bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Constituency Bias in a Federal Career System?
Authors: Twight Ben W. , Lyden Fremont J. , Tuchmann E. Thomas
Published: March 2007

A discriminant analysis of environmentalist and industrialist constituent publics of the U.S. Forest Service along with agency responses to 26 attitude, preference, and conservation value questions demonstrates that field-level line officers of this elite federal career system share attitudes and preferences with only one of these constituencies. Rather than holding the middle-ground position between these two groups, described by Culhane in a 1981 book on politics and the public lands. Service attitudes are more consistent with a 1979 land use decision made by their agency, which allocated 58.3% of the U.S. de facto wilderness land for the use of its industrial clientele and 24.3% in favor of the environmentalist position. Group means (centroids) show that Forest Service managers' attitudes overlap heavily with their industrialist constituency, but only slightly overlap with their environmentalist constituency.
Ethics Management in Municipal Governments and Large Firms
Authors: Berman Evan , West Jonathan , Cava Anita
Published: March 2007

This study compares the ethics management strategies of large cities and firms with the purpose of examining whether public-private sector differences that have been hypothesized in the literature are reflected in ethics management practices. The findings suggest that differences between the public and private sectors are minimal; however, cities use more regulatory-based strategies, and large firms use code-based strategies. Moral leadership by senior managers is the most important strategy for improving ethics in both sectors. Concerns about litigation, public complaints, and promoting good public relations are important reasons driving concern with ethics in both cities and firms.
Through the Ethical Looking Glass Darkly
Authors: Menzel Donald C.
Published: March 2007

This article seeks to contribute to a growing. body of empirical research on ethics issues in the public sector. More specifically, this article reports findings that describe and analyze the ethical perceptions and outlooks of three sets of actors-citizens who file ethics complaints against public officials, the officeholders who are accused of ethical lapses, and local government managers. The research addresses two questions: (a) How do these actors view their ethical environs? (b) Are their ethical outlooks similar or dissimilar, congruent or incongruent? A third question is also addressed, one that follows from the effort to answer the first two questions: What are the implications for governance if ethical outlooks, especially those held by public officials and public managers, are incongruent?
Employee Attitudes toward Total Quality Management in an Epa Regional Office
Authors: Zeitz Gerald
Published: March 2007

Employee attitudes toward implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) are studied in a regional office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The author condected more than a dozen interviews and adnistered questiousaires to 448 employees in the summer of 1991. Contrary to previous literature, clerical and managerial employees were most favorable toward the TQM program, whereas professionals were most negative. Apparently, professionals have experienced more work and few immediate rewands from the TQM implementation process, perhps because the agency stuied had not yet used TQM to simplify work processes for professionals. More behavioral research on TQM is calledfor.
Reason, Discretion and Tradition
Authors: Haque Akhlaque U. , Spicer Michael W.
Published: March 2007

This article seeks to better identify Edmund Burke's views on human reason and human nature, tradition, representation, and law, and the implications of these views for public administration. Parallels between Burke's thought and that of the Founders (Founding Fathers) are examined. Also, the reasons for neglect of Burke's thought by public administration writers are discussed. Drawing on Burke's thought, the article presents an argument for the exercise of significant discretion by public administrators but argues that this discretion should be limited by administrative rules and procedures and by a set of ethics that emphasizes prudence and tradition.
Values in Flux
Authors: Lui Terry T. , Cooper Terry L.
Published: March 2007

The ethical orientations of senior civil servants in Hong Kong are examined using survey datafrom a sample of279 officials involved in advanced training and university professional training programs. These public officials were found to identify strongly with the classical ideal constituted by administrative neutrality, loyalty to hierarchy, and respect for organizational rules. However, indications of more assertive personal values independent of the organization were discovered. This erosion of neutrality is characterized by espousal of liberal values such as fairness, equality, justice, honesty, integrity, human dignity, and individual freedom. The extent to which these values reflect a latent professional ethic as an autonomous basis for moral judgment and conduct remains unclear Although at present these administrators experience little incongruence between the rules and norms of the organization and their liberal values, whenever presented with a hypothetical conflict they tend to optfor loyalty to the bureaucratic hierarchy.
The Empowerment Construct in Manager-Executive Relationships
Authors: Olshfski Dorothy , Cunningham Robert
Published: March 2007

Empowerment is common to both the scholarly and the popular management literature. However, empowerment’s many interpretations have dulled the concept as a research tool. Here, empowerment is separated into perceived environment and individual behavior components. The linkage between organization environment and managerial behavior is tested with a population of 23 effective managers. It is found that an accepting or empowering environment increases the probability that the effective manager will undertake activities outside the job description, but that an empowering environment is not necessary for effective middle-manager behavior.
Benefits of Allocentrism for the Subjective Well-Being of African Americans
Authors: Kernahan Cyndi , Bettencourt B. Ann , Dorr Nancy
Published: March 2007

