ASSOCIATION NEWS

Continuing Education gears up for Mediterranean cruise

Mark your calendar for the next APA Continuing Education (CE) Cruise sponsored by the Office of Continuing Education and the APA CE Committee.

From June 26 to July 3, the seven-night Mediterranean Cruise on Royal Caribbean?s Legend of the Seas will visit Barcelona; Villifranche, France (Monte Carlo/Cannes); Ajaccio, Corsica; Rome; Messina; Sicily; Valleta; Malta; and return to Barcelona.

The cruise promises spectacular scenery, fascinating ports of call and the opportunity to earn 8 CE credits. Cruise-only prices start at $1,354 with discounted add-on airfares available.

For information, please call APA's Office of Continuing Education at (800) 374-2721, option 8 or contact Contacts Unlimited, 1053 Shady Lakes Circle, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418, (561) 625-1951, fax: (561) 625-8809, e-mail.

APA serves as friend of the court in two legal cases

APA has filed amicus curiae briefs in a case in Missouri and another in Maryland that focus on parental rights and sexual orientation. Amicus curiae briefs are filed by individuals or entities who are not parties to the litigation, but who have information that could help the court reach a decision. In these two cases, APA explained to the courts that no scientific evidence exists to deny a person child custody based solely on that individual?s sexual orientation.

In its briefs, APA points to research findings that show:

? Children raised by lesbian or gay parents are as psychologically healthy as children raised by heterosexual parents.

? Gay men and lesbians are as psychologically fit to be parents as heterosexuals.

? Gay parents have no influence over their children?s eventual sexual orientation.

Courts should base custody and visitation decisions solely on the individual aspects of the case and the parties involved, and not on one party?s sexual orientation, the briefs conclude.

In the Missouri case, Janice Ann DeLong challenged a trial court?s decision to give custody of her three children to their father, Frederick DeLong III. She claimed the denial was solely because she is a lesbian. She also challenged the trial court?s visitation restrictions, prohibiting the children from being in the presence of anyone known to be a lesbian or any female person living with their mother.

The case eventually reached the Missouri Supreme Court. In a Sept. 22 ruling, the high court said that sexual orientation itself cannot be the basis of a custody decision. But it upheld the DeLong custody determination, saying the evidence showed it was in the best interest of the children.

The court, however, reversed the visitation restriction and instructed the trial court to limit restrictions to those whose presence and conduct may be contrary to the children?s best interest.

In the Maryland case, Robert Boswell, a gay father, is opposing a visitation restriction that would keep him from seeing his two children in the presence of his male partner. The case is pending before the Maryland Court of Appeals.

Minority fellowships available for doctoral students

The Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) is now accepting applications for training fellowships in HIV/AIDS research, neurosciences, and research psychology and clinical training.

The MFP is dedicated to improving the quality of mental health treatment and research issues concerning ethnic-minority populations by providing financial support and professional guidance to individuals pursuing doctoral degrees in psychology and neuroscience.

Eligible applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and must be registered as a full-time doctoral student at the time the fellowship is awarded. (*Note: clinical applicants must be enrolled in an APA-accredited program.)

Applicants should also be members of an ethnic-minority group or able to demonstrate commitment to a career in psychology or neuroscience related to ethnic-minority health. The MFP offers the following fellowships:

? The MFP Clinical Training Fellowship, which supports students in clinical, counseling and school psychology pursuing careers as mental health practitioners and clinical research serving ethnic-minority populations.

? The MFP Research Training Fellowship, which supports students pursuing careers as research scientists on mental health issues related to minority populations in such disciplines as developmental, physiological, experimental, social, industrial/organizational, quantitative and educational psychology.

? The MFP HIV/AIDS Research Training Fellowship, which supports students specializing in HIV prevention, AIDS treatment adherence, provider education or psychoneuroimmunology and pursuing careers as researchers in HIV/AIDS issues and ethnic-minority populations.

? The MFP in Neuroscience Training Fellowship, which supports students pursuing careers in neuroscience. The MFP in Neuroscience also sponsors a Postdoctoral Training Fellowship and the Summer Program in Neuroscience, Ethics and Survival at the Marine Biological Laboratory.

All applications must be received by Jan. 15. For more information and application materials, please contact MFP at the APA address, (202) 336-6027, fax: (202) 336-6012, or visit the MFP web site at www.apa.org/mfp.

Publications and Communications Board seeks editors for APA journals

APA?s Publications and Communications (P&C) Board invites members to submit nominations for editors to serve on several journals.

