Affirmative Action: Psychological Contributions to Policy

Affirmative action is a controversial policy. Lauded by many, the attempt at social engineering has also been condemned by some as unnecessary and by others as counterproductive to the goal of social equality. As such, affirmative action is ideally situated to benefit from psychological research pertaining to the need for and the effectiveness of the policy. This article discusses both the potential benefits to American society of affirmative action and the potential costs of such a policy. Concluding that affirmative action is useful, we end with a look at ways to make affirmative action programs as effective as possible.     

Affirmative Reaction: The Influence of Type of Justification on Nonbeneficiary Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action Plans in Higher Education

It is popularly believed that justifying an affirmative action plan (AAP) through emphasizing the advantages that diverse students can bring to a college campus will increase nonbeneficiary support for the program. However, there has been little empirical support for this proposition, perhaps because previous research has not directly articulated to participants the value of a diverse student body. As such, the current study sought to determine how the explicit framing of an AAP influences subsequent reactions. Both quantitative and qualitative data from 216 White undergraduate participants revealed that the utilitarianism justification that highlighted the benefits of the AAP to both minority and majority students, was the most effective means of increasing support for the plan.     

Affirmative Action and Job Satisfaction: Understanding Underlying Processes

In the present article, we examine the relationship between perceptions of affirmative action and the satisfaction of racial and ethnic minority faculty members. We develop a conceptual model of factors that mediate the impact of affirmative action on the satisfaction of faculty of color, and investigate this model based on survey responses of 84 African-American, 48 Latina/o, and 59 Asian faculty. Analyses showed that the satisfaction of faculty of color is significantly related to how affirmative action is perceived to be embraced by the community, and that this effect is mediated by how supportive colleagues are seen and how much self-doubt faculty experience. Data also indicated the important role of mentoring for supporting the goals of affirmative action.     

Bar None: Extending Affirmative Action to Higher Education in Prison

Recognizing the intent of Affirmative Action to include historically marginalized citizens into institutions of higher learning, we stretch the limits of Affirmative Action to consider the role of higher education in prison. We present empirical findings of a 4-year, qualitative and quantitative participatory action research study of the impact of college in prison. Evidence is drawn from participant observations; individual and focus group interviews with participants of the college program, former inmates, prison administrators, corrections officers, and children of inmates; faculty surveys; and a quantitative analysis of recidivism rates. We address the psychological, academic, and crime-related impacts of higher education on women in prison, and document the benefits of broad-based access for inmates, prison environments, children of prisoners, and society-at-large.     

论肯定性行动

作者介绍了肯定性行动在美国的起源、兴起和转折过程 ,分析了这一沿革背后的原因 ,并探讨了有关的理论及肯定性行动对美国社会的影响。     

The Significance of Affirmative Action for theSouls of White Folk: Further Implications of a Helping Model

We develop further our model of affirmative action as help (Pratkanis & Turner, 1996b; Turner & Pratkanis, 1994) by looking at the impact of aid on the donor. White Americans often take one of three approaches toaffirmative action. First, they can reject affirmative action because of their own personal frustrations. Second, they can engage in selective aid that maintains the basic patterns of social dominance. Both of these approaches can damage the psychological functioning of Whites. Third, White Americans can proactively seek to remove discriminatory barriers in a process we call democratic altruism, thereby opening the possibility of learning from diverse others and growth as a person. We conclude by discussing tactics for promoting democratic altruism.     

Ethnic Differences in Predictors of Support for Municipal Affirmative Action Contracting*

Objective. This study explores attitudes toward municipal affirmative action contracting among Anglos, African Americans, and Hispanics, testing predictors of support separately for each group and measuring changes over time. Methods. In five successive annual Houston‐area surveys, U.S.‐born Anglos, African Americans, Hispanics, and Hispanic immigrants evaluated a strong version of the city's affirmative action contracting program. Results. Ethnic contrasts in support were partly mediated by differences on the predictors. The predictors of affirmative action attitudes varied greatly by ethnic group. Changes in support across the five years appeared to be associated with the 1997 campaign surrounding the effort to end the city's affirmative action program, and with subsequent policy modifications. Conclusions. The ethnic divisions and the recent increases among all groups in support for the city's program underscore the value of crafting carefully targeted and flexible policies that are perceived to be responding only to documented disadvantage.     

Positive Action in Minority Ethnic Employment: The Role of Scottish Housing Organizations

This paper focuses on Scottish housing organizations, where the relative absence of black and minority ethnic employees is beginning to be addressed by programmes of positive action. The paper defines positive action, discusses experiences elsewhere in Europe and the USA, and identifies issues that have arisen from such programmes. Schemes targeted at the housing profession, such as PATH in both England and Scotland, are described in some detail. The attitudes and experiences of Scottish housing organizations were examined as part of an evaluation of the Scottish PATH programme carried out in 1998, and these are discussed. The paper concludes that a reservoir of goodwill exists towards positive action programmes and that there is a need for such programmes to be extended, possibly with the support of the Scottish Parliament.     

Inequities in Higher Education: Issues and Promising Practices in a World Ambivalent about Affirmative Action

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the legality of race-based affirmative action at universities in 2003. Although the decisions affirmed the legality of considering race in college admissions decisions, their long-term effects are not entirely clear. They neither resolved conflicts nor solved problems affirmative action was intended to address, namely, disparities in educational outcomes between Whites and ethnic/racial minorities. Although disparities have diminished since 1965, policies and practices to sustain and further increase diversity in higher education without affirmative action are needed. This article provides historical and conceptual grounding for this JSI issue, which examines approaches for attaining campus diversity. Collectively, the issue provides approaches for increasing diversity as well as strategies for managing and benefiting from diversity in postsecondary environments.     

