The perception of occupational stress and its relation to research and teaching among academic staff

Abstract

A sample of full-time teaching staff from a former polytechnic participated in a study to examine the relationships between their perception of occupational stress and their involvement in research. Information was obtained from 60% of staff approached. The mean scores on the Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) for job satisfaction and stress-related measures of mental health and physical health did not differ significantly from data obtained in previous studies on university academic personnel. Scores on these variables were not significantly related to research activity. The degree of satisfaction and degree of stress emanating from participation in research, in teaching and in administration were separately assessed in structured interviews.     

Special Interests and/or New Right Economics? The Ideological Bases of Reform Party Support in Alberta in the 1993 Federal Election*

La faveur croissante que connaît le Parti réformiste auprès du public est d'ordre à transformer la scène politique canadienne. Dans le présent article, les auteurs soutiennent que les conditions du succès du Parti réformiste tiennent à des facteurs globaux, dont on peut égale-ment observer l'existence au cours des années 1980 et 1990 dans d'autres démocraties industrialisées avancées: la crise des dépenses de l'état-providence et la renaissance du conservatisme attenante. Néanmoins, si la crise fiscale a établi les conditions qui ont rendu possible la mise sur pied du Parti réformiste, ce sont surtout les traits populistes du projet qui lui ont attiré les votes. L'analyse des données d'un sondage de 1994 à l'échelle de la province de 1'Alberta met en lumière une différence prépondérante entre les individus qui ont reporté leur voix sur le Parti réformiste et ceux qui sont restés fidèles à leur parti: la conviction que certains groupes (special interests), exercent trop d'influence sur la politique du gouvernement. The recent growth in public support for the Reform Party has the potential to transform the Canadian political landscape. This paper argues that the conditions for Reform's success are broader factors also observed in other advanced industrial democracies in the 1980s and 1990s, namely the crisis of welfare-state expenditures and the attendant resurgence of conservatism. But while the fiscal crisis established the conditions that made Reform possible, it has been the populist elements of its project that have provided the strongest attraction for voters. Analysis of 1994 province-wide survey data from Alberta indicates that the belief that certain “special interests” have too much influence on government policy best differentiates those individuals who switched their allegiance to the Reform Party from those who maintained their previous party loyalties.     

The measurement and analysis of time use

There is a growing interest in, time allocation research. Particularly by government statistical bodies. Papers in this issue, briefly highlighted in this introduction, make a small contribution to fulfilling a need for wider exposure of time use literature. The included papers do two things. First, they identify issues related to the collection and analysis of time use data. Second, they show how time use data can be effectively applied to improve one's understanding of significant issues.     

Symbolic Interaction and Postmodernism: Close Encounter of a Dubious Kind

My aim here is threefold: firstly, to ask those who are attracted to certain aspects of postmodernism to avoid imprudent applications of it to our work; secondly, to assess the accomplishments of Symbolic Interaction as we approach the new millennium and; thirdly, to express the hope that Symbolic Interaction will deliver on it s deepest political and philosophical values by speaking truth to power while remembering whose side it is on.     

Rapping About Rap: Parental Mediation of Gender-Stereotyped Media Content

Abstract

This article examines adolescent reports of parental mediation of hip-hop music videos, a medium that has been celebrated for its artistry and empowering youth, yet criticized for stereotyped portrayals of women and men. Survey data of 315 adolescents (M age?=?15.2, SD?=?1.73) investigated the relationship between adolescent reports of viewing hip-hop music videos, parent-child communication about these videos, and attitudes about gender and the music videos. Respondents reported low levels of both positive and negative parental mediation of hip-hop music videos, yet when they occurred, reports of negative mediation positively predicted critical attitudes about these videos.     

Meta-analysis using multilevel models with an application to the study of class size effects

Meta-analysis is formulated as a special case of a multilevel (hierarchical data) model in which the highest level is that of the study and the lowest level that of an observation on an individual respondent. Studies can be combined within a single model where the responses occur at different levels of the data hierarchy and efficient estimates are obtained. An example is given from studies of class sizes and achievement in schools, where study data are available at the aggregate level in terms of overall mean values for classes of different sizes, and also at the student level.     

Peak Exposures in Epidemiologic Studies and Cancer Risks: Considerations for Regulatory Risk Assessment

We review approaches for characterizing “peak” exposures in epidemiologic studies and methods for incorporating peak exposure metrics in dose–response assessments that contribute to risk assessment. The focus was on potential etiologic relations between environmental chemical exposures and cancer risks. We searched the epidemiologic literature on environmental chemicals classified as carcinogens in which cancer risks were described in relation to “peak” exposures. These articles were evaluated to identify some of the challenges associated with defining and describing cancer risks in relation to peak exposures. We found that definitions of peak exposure varied considerably across studies. Of nine chemical agents included in our review of peak exposure, six had epidemiologic data used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) in dose–response assessments to derive inhalation unit risk values. These were benzene, formaldehyde, styrene, trichloroethylene, acrylonitrile, and ethylene oxide. All derived unit risks relied on cumulative exposure for dose–response estimation and none, to our knowledge, considered peak exposure metrics. This is not surprising, given the historical linear no‐threshold default model (generally based on cumulative exposure) used in regulatory risk assessments. With newly proposed US EPA rule language, fuller consideration of alternative exposure and dose–response metrics will be supported. “Peak” exposure has not been consistently defined and rarely has been evaluated in epidemiologic studies of cancer risks. We recommend developing uniform definitions of “peak” exposure to facilitate fuller evaluation of dose response for environmental chemicals and cancer risks, especially where mechanistic understanding indicates that the dose response is unlikely linear and that short‐term high‐intensity exposures increase risk.