Across the Nation: News of the Councils

Déonda Scott, Associate Editor

MAPAC

The Mid-Atlantic Personnel Assessment Consortium's Fall Meeting will be September 24-26 in Baltimore, MD. On September 24 there will be a day-long workshop presented by Mike Aamodt covering police testing strategies and legal ramifications of alternative assessment methodologies. The two-day program will feature David Dye of Pennsylvania State University on "Rater Cognitive Processes and Effects of Rater Training;" Debbie Gebhardt of Human Performance Systems presenting "Physical Ability and Performance Testing;" Linda Gottfredson from the University of Delaware on "Cognitive Ability Testing;" Tressie Multrow from the Office of Personnel Management presenting "Supervisory and Leadership Assessment;" "Validation of Personality Tests" presented by Anne Quigley, U.S. Postal Service; "Competency-Based Promotional Assessment Systems" by David Pollack, Immigration and Naturalization Service; and "Police Ethics Testing" by Steven Vicchio, College of Notre Dame of Maryland. Contact Robyn Kohen, MAPAC Training Committee, Maryland State Highway Administration (410)545-5630 or fax (410)209-5019. Watch for details of upcoming events on IPMAAC Online!

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. The organizational objectives include: developing and sharing improved personnel selection procedures and instruments through intergovernmental cooperation; assisting and educating member jurisdictions in maintaining professional personnel selection standards and in complying with legal requirements and guidelines; educating and increasing the technical expertise of assessment personnel of member jurisdictions and other public sector employers; promoting the principles of merit selection and equal employment opportunities; and providing and action-oriented forum to educate members regarding professional and legal issues affecting personnel selection.

The Fall meeting will be held in Bakersfield on September 25 and 26. In addition to the ever-popular roundtable discussion, committee meetings, and the required business meeting, several interesting presentations have been planned. Ted Darany of Darany and Assoc. will present the development of a multi-purpose job classification system; the B-Pad Group will provide an overview of the newly developed computer-based assessment tool for Public Safety Dispatchers; and Dr. Oscar Spurlin and Carla Swander will present the use of computer based multi-media in the design and administration of selection tests.

WRIPAC is also sponsoring two concurrent full-day workshops on September 24. "Job Analysis Made Easy" will be led by Mike Willihnganz and Karen Coffee. Kristine Smith and Donna Terrazas will present "Functioning as an Internal Consultant. Guests are always welcome. For more information, contact Valerie Ruxton, President, at (707)257-9505.

BAAP

Bay Area Applied Psychologists have quarterly meetings throughout the San Francisco Bay area. The next quarterly meeting will be held in August/Sepember and is in the planning stage. Contact Dr. Edie Goldberg at (510)676-6265.

PSC/Florida

The Personnel Selection Council of Florida is taking a break this summer. Look for interesting new programs in the fall. Contact Michael Chasin (954)357-6434.

PTC/Arizona

PTC/A is taking a summer recess from program sessions. PTC/A and its upcoming activities are now listed on IPMAAC Online! Contact Terry McKinney, (602)261-8861 (tmckinne@ci.phoenix.az.us) or Vicki Packman, (602)236-8731 (vspackma@srp.gov).

PTC/NC

The Personnel Testing Council of Northern California's July workshop "New Millennium Personality Assessment" by Robert and Joyce Hogan of the University of Tulsa was a success. Brian Morisch will give a one-half day workshop on "Test Development" on August 8 in Berkely. Contact Kathleen Hurley (510)238-6471. William Donnoe of Donnoe & Assoc. will speak at the September 12 meeting in Sacramento. Contact Kim Leek, (916)264-8358.

PTC/Metropolitan Washington

PTC/MW's July luncheon meeting featured Dr. Ronald Berk of Johns Hopkins University on "Using Humor in Professional Presentations." Dr. William Strickland of HumRRO will speak at the August 13 meeting (topic TBA). The next meetings will be held on September 10 and October 8 (topics and speakers TBA). "Revision of the AERA/APA/NCME Test Standards" by Dr. Paul Sackett of the University of Minnesota on November 12 promises to be an interesting presentation. Contact Dianne Brown at (202)336-6000. The PTC/MW also has a very good website: http://www2.smart.net/~janowens/ptchome.htm.

PTC/SC

The Personnel Testing Council of Southern California holds a luncheon meeting in Monterey Park, CA on the fourth Wednesday of each month. The July 23 meeting featured a workshop entitled "Assessment Free-For-All: Bring Your Issues, Questions, and Quandaries." Guest speaker Harry Brull of Personnel Decisions, Inc. presented "Personality Testing: Perils & Promise." The August 27th meeting will include a workshop on "Basic Statistics for Test Analysis" by Dr. Ken Shultz of CSU, San Bernardino, and a luncheon program on "A Practical Scoring Model for Assessment Centers" by Dennis Joiner of Dennis Joiner & Associates. Dr. Bob Guion of Bowling Green State University will present at the September 23 meeting. "Beyond Validity: Asking Evaluative Questions" will be the topic of the workshop, and the luncheon program will be "Developing & Evaluating Ideas for Selection Procedures." The November 19 meeting will feature Dr. Kevin Murphy of Colorado State University. The workshop will be on "Demystifying Statistics" and the luncheon program will explore "Work in a Changing Economy." Contact Andrew Ansoorian at (818)933-1922 or Michael Dolen at (213)743-3540. PTC/SC and its upcoming activities are now listed on IPMAAC Online!

