Disability and employment – overview and highlights

Due to the expected decline in the working-age population, especially in European countries, people with disabilities are now more often recognized as a valuable resource in the workforce and research into disability and employment is more important than ever. This paper outlines the state of affairs of research on disability and employment. We thereby focus on one particular group of people with disabilities, that is to say people with mental disabilities. We define disability according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) of the World Health Organization, by that recognizing that disability results from the interaction of person and environment. Key issues, including the complexity of defining disability, the legal situation in Europe and North America concerning disability at work, and barriers and enablers to employment, are discussed. For each of the topics we show important findings in the existing literature and indicate where more in-depth research is needed. We finalize with a concrete research agenda on disability and employment and provide recommendations for practice.     

Lexis and Culture: Bound and Determined?

Although never validated by either quantitative or qualitative research, the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis continues to be a dominant position from which to consider the relationship between language and culture. This paper challenges the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, and attempts to show that lexis and culture are not as inextricably bound to each other as is commonly supposed. After considering numerous examples from Spanish, English and Japanese, the model of cultural prototypes is offered as an alternative to the present psycholinguistic paradigm.     

Love and Identity： Unconditional Concern and Particularity

Love for a person involves an idea of the other＇s particularity, or ＂irreplaceability＂： an idea that is linked with a fine grained attention to, and affection for, very specific features of the other. This attention is largely a consequence of--or manifestation of--my love, rather than its ground. What I see in the other is partly conditioned by an ＂unconditional＂ concern for her as an individual. A consideration of the importance of the face and of personal names in my interactions with another may bring into focus crucial aspects of the particularity and unconditionality that are characteristic of love.     

Forgive and Forget? Antecedents and Consequences of Intergroup Forgiveness in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The present study examines the effects of contact and common-ingroup identification on intergroup forgiveness and outgroup behavioral tendencies. A sample of Bosnian Muslims (N  =  180) were asked to report their readiness to forgive the misdeeds committed by Bosnian Serbs during the 1992–95 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A path analysis of the presumed antecedents and consequences of forgiveness revealed that frequent and good quality contact with members from the perpetrator group predicted forgiveness (positively) and desire for social distance (negatively). Moreover, the positive relationship between contact and forgiveness was mediated by empathy and trust towards the outgroup and by perceived outgroup heterogeneity. Common-ingroup identification was also found to be positively associated with forgiveness and negatively with social distance towards the outgroup. Finally, intergroup forgiveness also predicted social distance from the outgroup. The theoretical and applied implications of these findings are discussed.     

Demands and capacities or demands and performance?

The Demands and Capacities Model of stuttering purportedly provides a framework for obtaining information concerning a child's capacities for fluency and the demands placed on the child by the environment and for integrating that information in devising individual therapy plans. The current paper analyzes the model, with specific attention to the status of the “capacities” component. It is suggested that the model is more accurately characterized as a Demands and Performance rather than a Demands and Capacity Model because capacities are not actually addressed.     

HIV and AIDS and “family” counselling: A systems and developmental perspective

This paper describes first, a developmental and systems/interactional conceptual model for understanding HIV and AIDS and second, outlines four basic principles of a systems model of therapeutic counselling used with people infected and affected by HIV Clinical examples are taken from the work of a team of family therapists at Bouverie Family Therapy Centre in Melbourne, Australia, to demonstrate that a systems developmental model is an appropriate therapy to assist HIV and AIDS affected people and their significant others to live with a chronic and stigmatized terminal illness.     