This study examines the relationship between allocentrism and subjective well-being among African Americans and European Americans. In addition, for these groups we tested the relationship between idiocentrism and subjective well-being. Eighty-four African Americans and 122 European Americans completed measures of allocentrism, idiocentrism, self-esteem, extraversion, life satisfaction, and general positive affect. The results show that the relationship between allocentrism and subjective well-being is of greater magnitude for African Americans than for European Americans. Similarly, there is a tendency for idiocentrism to be more highly negatively related to subjective well-being for European Americans than for African Americans. The results are discussed in terms of Baldwin and Hopkins’s theory of African American and European American worldview.
Games Intellectuals Play: Authority, Power, and Intelligence
Authors: Price Juanita D. , Cutler Carolyn E.
Published: March 2007

Herrnstein and Murray’s racist tome, The Bell Curve, becomes the occasion for an examination of issues related to authority and power. Their analysis of society and, more important, what they leave out allows the authors the opportunity to reexamine the ways in which people who have been denied power have successfully challenged oppression and oppressors. It is only when we have this understanding that we can consider and put into use effective strategies for change.
NTU Psychotherapy: An Afrocentric Approach
Authors: Phillips Frederick B.
Published: March 2007

NTU psychotherapy is based on the core principles of ancient African and Afrocentric world view, nurtured through African American culture, and augmented by concepts and techniques of Western psychology. NTU psychotherapy is spiritually based and aims to assist people and systems to become authentic and balanced within a shared energy and essence that is in alignment with natural order. Furthermore, NTU therapy utilizes the principles of Nguzo Saba as guidelines for harmonious living. Basic principles of NTU therapy include: Harmony; Balance; Interconnectedness; Cultural Awareness; and Authenticity. The role of the NTU therapist is based on a spiritual relationship with the client system since NTU therapy recognizes that the healing process is a natural process in which the therapist assists the client system to rediscover natural alignment. The five phases of NTU psychotherapy are: Harmony, Awareness, Alignment, Actualize, and Synthesis.
Self-Esteem, Cultural Identity, and Psychosocial Adjustment in African American Children
Authors: Whaley Arthur L.
Published: March 2007

Identity development in African American children-has been afocus of research for over a half century. However, confusion remains about the nature of identity formation in African American children. This article reviewed the literature on self-esteem and cultural identity the two most studied aspects of identity in African American children, to better understand their relationships to psychosocial adjustmentas well as to each other The limitations of the social-psychological perspective were noted, and the need to consider cognitive-developmental and culturalfactors was addressed. Self-esteem and cultural identity were found to be independent aspects of personal identity in African American children that follow the same cognitive-developmental course. Cultural identity seemed to be more influential in the psychosocial adjustment of African American children. Discussion of the clinical and educational implications of thesefindings emphasized the importance of the concept of competence ratherthan self-esteem. It was concluded that the concept of competence provides a more integrative perspective on the interactions of social experiences, cultural factors, and cognitive development in the process of identityformation in African American children.
Toward a Global World Community: The Role of Black Psychologists
Authors: Penn Michael L. , Kiesel Lori
Published: March 2007

Over the past century, integrationism, separatism, accommodation, assimilation, and tolerance have provided the recurring root metaphors for conceptualizing interethnic relations across the globe. The effort to preserve or secure ethnic identity and sociopolitical autonomy in an increasingly interdependent world has required ethnic groups to face the insurmountable paradox posed by these root metaphors for understanding interethnic relations. On the one hand, ethnic groups are rightfully concerned about the preservation of their autonomy and cultural identity; on the other, a well-functioning, multiethnic, global society requires that we overcome the inherent limitations associated with tribalism, racialism, and nationalism. The current long-standing debate that compares the merits of integrationism, separatism, accommodation, assimilation, and tolerance has thus become stale and unproductive. An emerging dialogue, however, seeks to articulate an organic (dialogic) metaphorfor conceptualizing interethnic relations and to elucidate the processes whereby such a metaphor may be given practical reality. This article describes these processes and recommends a role for Black psychologists in the transition to a global world community.
What Good Is This Thing Called Intelligence and Why Bother to Measure It?
Authors: Hilliard Asa G.
Published: March 2007

