Across the Nation: News of the Councils

Déonda Scott, Associate Editor

MAPAC

The Mid-Atlantic Personnel Assessment Consortium's Fall Meeting was held in September. Topics included police testing strategies and legal ramifications of alternative assessment methodologies; physical ability and performance testing; cognitive ability testing; supervisory and leadership assessment; validation of personality tests and others. The Winter Meeting will be held on January 28-30. The program is still in the planning phase. Contact Robyn Kohen (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 was held in Bakersfield on September 25 and 26. Topics included the development of a multi-purpose job classification system; computer-based assessment for Public Safety Dispatchers; and the use of computer based multi-media in the design and administration of selection tests. Two concurrent full-day workshops, "Job Analysis Made Easy" and "Functioning as an Internal Consultant," roundtable discussions, committee meetings, and the business meeting rounded out the event. For more information, contact Valerie Ruxton, President, at (707)257-9505.

Metropolitan New York Assoc. For Applied Psychology

"Creating Shareholder Value Through Human Resource Management Systems" was the topic of the September Metro meeting presented by Mark Huselid of Rutgers University. Ann Quigley of the US Postal Service will speak on "Putting Personality Into the U.S. Postal Service: Validation of a Personality Measure for Entry Level Selection" during the October 16 meeting. A half-day workshop entitled "Beyond Language Barriers: Cultural Factors in Implementing I/O Solutions Abroad" featuring Robert N. Bontempo of Columbia University is scheduled for October 21. The November 12 meeting will feature Batia Wiesenfeld of NYU presenting "Human Resources Management in the Virtual Enterprise." Steve Stanton, President of Hammer & Company will present "An Update on Re-Engineering" at the December 17 meeting. For information on Metro events, leave a message on the MetroLine (212)539-7593.

BAAP

Bay Area Applied Psychologists hosted Dr. Frank Landy from Landy & Jacobs as the guest speaker for their Fall meeting which was held on Tuesday, September 23, in San Francisco. Dr. Landy's talk was titled "Job Analysis of the Position of Expert Witness." For information on upcoming events, contact Dr. Edie Goldberg at (510)676-6265 or Becca Anhalt (415)393-5685.

PSC/Florida

On October 8, 1997 PSC/Florida will present a luncheon seminar on "Background Verification." Panelists will be: Dr. Harley Stock, Psychologist; Attorney Robert Soloff; Eileen Forrester, Broward Sheriff's Office Investigator. Contact Michael Chasin at (954)357-6434 for additional information.

PTC/Arizona

PTC-Arizona is starting off the fall with a half day program on October 28 which will stress both profession and legal updates. For more information about this program or their other activities check them out 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 hosted Angie Bifano who spoke at the September meeting on "Building Better Promotional Written Tests: The Promotional Tester's Toolkit." The next meeting will be held on October 17 in Berkeley. Topic and speaker TBA. Contact Kathleen Hurley at (510)238-6471 for more information. Sacramento Mayor Joseph Serna will speak on "Proposition 209 and its Effects on City Government" in Sacramento on November 14. Contact Kim Leek (916)264-8358 for more information. "Green vs. the State of Washington: New Developments in Testing Procedures" presented by Art Irving of Washington Personnel will be the topic of the December 12 meeting in Vallejo. Contact Suzanne Holloway (916)440-5035 for additional information.

PTC/Metropolitan Washington

PTC/MW's 20th Anniversary featured a symposium "What Can We Learn From Nassau County" with speakers Paul Sackett (University of Minnesota), Richard Klimoski (George Mason University) and Lawrence Lorber, Verner-Liipfert-Bernard-McPherson and Hand took place in September. The next luncheon meeting will be held on October 8. Ken Wexley, Human Resource Decisions, will present "Performance Appraisal and Management." "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 (202)336-6000 for more information. The PTC/MW also has a very good newsletter and website: http://www.ptcmw.org/.