Anticipating Likely Consequences of Lottery‐Based Affirmative Action*

Objectives. To better understand the consequences of whole or partial reliance on test scores as a screening mechanism for college or university admissions or for job placement or promotion. Methods. We introduce a simple hurdles/threshold model to study one particular mechanism that has been recently proposed to generate a “compromise” between race‐normed or gender‐normed standards for acceptance, on the one hand, and the decision to select those with the highest score regardless of race or gender, on the other—a method we call lottery‐based rules with minimum thresholds of acceptance. Results. We show the factors that determine how close acceptance rates for the disadvantaged group under lottery‐based methods will be to the acceptance rates under either race‐normal or pretest‐score‐based mechanisms. Conclusions. We argue that the likely consequences of using this method are not nearly as attractive as they might first appear to reformers.     

The Role of Pre-collegiate Partnership Programs in Environments Ambivalent about Affirmative Action: Reflections and Outcomes from an Early Implementation

Preparing underrepresented students for college success though pre-collegiate partnership programs is one alternative to affirmative action programs. This article describes the Multicultural Excellence Program (MEP), a partnership program between an urban school district and 22 four-year higher education institutions. MEP, begun in 1987, targets 7th–12th-grade students from groups historically underrepresented in higher education. It helps them plan how to prepare themselves for continuing on to a four-year college. Analyses evaluating program effectiveness examined outcomes of over 4,000 secondary students and 243 college students. Despite substantial turnover, particularly at transition points, MEP has been very successful in enrolling its high school graduates immediately in four-year colleges. Although many MEP students have thrived in college, a smaller proportion has struggled.     

西江水道六城市港口情况分析及城市经济比较研究

西江水道开发的社会经济价值体现在西江水道沿江港口城市的社会经济地位和作用上,与这些城市现有的基础条件和实力。与其未来的发展和进步息息相关。之所以选择南宁、贵港、梧州、佛山、云浮和肇庆六个城市作对比,不仅因为上述六市是《梧州共识》协议的签署者,而且是西江水道沿江最主要的六个城市,能够代表西江水道沿江经济带的现有水平和发展趋势。     

The Impact of a Mandatory Employment Program on Welfare Terminations

ABSTRACT

This longitudinal study analyzes the impact of one of the most ambitious employment and training programs in the nation, California's Greater Avenue for Independence (GAIN), on welfare terminations. The study isolates the effects of GAIN from other effects by controlling for AFDC program characteristics and labor market conditions. The findings suggest that, all else constant, GAIN increased terminations in a modest fashion. The paper discusses the difficulties future welfare-to-work programs are likely to have in substantially increasing terminations even with stringent mandatory work requirements.     

周期性外部冲击对我国就业的影响及其应对

改革开放40年来,逢8一个周期、每次间隔10年的外部冲击对我国就业产生了深刻的影响。首先,来自城镇登记失业率、就业总人口、三大产业就业人口等五个方面的分析得知:自改革开放以来,尤其是1989年经济封锁、1998年亚洲金融危机和2008年美国金融危机这三个重要事件对我国就业产生了周期性影响。其次,这三次外部冲击的周期性特点对我国经济和就业产生了具体影响。应对中美贸易战,我国就业政策应在扩大开放、优先就业、扩大内需、振兴乡村、加强培训等方面加大力度。     

The Impact of Caring on Informal Carers' Employment,Income and Earnings: a Longitudinal Approach

In Australia the policy balance has shifted away from institutional forms of health and aged care towards supporting people in their own homes. This change presupposes a significant and growing supply of informal caring labour. A large proportion of informal carers (40–60 per cent) currently combine paid employment with their caring responsibilities. Using the longitudinal Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, the paper examines the effect of caring on employment, hours worked and earnings. The analysis shows that working age carers experience disadvantage. Carers are more likely than non‐carers to reduce their hours of work or exit from the labour force, and earn lower levels of income. In planning for an ageing population, policies will need to address these negative effects and privatised costs of caring if the supply of informal care is to be sustained in the future.     

互联网对我国城市家庭经济功能的影响

城市家庭生产功能在网络社会的复归———ＳＯＨＯ帕森斯的传统结构功能主义一向认为 ,家庭作为一种经济、政治和福利机构的重要性在日益下降。在生产劳动与家庭紧密结合的前工业化时代 ,家庭的生产功能以及其人口的再生产功能推演出家庭在政治、宗教、福利保障、教育以及消费娱乐等一切方面不可替代的重要性。而随着工业化和城市化的发展 ,由于家庭生产根本无法与社会化生产相竞争 ,城市家庭的生产功能逐渐弱化 ,在经济功能上变成了一个纯粹的消费场所。由此 ,家庭在观念上逐渐缩小为以满足家庭成员的情感需求为主要功能的场所。目前大陆绝…     

Joint Reviews: The Methodology in Action

Correspondence to Jill Humphrey Family, Adoption and Family Finding Unit, 3 Unthank Road, Nowich NR2 2PA, UK. E-mail: jill.humphrey.socs{at}norfolk.gov.uk Summary Joint Reviews form the crown of the regulatory apparatus insocial services in England and Wales, and reviewers have craftedan impressive methodology to investigate the workings of socialservices authorities. My aim in this article is to expose andexplore the social processes underpinning this methodology,drawing upon interviews with people on both sides of the regulatoryfence and an ethnographic study of Joint Reviews in action.I shall discuss the cultural politics of regulatory researchand demonstrate the ways in which communications and interpretationsin the field can be constructed, confused, and contested. Thisis not an argument against regulation but rather a quest forgreater reflexivity in regulation and research.