African-American and Latino Parents’ Attitudes and Beliefs Regarding Adolescent Fighting and Its Prevention

Adolescent fighting affects 25 % of youth, with the highest rates among African-Americans and Latinos but little is known about parental views on youth fighting. The purpose of this study was to examine African-American and Latino parents’ perspectives on adolescent fighting and methods to prevent fighting. We conducted four focus groups with parents of African-American and Latino urban adolescents. Focus groups were stratified by race/ethnicity and fighting status. Groups were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed by three independent coders using thematic content analysis. Seventy-six percent of the 17 participants were female. Latino parents condoned fighting only as a last resort, and taught children about consequences of fighting, emotional regulation, and non-violent conflict-resolution strategies. African-American parents endorsed teaching non-violent strategies, but expressed some doubts about their effectiveness. African-American parents also suggested corporal punishment, but acknowledged that this may not be an optimal long-term strategy. Positive role modeling and involvement by teachers and other adults were cited as having important roles in fighting prevention. Suggested interventions included teaching adolescents non-violent conflict-resolution skills, anger management, and alternatives to fighting. Parents recommended that violence prevention programs incorporate the experiences of former fighters and be tailored to community needs. Study findings suggest that youth violence-prevention programs may benefit from addressing parental attitudes towards fighting and parent–child communication about fighting, teaching adolescents non-violent conflict-resolution skills, and tailoring programs by race/ethnicity. Promoting positive modeling and involvement by teachers and other adults also may be beneficial.     

The Relation Between Childhood Gender Nonconformity and Adult Masculinity–Femininity and Anxiety in Heterosexual and Homosexual Men and Women

Recalled childhood gender nonconformity (CGN) and adult traits—e.g., masculinity–femininity of occupational preferences (MF-Occ), self-ascribed masculinity–femininity (Self-MF), self-reported anxiety—were assessed in an ethnically diverse US convenience sample of California college students and gay pride attendees, including 238 heterosexual men, 127 gay men, 343 heterosexual women, and 197 lesbian women. CGN showed large heterosexual–homosexual and gender differences, with homosexual individuals higher than heterosexual individuals and women higher than men. CGN was significantly associated with both men’s and women’s MF-Occ and Self-MF, both within and across sexual orientations. CGN was associated with self-reported anxiety for men but not for women, a finding true for both heterosexual and gay men, suggesting that CGN had a more negative impact on men than women.     

Dummett and Frege on sense and Selbständigkeit

As part of his attack on Frege’s ‘myth’ that senses reside in the third realm, Dummett alleges that Frege’s view that all objects are selbständig (‘self-subsistent’, ‘independent’) is an underlying mistake, since some objects depend upon others. Whatever the merits of Dummett’s other arguments against Frege’s conception of sense, this objection fails. First, Frege’s view that senses are third-realm entities is not traceable to his view that all objects are selbständig. Second, while Frege recognizes that there are objects that are dependent upon other objects, he does not take this to compromise the Selbständigkeit of any objects. Thus, Frege’s doctrine that objects are selbständig does not make the claim of absolute independence that Dummett appears to have taken it to make. Nevertheless, in order to make a good case against Frege based on the dependency of senses, Dummett need only establish his claim that senses depend upon expressions: appeal to an absolute conception of independence is unnecessary. However, Dummett’s arguments for the dependency of senses upon expressions are unsuccessful and they show that Dummett’s conception of what it is to be an expression also differs significantly from Frege’s.     

Exploring Sexual Minority Women’s Experiences of External and Internalized Heterosexism and Sexism and their Links to Coping and Distress

This study examined experiences of external and internalized heterosexism and sexism and their links to coping styles and psychological distress among 473 sexual minority women. Using an online sample of United States lesbian and bisexual women, the findings indicated that many participants experienced heterosexist and sexist events at least once during the past 6 months, and a number of participants indicated some level of internalized oppression. Supporting an additive multiple oppression perspective, the results revealed that when examined concurrently heterosexist events, sexist events, internalized heterosexism, and internalized sexism were unique predictors of psychological distress. In addition, suppressive coping and reactive coping, considered to be maladaptive coping strategies, mediated the external heterosexism-distress, internalized heterosexism-distress, and internalized sexism-distress links but did not mediate the external sexism-distress link. Reflective coping, considered to be an adaptive coping strategy, did not mediate the relations between external and internalized heterosexism and sexism and psychological distress. Finally, the variables in the model accounted for 54 % of the variance in psychological distress scores. These findings suggest that maladaptive but not adaptive coping strategies help explain the relationship between various oppressive experiences and psychological distress.     

