Across the Nation: News of the Councils

Déonda Scott, Associate Editor

Regional Events Online!

If you've ever gotten your IPMA-AC Newsletter only to discover you just missed a terrific event, you'll want to check out IPMAAC Online! IPMAAC's website: http://www.ipmaac.org/calendar.html has up-to-date information on lots of events including those conducted by the various Councils. If your group would like its events listed, please send information to Terry McKinney at tmckinne@ci.phoenix.az.us.

BAAP

The Bay Area Applied Psychologists now publish a quarterly newsletter! Dr. Michael Gibbs of Gibbs & Associates presented "Intellectual Capital" at the January meeting. The April 7 meeting will feature a panel discussion on the topic "Attracting and Retaining Employees in a Tight Labor Market." This meeting will be held in San Francisco. For information on membership or upcoming events, contact Dr. Edie Goldberg at (415)836-1286 or Becca Anhalt (415)393-5685.

Mid-Atlantic Personnel Assessment Consortium (MAPAC)

MAPAC's Winter Workshop and Meeting was well received and very successful! The program spotlighted work simulations and included presentations on simulating brainstorming, standardization, developing rating guides, and training raters. A workshop on "Developing Work Simulations" was presented by Dr. Cathy Cline. The Spring Meeting will be held on May 13-15 in Washington DC. The program for this meeting is still in the planning phase. For more information, contact Jim Frankart (717)783-2697 ext. 3517 or David Hamill (410)545-5574.

Metropolitan New York Association for Applied Psychology

Metro New York is pleased to announce the 1998 Career Day at the Leadership Center of the New School for Social Research on April 7 from 8:30 to 12 noon. Experts will discuss job opportunities and realistic career paths for applied psychologists and recruiting techniques to hire applied psychologists. Have your job search and career development questions answered by professionals. Jim Smither, Paul Squires, and Dick Reilly will present "Performance Appraisal- Some State of the Art Issues" at the May 24 dinner meeting. For information on these Metro events contact Seymour Adler (212)539-7593.

PSC/Florida

The Personnel Selection Council of Florida's February seminar on Veteran's Preference Issues with speakers John Burns and Ron Frankel of the Department of Veteran's Affairs was very successful! Future meetings are in the planning stages. Contact Desiree Bice (954)724-1351 for more information.

PTC/Arizona

The Personnel Testing Council of Arizona is proud to announce its Spring full day workshop on May 1. "Almost Everything You Wanted to Know About Selection" conducted by Ted Darany of Darany & Associates. Key topics will include: Prioritization and Responsiveness to All Our Customers; Developing the Test - Deciding what to test, designing the test, cost effectiveness, writing powerful questions, getting the most out of consultant; Essential Statistics - determining test quality from basic stats and examinees feedback, using item analysis to produce continuous quality improvement; Responding to challenges - making candidate test reviews a win-win situation; Preparing for and Responding to Appeal and Litigation; and Developing and Conducting Oral Examinations. For more information contact: Terry McKinney at 602-261-8861 or tmckinne@ci.phoenix.az.us, Vicki Packman at 602-236-4595 or vspackma@srp.gov, or Colleen McManus at 602-542-3197 or cmcmanu@adc.state.az.us. For up-to-date details check their site at IPMAAC Online!.

PTC/Northern California

PTC/NC's 12th Annual Conference "The Changing Climate of Personnel Testing" held in March was a big success. Future meetings and events are in the planning phases. Contact Sharon Rose for more information (510)676-6265 or srose@corehrc.com.

PTC/Metropolitan Washington

The PTC/MW April 8 luncheon speaker will be Dr. Jane Arabian of the Department of Defense. Dr. Arabian will discuss "Moral Character Screening in the Military." The meeting will be held at Pier 7 Restaurant, Washington, DC. Contact Ann Quigley (202)268-3952 for information. The next meeting will be held on May 13. Speaker and topic TBA. The PTC/MW also has a very good website which can be accessed through IPMAAC Online!

PTC/Southern California

The Personnel Testing Council of Southern California's Spring Symposium will be held on May 8 in Long Beach, California. The theme will be "Beyond KSAO's, Practical Approaches to Competency Applications." As human resource professionals, we are constantly faced with the challenge of increasing the quality of our organization's workforce. One increasingly popular approach looks to competencies as a mechanism for integrating HR systems. This symposium will address the questions "How are competencies defined? How can they be used in my organization? Do they really work?" For more information please contact conference co-chairs: Kathryn Paget at (909) 387-6086, e-mail Kpaget@co.san-bernardino.ca.us or Bernadette Debevec (213) 625-5625, e-mail bdebevec@lausd.k12.ca.us. PTC/SC holds a luncheon meeting in Monterey Park, CA on the fourth Wednesday of each month. PTC/SC and its upcoming activities are now listed on IPMAAC Online!

Western Region Item Bank

The Western Region Item Bank (WRIB) is a cooperative organization of public agencies using a computerized test item bank. Services include draft test questions with complete item history, preparation of "printer ready" exams, and exam scoring and item analysis. Membership includes 190 agencies nationwide. Contact Kathryn Paget at (909) 387-6086.

