A Compositional Analysis of the Organizational Climate-Performance Relation: Public Schools as Organizations

The present study examined specific aspects of organizational climate related to job satisfaction, employee turnover, and organizational performance in public elementary schools. Survey data were obtained from school staff and students and from school district archives. Hypotheses tested included: (1) Employee perceptions of organizational climate and job satisfaction, when aggregated to an organizational level, would represent group-level constructs; (2) Employee perceptions of positive organizational climate would be associated with higher levels of job satisfaction and organizational performance and with lower levels of employee turnover; (3) Relations of organizational climate to organizational performance and to employee turnover would be mediated by employee job satisfaction; and (4) Employee perceptions of positive organizational climate and job satisfaction would be associated with less achievement disparity between minority and non-minority students. Study results supported all but one hypothesis. There was no evidence for the mediating effects of job satisfaction on relations of organizational climate to organizational performance and to employee turnover. Results were consistent with the broader organizational literature, which has shown the importance of orderly work environments, collegial relations, and supportive leaders for effectively functioning groups and organizations.     

Courtship learning in Drosophila melanogaster: Diverse plasticity of a reproductive behavior

Mechanisms for identifying appropriate mating partners are critical for species propagation. In many species, the male uses multiple sensory modalities to search for females and to subsequently determine if they are fit and receptive. Males can also use the information they acquire in this process to change their courtship behavior and reduce courtship of classes of targets that are inappropriate or unreceptive. In Drosophila, courtship plasticity, in the form of both nonassociative and associative learning, has been documented—the type of learning depending on the nature of the trainer. The conditions in which the male is presented with the training target can profoundly alter the cues that he finds salient and the longevity of the memory that he forms. With the exception of habituation and sensitization, these types of plasticity have an operant component in that the male must be courting to respond to the behavior-altering cues. Courtship plasticity is therefore a complex and rich range of behaviors rather than a single entity. Our understanding of these plastic behaviors has been enhanced by recent advances in our understanding of the circuitry underlying courtship itself and the identification of chemical cues that drive and modify the behavior. Courtship learning is providing a window into how animals can use a variety of sensory inputs to modulate a decision making process at many levels.When confronted with a potential mate, Drosophila melanogaster males perform a stereotyped courtship ritual. This behavior serves at least two obvious functions for the male. The first is to prime conspecific females for copulation. During courtship, the female is assessing the male''s suitability, and if the song he sings (Burnet et al. 1971; von Schilcher 1976a) and pheromones he emits (Grillet et al. 2006; Kurtovic et al. 2007) are correct for her species and of sufficient quality, her willingness to copulate is increased. She will slow her locomotion, present her abdomen to the male, and then spread her wings and genital plates to allow him to mount (Lasbleiz et al. 2006). A second function of courtship is that it allows a male to accumulate information about the target courtship object to assess its suitability and receptiveness. The male uses auditory, mechanosensory, visual, and chemosensory signals from the target to make this assessment (for review, see Villella and Hall 2008; Ejima and Griffith 2009).Since D. melanogaster males will avidly initiate courtship of a wide variety of inappropriate and/or unreceptive targets, including immature males, sexually immature virgin females, mated females, and heterospecific females, the information obtained during courtship is critical to deciding whether to increase the intensity of his effort or terminate pursuit of the target. In the last several years, courtship has become a favored model for those researchers interested in how the nervous system specifies “innate” behaviors. While it is true that a male does not have to be instructed to produce adequate courtship (Hall 1994; Clyne and Miesenbock 2008), this apparently stereotyped behavior is far from static: It can be modified in a dizzying number of ways by experience. In this paper, we will discuss how information gathered during courtship can allow males to learn about specific types of courtship objects and broadly modify future behavioral responses to a particular class of target.     

Evaluating the invariance and validity of the structure of dysfunctional attitudes in an adolescent population

Form A of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS-A), a self-report measure of depressive beliefs, is widely used to test Beck's cognitive model of depression. The present study is the first to evaluate the DAS-A factor structure in an adolescent population of 542 high school juniors and the first to examine a hierarchical model. Findings support the existence of a hierarchical structure consisting of two conceptually meaningful group factors (Dysfunctional Attitudes About Achievement and Dysfunctional Attitudes About Needing Approval), a method factor consisting of reverse-worded items, and a general factor, which accounts for 65% of the variance in total scores. The general factor is related to sociotropy, autonomy, and neuroticism, whereas the Dysfunctional Attitudes About Achievement and Dysfunctional Attitudes About Needing Approval factors demonstrate convergent and discriminant validity with respect to autonomy and sociotropy. The structure displays partial metric invariance in female and male students as well as in Caucasian and Non-Caucasian students.     

Realizing race

Philosophical Studies - A prominent way of explaining how race is socially constructed appeals to social positions and social structures. On this view, the construction of a person’s race is...     

Addressing social determinants of health: Supporting ex-offenders’ employment through use of the Systems Theory Framework

There remains a need for counselors well-prepared to work with ex-offenders. As counselors aim to meet ethical obligations toward advocacy, they often seek to address social determinants of health (SDOH) challenges. Those working with ex-offenders should be aware of unique employment challenges ex-offenders may face and possess a baseline knowledge of the justice system for pertinent collaboration. This paper provides an explanation of how the Systems Theory Framework may be used to address ex-offenders’ employment-related needs through addressing SDOH challenges and collaborating with the justice system. Implications for employment counselors, counselor educators, and supervisors and steps for future research conclude.