Unspoken Skills and Tactics: Essentials for Immigrant Professionals in Integration to Workplace Culture

Skilled workers and their dependents are the largest group of economic immigrants in Canada, and their labour market integration is critical for immigrant well-being as well as host country economic productivity. However, immigrant professionals face significant barriers to workplace integration, including unfamiliarity with workplace norms and practices. Drawing on constructivist grounded theory, this qualitative study examined challenges associated with socio-cultural workplace interactions and etiquettes among immigrant professionals in Alberta, Canada, as well as strategies to facilitate workplace integration. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 32 immigrant professionals and 30 immigrant service providers and employers. Participants described challenges related to workplace communication and interactions, adaptation to new workplace cultures, recognition of qualifications and experience, and professional outcomes. They identified general professional values, skills, and capacities, and communication and relationships perceived as essential for workplace integration. Strategies for supporting workplace integration included continuing learning and education, training on cultural diversity and workplace skills, professional field experience, and professional mentorship. These findings have implications for practice and policies facilitating the workplace integration of immigrant professionals in Canada, including training and mentorship approaches.     

Effects of preweaning predatory or consummatory experience and litter size on cricket predation in northern grasshopper mice (Onychomys leucogaster)

Preweaning exposure to cricket killing and consumption, but not consumption alone, facilitated postweaning cricket predation. This facilitatory effect did not result from kill-sharing by the parents or from food competition among the offspring. The results were strongly influenced by litter size. Small litters (N = 3–4) were strongly facilitated in all measures of predatory behavior when compared to litters of five to six mice. Since smaller litters of this species also show much higher levels of play behavior, it is suggested that play frequency may strongly facilitate later predatory behavior.     

Partner aggression and children's externalizing problems: maternal and partner warmth as protective factors.

This research examined maternal and partner warmth as moderators of the relation between men's intimate partner aggression and children's externalizing problems. Participants were 157 mothers and their children (ages 7-9 years). Results indicate that maternal and partner warmth each moderated the relation between men's intimate partner aggression and children's externalizing problems. Partner-to-mother aggression was positively associated with child reports of externalizing problems at lower, but not higher, levels of maternal warmth. Similarly, partner-to-mother aggression was positively associated with mother reports of girls', but not boys', externalizing problems at lower, but not higher, levels of maternal warmth. On the other hand, the moderating effect of partner warmth was in the opposite direction and was found only with child-reported externalizing problems. Increased levels of partner-to-mother aggression related positively to child-reported externalizing problems when partners were higher, but not lower, in warmth.     

Impulsive and premeditated subtypes of aggression in conduct disorder: differences in time estimation

Research aimed at identifying and studying subtypes of aggression have historically dichotomized aggressive subtypes, although specific nomenclature has varied; one approach has been to classify aggressive behavior as predominantly impulsive or predominantly premeditated. There are a number of behavioral and cognitive differences between those exhibiting these different forms of aggression. This study was designed to extend understanding of the impulsive/premeditated aggression dichotomy by comparing time estimation among adolescents exhibiting predominantly impulsive or predominantly premeditated forms of physical aggression who have a psychiatric diagnosis of conduct disorder (CD). Time estimation has previously been shown to be disrupted in impulsive and some aggressive individuals. Time estimation was compared between healthy Controls (n = 37) and two groups of adolescents with CD, those with histories of either predominantly impulsive (CD-Impulsive, n = 26) or predominantly premeditated (CD-Premeditated, n = 38) aggressive behaviors. Participants completed five computerized trials during which they estimated when 1 min had passed. Among aggressive adolescents with CD, the misperception of time was specific to those with histories of impulsive aggression, although time estimates improved with repeated testing and performance feedback. This study confirms the importance of considering the role and type of physical aggression when studying heterogeneous diagnostic groups like CD and supports the relevance of time estimation to certain subgroups of adolescents with CD.