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Many methods have been suggested for determining the number of factors in factor analysis solutions, most of them trying to match visual solutions. Presented here is a linear regression approach providing objectivity while producing the same results as the visual scree test. The standard error scree is based on the standard error of estimate for a set of points in the plot of eigenvalues. The number of factors to retain corresponds to the point where the standard error exceeds 1/m, where m is the numbers of variables in the analysis. Experience with the method to date indicates that the results are consistent with visual solutions.

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Funding for after-school programs has increased dramatically, and there has been a corresponding increase in the need for sound evaluations to document the quality and impact of the programs. A comprehensive search for after-school evaluations was completed in order to conduct a meta-evaluation of evaluation methodologies used and to synthesize the findings of the evaluations. Results of the meta-evaluation indicate that the after-school evaluation reports located for the study demonstrated moderate compliance with The Program Evaluation Standards established by the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation but limited use of research designs that support causal conclusions and insufficient information to allow for meta-analysis of program effects. However, some tentative conclusions can be reached about the effectiveness of after-school programs. Overall, it appears that after-school programs may have positive impacts on participants, but more rigorous research designs are necessary to provide data that clearly document program effects.

The present study was undertaken to compare the occupational stress, levels of burnout, death anxiety, and the social support of a national sample of 376 hospice and critical care nurses. t tests indicated that critical care nurses reported significantly more occupational stress, showed higher burnout, and experienced more death anxiety than hospice nurses. The two nursing groups differed significantly when the three components of the Maslach Burnout Inventory were compared: hospice nurses reported feeling less emotional exhaustion, utilized the technique of depersonalization less frequently, and experienced a greater sense of personal accomplishment. The two nursing groups did not differ in social support when both the quantity and quality of that construct were examined. Pearson coefficients indicated positive associations between burnout and occupational stress and between burnout and death anxiety, with a negative relationship between burnout and social support.