Career Encounters: Career Decision Making Through On-Site Visits

Career Encounters, a program of the Career Counseling Office of Memphis State University, provides students with opportunities for on-site visits with professionals in careers of interest to the students.     

Rethinking Power

This paper argues that feminists have yet to develop a satisfactory account of power. Existing feminist accounts of power tend to have a one-sided emphasis either on power as domination or on power as empowerment. This conceptual one-sided’ ness must be overcome if feminists are to develop an account complex enough to illuminate women's diverse experiences with power. Such an account is sketched here.     

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN NEGOTIATION OUTCOME: A META-ANALYSIS

Studies reporting the objective settlements obtained by men and women in negotiations were reviewed. Differences in outcomes were expected due to differences in perceptions, behaviors, and contextual factors between men and women. In the sample of studies, men negotiated significantly better outcomes than women. Opponent sex, relative power of the negotiator, integrative potential of the task, mode of communication and year of the study were tested as moderators of the effect. Although the overall difference in outcomes between men and women was small, none of these hypothesized moderators or several exploratory moderators reversed or eliminated this effect. The organizational significance of the findings is discussed in terms of the glass ceiling, a gender-based earnings differential and women in negotiation positions. Directions for future research in the laboratory and the field are suggested.     

Estimating the Religious Composition of All Nations: An Empirical Assessment of the World Christian Database

The international religious data in the World Christian Database (WCD), and its print predecessor, the World Christian Encyclopedia (WCE) have been used frequently in academic studies and the popular press. Scholars have raised questions about the WCD's estimates categories, and potential bias, but the data have not yet been systematically assessed. We test the reliability of the WCD by comparing its religious composition estimates to four other data sources (World Values Survey, Pew Global Assessment Project,CIA World Factbook, and the U.S. Department of State), finding that estimates are highly correlated. In comparing the WCD estimates for Islamic countries and American Christian adherents with local data sources, we identify specific groups for which estimates differ. In addition, we discuss countries where the data sets provide inconsistent religious estimates. Religious composition estimates in the WCD are generally plausible and consistent with other data sets. The WCD also includes comprehensive nonreligious data. Recommendations regarding the use of the WCD are given.     

Religion and Attitudes Toward Physician-Assisted Suicide and Terminal Palliative Care

We assess religious differences in attitudes toward physician-assisted suicide and terminal palliative care, and go further than previous research by attempting to explain these variations. Using data from the 1998 General Social Survey, we fit OLS regression models to estimate the main effects of religious affiliation and indirect effects via religious involvement (church attendance and strength of affiliation). Both conservative and moderate Protestants are generally less accepting of physician-assisted suicide and terminal palliative care than nonaffiliates. However, both relationships are at least partially explained by church attendance and/or strength of affiliation.     

Conservatism,Feminism, and Elizabeth Fox‐Genovese

This paper is a philosophical reconstruction of Elizabeth Fox‐Genovese's thinking about women and feminism, and an inquiry into whether there is a conservative form of feminism. The paper argues that Fox‐Genovese's endorsement of conventional social forms (like traditional marriage, motherhood, and sexual morality) contrasts strongly with feminism's criticism of these forms, and feminism's claim that they should be transformed. The paper concludes, however, that one need not call Fox‐Genovese's thought “feminist” to recognize it as serious advocacy on behalf of women and to include it in discussions about what is good for women.