This article contains a review of issues and documentation concerning the possibility of "measuring " the intelligence of students. The construct validity of "intelligence, " the role of cultural context as a modifier of the meaning of test results, and the lack of meaningful predictive validity of IQ tests are discussed. A discussion of the utility of the intelligence construct and IQ measures, and their relationship to the design of beneficial pedagogy follows. Based on reviews of empirical evidence, it is concluded that the measurement of intelligence as practical, at present, makes no contribution to the design of instruction that is beneficial to students, as far as academic achievement is concerned. The main effects of the present popular intelligence measures are found to be negative.
Distrust of Whites, Acculturation, and AIDS Knowledge Among African Americans
Authors: Klonoff Elizabeth A. , Landrine Hope
Published: March 2007

The relationship among acculturation, distrust of Whites, and AIDS knowledge forAfricanAmericans was explored with a sample of 171 adults using theAfrican American Acculturation Scale-Short Form (AAAS-33) and the AIDSRisk Behavior Knowledge Test. Results revealed that African Americans who had high knowledge of the behaviors that spreadAIDS were more acculturated than those with low knowledge. In addition, those with highAIDS knowledge scored significantly lower on the Cultural Mistrust subscale of the AAAS-33. The latterfinding suggests that AfricanAmerican knowledge of AIDS transmission may be affected by distrust of Whites, with those who know the least about AIDS being the most distrustful. AIDS education and prevention efforts with African Americans may need to be conducted by African Americans.
The Ebonics Controversy
Authors: Williams Robert L.
Published: March 2007

The term Ebonics, coined by the author in 1973 at a conference on the language of Black children, was formed by combining ebony (black) and phonics (speech sounds). Two schools of thought on the origin of Ebonics are presented: (a) pidgin/Creole and (b) African retention. What sparked the national controversy on Ebonics was the Oakland school board's decision to recognize Ebonics as a legitimate language. The school board's primary goal is to discover more effective ways to improve African American children's acquisition of Standard English and reading skills. Three research studies are presented to support the use of Ebonics in the classroom as a bridge to Standard English. Many African American children speak Ebonics or a home language. Using the language children bring to school as a bridge to teaching new language systems is a widely used technique in second language acquisition.
Raising Safe Villages: Cultural-Ecological Factors That Influence the Emotional Adjustment of Adolescents
Authors: Stevenson Howard C.
Published: March 2007

The fear of real and imaginary calamity is a detrimental strain on the emotional adjustment of America's urban youth. This study investigated the relationship of African American adolescent perceptions of calamity fears, kinship social support, and neighborhood social capital to various aspects of depression. Findings indicate that adolescents from urban neighborhoods, where they felt safe and were fearful of potential calamity, showed lower levels of global depressive symptoms. Some interesting gender differences were noted, with adolescent girls from high-risk neighborhoods benefiting the mostfrom high levels of neighborhood social capital and high levels of calamity fear Implications for integrating ecological factors into violence prevention and mental health promotion programs are discussed.
African American Evaluations of Black English and Standard American English
Authors: White Michael J. , Vandiver Beverly J. , Becker Maria L. , Overstreet Belinda G. , Temple Linda E. , Hagan Kelly L. , Mandelbaum Emily P.
Published: March 2007

AfricanAmerican undergraduates evaluated two language guises: BlackEnglish and Standard American English. The speaker in these guises described activities in a weekend (informal) and in a business (formal) setting. Based on their scores on the African Self-Consciousness Scale, 55 respondents were categorized as having either a low or high commitment to an African American identity. Results showed that persons without a committed Black identity evaluated Black English as lower on status than those with a committed Black identity. Black English was not perceived as reflecting higher social solidarity.
Racial Identity and Racial Socialization Attitudes of African American Parents
Authors: Thomas Anita Jones , Speight Suzette L.
Published: March 2007

This study explores racial socialization messages used by African American parents, specific messages according to the gender of children, and the relationship between racial socialization and racial identity attitudes as measured by the Racial Identity Attitude Scale. One hundred four African American parents participated in the study. Racial socialization was seen as important to the vast majority of parents and they reported a wide variety of socialization messages. Chi-square analysis suggests that messages differ according to gender. Multiple regression analysis suggests that internalization attitudes contribute to 19% of the variance of racial socialization attitudes, indicating that parents with internalization attitudes are more likely to view racial socialization as important. Implications and limitations of the investigation are discussed, and suggestions for future research are presented.
Development of a Racial and Ethnic Identity Scale for African American Adolescents: The Survey of Black Life
Authors: Resnicow Ken , Soler Robin E. , Braithwaite Ronald L. , Selassie Mahseeyahu Ben , Smith Matt
Published: March 2007