WRIPAC

The Western Regional Intergovernmental Personnel Assessment Council (WRIPAC) is comprised of assessment professionals from more than sixty small, medium, and large public agencies throughout the western United States. For more information, contact Valerie Ruxton, President, at (707)257-9505.

Upcoming International, National, and Regional Conferences and Workshops

April

2-4 American Board of Assessment Psychology & American Academy of Assessment Psychology. Annual Conference. Orlando, FL. Contact: (800) 285-0493.

7 BAAP. Dinner Meeting. San Francisco, CA. Panel Discussion "Attracting and Retaining Employees in a Tight Labor Market." Contact Dr. Edie Goldberg at (415)836-1286 or Becca Anhalt (415)393-5685.

7 Metro NY Assoc. for Applied Psychology. 1998 Career Day. Leadership Center of the New School for Social Research. New York, NY. Contact Seymour Adler (212)539-7593.

8 PTC/MW. Luncheon Meeting. Jan Arabian of the Department of Defense will present "Moral Character Screening in the Military." Pier 7 Restaurant, Washington, DC. Contact Ann Quigley, U.S. Postal Service, (202)268-3952.

13-17 American Educational Research Assoc. Annual Convention. San Diego, CA. Contact AERA (202)223-9485.

14-16 National Council on Measurement in Education. Annual Convention. San Diego, CA. Contact: NCME (202)223-9485.

23 Annual Industrial/Organizational Psychology Doctoral Consortium. Dallas, TX. Contact Lyse Wells (714)221-5359.

23-26 Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Annual Conference. Dallas, TX. Contact SIOP (419)353-0032.

May

1 PTC/A. Spring Full Day Workshop. "Almost Everything You Wanted to Know About Selection" by Ted Darany of Darany & Associates. Contact: Terry McKinney at 602-261-8861 or tmckinne@ci.phoenix.az.us, or Vicki Packman at 602-236-4595 or vspackma@srp.gov.

8 PTC/SC. Spring Symposium. Long Beach, CA. "Beyond KSAO's - Practical Approaches to Competency Applications." Contact Kathryn Paget at (909) 387-6086, e-mail Kpaget@co.san-bernardino.ca.us or Bernadette Debevec (213) 625-5625, e-mail bdebevec@lausd.k12.ca.us.

9-13 American Society for Public Administration. Annual Conference. Seattle WA. Contact ASPA (202)393-7878.

11-13 National Opinion Research Center. Seminar. "Measurement Methods." Alexandria, VA. Contact: NORC (847)675-0981.

11-14 Development Dimensions International. International Congress on the Assessment Center Method. Pittsburgh, PA. Contact Cathy Nelson, DDI (412)257-3952.

13 WRIPAC. Training Workshops. Sonoma County. "Selection Planning" & "Surfing the Net, a Demonstration for the Selection Practitioner". Contact: Valerie Ruxton, (707) 257-9595.

13 PTC/MW. Luncheon Meeting. Speaker to be announced. Pier 7 Restaurant, Washington, DC. Contact: Ann Quigley, U.S. Postal Service, (202)268-3952.

13-15 MAPAC. Spring Meeting. Washington, D.C. Program and speaker TBA. Contact David Hamill, (410)545-5574.

14-15 WRIPAC. Spring Meeting. Sonoma County. General Membership & Business Meeting. Presentations include "Development & Administration of Practical Exams" Contact: Valerie Ruxton, (707)257-9505.

19-22 Organizational Development Institute. Annual Conference. "What is New in O.D." Lincoln, NH. Contact ODI (216)461-4333.

21-24 American Psychological Society. Annual Convention. Washington, DC. Contact: APS (202)783-2077.

24 Metro NY Association for Applied Psychology. Dinner Meeting. Speakers Jim Smither, Paul Squires, & Richard Reilly. "Performance Appraisal - Some State of the Art Issues." New York, NY. Contact: Seymour Adler, (212)539-7593.

31-4 American Society for Training and Development. Annual Conference. San Francisco, CA. Contact ASTD (703)683-8100.

June

14-17 Society for Human Resource Management. Annual Conference. Minneapolis, MN. Contact SHRM (703)548-3440.

17 Classification Society and Psychometric Society. Joint Conference. Urbana, IL. Contact: Stan Wasserman (217)333-3325.

21-25 International Personnel Management Association Assessment Council. Annual Conference. Chicago, IL. Contact IPMA (703)549-7100.

(Some of the information in this calendar was reprinted by permission from the PTC/MW Newsletter which was compiled by Lance W. Seberhagen, Seberhagen & Assoc.)

Déonda Scott is the Civil Service/Testing Manager for the City of Orlando. If you have regional organization news or an item to add to the calendar, please contact her. She can be reached by phone (407)246-2061; fax (407)246-2019; or e-mail dscott@ci.orlando.fl.us. Snail-mail will eventually find her at the City of Orlando, 400 S. Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL 32801-3302.