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.     

Micro-Political Strategies and Their Implications for Participative Decision Making

Drawing on both organizational behaviour and employee relations perspectives,the paper defines participation as `opportunity to influence decisions,' andconsiders the impact of the micro-political behaviour of organization membersin pursuit of their interests on the development of genuine participation.Three types of micro-political strategy are identified and their implicationsdiscussed: information control, flexibility, and stage-craft. The discussionis illustrated with findings from an international study of decision making,and brief comment is made on international cultural differences as acomplicating factor. It is suggested that the role of participation in enhancing the knowledge baseof the organization has been neglected. If genuine participation is to beinstituted, decision making will become more complex, requiring negotiation,not only of competing interests but also of what is to be accepted as`knowledge' in the organization. This in turn will place greater demands onthe intellectual skills and personal behaviour of participants.     

Housing Conditions of Nuclear and Extended Households in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale Area

Arrivals of new immigrants into the south Florida area have put increased pressure on housing markets and fostered renewed efforts to provide more affordable housing. Many view household extension largely as a response to the lack of a sufficient amount of affordable housing. This paper examines the nature, proportion and housing condition of nuclear and extended households in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area. The study also investigates how the incidence and housing situation of extended households has changed during the period from 1986 to 1990. This study illustrates that extended families in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area are not uniformly worse off than nuclear families, given ethnicity and income level. While the area's housing problems require attention, some of that attention should be focused on removing institutional barriers to household extension and to providing broader housing choices for minority ethnic groups.     

Open Access Mandates and Policies: The Basics

Abstract

Universities can afford to subscribe to only a small percentage of available scholarly journals. Consequently, researchers do not have access to all articles in journals pertinent to their fields of study. The Open Access (OA) movement began in response to wanting to find a solution to this “serials crisis” and the availability of the Internet to disseminate scholarly research in new and innovative ways to a larger, worldwide audience. OA mandates are policies adopted by research institutions, universities, or funders that require researchers to provide free, unrestricted access to their published research by publishing in OA journals, depositing their articles in an OA repository or both. This edition of “In Lay Terms” provides basic information about OA mandates and policies, gives an overview of university and funder OA mandates, discusses geographic differences in policies and compliance rates, and reviews United States federal funding agencies’ OA policies and Plan S.     

Impacts of child development accounts on parenting practices: evidence from a randomised statewide experiment

ABSTRACT

This study examines the impact of Child Development Accounts (CDAs) on parenting practices of mothers with young children in a statewide randomised experiment conducted in the United States. The experiment included 2704 primary caregivers of children born in Oklahoma during 2007: 1358 were randomly assigned to the treatment group and 1346 to the control group. Structural equation modelling suggests that the punitive-parenting score among treatment participants was .12 standard deviations smaller than that among control participants (p < . 05). Findings indicate that CDAs reduce punitive parenting, and may serve as an additional tool for positive parent–child interactions.     

Vulnerable Multiracial Families and Early Years Services: Concerns,Challenges and Opportunities

In Britain, very young mixed-parentage children are more likely to receive state care than any other children. However, despite a dramatic increase in the number of multiracial families, their experiences have received little research attention. This article reviews the research on the experiences of vulnerable and poor multiracial families. Three areas of concern emerge—the relationship between family structure, locality and racism, disadvantage and oppression; the impact on family life of structurally reinforced and culturally defined gender roles; and the strengths and limitations of current early years research and practice. Suggestions are made about ways in which early years professionals might develop their practice with young vulnerable multiracial families.