The authors report the development of a racial/ethnicity identity (REI) measure for African American adolescents. The Adolescent Survey of Black Life (ASBL) was administered to two samples, comprising 286 and 60 respondents, respectively. Three factors were identified: pro-Black (7 items), anti-White (4 items), and racism awareness (5 items). Scores on the pro-Black factor were significantly related to anti-drug attitudes, and in Sample 1, they were also significantly related to positive school attitudes and behaviors, problem behaviors (negatively), and self-esteem. Anti-White scores in Sample 2 were significantly related, in the negative direction, with positive school attitudes and behaviors and prosocial activities, as well as positively related with drug use. Recognition of racism was significantly associated with positive school attitudes, problem behaviors, and drug use in Sample 1. Findings should be tempered by the cross-sectional design, small sample size, and the inconsistency and magnitude of the observed correlations. Initial psychometric data suggest construct validity of the ASBL, and further development of the instrument may be warranted.
The Social and Cultural Context of Coping with Sickle Cell Disease: III. Stress, Coping Tasks, Family Functioning, and Children’s Adjustment
Authors: Barbarin Oscar A. , Whitten Charles F. , Bond Sandy , Conner-Warren Rhonda
Published: March 2007

Conceptions of individual and family coping with sickle cell disease (SCD) must incorporate several disease and sociocultural factors. This article proposes an integrative model and tests the relative contribution of model parameters to the prediction of social, academic, and psychological adjustment of children with SCD. The individual coping and family functioning variables most highly predictive of the child’s psychological outcomes (anxiety, depression, and positive mood) include parental psychological functioning, maturity demands made of the ill child, and the quality of relations with parents and siblings. Academic adjustment was significantly predicted by parental academic expectations and by the child’s rejection of a restrictive sick role. Competent social functioning also was predicted by the extent to which the ill child rejected the role of being sick.
Cross-Cultural Child-Rearing Practices: Implications for School Psychologists
Authors: Escovar Peggy L. , Lazarus Philip J.
Published: March 2007

This paper discusses the data base of research in the area of crosscultural child rearing practices. Implications for the practising school psychologist are presented.
Comparative Views on Educating Students with Special Needs American and Soviet Approaches
Authors: Gibson Janice T.
Published: March 2007

The USA and the USSR are well known to hold diametrically opposed views on a wide variety of topics from political-economic systems to child-rearing and educational practices. So it is not surprising that they espouse widely divergent approaches towards educating students with special needs.
School Psychology in Denmark
Authors: Dyssegaard Birgit
Published: March 2007

Special education in Denmark began in 1807 with the establishment of the first residential school for deaf children. The development of education for deaf children since then reflects the development of Danish special education in general; from residential schools run by the state to the current emphasis on mainstreaming of disabled children in their local schools. Since the early 1950s school psychologists have had increasing influence on the development of special education. Today the school psychological team members with their central place in the system and their many different roles seem to be in a unique position to support deaf children and their families through the stages of development.
The Language-Disordered Child
Authors: Moody Janet B.
Published: March 2007

Many teachers must confront-and help overcome-the problem of the child who has difficulty communicating in his own language. This perennial challenge is rendered more difficult in the context of the international school-away from the child's native surroundings and culture and yet likely to impose on him a higher standard of academic performance. We describe some of the ways in which this disability manifests itself and offer some suggestions for dealing with it.
International Practices in School Psychology Training in Denmark
Authors: Spelling Kaj
Published: March 2007

The first Scandinavian School Psychological Service was established in April 1934 in the municipality of Frederiksberg, which is an independent part of Greater Copenhagen. The founder was Dr Henning Meyer. Soon afterwards, other school psychological offices (as they were then called) appeared, and the lack of qualified school psychologists had to be faced. There were a few persons (all of them teachers) who had studied psychology at the University of Copenhagen and had taken a degree as 'magister' (corresponding to a master's degree, or in some cases to a doctor's degree). But a rather quick escalation of the school psychological work resulted in a serious lack of qualified school psychologists. This was one reason for the establishment of a new study programme at the University of Copenhagen culminating with the degree candidatus psychologiae (abbreviated cand. psych.).
Mental Health Consultation in Schools
Authors: Abec James Martin
Published: March 2007

This article describes mental health consultation in school systems from a developmental perspective. The author observes, based on his experiences as a psychological consultant to a number of suburban school systems, that the type of consultative services requested may vary as a function of the relationship between the consultant and the system. As this relationship develops in depth and complexity, the consultation contract expands from case consultation to programme consultation and finally to organizational consultation. Prerequisite conditions necessary for successful consultation by an independent consultant are described.
The Role of the Educational Psychologist in Pastoral Care Provision
Authors: Hamilton Peter
Published: March 2007