Monads and Mathematics: G?del and Husserl

In 1928 Edmund Husserl wrote that “The ideal of the future is essentially that of phenomenologically based (“philosophical”) sciences, in unitary relation to an absolute theory of monads” (“Phenomenology”, Encyclopedia Britannica draft) There are references to phenomenological monadology in various writings of Husserl. Kurt G?del began to study Husserl’s work in 1959. On the basis of his later discussions with G?del, Hao Wang tells us that “G?del’s own main aim in philosophy was to develop metaphysics—specifically, something like the monadology of Leibniz transformed into exact theory—with the help of phenomenology.” (A Logical Journey: From G?del to Philosophy, p. 166) In the Cartesian Meditations and other works Husserl identifies ‘monads’ (in his sense) with ‘transcendental egos in their full concreteness’. In this paper I explore some prospects for a G?delian monadology that result from this identification, with reference to texts of G?del and to aspects of Leibniz’s original monadology.     

Transformational and Transactional Leadership and Followers’ Achievement Goals

Purpose

Achievement goals, or the standards of competence employees pursue in their work, have far-reaching consequences for employee and organizational functioning. In the current research, we investigated whether employees’ achievement goals can be predicted from their supervisor’s leadership style.

Design/Methodology/Approach

A multilevel study was conducted in which followers of 120 organizational leaders completed measures of their leader’s transformational leadership (focusing on individual needs and abilities, on intellectual development, and on a common team mission), transactional leadership (focusing on monitoring and achievement-related rewards), and their own mastery goals (aimed at learning, developing, and mastering job-relevant skills), and performance goals (aimed at doing better than others).

Findings

Group-level transformational leadership predicted followers’ mastery goals, whereas group-level transactional leadership predicted followers’ performance goals. Within-group differences in transformational leadership also predicted mastery goals.

Implications

These findings suggest that leadership style plays an important role in the achievement goals followers adopt. Organizations may promote transactional leadership in contexts requiring that employees outperform others. In contrast, in contexts requiring learning and development, organizations may promote transformational leadership.

Originality/Value

This research is the first to examine the relationships between leadership styles and specific follower goals, and the first to highlight the role of leadership as a social variable involved in employees’ adoption of achievement goals.     

Filial Piety,Generativity and Older Adults’ Wellbeing and Loneliness in Denmark and China

The article considers the potential of intergenerational encounters and family and social ties for alleviating loneliness and promoting older adults’ wellbeing. Loneliness has been widely recognized as one of the factors that are most deeply and pervasively detrimental to older adults’ wellbeing. We combine theoretical reflections with a comparative study of older adults in Denmark and China. Both countries have to deal with an aging population and growing number of cases of isolation and loneliness in an increasingly individualized society. They differ, however, with regard to how far they have developed a system of institutionalized care, as well as with regard to their culture-specific views of family life and parent-child relationships. We apply the notions of filial piety, known from Confucian philosophy but often misinterpreted as conservative and conformist, and generativity, to qualitative studies of older adults in Denmark and China. The great potential of intergenerational ties is confirmed. Our study also shows that filial piety is still highly valued, in both China and Denmark, and can be maintained even in a highly individualized society. There is, however, considerable uncertainty among both older adults and their younger relatives as to what is required and what can be expected; realism, and an emphasis on the quality, rather than the quantity of interaction, may be sensible coping strategies, but can also lead to unnecessary acquiescence and self-abnegation. Our study also serves to distinguish different aspects and effects on wellbeing of intergenerational relationships.

