Statistisch onderzoek van contrôle-analyse cijfers: (De verdeling van het droge stofgehalte van het brood tijdens de tweede wereldoorlog)

Summary  (Statistical investigation of the distribution of data for the solids of bread (in loaves analysed in the Food Inspection Laboratory in Amsterdam))
The distributions of the data of the solids of bread as analysed during the years of the war are investigated. The means and the standard deviations are calculated, also χ², kurtosis and skewness supposing the distributions to be normal. An example of calculation is given in table I. Actual numbers for different years are given in table II and in table III. The distributions were tested on normality because former investigations showed that the distribution of under survey prepared loaves did not deviate significantly from the normal.
It is found that generally the investigated distributions cannot be regarded as normal. Though symmetric they show leptokurtosis and the χ²-test for the goodness of fit of normal equation gives values of P 0,01 (or a little more). Similar distributions were found by Clancey¹⁾ in his investigation of numbers of chemical analyses of industrial products (about 10% of the distributions showed this shape, some 10% were truncated leptokurtic curves) and by us for the fat percentage of meals from the governmental eating-houses. The distributions are represented on probability-paper. This way of representing results gives a clear view of the variations of the mean and the standarddeviation in the course of the years (fig. 1). The deviations of the shape of the normal straight line on probability paper by special causes is investigated (fig. 3, fig. 4, fig. 5, fig. 6 to be compared with fig. 2). With this "spectrum" of possibilities of deviations from the normal distribution in mind the special cause for the leptokurtic shape in our special case has been discussed.     

Certification response: A response to Lengnick-Hall and Aguinis

Lengnick-Hall and Aguinis (2011) proposed a research agenda for determining the real value of human resource certification. Their proposal draws upon research on assessment, prediction, and adopts a multi-level approach for suggesting several research propositions that could be tested as part of a theory-based assessment of HR certification. The present response focuses on some challenges, not acknowledged by Lengnick-Hall and Aguinis (2011), that might make their proposals more difficult to carry out. The basic idea of assessing the value of this, or any type of certification, however, is not questioned and is surely worth pursuing.     

Workfare and agency: A response to Keleher

Keleher is an advocate of workfare, whereas my personal predisposition is to be skeptical about telling others what is good for them. Keleher justifies workfare on two grounds: that welfare sustains dependency, and that workfare makes education available which might lead to marketable abilities. Unfortunately, he also argues that workfare should be mandatory. This coupling of education and mandatory participation is a hazardous generalization without more persuasive evidence. The gist of my concerns is that we try to design systems of reducing dependency that are as noncoercive as possible.     

The sales response to advertising: A reconsideration

The paper surveys briefly the literature on the shape of the sales-advertising response relationship. Knowledge of this relationship is an important requirement for optimal marketing decisions. The role of theory is to specify the structure of models for testing. The paper presents a plausible model of this relationship based upon the consumer's response to advertising when qualitative uncertainty exists in a market. The relationship is seen to contain a ‘catastrophe change’ or discontinuity when certain assumptions are made about optimizing behaviour. The implications for marketing strategy and optimal levels of promotional outlays are discussed.     

De bepaling van de nauwkeurigheid, waarmede metingen of beoor-delingen worden verricht.

Summary  (Discussion of the accuracy of measurements and judgments).
In this paper a Summary is given of the methods, which are used or can be used to determine the accuracy, with which measurements, which can be expressed in concrete units (lengths, weights, percentages etc.), can be made.
An account is also given of a method, which can be used, when expression in concrete units is not possible (e.g. grading the odor or taste of butter or wine, judging the achievements of pupils by means of test-work).     

A response to LDR 2 LDR: KNEX 2 U

An act of leadership is always an act of practical theory. We lead because we hold visions of the world as it ought to be, because of the not yet, because of the potential that we see in ideas and people. Yet, there still exists a perceived binary between leadership theory (in the strong sense) and leadership practice, a binary that divides organizations, classrooms, and the differing bodies of leadership literature. In this Symposium, Duncan Waite and his colleagues discuss the barriers they have faced in bringing theory to the educational leadership classroom, as well as the promise they feel theory holds for more productive, equitable, and humane schooling organizations.