Susceptibility to Emotional Contagion

Abstract

This article reports a psychometric evaluation of a measure of susceptibility to emotional contagion, designed to measure the degree to which a person is vulnerable to “catching” and sharing the emotion experienced by another. The scale was examined to test its application to depression, burnout, and impairment among practicing social workers. Data from a probability sample of 751 practicing social workers were collected in an anonymous survey about social workers' health and work issues. The sample was split to conduct exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The factor analyses resulted in a revised scale that demonstrated acceptable internal consistency reliability, good content validity, excellent factorial validity, and preliminary construct validity. Susceptibility to emotional contagion was related to burnout, depression, and professional impairment. Future recommendations are made and this instrument may be a useful tool for the identification, prevention, intervention, and education of social workers at risk for depression, burnout, and professional impairment.     

Recurrence in Workers' Compensation Claims: Estimates from a Multiple Spell Hazard Model

This paper estimates both single and multiple spell hazard models using a sample of workers' compensation claims (with soft tissue musculoskeletal injuries) from Ontario, Canada. Most of the results in this paper are consistent with the estimates in the existing literature. However, the duration elasticities for workers' compensation benefits and pre-injury earnings from the multiple spell hazard models are much larger than the estimates from the single spell models. This suggests that the estimates in existing literature that use single spell hazard models may underestimate the effect of benefits and pre-injury earnings on the duration of soft tissue musculoskeletal claims.     

Lloyd's Financial Distress and Contagion within the US Property and Liability Insurance Industry

The intra-industry effect of Lloyd's financial distress on publicly traded US insurance companies is examined. Given Lloyd's prominence in the international insurance industry, large losses raised questions about the industry's capacity for certain types of risks and the financial solvency of other insurers. The market value of US property-liability insurers fell significantly at the announcement. This decline is related to the firm's revenues from insurance and reinsurance exposure. Results support contagion between Lloyd's distress and the US insurance industry. The study raises concerns about the potential for a systematic disruption of the supply of reinsurance in the international marketplace.     

Is Workers' Compensation a Substitute for Unemployment Insurance?

This paper examines how the Workers' Compensation (WC) and Unemployment Insurance (UI) programs interact to influence the duration of claims due to workplace accidents. We use longitudinal WC administrative micro-data on more than 30,000 workers in the Canadian construction industry for the period 1976–1986. For the estimations, we use the Meyer (1990) semi-parametric proportional hazard model. Our results show, in particular, that a reduction in the UI replacement ratio is associated with an increase in the duration of claims due to severe accidents that are difficult to diagnose. Moreover, the duration of spells on WC is much higher when an accident occurs in December, a month which corresponds to the beginning of the lay-off season in the construction sector. This result is consistent with the fact that WC benefits are more generous than UI benefits in Canada.     

Depression in the Profession: Social Workers' Experiences and Perceptions

This study reports the findings of interviews with fifty socialworkers who volunteered to describe their personal experiencesof depression in the workplace. The findings confirm the literatureon the stresses of social work and provide an account of theways in which the social workers sought to reconcile their mentalhealth needs with their role as professionals. The study suggeststhe potential for those working at all levels in social workagencies to support social workers who are experiencing depression.At a time of shortages in the profession in the UK, and of effortsto enable those with mental health problems to remain in orreturn to work, the experiences of those social workers interviewedillustrate the managerial, training and human resource imperativesto provide more supportive workplaces.     

国企改制中工人的内部分化及其行动策略

本文具体分析了在国有企业改制过程中企业内部职工受雇身份的区别与他们的行动策略。计划经济时期的身份不平等在市场化改革中得以延续。通过对国企职工不同身份的分析可知,工人内部因身份不同而明显地分化为四个利益不同的群体,即国企退休职工、全民所有制固定工、全民所有制合同工以及国有企业内部的集体企业工人。面对市场化改革,在同样的体制环境下,四个不同的群体选择了不同的行动策略。身份、生存压力、再就业能力以及制度设计等要素是影响他们行动策略的主要因素。     

Intention to Leave the Profession: Welfare Social Workers Compared to Health Care and Community Social Workers in Israel

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to compare specific work related-factors (personal factor: length of work experience; structural factors: personal subjection to violence and fear of being subjected to violence; and psychological factors: professional quality of life—compassion satisfaction, burnout, and compassion fatigue) between welfare social workers (SWs) (n = 200) and health care and community SWs (n = 173). Furthermore, since the issue of turnover among SWs has important implications for the provision and programming of social services, the study also aimed to assess the relationship between these factors and SW intention to leave the profession. For the purpose of this study, online questionnaires were distributed to SWs working at social agencies and services. The findings suggest that the two categories of SWs showed a similarity with regard to the association between the personal and structural factors and intention to leave the profession. However, with regard to the psychological factors, the components of professional quality of life were found to operate differently in each category of SWs. It is suggested that future research examine other work-related factors and explore the intention to leave the profession among other social work specializations and employment sectors.     