     

Religion and United States Physicians’ Opinions and Self-Predicted Practices Concerning Artificial Nutrition and Hydration

This study surveyed 1,156 practicing US physicians to examine the relationship between physicians’ religious characteristics and their approaches to artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH). Forty percent of physicians believed that unless a patient is imminently dying, the patient should always receive nutrition and fluids; 75 % believed that it is ethically permissible for doctors to withdraw ANH. The least religious physicians were less likely to oppose withholding or withdrawing ANH. Compared to non-evangelical Protestant physicians, Jews and Muslims were significantly more likely to oppose withholding ANH, and Muslims were significantly more likely to oppose withdrawing ANH.     

Preference and similarity: affective and cognitive judgement?

This study is a test of some implications of the distinction between cognitive and affective processes proposed by Zajonc (1980), applied to preference and similarity judgements. Preference and similarity data were obtained for male and female subjects judging male and female cinema actors. Preference judgements were assumed to be an example of primarily affective judgement, similarity was assumed to be mainly cognitive. It was furthermore assumed that men when judging women and women judging men should be more affectively involved than the opposite cases. It was predicted (a) that making preference judgements would be more confident, (b) that such judgements would be more stable, (c) that preference judgements would show a more simple structure than similarity judgements, and (d) that the difference between similarities and preferences with regard to the level of complexity indicated by the ratings should be especially large with large affective involvement. In support of Zajonc's model, preference judgements were given with more confidence by the subjects and they were more stable over time. There was a tendency for similarity spaces to be more complex for affectively involved subjects while the opposite occurred for preference ratings. Women seemed to react more negatively to the similarity task than men did.     

Unemployed and exhausted? Job-search fatigue and reemployment quality

Job loss and job search are particularly devastating and stressful events that individuals can experience in their careers. However, less research attention has been paid to fatigue or burnout in the context of unemployment and job search. Drawing from Conservation of Resources theory, this study highlights the role that fatigue plays during unemployment and job search among displaced employees — defined as individuals who have lost their jobs involuntarily and are currently not engaged in any form of paid employment. In a two-wave longitudinal study involving 89 displaced employees, we illustrate how financial difficulties and social exclusion can lead to job search fatigue, while psychological capital serves as a personal resource that reduces job seekers' fatigue. We also demonstrate how job search fatigue at Time 1 can lead to lower reemployment quality at Time 2, which, in turn, can lead to lower organizational commitment and increased turnover intentions. Our findings bring into attention the important role that fatigue can play in the context of unemployment and job search.     

Relationships Between Leader-Contingent and Non-contingent Reward and Punishment Behaviors and Subordinates’ Perceptions of Justice and Satisfaction, and Evaluation of the Moderating Influence of Trust Propensity, Pay Level, and Role Ambiguity

Purpose

This research evaluates how reward and punishment behaviors are related to employee satisfaction, and how perceptions of justice mediate the effects of these behaviors. This study also seeks to examine the connection between some boundary conditions and the efficacy of reward and punishment behaviors.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Data were collected using questionnaires, and hypotheses were tested using a sample of 3,065 managers from 41 business units.

Findings

We found that contingent financial and social rewards were positively related to fairness and satisfaction, whereas punishment behaviors exert a negative influence. Findings reveal that high-trust propensity and low-pay level strengthen the positive influence of rewards on distributive justice, whereas high role ambiguity increases the positive effect of reward behaviors and the negative influence of non-contingent punishment (NCP) on superior satisfaction.

Implications

This study provided evidence that using contingent rewards is more effective in promoting positive attitudes at work than using contingent punishments. Our findings add to the evidence that organizations would benefit from encouraging their managers to use financial and social rewards and reducing the administration of NCP among performing employees.

Originality/Value

This study represents a first attempt to examine an integrated model of the effects of reward and punishment behaviors. It also contributes to this field by empirically evaluating the impact of individual and situational boundary conditions in the efficacy of these leader behaviors.