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 topic of the Fall Conference held in Newport Beach on October 9 and 10 will be "Bottom Line Human Resources: Effective Practices and Measurement." The November 19 meeting will feature Dr. Kevin Murphy of Colorado State University holding a workshop on "Demystifying Statistics: Getting a Handle on Recent Advances in Statistics and Data Analysis" and the luncheon program will explore "Work in a Changing Economy: How Corporate Restructuring, Downsizing, & Team Based Production have Changed the Nature and Determinants of Effective Job Performance." 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

October '97

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

8 PSC/Florida. Luncheon seminar. "Background Verification." Panelists: Dr. Harley Stock, Psychologist; Attorney Robert Soloff; Eileen Forrester, Broward Sheriff's Office Investigator. Contact Michael Chasin at (954)357-6434 for additional information.

8 PTC/MW. Luncheon Meeting. Washington, DC. Ken Wexley, Human Resource Decisions, on "Performance Appraisal and Management." Contact Dianne Brown (202)336-6000 for more information.

8-10 Institute for Professional Education. Seminar. "Applied Statistics." Washington D.C. Contact (703)527-8700.

9-10 PTC/SC. Fall Conference. "Bottom Line Human Resources: Effective Practices and Measurement." Contact Andrew Ansoorian at (818)933-1922 or Michael Dolen at (213)743-3540.

16 Metro NY Assoc. for Applied Psychology. Luncheon Meeting. NY, NY. Ann Quigley, US Postal Service, on "Putting Personality Into the U.S. Postal Service: Validation of a Personality Measure for Entry Level Selection." For information leave a message on the MetroLine (212)539-7593.

17 PTC/NC. Luncheon Meeting. Berkeley, CA. Topic and speaker TBA. Contact Kathleen Hurley at (510)238-6471 for more information.

20-24 PAQ Services, Inc. Workshop. "How to Use the Position Analysis Questionnaire." Logan UT. Contact (801)752-5698.

21 Metro NY Assoc. for Applied Psychology. Half-day Workshop. Robert N. Bontempo, Columbia University. "Beyond Language Barriers: Cultural Factors in Implementing I/O Solutions Abroad." For information leave a message on the MetroLine (212)539-7593.

28 PTC-Arizona. Fall Program. Profession and Legal Updates. Contact Terry McKinney, (602)261-8861 or Vicki Packman, (602)236-8731.

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 (202)336-6000 for more information.

12 Metro NY Assoc. for Applied Psychology. Luncheon Meeting. NY, NY. Batia Wiesenfeld, NYU, on "Human Resources Management in the Virtual Enterprise." For information leave a message on the MetroLine (212)539-7593.

12-14 Institute for Professional Education. Seminar. "Resampling: The New Statistics." Washington D.C. Contact (703)527-8700.

14 PTC/NC. Luncheon Meeting. Sacremento, CA. Sacramento Mayor Joseph Serna will speak on "Proposition 209 and its Effects on City Government." Contact Kim Leek (916)264-8358 for more information.

17-18 IPMA Federal Section. Annual Conference. Washington D.C. Contact (703)549-7100.

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.

December '97

8-10 Institute for Professional Education. Seminar. "Applied Multivariate Methods Using Popular Statistical Computing Packages." Washington D.C. Contact (703)527-8700.

12 PTC/NC. Luncheon Meeting. Vallejo, CA. "Green vs. the State of Washington: New Developments in Testing Procedures" presented by Art Irving of Washington Personnel. Contact Suzanne Holloway (916)440-5035 for additional information.

17 Metro NY Assoc. for Applied Psychology. Luncheon Meeting. NY, NY. Steve Stanton, Hammer & Company, on "An Update on Re-Engineering." For information leave a message on the MetroLine (212)539-7593.

17-19 Institute for Professional Education. Seminar. "Methods of Categorical Data Analysis." Washington D.C. Contact (703)527-8700.

January '98

28-30 MAPAC. Winter Meeting. Topic and speakers TBA. Contact Robyn Kohen (410)545-5630.

(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.