同乡网络的另一幅脸孔:雇主-工人同乡关系对劳工个体权益的影响

移民研究文献强调同乡网络是移民重要的社会资本,对保护移民权益发挥着积极作用,而劳工研究文献则强调同乡网络对移民权益的剥夺作用。本文基于一个具有代表性的调查数据,采取倾向值匹配方法克服样本的选择性偏误,分析了“雇主-工人同乡”关系对农民工权益的影响。研究发现：（1）这种同乡网络对农民工人身权利等底线权益具有一定的保护作用,（2）但与更多的超时加班以及不符合最低工资标准等状况联系在一起,阻碍了农民工基本权益的实现,（3）与此同时,这种同乡关系对农民工社保福利等发展型权益的实现影响也不显著。最后,本文分析了农民工权益保护中同乡网络等社会资本的作用与限度,提出维护农民工权益的关键是制度建设与工会组织建设,以及农民工个体尽快脱离原始型社会资本,构建跨越型社会资本。     

Incentives and government relief for risk

Government relief is offered for a wide range of risks-natural disaster, economic dislocation, sickness, and injury. This article explores the effect of such relief on incentives and the allocation of risk in a model with private insurance. It is shown that government relief is inefficient, even when its level is less than the private insurance coverage that individuals would otherwise have purchased and even when private insurance coverage is incomplete due to problems of moral hazard.Harvard University and National Bureau of Economic Research (Cambridge, MA 02138; 617-495-4101). I am grateful for comments from Lucian Bebchuk, Martin Feldstein, John Parsons, Michael Rothschild, Steven Shavell, Lawrence Summers, and a referee, and for support from the John M. Olin Foundation.     

Injured but not Entitled to Legal Insurance Compensation – Ornamental Institutions and Migrant Workers’ Informal Channels in China

Due to the rapid industrialization and urbanization of China, an estimated 252 million farmers have migrated from impoverished rural areas to prosperous urban regions, seeking off‐farm employment. In China, these are referred to as migrant workers. Workers’ compensation insurance law represents one of the most vital formal institutions for Chinese migrant workers. Through in‐depth interviews with migrant workers and employers, the authors find that instead of making a formal claim based on workers’ compensation insurance law, most injured migrant workers adopt informal channels (e.g. bargaining, negotiation, threats, violence) to receive compensation from employers. Even when migrant workers are insured in accordance with the law, they may be denied legal insurance compensation and thus turn to informal private settlement. Generally, the amount of compensation acquired by means of informal private settlement is significantly smaller than that awarded in the case of legal insurance compensation. This practice reveals that, like some other formal institutions in China, workers’ compensation insurance law is merely a symbolic ornament, window‐dressing for the public, which are referred to as ‘ornamental institutions'. In the way they are designed, set up and funded, these ornamental institutions can easily prove illusory since they conceal an anarchic world wherein diverse informal channels of social actors emerge, which reflect the reality of Chinese society. Therefore, only through deep empirical research, like this study, can one see beyond the facade of modernity in contemporary China, observe the reality of social actors, and reflect upon the functioning of ornamental institutions.     

北京城市打工子弟学校的现状和问题

办学的艰难与条件的恶劣,使得打工子弟学校无法满足标准化的教学要求。本文试图通过相关的实际调查与经验总结,为改善打工子弟学校的困境提出一些看法,同时也建议政府出台相关的政策,解决好流动人口子女的就学问题。     

论对日索取民间战争赔偿的出路与意义

对日索取民间战争赔偿是中国人民的权利,然而目前索赔之路非常艰辛。扼要分析对日民间索赔的障碍,应从营造氛围和加强可操作性两个层面,探讨对日索赔的出路及其意义,首要的应是作好自己的事,这样才能与其它措施形成良性互动和合力,为这一问题的解决提供更多的选择。     

中日家庭德育之比较

家庭道德教育是社会道德教育的有机组成部分。中日两国素来具有重视家庭德育的传统,他们既有着共同的特点,也有着巨大的差异性。比较两国家庭德育的特点,借鉴日本家庭德育的成功经验,对于改进我国家庭德育教育方法,提高德育实践能力具有重要意义。     

Linking Perceived External Prestige and Intentions to Leave the Organization: The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction and Affective Commitment

ABSTRACT

The present study examines social workers' beliefs about the prestige that outsiders (e.g., patients, suppliers, competitors, and the public) attribute to their organization and the way these beliefs influence the social workers' commitment to the organization they work for, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions (i.e., intentions to leave the organization). We collected two primary data sets (N = 160 and N = 489, respectively) from social workers in nonprofit social service organizations in Israel in 2001 and 2002. In general, the results show that perceived (construed) external prestige results in higher employee commitment and satisfaction, which, in turn, leads to lower levels of intention to leave the organization. The implications of these findings for research on organizational image and employee commitment are discussed, with particular emphasis on social workers in nonprofit social service organizations.     