The central theme of this paper is that the area of pastoral care provision in schools affords a prime opportunity for educational psychologists to change their role. Rather than being allocated the casualties of the education system to work with, educational psychologists can play a key role in assisting schools to analyse their pastoral systems, develop whole school policies, and improve teachers' skills and understanding. An example of educational psychologists providing a consultancy service to schools in pastoral care is provided from a recent Western Australian Education Department initiative.
School Psychology in Israel in the Aftermath of an Anti-Test Campaign
Authors: Zeidner Moshe
Published: March 2007

This paper draws striking parallels between the current anti-test campaign waged in Israel and the test controversy in the USA, which peaked in the late 1970s. In addition, the ramifications of the recent test controversy for the professional role and future functioning of Israeli school psychologists are discussed.
Assessing the Learning Environment
Authors: Pielstick N. L.
Published: March 2007

School psychology has a history of struggle with the barriers imposed by the limitations of diagnostic methods and instruments. As new directions in psychological service to schools emerge, new diagnostic methods are needed to obtain the information necessary for intervention. Conversely, as new diagnostic methods and instruments have become available, the services provided by school psychologists can be expanded. In the early days of school psychology the services provided by school psychologists were derived from clinical psychology (Cutts, 1955). Tests of intelligence and personality were adopted with little adaptation for the particular problems referred by school personnel. As a consequence, the reports which were provided for teachers tended to be of limited value and were rightly criticized for not being relevant to the problems faced by teachers.
Differences in Text Comprehension Amongst 7-8-Year-Old Children
Authors: Fletcher J. , Pumfrey P. D.
Published: March 2007

The aim of this research was to compare the effectiveness of the three receptive language modes of oral reading, silent reading and listening, for comprehension of short pieces of text. Thirty-six children were used in the study, aged between 7:06 and 8:06 years old.

Three parallel passages at two levels of the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability (NARA) were used as texts. The order of presentation of each mode, and the particular text used for each mode, were both varied as part of the design. A complex Analysis of Variance design was used, incorporating the following independent variables:

(a) Reading Attainment of children;

(b) Sex of children;

(c) Order of presentation of text;

(d) Mode of presentation of text;

(e) Form of text.

The dependent variable was NARA comprehension scores. Interaction effects were noted between certain combinations of the Independent Variables of Attainment, Sex, Form and Order. The Level 1 reading task did not discriminate effectively between the different attainment groups. As a consequence of this, the attitude of certain groups of children to the task seemed to affect their performance more than did their level of attainment. At both Levels 1 and 2 of the NARA the results demonstrated significant differences between the mode groups, with the silent reading group performing more poorly than either the oral reading or listening groups. This was thought to be because:

(a) The subjects were free to establish meaning whilst listening, and this assisted comprehension.

(b) The subjects' act of verbalization in the oral reading mode, helped to establish meaning.
Diagnostician-Parent Communication
Authors: Williams Betsy L. , Hartlage Lawrence C.
Published: March 2007

This study investigated whether there exists a communication gap between a diagnostician and the parents of children evaluated for learning difficulty in the classroom. The focus involved how accurately the diagnostician relayed information; the extent of the possible gap between what the diagnostician said and what the parents perceived immediately after the interpretation; and then one week later. Twenty children having some type of academic difficulty were given complete psychoeducational evaluations. The parents of each child were given an interpretation of the test results with the session recorded. Following the interpretation, the diagnostician and the parents filled out forms indicating their perceptions of what was said. A week later, parents were asked to fill out another form to see if the parents' perception of the interpretation changed over time. At a later time, an independent rater listened to the tapes and rated what the diagnostician actually told the parents. There was 47 percent agreement between the diagnostician and the parents' responses immediately after the interpretation. A week later agreement was 44 percent. A comparison of parental responses immediately after the interpretation and their responses one week later yielded 71 percent agreement. Findings suggest poor communication between evaluator and parents with parents more consistent in their own recollection than in their recollection of what was actually told to them.
Integration of the Literature on the Intelligence of Japanese Children and Analysis of the Data from a Sequential Simultaneous Perspective
Authors: Kaufman Alan S. , Mclean James E. , Ishikuma Toshinori , Moon Soo-Back
Published: March 2007

This study reviewed, integrated and interpreted the literature on Japanese intelligence that followed from Lynn's (1982) conclusion of an 11-point WISC-R IQ superiority of Japanese over American children and adolescents. Reanalyses of Lynn's data, as well as subsequent research, suggest that the supposed 11-point Japanese superiority is exaggerated. In addition, this study explored the hypothesis that Japanese children perform significantly better on simultaneous processing than on sequential processing. Regression equations derived from a sample of American children who were tested on both the WISC-R and K-ABC were applied to Lynn's data on Japanese children. Results of these analyses supported the hypothesis of a discrepancy, with Japanese Simultaneous processing being significantly greater than Sequential processing, relative to American children, across virtually the entire 6-to 16-year age range.
Criteria for Children's Adjustment in School, Peer Group and Youth Movement
Authors: Takac Robert , Benyamini Kalman
Published: March 2007