The P&C Board welcomes nominations for an editor to oversee the production of Emotion, the newest journal from APA. The editor?s term is from September 1999 to December 2006.

Candidates must be available to receive manuscripts in fall 1999 for the journal?s first issue in 2001. The successful candidate will assist the P&C Board in refining the scope of coverage for Emotion. The board anticipates Emotion will be a broad-based multidis-ciplinary journal that discusses several topics, including:

? Articles focused on emotion representing neuroscience, developmental, clinical, social and cultural approaches.

? Articles focused on emotion dealing with not only the psychological, social and biological aspects of emotion, but also with neuropsychological and developmental studies.

The first review of nominations begins Dec. 7.

To nominate candidates, prepare a statement of no more than one page in support of each person. The members of the search committee are Janet Shibley Hyde, PhD (search chair); Joseph Campos, PhD; Richard Davidson, PhD; Hazel Markus, PhD; and Klaus Scherer, PhD.

Send all nomination materials to Janet Shibley Hyde, PhD, Emotion Search Chair, c/o Karen Sellman, P&C Board Search Liaison, Room 2004, at the APA address.

The P&C Board, in collaboration with the Educational Publishing Foundation, also welcomes nominations for a new editor of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (JOHP) from 1999?2003. James Campbell Quick currently holds the editorial position.

Candidates must be available to receive manuscripts on Jan. 1 to prepare for issues published in 2000.

The P&C Board encourages members of underrepresented groups to submit nominations. Self-nominations are welcome. The Search Committee members are co-chairs Joe Martinez, Jr., PhD, and Gary VandenBos, PhD, and members Gwendolyn Keita, PhD, Steven Sauter, PhD, Rodney Lowman, PhD, and David Krantz, PhD.

To nominate candidates, prepare a statement in their support including information about their editorial experience, how they would strike a balance between research and practice and their perspective on the field (i.e., what part of occupational health care would they capture as an editor). All nominations must be received by Dec. 1.

Send nominations to JOHP Search Chairs, c/o Karen Sellman, P&C Search Liaison, at the APA address.

P&C Board also invites nominations for editors to serve from 2001 to 2006 on the:

? Journal of Abnormal Psychology.

? Journal of Comparative Psychology.

? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition.

? Journal of Personality and Social Psychological: Attitudes and Social Cognition.

? Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.

? Psychological Review and Psychology, Public Policy, and Law.

Candidates must be available to receive manuscripts in early 2000 to prepare for issues published in 2001. The first review of nominations begins Dec. 7.

To nominate candidates, prepare a statement of no more than one page in support of each person. Send nominations to Karen Sellman, P&C Board Search Liaison, Room 2004, at the APA address. Please include the name of the appropriate search chair and APA journal on your nominations indicated below:

? David Rosenhan, PhD: Journal of Abnormal Psychology.

? Lauren Resnick, PhD: Journal of Comparative Psychology.

? Joe Martinez, Jr., PhD: JEP: Learning, Memory, and Cognition.

? Sara Kiesler, PhD: JPSP: Attitudes and Social Cognition.

? Judith Worell, PhD: Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.

? Lyle Bourne, Jr., PhD: Psychological Review.

? Lucia Gilbert, PhD: Psychology, Public Policy and Law.

The P&C Board encourages members of underrepresented groups to submit nominations to all publications. Self-nominations are welcome. All candidates must be APA members.

Education Directorate conducts survey on two-year college psychology curriculum

APA?s Education Directorate Two-year College Working Group is conducting a survey on the depth and breadth of psychology curriculum at the two-year college level.

Surveys will be mailed to two-year faculty on record.

If a two-year college faculty member has not received a survey, contact Peter Petrossian, Education Directorate, at the APA address or call (202) 336-6076.

Publications and Communications Board appoints new editors

The P&C Board has selected three new editors for six-year terms beginning in 2000.

As of Jan. 1, manuscripts should be directed as follows:

? Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology: Warren Bickel, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont, 38 Fletcher Place, Burlington, VT 05401-1410.

? Journal of Counseling Psychology: Jo-Ida Hansen, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, 75 E. River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0344.

? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance: David Rosenbaum, PhD, Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, 642 Moore Building, University Park, PA 16802-3104.

Current editors Charles Schuster, PhD, Clara Hill, PhD, and Thomas Carr, PhD, respectively, will review manuscripts through Dec. 31. Should 1999 volumes be completed before that date, manuscripts will be redirected to the new editors for the next publication cycle.

Send your manuscripts to Prevention and Treatment

Prevention and Treatment, the new peer-reviewed electronic journal sponsored by APA, is seeking submissions for future issues.

