The rising influence of evangelicalism in American political behavior, 1980–2004

Connections between evangelicalism and political behavior are explored using National Election Study (NES) data from 1980 to 2004. Our findings suggest that although white evangelical support for Republican presidential candidates has increased, the independent effect of evangelicalism on voting has weakened. We argue that this reflects an increasing convergence between evangelicalism and Republican Party identification. Beginning in the 1990s, as more and more evangelicals identified as Republicans, the independent effect of their religious commitment on voting weakened. We also find strengthening correlations between evangelicalism and policy preferences, especially on non-social issues, and enhanced Republican mobilization of evangelical voters in recent campaigns. We conclude with the suggestion that changes in evangelical political behavior over a 24-year period support the notion of an electoral realignment in American politics.     

Teaching Note—An Exploration of Team-Based Learning and Social Work Education: A Natural Fit

The literature on team-based learning (TBL) as a pedagogical methodology in social work education is limited; however, TBL, which was developed as a model for business, has been successfully used as a teaching methodology in nursing, business, engineering, medical school, and many other disciplines in academia. This project examines the use of TBL in a Human Behavior in the Social Environment (HBSE) class and how a convenience sample (n?=?44) of undergraduate students responds to this method of learning. The project addresses the implications for this pedagogical style as an innovative way for teaching the social work curriculum and preparing a future generation of social workers to be productive members of work-related and professional groups.     

Active Listening in Peer Interviews: The Influence of Message Paraphrasing on Perceptions of Listening Skill

Perhaps no communication skill is identified as regularly as active listening in training programs across a variety of disciplines and activities. Yet little empirical research has examined specific elements of active listening responses in terms of their effectiveness in achieving desired interpersonal outcomes. This study reports an experiment designed to test the influence of a specific element of active listening responses, namely, the message paraphrase. One hundred and eighty undergraduate students participated in peer interviews in which they received either a paraphrased reflection or a simple acknowledgement in response to their expressed opinions regarding comprehensive examinations. The results of data analysis indicated that message paraphrases were associated with the social attractiveness of the listener but were not associated with participants' conversational satisfaction or perceptions of feeling understood by the listener.     

Social capital and economic integration of migrants in urban China

Based on data from a 2005 survey conducted in Shanghai, China, this research examines the role of social capital in income inequality between rural migrants and urbanites. We find strong income return on social capital, in particular on social capital from strong ties. We also observe a great disparity in social capital possession between rural migrants and urban local residents. Although social capital from strong ties seems to be more important for rural migrants than for urbanites, local ties and high-status ties do not seem to benefit rural migrants. Hence, migrants not only suffer severe social capital deficits but also capital return deficits. Given the strong income returns on social capital and the substantial differences in access to and return on social capital between migrants and urban residents, social capital is consequently found to explain a large part of the income inequality between the two groups. Overall, our findings reveal macro-structural effects on the role of social capital in labor market stratification. In China, the lack of formal labor market mechanisms continues to create both a strong need for and opportunities for economic actions to be organized around informal channels via social relations. Yet, the long-standing institutional exclusion of migrants caused by the household registration system has resulted in pervasive social exclusion and discrimination which have substantially limited rural migrants’ accumulation and mobilization of social capital. Under these conditions, social capital reinforces the economic inequality between migrants and urban residents in China. Such empirical evidence adds to our understanding of the role of social capital in the economic integration of migrants and in shaping intergroup inequality in general.     

Ethnic Minority Women in the Scottish Labour Market: Employers' Perceptions

This paper contributes to an under‐researched area through investigating employers' perceptions of ethnic minority women in the Scottish labour market. Adopting a social constructionist approach which acknowledges agency and structure and incorporates insights relating to organizational and social group culture, the study highlights the influence of individual (micro), organizational (meso) and contextual (macro) factors on ethnic minority women's participation in the labour market. The paper is based on qualitative research involving Scottish employers in the public and private sectors to examine perceptions and practices related to the employment of ethnic minority women. Institutional commitment to equality issues is questioned, although individual instances of engagement with key equality issues were sometimes evident. Proactive recruitment strategies and career support for ethnic minority women and men were not in evidence, and there was low awareness of the unique position of ethnic minority women in employment and society. We argue that these findings call for a multi‐level approach to advancing human resources management policy, practice and research within a wider socio‐political environment in which the responsibilities and duties of public sector organizations are clarified and more support is provided for organizational promotion of equal opportunities.     

Applying mixed methods to leadership research: A review of current practices

Leadership research has a long history of a quantitative approach, and it remains the most commonly used approach among leadership researchers. Researchers in a variety of fields have been applying mixed methods designs to their research as a way to advance theory. Mixed methods designs are used for collecting, analyzing, and mixing both quantitative and qualitative data in a single study or series of studies to both explain and explore specific research questions. This article provides a review of the basic characteristics of mixed methods designs. A broad series of leadership approaches is offered to help emphasize how the application of mixed methods designs have already been applied and where they might be directed in future research. Our review of articles published in the Leadership Quarterly between 1990 and June 2012 revealed a slight occurrence of existing application of mixed methods designs to leadership research. Of the articles reviewed, only 15 studies were found to represent mixed methods research, according to our conceptual framework. The overall intent of this article is to highlight the value of purposeful application of mixed methods designs toward advancing leadership theory and/or theoretical thinking about leadership phenomena.