Views of adjustment have undergone transformations, from a notion of competence as an innate urge to be effective, to the postulation of learned competencies suited to the demands of particular settings. Whereas much empirical work has been done on children's competent behaviour in schools, or school adjustment, the question of its generalizability elsewhere has been left open. The present pilot study examined and compared children's adjustment requirements in the school, the peer group and the youth movement, as viewed by the relevant norm-setters. Using an extended Hebrew version of Gesten's Health Resources Inventory (EH-HRI), 112 children of grades 5-7 (ages 10-12) from two Israeli primary schools were rated by 13 teachers, 26 peers and 10 youth leaders. Analyses of the ratings in both settings, separately for each school, yielded essentially similar factorial structures, also resembling those originally obtained in the USA. Correlates of school adjustment were found to pertain primarily to the 'rules/ obedience' and 'good student' factors: those associated with adjustment to the peer group belonged to the 'social adjustment' factor; and youth movement adjustment consisted of a diffuse variety of competencies. Evidently, all raters conceived of adjustment in their own settings as consisting of a distinct and rather unique complex of competencies. Specifically, the competencies required at school appeared to have almost no bearing on adjustment in the other settings. The idea that the schooling process plays a generalized socializatory role appears incongruent with the present findings, at least as far as concurrent adjustment requirements are concerned.
Behavior Problems Exhibited by Chinese Children from Singleand Multiple-child Families
Authors: Wang Fang-FANG , Liu De-HUA , Oakland Thomas
Published: March 2007

Behavior problems exhibited by 173 children in grades 3 through 5 from single-child and multiple-child families were evaluated through the Conners Rating Scale. Significant differences in behavior problems are noted between children raised in singlevs multiple-child families and between boys and girls. In general, behavior problems were more prominent among children from single-child homes than those with siblings and among single boys than single girls. Moreover, the Conners Rating Scale shows promising levels of reliability and validity.
School-Based Consultation
Authors: Ma Agnes
Published: March 2007

The use of school-based consultation, as a method of delivering educational psychology services to schools through collaborative problem-solving, is illustrated by an instance of assisting a physically handicapped school in Hong Kong to develop a 'school-focused' view on meeting children's needs. Information gathered during the consultation process showed that physically handicapped children's visible physical impairments were perceived by the staff to be embedded in contexts. This was contrary to the children's learning, social, language and communication behaviourwhichthe staffperceivedas disembedded from contexts and as 'child-focused'. The consultation process enabled the staff to reflect on their attitudes and current practices, leading to positive changes in the school, initiated by the staff members themselves.
Parental Behavior and African Adolescents' Self-Concepts
Authors: Mboya Mzobanzi M.
Published: March 2007

This study examines the relationships between adolescents' perceptions of parental behavior and a measure of adolescents' self-concepts. The research is based on 274 African adolescents (14 to 20 years of age). The Perceived Parental Behavior Inventory (PPBI) was used to operationalize adolescents' perceptions of parental behaviors. Adolescents' self-concepts were measured with the Self-Description Inventory (SDI). The findings suggest that adolescents' self-concepts (relations with family, general school, physical appearance, relations with peers, health, global) were positively related to their perceptions of parental behaviors. Girls' self-concepts (relations with family, general school, physical appearance, health) were found to be more sensitive to parental behaviors (support, interest, encouragement, expectations, and participation). In general, these findings tend to support the symbolic interactionist perspective of the development of self.
Crosscultural Comparison of Effects of Instrumental Enrichment on Children in a South African Mining Town
Authors: Skuy Mervyn , Mentis Martene , Durbach Fleur , Cockcroft Kate , Fridjhon Peter , Mentis Mandia
Published: March 2007

