Decision making and job satisfaction among youth workers in community-based agencies

Sixty-four counselors and 32 alternative school teachers in 13 grass-roots agencies reported on levels of participation, influence, and competence in making clinical and administrative decisions. The data supported predictions that (a) professionals would report greater decision-making opportunities and abilities than nonprofessionals, and (b) that workers in general would report higher levels of participation, influence, and competence in clinical than in administrative domains, and higher levels of competence than influence in both domains. However, regression analyses testing the effects of the decision-making variables on different aspects of job satisfaction did not support predicted interactions among participation, influence, and competence. Rather, decision-making involvements had positive effects and decision-making abilities had negative effects on worker morale. The discussion high-lights the need for further research to identify the underlying processes involved in the observed relationships.     

Relationships between locus of control,health value,and preventive health behaviors among women

This study examines the relationships between locus of control expectancies, rated health value, and reported participation in preventive health behaviors among a healthy sample of undergraduate women. The prediction that participation in preventive health behaviors would be a joint function of an internal health-related locus of control belief and holding health in high value was not supported. Instead, individuals who valued their health reported participating in a greater number of health-enhancing behaviors compared to those who valued their health less. Respondents' scores on a health value scale in combination with their rated health status proved to be better predictors of health behaviors than their locus of control beliefs. Limitations of locus of control research with young, healthy individuals are discussed and further investigation into the utility and validity of health value scales is recommended.     

Infant clothing: Sex labeling for strangers

Labeling an infant as a boy or girl affects behavior toward the infant. While intimates know a baby's sex label and behave consistently to the baby, strangers cannot unless given a cue. Forty-eight infants and their caretakers were observed in suburban malls to see if clothing normally provides such cues; 90% of the infants were dressed in sex-typed clothes. Girls wore or carried pink (75%), yellow, ruffles, puffed sleeves, and/or dresses. Boys wore blue (79%) and/or red. Observers were able to correctly guess the sex of “labeled” infants only. Surprisingly, simultaneous caretaker interviews revealed that parents do not spontaneously mention sex as a factor in clothing choice, nor do they feel they would be very bothered by strangers' mistaking the infant's sex.     

Differential reinforcement of low rates of responding (DRL) to reduce dysfunctional social behaviors of a head injured man

Differential reinforcement of low rates of responding (DRL) is a technique in which a positive reinforcer is delivered at the end of a specific interval if a target behavior has occurred at a criterion rate. Traditionally, it has been used in educational settings to manage classroom behaviors. Recently, therapists have begun to use DRL to reduce the rates of a variety of behaviors in non-educational settings. In this study, DRL was part of a behavioral intervention to reduce dysfunctional verbal and physical behaviors of a head-injured young man. The complete intervention program included DRL, changing criteria, and token reinforcement. Over a period of 15 weeks, the intervention resulted in reductions in behaviors in both categories from high rates to near-zero rates.     

Physical Fitness as a moderator of cognitive work capacity and fatigue onset under sustained combat-like operations

A study was devised to investigate the role of physical fitness in moderating both cognitive work capacity and fatigue onset under sustained combat operations. Sixteen male ROTC cadets were followed through a 2.5-day, Pre Ranger Evaluation exercise. Prior to the start of the exercise, the cadets’ overall level of physical fitness was assessed by using five fitness indices (Harvard Step Test, chin-ups, push-ups, sit-ups, and two-mile run). Cognitive performance and subjective measures of fatigue state were assessed at regular intervals before, during, and 1 day after the exercise. The results suggest that fitness may attenuate decrements in cognitive work capacity for certain tasks requiring prolonged mental effort, particularly as the cumulative effects of sleep loss and other stressors begin to mount. Similarly, the results suggest that as overall stress levels increase, fitness may have a beneficial effect in moderating fatigue rate. Fitness did not significantly enhance the recovery process with respect to cognitive work capacity, and actually appeared to hinder recovery from fatigue.     

Attending to social vulnerability when rationing pandemic resources

Pandemic plans are increasingly attending to groups experiencing health disparities and other social vulnerabilities. Although some pandemic guidance is silent on the issue, guidance that attends to socially vulnerable groups ranges widely, some procedural (often calling for public engagement), and some substantive. Public engagement objectives vary from merely educational to seeking reflective input into the ethical commitments that should guide pandemic planning and response. Some plans that concern rationing during a severe pandemic recommend ways to protect socially vulnerable groups without prioritizing access to scarce resources based on social vulnerability per se. The Minnesota Pandemic Ethics Project (MPEP), a public engagement project on rationing scarce health resources during a severe influenza pandemic, agrees and recommends an integrated set of ways to attend to the needs of socially vulnerable people and avoid exacerbation of health disparities during a severe influenza pandemic. Among other things, MPEP recommends: 1. Engaging socially vulnerable populations to clarify unique needs and effective strategies; 2. Engaging socially vulnerable populations to elicit ethical values and perspectives on rationing; 3. Rejecting rationing based on race, socioeconomic class, citizenship, quality of life, length of life-extension and first-come, first-served; 4. Prioritizing those in the general population for access to resources based on combinations of risk (of death or severe complications from influenza, exposure to influenza, transmitting influenza to vulnerable groups) and the likelihood of responding well to the resource in question. 5. Protecting critical infrastructures on which vulnerable populations and the general public rely; 6. Identifying and removing access barriers during pandemic planning and response; and 7. Collecting and promptly analyzing data during the pandemic to identify groups at disproportionate risk of influenza-related mortality and serious morbidity and to optimize the distribution of resources.