Lynn E. Miller

Determinants of Turnover Among Volunteers

This study examined the causal sequencing of attitudes, personal situations, and behavioral intentions as determinants of turnover among hospital volunteers. Structural equation modeling indicated that, consistent with prevailing models of turnover, attitudes and personal situations influenced turnover indirectly with intentions acting as a mediating factor. However, the analysis suggested that one aspect of the volunteers personal situation (the convenience of the work schedule) also had a direct effect on turnover.

Individual differences in attitudinal versus normative determination of behavior

Abstract Previous research has identified certain dispositional variables that might moderate the relationship between attitudes and behaviors. Building on this work, the present study predicted that individuals who are both aware of their own attitudes (high in private self-consciousness) and unconcerned with the opinions of others (low in self-monitoring) would display high attitude-behavior correspondence. In contrast, individuals with other combinations of these traits were expected to display high norm-behavior correspondence. To test these predictions, attitudes, norms and behaviors relevant to spending time on school work were measured for 226 college students. The results showed clear support for the predicted personality differences in attitude-behavior and norm-behavior correspondences. In addition, other findings showed that attitudes and norms are distinct rather than redundant constructs. Alternative interpretations and theoretical implications of the findings were discussed.

Understanding the Motivation of Volunteers: An Examination of Personality Differences and Characteristics of Volunteers' Paid Employment:

Volunteers from three soctal service agencies were surveyed to test the hypothesis that some people volunteer in order to satisfy needs that are not satisfied through their other activities. The findings indicated that those volunteers whose regular employment failed to satisfy their needs for psychological growth tended to be in volved and satisfied with volunteering to the extent that they (a) felt personally in control of their lives, and (b) wanted and expected that volunteering would satisfy their growth needs. Volunteers whose regular employment did provide oppor tunities for psychological growth were more motivated by other potential rewards of volunteering.

Effects of moon phase and other temporal variables on absenteeism

Previous research on the effects of lunar phase on deviant behavior has produced weak and inconsistent results and has been criticized for failing to use appropriate statistical controls. This study examined the effects of the full moon on daily absenteeism rates in a large organization while correcting for autocorrelation and controlling for the effects of the day of the week, month, and proximity to a holiday. Contrary to expectations, the full moon was associated with a significant (but very slight) decrease in absenteeism. Reasons for persistent beliefs in the effects of the full moon are discussed.

Boards of Directors in Nonprofit Organizations: Composition, Activities, and Organizational Outcomes

Analyses of survey responses from the executive directors of 184 human service organizations examined the relationships of board characteristics to board activities, and of board activities to organizational outcomes. Results indicated that board characteristics most predictive of board activities were the numbers of board members who were representatives of the client population, who had expertise in marketing, who were trained in the types of service provided by the agency, and who regularly performed volunteer work for the agency. Although in general board activities had few statistical relationships with agency outcomes, the boards involvement in working to enhance the agencys image in the community was related to a number of outcome measures.

The Work-Leisure Relationship: Evidence for the Compensatory Hypothesis

Research has generally found positive relationships between work and leisure, such that people choose leisure activities involving the same psychological, social, and behavioral skills as their work. The present study argues, however, that negative relationships may also occur, with individuals sometimes compensating for work deficiencies through leisure activities. Evidence is presented showing that individuals with low occupational status are more likely to stress the importance of prize winning in leisure than individuals with high status. Since low- and high-status individuals did not differ in their abilities actually to win prizes, the results are attributed to the desire of low-status individuals to compensate for lack of occupational status through leisure achievement.

Differences in Management Practices of Founding and Nonfounding Chief Executives of Human Service Organizations

Drawing hypotheses from theories of organizational life cycles, this survey compared the management practices of 37 founding and 133 nonfounding chief executives of human service organizations. The differences observed are interpreted as suggesting that founders may be more likely than nonfounders to manage in ways that afford them greater ability to direct and oversee organizational matters.

THE SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICAN MEDICAL EDUCATION: Class, Status, and Party Influences on Occupational Closure, 1902–1919

Applying Webers theorizing on action and stratification, this study examines whether the early 20th-century extinction of half of the medical schools in the United States resulted from actions intended to serve class, status, and party interests by achieving social closure. Analyses reveal closure intentions in the school ratings assigned by the American Medical Association, although not in the recommendations in the 1910 Carnegie-sponsored Flexner report. In contrast to claims that schools failed largely because of economic exigencies, analyses indicate that failures were influenced by the AMAs and Flexners assessments, as well as by state regulatory regimes and school characteristics.

Evidence-based instruction: a classroom experiment comparing nominal and brainstorming groups

Interactive brainstorming groups consistently produce fewer ideas, and fewer high quality ideas, than nominal groups, whose members work alone before pooling their ideas. Yet, brainstorming continues to be regarded as an effective method for enhancing creativity. This paper describes an engaging classroom “experiment” that reliably demonstrates the superiority of nominal over brainstorming groups for generating more ideas. Analyses of data from 105 student groups, collected from 12 classes, show that typical differences between the two group methods are sizable. Beyond lessons about group techniques, this exercise shows students the limits of intuition and the value of evidence-based management practices.

Medical Education Reform Efforts and Failures of U.S. Medical Schools, 1870–1930

The dramatic decline in the number of US medical schools in the early twentieth century has been traced to a medical education reform movement that gained momentum after the Civil War. The major parties to reform—the universities themselves, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), state licensing boards, the American Medical Association (AMA), and Flexner—had different interests and strategies, however, and scholars have continued to debate the impact each had on the decline. To isolate the independent effects that the temporally intertwined forces for reform had on medical school failures, this study applies statistical survival analysis to an extensive and unique data set on medical schools operating in the United States between 1870 and 1930. Contrary to the views of some scholars, the results indicate that schools closed in response to critical evaluations published by the Illinois State Board of Health in the nineteenth century and the AMA and Flexner in the twentieth century. Additionally, the results indicate that schools were less likely to have failed if they adopted certain reforms implemented at leading schools or joined the AAMC, and were more likely to have failed if their state’s licensing regulations mandated lengthier premedical and medical training.