Time congruity in the organization: A proposed quality-of-life framework

The present paper examines the importance of matching thetime styles of individuals with thetime styles established by organizations. The authors introduce the notion oftime congruity to represent such a matching process. While time use has been studied in both organizational and individual contexts, lesser attention has been given to such multi-level analysis. When the individual's self time preferences are matched to the time use methods of the organization, a fit is thought to exist, potentially leading to satisfactory performance and enhancement of quality of work and general life. A framework is proposed for identifying and exploring such congruity, leading to several research propositions. Managerial implications are developed for human resource issues and business combinations, such as joint ventures, mergers, and acquisitions.     

Some emotional uses of money

Pastoral Psychology -     

The Epic of Evolution as a Framework for Human Orientation in Life

This article sketches what is required of a world picture (religious or nonreligious) that is intended to provide orientation in the world for ongoing human life today. How do we move from conceptions and theories prominent in the modern sciences—such as cosmic and biological evolution—to an overall picture or cosmology which can orient us for the effective address of today's deepest human problems? A biohistoricalconception of the human is proposed in answer to this question.     

Notice and consent: The school's responsibility to inform parents

Parental involvement in planning and placement for 20 children initially referred for special education is described in light of the PL 94-142 requirements for informed parental consent. The pattern of notification and parental involvement in the planning and placement team in four elementary schools is described, and the level of parental understanding for four components of the special education decision (eligibility, placement, program goals, and review date) is examined. Comparisons indicate that parent's versions of each decision component were clear and accurate no more than 50% of the time for any of the four components, even though parents were present at the team meeting where these decisions were rendered. The highest accuracy in parental reports was for the placement decision, while unclear or erroneous versions of decisions regarding eligibility, program goals, and review date were even more frequent. Results are interpreted in light of the amount of change demanded of local school systems to insure that parents are giving informed consent for special education planning and placement decisions.     

Ripple effect: Communication of planning team decisions to program implementers

Due process provisions are intended to insure that special education placement and programming decisions are fair. However, educators should address the issue of whether those decisions are properly implemented. This paper explores how placement decisions are communicated to the teachers and support personnel who are responsible for implementing students' special education programs. The communication network used by planning teams was characterized as informal; most information was communicated orally by many different planning team members. The results were discussed in the context of whether the messages provided to program implementers were consistent and clear.     

Transfer across drives of the discriminative effect of a Pavlovian conditioned stimulus

Previous results suggest that a stimulus paired in Pavlovian fashion with reward should exert some discriminative control over an unrelated operant response acquired under a different drive-reward system. In the following experiment, a stimulus was first paired with food reinforcement for a hungry rat. Subsequently, the animal learned to lever-press for water reinforcements when thirsty but not hungry. Finally, the control over lever-pressing of the food-paired stimulus was tested by presenting it at various times during extinction of the lever-pressing response. All animals in the experiment showed the expected effect; each emitted more lever-presses during periods of the food-paired stimulus than during alternate control periods.     

TECHNO‐SECULARISM AND “REVEALED RELIGION”: SOME PROBLEMS WITH CAIAZZA'S ANALYSIS

Abstract. Instead of focusing my remarks on John Caiazza's interesting and important thesis about the way in which modern technology is drastically secularizing our culture today, I examine the frame within which he sets out his thesis, a frame I regard as seriously flawed. Caiazza's argument is concerned with the broad range of religion/science/technology issues in today's world, but the only religion that he seems to take seriously is what he calls “revealed religion” (Christianity). His consideration of religion is thus narrow and cramped, and this makes it difficult to assess properly the significance of what he calls techno‐secularism. I suggest that employing a broader conception of religion would enable us to see more clearly what is really at stake in the rise of techno‐secularism. Instead of defining the issues in the polarizing terms of revealed religion versus secularity, I argue for a more integrative approach in which concepts are developed that can bring together and hold together major religious insights and themes with modern scientific thinking. If, for example, we give up the anthropomorphism of the traditional idea of God as creator and think of God as simply creativity, it becomes possible to integrate theological insights with current scientific thinking and to formulate the issues posed by the rise of techno‐secularism in a more illuminating way. This in turn should facilitate effective address of those issues.     

Between Reason and Common Sense

This essay is intended as a companion‐piece to my article, “Reality in Common Sense: Reflections on Realism and Anti‐Realism from a ‘Common Sense Naturalist’ Perspective.” (Philosophical Investigations, Vol. 25, No. 4 (October 2002). It explores the epistemological dimension of the Common Sense Naturalism that I developed in that earlier, predominantly metaphysical essay; a position that combines the views of David Hume, Thomas Reid, and the Wittgenstein of On Certainty. My ultimate aim is to produce a comprehensive philosophy of common sense, one that with future installments, will come to include an ethical and social‐political philosophy as well. “Between Reason and Common Sense” offers a common sense naturalist reply to the skeptic. My basic argument is that the skeptic makes a Rylean category mistake, when he applies the concept of warrant to epistemologically basic beliefs, such as the belief in the external world or in the continued and distinct existence of bodies. He misidentifies these beliefs as being ordinary, when they are really a part of the framework that make the practices of believing and justifying possible. As a result, they are not themselves open to confirmation or disconfirmation. I also try to characterize the nature of the necessity carried by framework beliefs, in a way that avoids the charge that the common sense naturalist is simply a closet foundationalist.     

Religiosity and Spiritual Engagement in Two American Indian Populations

Social scientific investigation into the religiospiritual characteristics of American Indians rarely includes analysis of quantitative data. After reviewing information from ethnographic and autobiographical sources, we present analyses of data from a large, population-based sample of two tribes (n = 3,084). We examine salience of belief in three traditions: aboriginal, Christian, and Native American Church. We then investigate patterns in sociodemographic subgroups, determining the significant correlates of salience with other variables controlled. Finally, we examine frequency with which respondents assign high salience to only one tradition (exclusivity) or multiple traditions (nonexclusivity), again investigating subgroup variations. This first detailed, statistical portrait of American Indian religious and spiritual lives links work on tribal ethnic identity to theoretical work on America's "religious marketplace." Results may also inform social/behavioral interventions that incorporate religiospiritual elements.     

Improving quality of life in diverse rural older adults: a randomized trial of a psychological treatment

The efficacy of home-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in improving quality of life and reducing psychological symptoms in older adults was examined in this study. One hundred thirty-four participants, predominately African American and characterized as primarily rural, low resource, and physically frail, were randomly assigned to either CBT or a minimal support control condition. Results indicate that CBT participants evidenced significantly greater improvements in quality of life and reductions in psychological symptoms. Mediation of treatment through cognitive and behavioral variables was not found despite the acceptable delivery of CBT by research therapists. These data suggest that treatment can be effective with a disadvantaged sample of older adults and extend efficacy findings to quality of life domains. Creating access to evidence-based treatments through nontraditional delivery is an important continuing goal for geriatric health care.