WRIB

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 179 agencies nationwide. Contact Kristine Smith at (909)387-6086.

Upcoming International, National, and Regional Conferences and Workshops

August '97

8 PTC/NC. Half-day workshop. Berkeley, CA. "Test Development" by Brian Morisch. Contact Kathleen Hurley, (510)238-6471.

8 IPMA/Arizona Chapter. One day workshop. Prescott, AZ. "Selling Human Resources as an Internal Consultant." Contact Bob Curran (602)223-2290.

13 PTC/MW. Luncheon Meeting. Dr. William Strickland of HumRRO (topic TBA). Contact Dianne Brown (202)336-6000.

8-13 Academy of Management. Annual Convention. Boston, MA. Contact (914)923-2615.

9-14 Intl. Assoc. of Applied Psychology. Intl. Congress. San Francisco, CA. Contact (202)336-6024.

10-14 American Statistical Assoc. Annual Convention. Anaheim, CA. Contact (703)684-1221.

15-19 American Psychological Assoc. Annual Convention. Chicago, IL. Contact APA, (202)336-6020.

18-22 Classification and Compensation Society. Seminar. Arlington VA. "Basic Position Classification." Contact (202)269-1900.

27 PTC/SC. Workshop and Luncheon Program. Monterey Park, CA. "Basic Statistics for Test Analysis" by Dr. Ken Shultz, CSU San Bernardino, "A Practical Scoring Model for Assessment Centers" by Dennis Joiner, Dennis Joiner & Assoc. Contact Andrew Ansoorian, (818)933-1922 or Michael Dolen, (213)743-3540.

September '97

7-11 IPMA International Training Conference. Minneapolis, MN. Contact IPMA Meetings Department (703)549-7100 or e-mail training@ipma-hr.org.

10 PTC/MW. Luncheon Meeting. Washington, DC. Topic and speaker TBA. Contact Dianne Brown at (202)336-6000.

12 PTC/NC. Luncheon Meeting. Sacramento, CA. William Donnoe of Donnoe & Assoc. Topic TBA. Contact Kim Leek, (916)264-8358.

22-26 Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Annual Convention. Albuquerque, NM. Contact (310)394-1811.

23 PTC/SC. Workshop and Luncheon Program. Monterey Park. CA. Dr. Bob Guion of Bowling Green State University. "Beyond Validity: Asking Evaluative Questions" workshop, "Developing & Evaluating Ideas for Selection Procedures" luncheon program. Contact Andrew Ansoorian, (818)933-1922 or Michael Dolen, (213)743-3540.

23 Behavioral Technology, Inc. Seminar. "Behavioral Interviewing." Arlington, VA. Contact (800)227-6855.

24-26 American Society for Training and Development. Technical Skills Training Conference. St. Louis, MO. Contact (703)548-3440.

24-26 Center for the Study of Work Teams. Annual Conference. Dallas, TX. Call (817)565-3096.

24-26 MAPAC. Fall Workshop and Program. Baltimore, MD. Contact Robyn Kohen, (410)545-5630.

24-26 WRIPAC. Training Workshop and Meeting. Bakersfield, CA. September 24. "Job Analysis Made Easy" presented by Mike Willihnganz and Karen Coffee. Kristine Smith and Donna Terrazas will present "Functioning as an Internal Consultant." Contact Valerie Ruxton, (707)257-9505.

October '97

4-8 Organization Development Network. Annual Conference. Scottsdale, AZ. Call (201)763-7337.

8 PTC/MW. Luncheon Meeting. Washington, DC. Topic and speaker TBA. Contact Dianne Brown at (202)336-6000.

November '97

4-8 American Evaluation Assoc. Annual Convention. San Diego, CA. Call (804)225-2089.

12 PTC/MW. Luncheon Meeting. Washington D.C. "Revision of the AERA/APA/NCME Test Standards" by Dr. Paul Sackett of the University of Minnesota. Contact Dianne Brown at (202)336-6000.

19 PTC/SC. Workshop and Luncheon Meeting. Monterey Park, CA. "Demystifying Statistics" workshop and "Working in a Changing Economy" luncheon program with Dr. Kevin Murphy, Colorado State University. Contact Andrew Ansoorian, (818)933-1922 or Michael Dolen, (213)743-3540.

(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.