The journal publishes major empirical and theoretical research on prevention and integrative reviews of the literature relevant to prevention, and generally includes accompanying peer-reviewed commentaries and the author?s replies.

According to editor Martin E.P. Seligman, PhD, the 10 top reasons to publish in Prevention and Treatment are:

1. It is a full 'APA journal.'

2. Abstracts automatically go into the PsycINFO abstract database.

3. Full text copy automatically goes into the new APA Full Text Article database (so it will be available 'eternally').

4. It has wide circulation (it is already #2 in readers, behind American Psychologist).

5. Data on 'hits' (or number of times read) will be provided as needed for tenure review.

6. Articles will be released in their own 'special issue.'

7. Publicity will be generated via press releases to science writers by APA?s Public Communications Office.

8. It has the fastest speed of publication and distribution of all APA journals.

9. The CE offering helps make practitioners more aware of science.

10. Peer commentary.

Manuscripts can be submitted as e-mail attachments or sent electronically with username 'treatment' and password 'submit2.'

To read or subscribe (it?s free), go to: journals.apa.org/prevention.

APA committee takes a look at urban education

A summary of the June 1997 conference 'Bringing to scale educational innovation and school reform: partnerships in urban education,' held by APA?s Committee on Urban Initiatives (CUI), is now available.

The CUI conference focused on ways psychologists can become involved in finding out what makes certain school-reform programs work and how to share that information with school systems in the cities.

APA and the Carnegie Corporation of New York held the 1997 conference in Washington, D.C., at which experts in schools and organizational leaders voiced their concerns about problems in urban education. The group also discussed ways to identify those programs that most effectively address problems in urban education.

Since that meeting, CUI met last March with Panel 3 Application of Psychology to Education, a subgroup of APA?s Board of Educational Affairs. The two organizations have made tentative plans to:

? Perform a literature analysis that would identify effective programs.

? Propose a follow-up conference to address critical questions raised at the June 1997 conference.

To obtain free copies of the Partnerships in Urban Education conference proceedings, or to learn more about CUI?s initiatives involving programs for inner-city youth, please write to APA?s Urban Initiatives Program at the APA address or call (202) 336-6044.

CE workshop to focus on emerging research and new applications for practice

On Jan. 7?10, CE will host 'Psychology and medicine: emerging research and new applications for practice' at the Catamaran Resort Hotel in San Diego.

The conference, sponsored by APA?s Education, Practice, Public Interest and Science Directorates, will focus on new strategies for integrating psychology and medicine as we approach the 21st century. Join fellow APA members to hear the latest research, explore new practice opportunities and earn up to 15 CE credits for one fee.

For more information, call the Office of Continuing Education at (800) 374-2721, menu option 8.

Science Directorate accepts proposals for occupational health psychology curricula

APA?s Science Directorate welcomes applications from universities interested in developing curricula in occupational health psychology (OHP), the field that focuses on organizational and job design factors that contribute to injury and illness at work, including stress-related disorders.

Proposals must contain the following information:

? Faculty qualifications.

? Institutional commitment.

? External collaborations.

? Proposal quality and feasibility.

? Planned program evaluation.

? Budget justification and written documentation from the dean or another university official that confirms the proposed courses or curricula can be offered at the university.

APA anticipates awarding an average of $18,000 to $22,000 to each recipient and will distribute funding for these awards in April. Limited funding may be available for an additional year. The deadline for proposals is March 1.

Examples of appropriate training activities under this program include, but are not limited to, development in the following areas:

? Organizational psychology?providing a focus on organizational risk factors for stress, illness and injury at work and intervention strategies.

? Clinical psychology?improving the recognition of job stress and its organizational sources.

? Human factors engineering?providing more of an exclusive focus on occupational health and safety.

The Science Directorate also encourages increased exposure of behavioral scientists to research methods and practice in public/occupational health and epidemiology.

Universities may propose the development of a new survey course or clusters of courses, graduate minor or master?s/doctoral degree programs, or practica or internship experiences at the predoctoral level. Because training in work organization, stress and health is an inherently multidisciplinary area, these training experiences should draw upon and integrate knowledge and faculty from several relevant areas, such as psychology, management, public health, human factors engineering, occupational medicine and epidemiology.

Applications can be found at the APA Web Site after Nov. 1 (www.apa.org/science/ohp.) For further information or application materials, contact Adonia Calhoun, Science Directorate, at the APA address.

APA promotes student affiliation

APA launched its annual poster campaign to promote student affiliation as well as APA publications designed specifically for students.

