Evaluating the effects of full-time vs part-time educational programs for the gifted: affective outcomes and policy considerations

This study evaluates the effects of student participation in two different educational programs/settings for the gifted, i.e., full time homogeneous classes vs mixed ability classes (with a part-time extension program), on a variety of affective outcome. Data on academic self-concept, test anxiety, achievement motivation, perceptions of giftedness, school attitudes, and satisfaction with school were gathered on a sample of 1020 Israeli gifted elementary school children in grades 4–6. Analyses of the data pointed to a less positive personal-social profile in students partaking in special full-time homogeneous classes, compared to their mainstreamed counterparts, as evidenced by lower evaluative anxiety, higher academic self-concept, and more positive labeling in the former setting. However, compared to their mainstreamed counterparts in mixed ability classes, students in special homogeneous classes for the gifted held more favorable attitudes towards various facets of the school/classroom environment (school atmosphere, level of instruction, teacher-student relations, teacher characteristics) and were also more satisfied with school in general when compared to their gifted counterparts partaking in mixed ability classes. The tradeoff between a more positive perception of the school environment and less effective personal-social adjustment for students in special gifted classes should be given due consideration by program planners and evaluators in any cost-benefit analysis of educational programs for gifted students.     

Choices and Challenges: A Qualitative Exploration of Professional Women's Career Patterns

With the rapid changes occurring in the role of work in women's lives, this research project was designed to examine the career planning, career decision making, and work history of women in both female‐dominated and gender‐neutral careers (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.‐a). A qualitative analysis of structured interviews identified 6 emerging themes: variations of career/family patterns, career encouragers, career obstacles, personal compromises, career changes, and career decision‐making patterns. Insights for strengthening the exploration process and strategies for supporting career management are presented based on the emerging themes.     

Social Entrepreneurship in Communities

The United States ranks low on many measures of population health. In addressing this societal problem, nonprofit health conversion foundations are emerging as important, local social entrepreneurs. We investigated the processes by which these organizations create and implement locally situated innovative approaches to promote health and wellness. Using an inductive, qualitative approach, we identified central themes by which conversion foundations, as social entrepreneurs, developed collaborative solutions to health. We found that they defined the social problem, generated social capital in the community, and educated potential partners. These mechanisms helped build a groundwork for collaboration among community actors. Conversion foundations then convened partners with complementary competencies to develop creative solutions. This research contributes to the literature on social entrepreneurship and nonprofits by expanding understanding of how foundations can foster community collaborations to develop innovative solutions to social problems. Further, this study sheds light on the activities and processes of nonprofit health conversion foundations as actors with the potential to improve population health.     

Stabilized Sieve Sampling: A Point-Estimator Analysis

A modification of sieve sampling is proposed that returns a constant sample size. It is a scheme that selects line items with probability proportional to size (PPS) and nearly without replacement. An unbiased estimator of the total error amount is presented and its variance derived. Conditions under which the scheme is more efficient than sieve sampling and than PPS with replacement sampling are given.     

The Medical Profession and the State: GPs and the GP Contract in the 1960s and the 1990s

This paper examines the two major conflicts between general practitioners and the state in the mid-1960s and again at the end of the 1980s. In the mid-1960s morale in general practice was low, but GPs emerged with a strong endorsement from government for their professional autonomy. In 1990 morale was high, but government succeeded in imposing a new contract on GPs that sought to increase their accountability. GPs have always defended their status as "independent contractors". However, the paper argues that GPs saw this status as a means of protecting their professional freedom and autonomy. When the government treated them more as independent contractors in 1990 and demanded more specific terms, GPs did not like it. Furthermore, the new GPs' contract was introduced alongside the new internal market of the NHS, which has had further implications for GPs' status as independent contractors.