RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN EMPLOYEE RETENTION: ARE DIVERSITY CLIMATE PERCEPTIONS THE KEY?

Given considerable racial differences in voluntary turnover ( Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006 , Table 28), the present study examined the influence of diversity climate perceptions on turnover intentions among managerial employees in a national retail organization. The authors hypothesized that pro-diversity work climate perceptions would correlate most negatively with turnover intentions among Blacks, followed in order of strength by Hispanics and Whites (Hypothesis 1), and that organizational commitment would mediate these interactive effects of race and diversity climate perceptions on turnover intentions (Hypothesis 2). Results from a sample of 5,370 managers partially supported both hypotheses, as findings were strongest among Blacks. Contrary to the hypotheses, however, White men and women exhibited slightly stronger effects than Hispanic personnel.     

IS THERE METHOD TO THE MADNESS? EXAMINING HOW RACIOETHNIC MATCHING INFLUENCES RETAIL STORE PRODUCTIVITY

This article considers the efficacy of matching the racioethnicity of employees and the customer base as a human resource strategy within service organizations. Despite being advocated widely, the literature on its effectiveness is scant and riddled with conflicting findings. We revisit the theoretical rationale underlying this strategy, formulate new theory, and introduce the demographic representativeness construct (i.e., the congruence between employee and customer base profiles) to the organizational literature to test our hypotheses. Using multisource data pertaining to 739 stores of a U.S. retailer, the results indicate a positive effect of racioethnic representativeness on productivity, which is accounted for by improved customer satisfaction. Moreover, additional analyses showed this indirect relationship to be more pronounced in stores with larger minority customer bases.     

THE MAKER'S MEANING: DIVINE IDEAS AND SALVATION

The divine ideas tradition played a valuable but often unrecognized role in the history of Christian theology. This article investigates the possible loss to theology by examining how the divine ideas permitted a unified theology of creation and salvation, centred upon the contemplation of all things in Christ. Interpreting examples from Origen to Aquinas, the article demonstrates that leading theologians understood the full truth of all creatures to be known eternally by God in the procession of the Word, by whose incarnation, death, and resurrection the creatures are redeemed.     

ASSESSING THE EFFECT OF COHORT,GENDER, AND RACE ON DIFFERENTIAL ITEM FUNCTIONING (DIF) IN AN ADAPTIVE TEST DESIGNED FOR MULTI-AGE GROUPS

Differential item functioning (DIF) statistics were computed using items from the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT)-Reading Comprehension subtest for children of the same age group (ages 7 through 12 respectively). The pattern of observed DIF items was determined by comparing each cohort across age groups. Differences related to race and gender were also identified within each cohort. Characteristics of DIF items were identified based on sentence length, vocabulary frequency, and density of a sentence. DIF items were more frequently associated with short sentences than with long sentences. This study explored the potential limitation in the longitudinal use of items in an adaptive test.     

JOHN LOCKE AND THE PROBLEMS OF MORAL KNOWLEDGE

Abstract:  In this paper, I argue that John Locke's account of knowledge coupled with his commitments to moral ideas being voluntary constructions of our own minds and to divine voluntarism (moral rules are given by God according to his will) leads to a seriously flawed view of moral knowledge. After explicating Locke's view of moral knowledge, highlighting the specific problems that seem to arise from it, and suggesting some possible Lockean responses, I conclude that the best Locke can do is give us a trivial account of moral knowledge which cannot avoid problems with subjectivity and relativism.