1. Instructions: Please provide a summary of Chapter 7.

   ( Human Resource Selection, 8th Edition Ebook Author(s): Robert D. Gatewood, Hubert S. Field chapter 7) WHAT IS RELIABILITY? The use of physiological tests by physicians is a common practice in the United States;the most commonly performed test measures blood pressure. Elevated blood pressure is associated with a number of problems, including an increased risk of developing heart disease, kidney disease, hardening of the arteries, eye damage, and stroke.1 Because hypertension affects one in four adults in the United States, Americans are routinely encouraged to have their blood pressure tested. Measuring blood pressure accurately, however, has proven difficult. 2 More importantly for our purposes, consideration of the difficulties of measuring blood pressure illustrates the importance of reliability. Why is it so hard to reliably measure blood pressure? One reason is that patients often experience elevated blood pressure simply due to being subjected to the test in the doctors office. This problem is so common it has been labeledwhite coat hypertension. It has been estimated that as many as 20 percent of diagnosed hypertensive patients (some estimates range up to 73 percent) havewhite coat hypertensionhypertension caused by anxiety about having their blood pressure checked.3Further-more, blood pressure varies over the course of the day. A single blood pressure measurement is estimated to result in overdiagnosis of hypertension in 2030 percent of cases, yet it misses one-third of those who truly have the disease.4Accurate blood pressure measurement also depends on correct handling by medical personnel. Noise or talking while assessing blood pressure can result in errors, as can using the wrong-sized cuff or releasing pressure too quickly during a manual assessment. In addition, inadequate equipment maintenance and calibration can result in inaccuracy. A recent study suggested that only 5 percent of these devices were properly maintained in one major teaching hospital, while another showed unacceptable measurement inaccuracy in up to 60 percent of devices evaluated.5The point is, there are a number of reasons why blood pressure tests are unreliable and can produce inaccurate and misleading information.These data show that a test many views as essential produced results that, in many cases, were not dependable or reliable. Because of the unreliability of test results, people who underwent faulty blood pressure tests could have faced serious consequences. That is, persons who falsely tested normal could have forgone needed dietary and lifestyle changes or the use of blood pressurereducing drugs prescribed by their physicians. Those testing falsely high could have suffered unnecessary anxiety and unpleasant side effects from prescribed drugs that were not needed, as well as the expense of unnecessary drug therapy.

2. All summaries of the assigned weekly chapters must be at least 300 words as thought-out responses are required. The assignments should represent the students careful, thoughtful efforts to cover the key elements of the topic thoroughly.

   Homework assignments should contribute substantive value to the understanding of the subject. Content should go beyond mere description or paraphrasing. Students must always submit work that represents their original words or ideas.

   If any words, ideas, or assignments are not your own, you must cite all relevant sources and make clear the extent to which such sources were used.

   Failure to cite your work will result in the student not receiving full credit for the assignment.