Feuerstein's theory of Structural Cognitive Modifiability, its construct of Mediated Learning Experience, and its vehicle of thinking skills development, Instrumental Enrichment (IE), have been widely discussed and researched. This study assessed the effectiveness of IE for primary school pupils, combined with concurrent provision to their teachers of training in Mediated Learning Experience and of curriculum packages embodying IE concepts. The effectiveness of the programme for groups of African, 'Coloured', and white English-speaking and Afrikaans-speaking fifth grade pupils in the segregated schools of a South African mining town was assessed. The post-intervention improvements for all groups on cognitive measures were significant, with varying results on scholastic, creativity and self-concept measures. For the African group, the improvements were significantly greater than for the others, which was expected in terms of their educational deprivation under apartheid. The value of IE, and of this particular model of implementation, for children of various cultural groups, is discussed.
Incidence of Basic Concepts in the Directions of New and Recently Revised American Intelligence Tests for Preschool Children
Authors: Flanagan Dawn P. , Kaminer Tammy , Alfonso Vincent C. , Raderc Damon E.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this paper was to provide comparative data as a follow-up to Bruce A. Bracken (1986) regarding basic concepts contained in the test directions of five new or recently revised American intelligence tests for preschoolers. Two measures of basic concepts, the Bracken Basic Concept Scale (BBCS; Bracken, 1984) and the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts-Preschool Version (Boehm-Preschool; Boehm, 1986), were used to assess: (a) the presence of basic concepts in the directions of intelligence tests; (b) the percentage of preschool-age children who understand these terms; and (c) the frequency with which basic concepts occur throughout test administration procedures. Results indicated that use of the Boehm-Preschool alone or an examination of only the presence of basic concepts and the proportion of children who understand them provide limited information about the difficulty of test directions. It is not until one tabulates the total number of times (that is, frequency) that each basic concept occurs in test directions that their true complexity is realized. This review showed that all intelligence test directions contain excessive use of difficult basic concepts. Although data are not available to examine the extent to which children from countries other than America are likely to understand test directions, in light of the present results, it seems reasonable to assume that all young children may have difficulty comprehending intelligence test directions, regardless of country of origin.
Worker Control: The Bases of Women's Support
Authors: Collom Ed
Published: March 2007

A vast amount of research on women and work indicates that women have not gained parity with men in the paid workforce. Workplace democracy is particularly relevant for women. I employ US national survey data from 1991 to analyze women's support for worker control over workplace decision-making. The nature of this support is hypothesized using four branches of feminist theory. An analysis of the gender gap in attitudes is performed and then I incorporate logistic regression to test for cleavages in women's attitudes. The lack of consistency across the items suggests that these specific work issues are not reflective of a larger, generalized predisposition to workplace democracy. I conclude by considering the relationship between women and the labor movement. Union-supported worker participation is most likely to improve women's working conditions.
Temped Out? Industry Rhetoric, Labor Regulation and Economic Restructuring in the Temporary Staffing Business
Authors: Peck Jamie A. , Theodore Nikolas
Published: March 2007

The article develops a conceptualization of the role of the temporary staffing industry (TSI) in the wider economy, with particular reference to the 'home'of temping, the USA. It is suggested that the TSI should be understood as an active agent of labor-market deregulation and restructuring, contrary to the industry's selfrepresentation as a neutral intermediator in the job market and as a mere facilitator of more efficient and flexible employment systems. The article draws attention to the active steps that the industry has taken to establish (and defend) the legally ambiguous 'triangular' employment relationship upon which its very viability depends and, more generally, to make and grow its markets in segments as diverse as light assembly and construction work, health care, accountancy, teaching and a range of clerical occupations. The article argues also for a more finely grained analysis of the ways in which the temporary staffing business has itself transformed and restructured - as an inventive and energetic vendor of labor flexibility in what has been an expanding market since the industry's take-off in the 1970s. In fact, the American TSI has experienced a series of distinctive stages of growth over the past three decades, during which time it has searched but failed to find alternatives to the established business model of narrow margins, price competition and commodification. If there are limits to this industry's growth, then, these may well prove to be internal ones.
Context and Cooperation: Systematic Variation in the Political Effects of Workplace Democracy
Authors: Greenberg Edward S.
Published: March 2007

In this article, an argument is made for greater attention to contextuality in the study of workplace democracy and self-management. The central theme is that general statements about the political effects of such workplace arrangements are untenable; they must, instead, be grounded in historically specific politicaleconomic settings. The various political effects of workplace democratization are then explored across a range of such contexts, identified as unmediated market capitalist societies; mediated market capitalist societies; settings of revolutionary upheaval; and post-revolutionary societies. The article concludes by suggesting that workplace democratization generates objectively reactionary political effects in unmediated market capitalist societies like the United States.
The Power of Corporate Management: The Powerlessness of the Manager
Authors: Teulings Ad W.M.
Published: March 2007

