Workplace Perceptions of Veterans and Nonveterans in the Department of Veterans Affairs

Much has been written about veterans and their reintegration into civilian society, but little or no information is available about veterans’ workplace perceptions and how these might differ from those of nonveterans. The authors compared veterans’ and nonveterans’ attitudes about work (including job satisfaction aspects, perceptions of coworker interactions, supervisory support, and others) in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) based on responses to the organizational census, VA All Employee Survey (AES; N = 179,271). Based on differences in crude (unadjusted, but controlling for location) item odds ratios (range 0.65–1.08), compared to nonveterans, veterans scored modestly lower on most AES items. The authors show how controlling for demographics changes the relative size and, in some cases, the direction of the differences. This current study is 1 of only 2, to our knowledge, large-scale assessments of veterans’ workplace perceptions and the only 1 which controlled the results for demographic characteristics.     

Academic Achievement of African American Preadolescents: The Influence of Teacher Perceptions

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors associated with the academic success of predominantly, middle-class African American preadolescent students. This study proposed an ecological model that considered the interaction of family environment, teacher perceptions of social skills, and student characteristics. The estimated model explained 58% of the variance in grade point average. Path analysis revealed three direct effects on grade point average, (a) grade level (negative), (b) teacher perceptions of social skills, and (c) academic ability. Findings revealed that teacher perceptions of social skills was a stronger predictor of grade point average than academic ability. Two indirect effects on grade point average were found. The first indirect effect was negative: gender predicted academic ability, which predicted teacher perceptions of social skills, which predicted grade point average. The second indirect effect was positive and it was from ability to teacher perceptions to grade point average. Implications for policy and practice are made that suggest a collaborative model of school counseling designed to promote the social and academic competence of African American students. Interventions that enhance teacher practices are also suggested.     

Infant food refusal and parental social support

The purpose of this study was to examine the relations between various aspects of social support and maternal and infant outcome variables in a group of families having infants showing food refusal compared to a control group. In the case of early food refusal, the results indicated that access to emotional support and satisfaction with support were related to maternal psychosomatic health. The relationships were interpreted as showing that social support has moderating effects on negative outcomes of food refusal.     

Spheres of Justice within Schools: Reflections and Evidence on the Distribution of Educational Goods

This article argues that there are distinct spheres of justice within education and examines a range of justice norms and distribution rules that characterize the daily life of schools and classrooms. Moving from the macro to micro level, we identify the following five areas: the right to education, the allocation of (or selection into) learning places, teaching–learning practices, teachers’ treatment of students, and student evaluations of grade distribution. We discuss the literature on the beliefs by students and teachers about the just distribution of educational goods in these five domains, and on the practices used in the actual allocation of these goods. In line with normative ‘spheres of justice’ arguments in social theory, we conclude that the ideals of social justice within schools vary strongly according to the particular resource to be distributed. Moreover, these ideals often do not correspond with the practices that actually guide resource distribution in education, which may go some way toward explaining explicit or latent conflicts in this sphere. Justice is a human construction, and it is doubtful that it can be made in only one way – Michael Walzer (1983, p. 5)     

风险社会与责任伦理

“风险社会”已经成为当今社会的重要特征,而传统的功利论、义务论、德性论等伦理学在应对社会风险问题时却存在着诸多局限。“责任伦理”在时空视域、伦理对象、核心理念等方面突破了传统伦理学的局限。树立和加强责任伦理的建构,能够积极有效地应对社会风险问题。     

L’évaluation du risque de récidive et l’intervention basée sur les données probantes : les conditions nécessaires à l’implantation de méthodes structurées d’évaluation et d’intervention efficaces

The results of different studies on the best practices of the prevention of recidivism are clear: it is possible to reduce the risk of recidivism of offenders through efficient intervention. Structured risk assessment combined with practices based on risk, need and responsivity principals may reduce the risk of recidivism by up to 30%. These programs, developed primarily in Canada, require adaptations to better suit a French context. The present article proposes to revise the main stages essential to the introduction of a new evaluation and intervention strategy based on evidence, namely, the exploration, the preparation of the establishment, the creation and implementation themselves, the sustainability approach and the introduction of evaluative research studies. The advantages of considering such an implementation strategy are discussed.     

Parental Perceptions of Child Development Among Low-Income Mexican American Families

Parents' perceptions of child development are influenced by complex interactions among cultural, social, and economic factors. Insights into how parents from culturally diverse societies perceive the development of their children might explain why different cultural groups foster or value the development of different skills in their children. In this study, we explored the perceptions of child development among low income Mexican American parents. A series of ethnographic interviews were conducted with eight Mexican American families who had preschool children. Qualitative data analyses yielded three main themes that were important to these parents: family attitudes and values, changes, and adaptations. For these parents, the development of social attributes in children, that will enable them to function within their own cultural group, was as important as the development of cognitive or motor skills. Service providers, such as school and mental health personnel, should take into account cultural differences in parents' perceptions of the importance of various developmental milestones for their children when suggesting interventions typically used by parents in the dominant culture.     

Ratings in Black and White: does racial symmetry or asymmetry influence teacher assessment of a pupil’s work habits?

Racial asymmetry, the circumstance of having a teacher’s race differ from that of his or her student’s race, is often considered important because most Black students are taught by White teachers. This paper analyzes data from a nationally representative sample of students and teachers to ascertain the extent to which Black and White teachers differ in their evaluations of the work habits of their Black pupils. Unlike most other investigations on this topic, we explored the likelihood that subject matter and school demographics influence teacher-student relationships beyond the more visible factors of racial symmetry or asymmetry. Our analyses of NELS: 88 data using this framework reveal an inconsistent racial effect on teachers’ evaluations of Black students. The ratings of African American pupils by both Black and White teachers seem to be influenced by both the academic subject they teach and the demographic characteristic of the school. We discuss these findings and suggest avenues for further study.

When flexibility helps: Another look at the availability of flexible work arrangements and work-family conflict

Despite the positive press given to flexible work arrangements (FWA), empirical research investigating the link between the availability of these policies and work-family conflict is largely equivocal. The purpose of the present study was to begin to reconcile these mixed results through more precise measurement and the examination of moderators. Using a sample of employed women, we found that FWA relate more highly to work interference with family (WIF) than to family interference with work (FIW) and that temporal flexibility (flextime) has a stronger relationship with WIF than does spatial flexibility (flexplace). Additionally, we found family responsibility significantly moderated these relationships, such that the relationship was stronger for those with greater family responsibility. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.     

人格对高校教师薪酬公平感与工作满意度的缓冲作用探讨

采用分层回归分析方法检验“大五”人格对薪酬公平感与工作满意度的关系影响。通过薪酬公平感量表、工作满意度量表、“大五”人格量表对高校300个教师样本进行结构化问卷调查,结果表明：“大五”人格中开放性和神经质对薪酬公平感与工作满意度的关系起到一定程度的缓冲作用。