Exploring the nature of control and its role in the appraisal of workplace stress

The concept of control is a prominent component of theories of stress. From a transactional framework, appraisal of control is seen as important in influencing coping behaviour. However, little attention has been paid to the measurement of the appraisal of control in a work-related situation. In this paper it is argued that situational control should not be reduced to a simple assessment of whether or not an individual has control over a given situation. Instead it is believed that it is important to identify the factors that an individual strives to have control of, as well as the perceived degree of control over those factors. A major component of the present study was the use of a measure that viewed control in this way and that examined control as a multifaceted construct (task control, predictability, self-control and general control). This paper reports on an analysis that examines the multifaceted nature of perceived control with other situational appraisals in the process of coping with workplace stress. A total of 134 employees from four public sector organizations in New Zealand took part in this research. Having control over work tasks was for this sample considered to be less important in giving a sense of control than either predictability or self-control. When it came to reporting how much control they actually had, respondents reported higher levels of self-control than other aspects of control. However, in general respondents reported lower levels of actual control than what they perceived it was important for them to have. This research emphasizes the importance of having a sense of self-control, particularly when it comes to the use of different coping strategies. Overall these findings point to the need to better understand the nature and type of control and its importance if we are to advance our knowledge of work stress.     

Reports of past conferences

Since the advent of the People's Republic, the school has served as a metonym for the city in China, both in the public imagination and in state policy. This article explores how two different ideologies (socialist and post‐socialist) were manifested in two different visual images of the city and school, which in turn shaped the urban institutions and landscapes. In the socialist era, party‐state propaganda offered an image of a model society which was predominantly rural, and where formal education had been marginalized by alternative forms of learning. Cities and schools were understood to be dangerous repositories of bourgeois capitalism which must be scoured of their elitist and decadent characteristics through the importation of rural practices and values. In the post‐socialist era, the city is now envisioned as the centre of modernity and progress, and schools are seen as the path to development and ‘quality’ (suzhi). The rural is pathologized as backward. This new ideology has reshaped the Chinese urban educational landscape from one of enforced egalitarianism to one characterized by inequality and exclusion.     

Development of a Level 1 Geriatric Outpatient Social Work Screen in a Veterans Primary Care Clinic

Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT) provide primary care to veterans. We describe our experience in a PACT (average age 66, 98% men, 8 medications, 16% yearly hospitalization rate) using a nurse-administered screen to identify patients in need of intervention by a Masters-level Social Worker. Our screening results—98% Positive predictive value (included social work concerns) and 73% negative predictive value (excluded social work concerns)—suggest that the nurse accurately identified patients. Another 15% of patients were identified by the social worker. Similar screens used in interprofessional clinics could help target patients in need of further social work care.     

Political Narratives and the Production of Legitimacy: The Case of Corruption in Post-Mao China

China watchers have predicted that corruption would lead to a crisis for the ruling regime. Instead, the Chinese Communist Party has somehow managed to retain and even strengthen its political legitimacy. This article analyzes corruption not as a crime or a political problem but as a topic of political narratives, thereby revealing the political processes which led to this result. This study, based on interviews and archival data, examines narratives on the topic of corruption produced in the post-Mao era by the ruling regime and political dissidents in their struggle to influence the populace's views on political legitimacy. In the 1980s, disgruntled intellectuals drew upon the traditionalist collective narrative of corruption to teach citizens to blame the leadership and the structure of the government for social problems, essentially rewriting the narratives used to assess and judge the regime. In doing so, they successfully threatened the political authority of the Party-state. However, in the 1990s, China's leaders and the official media revised the story of corruption so that the Party-state battled corruption on behalf of its citizens in order to bring them economic opportunities, rising living standards, and social stability. In these new narratives, the role of the state was no longer that of ideological or moral leadership, but of economic management. Through these narratives of economic management, the regime managed to control the corruption crisis and recapture its political legitimacy, but was also forced to deal with the consequences of this new vision of state-society relations.     

Intellectual ability and reactions to pornography

Two studies examined the relation between intelligence and men's sexual attitudes and interpersonal behavior with a woman after viewing pornography. Undergraduate men were assessed for IQ, viewed one of several films, then were assessed on various dependent measures, including interpersonal behavior with a female confederate. Lower IQ men were more sexually suggestive to the woman after viewing a sexually violent film than after viewing an nonviolent erotic film; higher IQ men did not differ in suggestiveness as a function of sexual film condition. In Study 2, lower IQ men were also physically closer to the woman after viewing a violent sexual film than after viewing a nonviolent erotic film; higher IQ men were less variable in proximity as a function of film condition. Results are discussed in relation to research suggesting that intelligence moderates influenceability, and to sex education programs that help individuals critically evaluate antisocial content in the sexual media.     

Gender comparisons of injection drug use practices in shooting galleries

Previous research studies and anecdotal evidence portray shooting galleries as locales that place injection drug users at great risk for HIV infection, drug use and violence. Collectively, these studies highlight the need to intervene with injectors who frequent shooting galleries. However, few researchers have studied an often-forgotten risk group – women injecting drug users who frequent shooting galleries – and compared their risk behaviors to their male counterparts. To address this gap in the research literature and to evaluate the functionality of the shooting gallery as a setting for HIV prevention, we collected data on risk practices from 201 injectors (101 men and 100 women) who were recruited from eight shooting galleries in Miami, Florida. Results indicate that, compared with men, women injectors engaged in a similar variety and frequency of injection risk behaviors and had more shooting companions. While only minor gender differences were apparent, relatively few injectors – male or female – adhered to current recommendations for needle hygiene practices. Needle hygiene practices existed equally among injectors of both sexes, however very few adhered to current recommendations. Furthermore, contrary to common images of shooting galleries, use of other drugs was infrequently reported, episodes of violence or victimization were uncommon, and sexual contact almost never occurred. Operators of shooting galleries, both men and women, indicated their willingness to participate in HIV prevention efforts. Implications of these findings for HIV intervention indicate that (1) there is a great need to intervene with both men and women IDUs who frequent shooting galleries and that (2) shooting galleries can be an optimal setting for HIV prevention.