions to the query made. Such a model has a number of advantages over other methods in that irrelevant connections are avoided by superimposing positionally dependent sub-structures that are identical, variable binding can be encoded and multiple solutions can be extracted simultaneously. The model also has the ability to adapt its existing architecture when presented with new clauses and therefore add new relationships/rules to the model explicitly; this is done by some partial retraining of the network due to the superimposition properties.

Notizen: Modus ponens is used in forward inference and backward inference, where the truth of the conclusion is inferred from the truth of the premise. In modus tollens, the falseness of the premise is inferred from the falseness of the conclusion. Although modus ponens is used in general connectionist production systems, modus tollens is rarely used, except in Quinlan’s proposed INFERNO system and in the system proposed by Thornber. A connectionist production system called ConnPS that can perform both modus ponens and modus tollens simultaneously is described. Compared to the INFERNO system, one of the advantages of ConnPS is its supervised learning ability. The rules and examples given as external knowledge are often erroneous and incomplete. In ConnPS, these rules can be refined by using the supervised learning. Both positive and negative examples are presented to ConnPS, onto which the external rules and observations are mapped. Moreover, ConnPS’s implementations of implications, conjunctions, disjunctions and negation are intuitively consistent with Boolean logic.

Notizen: This study examines the equivalency of accounting recognition versus disclosure. OLS regression analysis is used to determine whether there is an association between equity risk and an adjustment to financial risk for off-balance sheet operating leases. Two methods of adjustment are considered: constructive capitalisation and a simple factor method. The observation of a reliably positive association suggests that UK investors/analysts view operating leases from a property rights perspective rather than an ownership perspective. This supports the argument for recognition of all lease rights and obligations ‘on-balance sheet’, as proposed in the recent G4+1 discussion paper ASB (1999).

Notizen: Most fundamental analysis studies have focused on fundamentals selected by a data-driven approach on large samples of firms from numerous industries. This paper reports the results of a fundamental analysis of a single industry, the US oil and gas exploration and production industry, using variables identified by industry financial analysts. The results demonstrate a significant relationship between a number of the fundamentals with both the market value of equity and cumulative stock return. The results also suggest that the fundamentals provide incremental information beyond earnings, change in earnings, and book value of equity when explaining equity values and stock returns.

Notizen: This paper provides evidence as to how five factors highlighted in the current UK auditing standard are taken into account by auditors in analytical review (AR) judgements. While the relative importance of particular cues was generally found to be consistent with the standard, certain factors were taken into account only to a marginal extent. Little evidence of configural cue usage was identified. The study also provides evidence of a tendency towards conservatism in the way auditors approach AR. The results suggest both that the potential to substitute AR for other substantive procedures may be realised only imperfectly and that the issue of configural reasoning should be addressed in the auditing standard.

Notizen: This article explains the implications of asset market integration for the decision making process of market participants and tests the integration between futures and spot markets. Integration is investigated with respect to the hypothesis that the sources of systematic risk in futures and spot markets command identical risk premia. While the futures and the spot markets for currencies and equities are integrated, we present new evidence that the futures and commodity spot markets are segmented. Such results are of primary importance to investors who use asset pricing models to adjust the risk-return trade-off of their portfolio and evaluate portfolio performance.

Notizen: We investigate the time series properties of the daily and weekly returns from the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) index for the years 1987 to 1997. We investigate whether important time-series characteristics have changed significantly over time. The Greek market has recently undergone major changes including complete capital flow liberalization, the implementation of computerized trading, as well as significant increases in market volume and capitalization; we thus contrast the 1987–90 and 1991–97 periods. Our findings suggest the dynamics of the ASE composite index returns have changed as the market has developed.

Notizen: This paper investigates the performance of three different approaches to modelling time-variation in conditional asset betas: GARCH models, the extended market model of Schwert and Seguin (1990) and the Kalman Filter algorithm. Using daily UK industry returns, we find the simple market model beta to be as efficient as the more complicated GARCH type models. However, the Kalman Filter algorithm incorporating a random walk parameterisation dominates all other models under the mean-square error criterion. Finally, we provide strong evidence that a combination of the methods under investigation may lead to considerably more powerful estimators of the time-variation in conditional beta.

Notizen: This paper examines the stock price behavior in the trading and non-trading periods for stocks listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange over 1971-96. The results indicate that the trading-time return variances are higher than the non-trading-time return variances especially for the larger trading-volume quintiles. This result is consistent with the private information hypothesis. Moreover, open-to-open return variances are higher than close-to-close return variances. Since both the opening and the closing transactions are conducted by the call auction procedure, the results are consistent with the trading halt hypothesis but not with the trading mechanism hypothesis.