Canadian executives' perceptions of the U.S. and Canadian free-trade agreement and their potential effects on decision-making

This study analyzes executives' perceptions of free trade negotiations and the potential effects of these perceptions on strategy. Top executives in 300 major Canadian industrial firms were surveyed to test two propositions. They are: (1) Executives tend to perceive that free trade would lead to market expansion which, in turn, would increase trade, production, and investment efficiencies and (2) Decisions in business strategy formulation and implementation may be influenced by the perceptions of the trade policy.The propositions were tested with the following results. Support for proposition one is mixed. Support for proposition two, however, is for the most part predominant.     

A dynamic analysis of women’s employment exits

This research examines women’s rates of leaving a job to become nonemployed (unemployed or out of the labor force) using a stochastic, continuous-time model. The data consist of employment histories of white women constructed from the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Women (1968-1973). The results demonstrate the importance of examining the underlying processes in women’s employment. Several differences are found between the determinants of employment exits and what might be expected from the cross-sectional and panel literature on female labor force participation. The findings also provide evidence of the interdependence of fertility and employment, with young children increasing rates of employment exits and with high wages on ajob decreasing rates ofleaving a job because of a pregnancy. Finally, involuntary employment terminations are examined, and their transition rates are found to decrease with job wages and job tenure and to increase when a woman has children.     

Status inequalities, perceived discrimination, and eudaimonic well-being: do the challenges of minority life hone purpose and growth?

Considerable prior research has investigated links between racial/ethnic status and diverse aspects of mental functioning (e.g. psychological disorders, quality of life, self-esteem), but little work has probed the connections between minority status and eudaimonic well-being. Derived from existential and humanistic perspectives, eudaimonia describes engagement in life challenges and is operationalized with assessments of purpose in life, personal growth, autonomy, environmental mastery, self-acceptance, and positive relations with others. Using Midlife in the United States (MIDUS), a national survey of Americans aged 25-74, plus city-specific samples of African Americans in New York City and Mexican Americans in Chicago, minority status was found to be a positive predictor of eudaimonic well-being, underscoring themes of psychological strength in the face of race-related adversity. Perceived discrimination was found to be a negative predictor of eudaimonic well-being, although such effects were gender-specific: it was women, both majority and minority, with high levels of discrimination in their daily lives whose sense of growth, mastery, autonomy, and self-acceptance was compromised.     

Relationships with death: the terminally ill talk about dying

This article describes a qualitative study exploring the experiences of terminally ill patients and their families as they lived with the inevitability of death. Frustrated by the dominant discourse surrounding the culture of dying--namely that of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's stage theory--I sought to revisit the experiences of the terminally ill by talking directly with them. Instead of focusing on how people reacted to the introduction of death into their lives, this research attended to how the dying began relating to life and death differently as a result of death's presence. Through an analysis of ethnographically collected data, the meanings participants constructed around their experiences were explored--culminating in the creation of seven "relationships" that participants shared with death.     

Risk factors for Chlamydia trachomatis infection in a California collegiate population

Chlamydia trachomatis infection in college students has not undergone a detailed large-scale evaluation. The authors undertook a cross-sectional study of 4,086 students enrolled on the campuses of California State University, Sacramento, and 3 local community colleges from fall 2000 through spring 2002. They used an outreach screening model to determine the presence of infection by testing urine for chlamydial DNA by polymerase chain reaction. Participants completed demographic and behavioral risk questionnaires and a chlamydia knowledge assessment. Overall, 3.4% of participants tested positive for infection. Screening of male and female students was evenly distributed and incidence rates for males (3.03%) and females (3.78%) were similar Variables associated with significantly increased risk were younger than 25 years, ethnicity other than White, more than one sexual partner in the preceding year or a new partner in the preceding 2 months, and current symptoms. Innovative outreach programs to screen a majority of at-risk college students should be developed.     

Educational experiences and aspirations of older youth in foster care

This study documents the school experiences of 262 youth referred for independent-living preparation from the foster care system of one midwestern U.S. county. Of the youth, 73% had been suspended at least once since the seventh grade, and 16% had been expelled. In the past year, 58% had failed a class, and 29% had physical fights with students. Yet the group reported high educational aspirations: 70% wanted to attend college. Those in congregate care and family settings often had school behavior problems. The results support the need for a system of education advocates who work to maintain proper education placements for youth in foster care and help them receive the academic resources they need to graduate from high school and proceed to college.