Undergraduate and graduate psychology departments throughout the United States received posters and applications describing the benefits of student affiliate membership in APA.

Those benefits include subscriptions to the APA Monitor and American Psychologist, discounts on APA books and journals and eligibility for a student insurance program.

Undergraduate psychology departments also received two additional posters that promote APA publications geared to student needs, such as:

? 'Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association,' fourth edition;

? 'Mastering APA Style.'

? 'Dissertations and Theses from Start to Finish.'

If your department has not received the posters or would like to receive additional posters or applications, contact the APA Marketing Department at the APA address.

Faculty volunteers sought to spread the good word about APA benefits

APA seeks university and college faculty members who will volunteer to disseminate information about APA membership as well as APA books, journals and other products and services on their campuses.

For more information, contact the Membership

Development Office at the APA address, (800) 374-2721; TDD: (202) 336-6123; fax: (202) 216-7628.

Personalized membership certificates available

APA is offering personalized membership certificates to members and associate members of APA. Certificates include name, member status and the month and year of election if member holds an office. The membership certificate program is managed through Tribute, a company specializing in awards and certificates. The certificate design includes the APA logo engraved in gold on acid-free stock paper.

An unframed membership certificate can be purchased for $12.95. A certificate on a walnut-finish plaque costs $24.95, and a single-matted certificate in a walnut frame costs $69.95. A shipping and handling fee will be added for each item.

For a color flier that shows the membership certificate, please contact the Membership Department: (800) 374-2721, (202) 336-5580, fax: (202) 336-5568.

Free directory of psychology teachers available

'The National Directory of Teachers of Psychology' lists more than 6,000 psychology teachers at pre-college, two-year, four-year college and university levels, representing the most comprehensive listing of psychology teachers anywhere. They are listed alphabetically by state and level of teaching. The directory will promote partnerships among psychology teachers at all levels and facilitate collaboration between psychology teachers and other psychology professionals.

To receive a copy of the directory, contact Peter Petrossian, Education Directorate, at the APA address or call (202) 336-6076.

Paying membership dues early ensures continued service in 1999

The Membership Department requests members pay 1999 dues by Nov. 13 to ensure updated member records and continuous delivery of the APA Monitor and American Psychologist.

Paid membership also provides eligibility for APA Insurance Trust programs, use of the member journal credit on 1999 subscription orders, and receipt of the APA Card, which provides money-saving consumer discounts.

To ensure continued benefits and uninterrupted delivery of 1999 journal subscriptions, members and affiliates must return journal orders by Nov. 25.

Questions about dues payments should be directed to the Membership Department, and questions about journal orders to APA Subscriptions, at the APA address, (800) 374-2721, TDD: (202) 336-6123, fax: (202) 336-5568.

Science Directorate sponsors summer program for undergraduates

Do you know a bright undergraduate who might profit from an intense, weeklong exposure to psychological science? APA invites psychology undergraduates to participate in the Summer Science Institute (SSI) for 1999.

APA?s Science Directorate is once again preparing to host the highly successful summer program for college freshmen and sophomores. The directorate will select 32 students for the 1999 SSI, scheduled from June 12 to 20 at the University of California at Berkeley. In 1996, APA held two SSI sessions at the University of Maryland?College Park, and the department of psychology at Johns Hopkins University hosted SSI students for 1997 and 1998.

Faculty members of the department of psychology will participate in SSI by delivering lectures, leading discussions, and providing the SSI students with stimulating experiences in their laboratories. Richard McCarty, APA?s executive director for science, will work closely with Karen DeValois, Berkeley?s department chair, to develop the program.

'We are really excited to be working with the faculty at Berkeley,' said McCarty, who will lead SSI for the second year. 'This is one of the premier psychology departments in the nation, and our students will benefit from this wealth of talent in psychological science.'

In 1996 and 1997, Ludy T. Benjamin, Jr., PhD, professor of psychology at Texas A&M University was the institute leader.

The directorate staff expects to receive 400?500 applications for 32 slots. Students will be housed in Berkeley dormitories and APA will pay all student expenses, including travel.

SSI information and application materials are available at www.apa.org/science/ssi99.html. Applications must be postmarked by Jan. 28. For more information, contact the Science Directorate at (202) 336-6000.

APF honors outstanding psychologists

The American Psychological Foundation (APF) has honored several psychologists with prestigious awards: the Harry Levinson Award, the Randy Gerson Memorial Grant and the Wayne F. Placek Fund.