Whereas the power of management as a labour process has greatly increased, the power of the individual manager as a participant in this process has diminished to an equal extent. The power of management as a whole is expressed both in an erosion of the classical market system (its functional substitute) as in the capacity to restore market relations by 'organized markets'. The power of management occurs side by side with the powerlessness of managers when we consider the relations between and within various levels of the labour process of management: institutional, strategic, structuring and operational management. Increasing rationality of the labour process of management is achieved by this differentiation and separation of functions, but also creates separate and contradictory logics of action. These inner contradictions result in a politicization of the relations between levels of management. As a consequence, individual managers have to cope increasingly with processes of political bargaining. The rules of rationality guiding their own labour process no longer appear to work in the process of accommodation with other levels of management. In this respect the managing of organizations is a form of alienating labour.
The Yugoslav Self-managed Firm in Historical Perspective
Authors: Prainikar Janez , Prawnikar Vesna
Published: March 2007

Any discussion of the Yugoslav self-managed firm must stress the historical changes which it has undergone. It is obvious that the theory of the self-managed firm must take into account real-life experience if it is to provide an explanation for what is happening. This paper will therefore present the main institutional changes in the development of Yugoslav self-management and the main characteristics of self-managed production units in each individual period. The discussion here is organized as follows:1 (1) a discussion of the role that self-managed production units played in particular periods (i.e. the process of decision-making, organization of the enterprise, role of management, relations to the environment); (2) a presentation of some basic characteristics in the development of Yugoslav selfmanagement which might be of importance for the theory of the selfmanaged firm and the possible future direction of Yugoslav selfmanagement as it is practiced.
Late Capitalism and the Decline of Trade Union Power in the United States
Authors: Milton David
Published: March 2007

The power of organized labor in the United States, measured by union representation in the labor force, political influence in Congress, and by public support for trade unions, has been in decline for two decades. During the 1980s a historic shift in political, economic and social power in favor of large corporations has altered the configuration of American society. As a result, a number of Business Administration faculties and industrial relations specialists believe that a new American industrial relations system may be emerging that will eliminate unions altogether or at least make organized labor irrelevant as an influence on the American social order. This article traces the causes and effects of the erosion of union power in the United States and suggests that no decisive gains by American workers in the direction of economic and industrial democracy can be expected in the absence of a strong labor movement. A new cooperative era of industrial relations is not at hand.
Task Analysis for Work Design on the Basis of Action Regulation Theory
Authors: Oesterreich Rainer , Volpert Walter
Published: March 2007

Action regulation theory is a psychological theory in which action is understood as a process covering not only the planning but also the concrete execution of actions. The theory was developed in the field of industrial psychology. Against the background of four basic concepts, formulated as 'theses' and further elucidated, the psychological analysis instrument known as 'VERA' is presented. It was designed for industrial work and subsequently modified into a form suitable for office work. The uses and limits of VERA are discussed. In conclusion, consideration is given to the significance of psychological methods and measures to current developments in work - with particular reference to attempts to render work more human.
Alternative Sharing Arrangements: A Review of the Evidence of Their Effects and Some Policy Implications for the US
Authors: Jones Derek C.
Published: March 2007

The available theoretical and empirical evidence on the economic effects of alternative 'sharing arrangements' is partially reviewed. From this, as well as consideration of other non-economic arguments, is derived a package of initiatives in workplace democratization and participation for the US. The package has two halves. First are proposals to expand the sectors in which workers have majority ownership and control. The discussion outlines which industries should be emphasized, the appropriate enabling legislation and how this might be financed. There follows a discussion of policies designed to encourage more modest expansions in worker ownership, participation and profits.
A Conceptual Analysis of Labour Relations in Cooperatives
Authors: Wetzel Kurt W. , Gallagher Daniel G.
Published: March 2007

This paper addresses the issue of union-employer relations in consumer and producer cooperatives. It traces the historical development of cooperative ideology as it relates to trade unionism in cooperatives and the attempts which the two democratically inspired movements have made to establish harmonious bargaining and workplace relationships. It provides evidence that the intensity and frequency of strike activity in cooperatives in Saskatchewan has increased and offers explanation of these phenomena.
Productive Forces and Industrial Citizenship: An Evolutionary Perspective on Labour Relations
Authors: Mller-Jentsch Walther
Published: March 2007

This paper presents the historical development of productive forces and citizenship rights and their mutual interference. The general hypothesis is that the organization of the capitalist labour process is mainly shaped by the state of productive forces and by the legal and political status of labour in civil society. By delineating the development of productive forces, the author makes use of the concept of 'industrial revolution' and describes a sequence of three distinct industrial revolutions and their main characteristics. Having sketched the contours of the organization and control of the labour process in the first and second industrial revolutions, the main challenges and opportunities of the third industrial revolution are discussed with the two following conclusions: (1) a convergence of the imperatives of the productive forces with the 'rising expectations' of workers could positively determine future labour relations in mature civil societies; (2) new tensions, however, may arise out of tendencies towards 'industrial feudalism' and a 'new hierarchical order' in hightech production.