The Earned Income Tax Credit and Rural Families: Differences Between Non-participants and Participants

Differences between rural low-income mothers who were non-participants and participants in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) were examined. About one-third (35%) of the 224 eligible mothers in a multi-state USDA study, Rural Families Speak, did not claim the tax credit. The EITC non-participants were more likely to be Hispanic, be less educated, have larger families, perceive their income as being inadequate, live in more rural counties, and possess little understanding of the EITC. Participating mothers were more likely to be single, food secure, and satisfied with life. Analysis of qualitative data revealed that the mothers had many misconceptions about the EITC. These findings assist in formulating policies and outreach efforts that may increase rural low-income families’ EITC participation.     

Authentic leadership: A review of the literature and research agenda

The past decade has seen a dramatic increase in scholarly interest in the topic of authentic leadership. We review this literature with the goal of clarifying the state of knowledge in the field. We begin with a historical overview of the construct's definition and evolution. Next, we present the results of a content analysis of 91 publications that focus on authentic leadership. Specifically, we examined the publication type (theoretical, empirical, and practitioner), contributors (e.g., discipline, nationality, and institutional affiliation), theoretical foundations, research strategies, sample location/type, data collection methods, analytical procedures, and nomological network of authentic leadership. We conclude by presenting an agenda for future research.     

A Scenario‐Based Evaluation of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus and the Hajj

Between April 2012 and June 2014, 820 laboratory‐confirmed cases of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS‐CoV) have been reported in the Arabian Peninsula, Europe, North Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the United States. The observed epidemiology is different to SARS, which showed a classic epidemic curve and was over in eight months. The much longer persistence of MERS‐CoV in the population, with a lower reproductive number, some evidence of human‐to‐human transmission but an otherwise sporadic pattern, is difficult to explain. Using available epidemiological data, we implemented mathematical models to explore the transmission dynamics of MERS‐CoV in the context of mass gatherings such as the Hajj pilgrimage, and found a discrepancy between the observed and expected epidemiology. The fact that no epidemic occurred in returning Hajj pilgrims in either 2012 or 2013 contradicts the long persistence of the virus in human populations. The explanations for this discrepancy include an ongoing, repeated nonhuman/sporadic source, a large proportion of undetected or unreported human‐to‐human cases, or a combination of the two. Furthermore, MERS‐CoV is occurring in a region that is a major global transport hub and hosts significant mass gatherings, making it imperative to understand the source and means of the yet unexplained and puzzling ongoing persistence of the virus in the human population.     

Women's experiences of participation in a pregnancy and postnatal group incorporating yoga and facilitated group discussion: A qualitative evaluation

BackgroundThis paper reports on a small qualitative research study which explored women's experiences of participation in a pregnancy and postnatal group that incorporated yoga and facilitated discussion. The group is offered through a community based feminist non-government women's health Centre in Northern NSW Australia.QuestionThe purpose of the research was to explore women's experiences of attending this pregnancy and postnatal group.MethodsAn exploratory qualitative approach was used to explore women's experiences of attending the group. Fifteen women participated in individual, in-depth face-to-face interviews. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was undertaken to analyse the qualitative data.FindingsSix themes were developed, one with 3 subthemes. One theme was labelled as: ‘the pregnancy and motherhood journey’ and included 3 sub-themes which were labelled: ‘preparation for birth’, ‘connecting with the baby’ and ‘sharing birth stories.’ The other five themes were: ‘feminine nurturing safe space’, ‘watching and learning the mothering’, ‘building mental health, well-being and connections’, the “group like a rock and a seed’ and ‘different from mainstream’.ConclusionThis research adds to the overall body of knowledge about the value of yoga in pre and postnatal care. It demonstrates the value of sharing birth stories and the strong capacity women have to support one another, bringing benefits of emotional and social well-being, information, resources and support derived from group based models of care.     

Police Budgeting: Using Overtime as a Management Tool

Public Organization Review - Following the death of George Floyd, there were national calls for budget reductions and reforms for police departments. The City of San Jose’s Auditor’s...     

Forging Treaty Hope: the application and relevance of narrative ideas and practices in developing Treaty-based policy and practice

The Treaty of Waitangi is widely recognized as the foundingdocument of New Zealand. While the Treaty has constitutionaland legal status, its meaning and application in contemporaryNew Zealand society is the source of great debate. This paperunmasks the increasingly dominant and problem-saturated narrativeof Treaty Fatigue circulating in public discourses in New Zealandand proposes an alternate inspiring narrative of Treaty Hope.In so doing, the paper examines the application and relevanceof narrative ideas and practices in forging a preference forTreaty Hope and in fostering Treaty-based policies and practicesin the work of government, and considers how community developmentpractitioners in post-colonial settings may engage with NewZealand's experience.     

THE USES OF BUSINESS GAMING IN EDUCATION AND LABORATORY RESEARCH*

This paper reports an empirical investigation of business gaming in education and research. Subjects were approximately 200 junior and senior undergraduate students who were assigned to seven-man teams on the basis of scores on the Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) leadership style questionnaire, and who played the Marksim business game during one academic semester. Relationships were explored between post-game perceptions of the game, team atmosphere and the leader, combinations of congruent and incongruent leadership styles, and measures of team performance. Also explored were relationships between several predictor variables (including grade point average) and measures of team performance. The results were generally disappointing in regard to business gaming as an educational tool. However, it seems that business gaming may hold promise for laboratory research in the behavioral sciences. The results of this investigation suggest that relationship-oriented and task-oriented leadership styles and combinations of these styles within hierarchically structured groups affect members' perceptions of the task and other aspects of the task environment but do not affect group performance, at least directly. These results may have significance for those interested in organizational design and the selection and development of leaders for first and second-level managerial positions.     

Multiple stories: Collaborative and generative possibilities for psychological evaluation

This paper explores a collaborative generative approach to psychological assessment employed in Puerto Rico, with children, adolescents, and adults. It begins with a critical reflection on how the dominant discourse of mental health, founded in the suppositions and practices of Euro-American-centred psychological knowledge, has been disseminated to the globalise south under the claim that its assertions are unaffected by social, ideological, or historical forces. It discusses how its claims of expert scientific knowledge have contributed, through classificatory instruments such as the DSM and the ICD, to the production and re-production of deficit narratives in our day-to-day life. It also examines how these practices have been applied in the use of assessment instruments in Puerto Rico. It then describes, how, through a collaborative approach and narrative theory, the established colonising practices and narratives of traditional forms of psychological assessment can be questioned, deconstructed, and transformed. This approach promotes the co-creation of dialogic and generative spaces that allow for the emergence of multiple stories and performances that give meaning to a person's identity and relational being. A brief clinical case exposition is used to illustrate how this collaborative, dialogic, and culturally sensitive approach to psychological assessment can help to undermine and disrupt deficit-based narratives and provide families with new generative possibilities for re-storying and re-performing their lives and particularly, the lives of their children.