论我国船舶污染损害赔偿立法的完善

为了减少和防止船舶污染海洋环境以及赔偿污染受害者的损失进而保护海洋环境,国际社会和各主要航运国家都非常重视船舶污染损害赔偿立法.目前我国还没有一部调整船舶污染损害赔偿的专门法律,相关规定十分分散.虽然2010年开始实施的<防污条例>代表着我国船舶污染损害赔偿立法的进步,并有交通部新出台的<船舶油污保险办法>在船舶污染强制保险制度领域配套实施,但是关于船舶污染损害赔偿基金的立法仍是空白,使得我国无法在真正意义上建立船舶污染损害赔偿法律制度,无法实行与国际接轨的双重赔偿机制.加强船舶污染损害赔偿墓金立法,要坚持国际通行的双重赔偿机制,扩大摊款石油的范围、设立应急专项基金、明确基金来源及其管理机构的法律地位.     

Ambivalences and Dilemmas in Handling Family Violence Cases among Youth Workers in Hong Kong

This qualitative study investigates practice problems experienced by youth workers as they handled family violence cases. The findings show that practice problems experienced by youth workers in handling family violence cases might include: (at the individual level) role confusion, lack of sufficient knowledge and skills, and ethical tensions; (at the messo level) problems of multi-agency coordination; and (at the structural level) high risks associated with the impoverished community where they worked. It is recommended that the competence of youth workers in dealing with family violence cases could be enhanced through better training and multi-agency collaboration.     

Consistency and Change in Children's Tattling on their Siblings: Children's Perspectives on the Moral Rules and Procedures of Family Life

Children's tattling on their siblings was observed in 39 families when children were 2- and 4- and 4- and 6-years of age. Tattling was more frequent among older siblings, and increased across time, despite a corresponding decrease in sibling transgressions against one another and an increase in parents' negative reactions to tattling. Tattling was largely truthful, implicit in form, and more likely to concern transgressions of what parents also regarded as more important standards. Among 4- and 6-year-olds, tattling was related to children's negative behaviour to one another and equally likely when children faced ongoing conflict issues and when they merely wished to inform parents of sibling wrongdoing. Parents generally allowed their children to tattle on one another, rarely reprimanded tattlers, but responded to the information contained in the tattlers' reports. The parents' responses were related to the quality of their children's tattling, but the children's tattling was unrelated to the likelihood that parents would react either positively or negatively to it. Results are discussed in terms of the place of tattling within the family system, with emphasis on the children's understanding of the implications of their parents' involvement in their own disputes.     

试论国家赔偿责任与国家机关侵权民事责任

国家赔偿责任和国家机关侵权民事责任制度自确立以来,两者的界线一直比较模糊,在司法实践中混为一谈,国家机关侵权民事责任诉讼空置。通过对两者的比较分析,论证国家赔偿责任和国家机关侵权民事责任是性质不同的两种法律责任。在理论上厘清国家赔偿责任和国家机关侵权民事责任的区别,对于在司法上落实国家机关侵权民事责任提出对策。即首先要不断发展社会主义市场经济建设,加强法治建设;其次加强国家机关侵权民事责任和民主与法治的宣传教育;再次,不断加强司法独立。     

国有林生态效益补偿制度的缺失及其完善

长期以来,国有森林生态效益被无偿使用,森林经营者利益得不到保证,为保证国有林可持续发展经营,完善现行补偿制度刻不容缓。从法律管理的视角分析我国国有林生态效益补偿制度体系、补偿要素的内容、补偿的实施机制等方面的缺失,完善补偿制度应着眼于:国有林生态效益补偿法律制度立法目的与价值取向应该旨在协调国有林经营管护各方的利益,化解彼此间的利益冲突;维护社会公平,包括代内公平与代际公平;明确确定补偿范围,完善补偿要素;规范国有林生态效益补偿的行政管理体制,建立透明的国有林生态效益补偿信息公开制度、可持续的保障机制和完备的救济机制。     

劳动合同经济补偿金的功能、性质和制度完善

劳动合同经济补偿金具有制约功能、补充功能和补偿功能。就其性质而言,我国的劳动合同经济补偿金因其补偿项目的不同,分别具有补贴、制裁和法律制约的性质。补偿金存在两个方面的问题：一是没有考虑劳动合同是否有持续性;二是对劳动合同变更制度考虑不足。应根据合同的性质和时间确定无固定期限合同的要求;对解除或终止无固定期限合同给予经济补偿,对固定期限合同的终止则不予补偿;此外,还应赋予用人单位更大的用人安置权。