In recognition of his excellence in consulting psychology, APF awarded Len Sperry, MD, PhD, the 1998 Harry Levinson Award. Recipients of the Harry Levinson Award must demonstrate unique skills in translating psychological theory into concepts understandable to organization managers who will apply the knowledge to supervising employees effectively. Div. 13 selects the recipient upon approval of the APF Board of Trustees, and presents the winner with a certificate and $1,000.

Sperry received his PhD and MD from Northwestern University. He serves as a diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology in Clinical Psychology, a Fellow of the APA for Divs. 12 (Clinical), 13 (Consulting), 29 (Psychotherapy), 36 (Religion) and 43 (Family). He was the founding editor of Organizational and Occupational Psychiatry, and listed in 'Who?s Who in the West,' and 'Best Doctors in America.'

Throughout his career, Sperry has published more than 200 chapters and journal articles and 26 professional texts, including 'Corporate Therapy and Consulting' (Brunner/Mazel, 1996).

He is currently vice-chairman of development and corporate health, and a professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

In recognition of their research proposal, 'Use of the genogram with precommit-ment couples,' APF awarded Gregory Jurkovic, PhD, and Martha Foster, PhD, both from Georgia State University (GSU) in Atlanta, the first Randy Gerson Memorial Grant. APF gave them a $5,000 grant to fund their research on the direct and indirect effects of the genogram on the meta-cognitive, relational and change processes in couples who seek precommitment counseling.

Jurkovic says the proposed study will examine different direct and indirect effects of the genogram?multigenerational family history based on an individual?s or couple?s observations?on relational processes of premarital couples.

Jurkovic and Foster hypothesize that helping partners process their respective genograms in one another?s presence results in subtle but important changes in mutual perspective taking, level of emotional reactivity and readiness to change.

Sylvia Shellenberger, PhD, chair, Peg Fiman, MEd, Ronald E. Fox, PhD, Sandra Hoffman, PhD, Nadine Kaslow, PhD, and Jack Saul, PhD, served on the committee that selected the grant recipients.

Jurkovic is an associate professor in clinical psychology and the director of the Psychology Clinic at GSU. He received his PhD from the University of Texas?Austin in 1975. Jurkovic is a certified and licensed psychologist in Georgia, as well as an approved supervisor for the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT).

A recipient of numerous honors, including a National Institutes of Health Clinical Psychology Traineeship with the Beth Israel Hospital at Harvard Medical School, Jurkovic is also a member of the Scientific Committee for the International Congress on Family Psychology. His research has been published in the Journal of Couples Therapy, the American Journal of Family Therapy, and the International Journal of Addictions and Family Process.

Martha Foster, associate professor of psychology at GSU, earned her PhD in psychology from Vanderbilt University in 1973. Foster serves as the clinical coordinator of the Children?s Transition Program at GSU. She is a licensed applied psychologist in Georgia and a clinical member of the AAMFT. She also serves as an approved supervisor for the AAMFT.

Foster?s research has been published in the Journal of Couples Therapy, the Journal of Family Psychology, the School Counselor and Family Systems Medicine. She has also presented papers and participated in symposia at several conferences, including the National Association for School Psychologists and the Society for Research in Child Development.

Sylvia Shellenberger, PhD, created the grant in memory of her husband, Randy Gerson, PhD. Gerson, a family psychologist, died in 1995 at age 44 from leukemia. His best known work, 'Genograms in Family Assessment' (1985) described how family history may be used to identify family patterns. Gerson?s research involved the understanding of families through family history, looking at technology?s impact on family life, and helping clients cope with difficult family members through individualized therapy. Family, friends, colleagues and organizations donated more than $60,000.

The Randy Gerson Memorial Grant advances the systemic understanding of theory, assessment or clinical practice of family and couple dynamics or multi-generational processes.

Donald P. Haider-Markel, PhD, accepted the APF?s Wayne F. Placek Fund. Haider-Markel will receive $24,000 for his proposal 'Hate crime law enforcement' to study hate crime law implementation and enforcement in various cities collected from 1992 to 1997. The Wayne F. Placek Fund encourages and supports scientific research to increase the general public?s understanding of gay men and lesbians to alleviate the stress they experience in this and future civilizations.

Haider-Markel received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin?Milwaukee in 1997. He is the director of the Survey Research Center and a postdoctoral associate at the University of Kansas.

Haider-Markel also received the Ted Robinson Memorial Award to facilitate research in minority politics sponsored by the Southwestern Political Science Association in 1995. He has authored and co-authored several articles on gay and lesbian politics, abortion, hate crimes and citizen militia groups, which appeared in the Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, Social Science Quarterly and Demography.