Brazilian version of an assessment tool for the evaluation of work organizational aspects (AOT) by the NIOSH WMSD Research Consortium: translation and application in industrial sectors

Work organization affects the production of a company as well as the health of employees. It is a challenge to create sustainable production systems with the least harm to the health. An observational assessment tool was developed by the NIOSH--WMSD Research Consortium and adapted by the SHARP study. The objectives were to translate this assessment tool into Brazilian Portuguese (as the Avalia??o de Aspectos Organizacionais do Trabalho--AOT) and to evaluate its applicability in an industrial setting. The AOT final translated version was obtained after a consensus by the research team. Difficulties arose in applying the translated version due to technical terms with no direct equivalents in Portuguese, nonexcluding or similar alternatives, and questions that gave room for various interpretations, besides the great complexity of the tasks performed in the sectors. Despite that, the results suggest that AOT was sensitive for discriminating differences between sectors. Nevertheless, for better application of this tool in complex industrial environments, it is necessary: training and consensus among evaluators, familiarity with organizational aspects of the occupational settings evaluated. Also for assuring the internal validity of the analysis, might be necessary, the creation of subdivisions in the sectors evaluated if the tasks vary significantly intra-sector. The present report can help to understand the difficulties inherent to the evaluation of organizational aspects on a collective level and also the possible implications related to the translation of this assessment into other languages.     

An Examination of the Perceptions of Organizational Politics Model: Replication and Extension

This study examined the Perceptions of PoliticsModel (Ferris, Russ, & Fandt, 1989) in a three-phaseprocess. In the first phase, the model was examinedusing Anderson and Gerbing's (1988) two-step approach to structural equations modeling. Themodel was tested on data collected from 786 employees ofa state government agency and 469 employees of anelectric utility cooperative. Results from this phase indicated that the model had acceptablefit and was more parsimonious than any of the competingmodels to which it was compared. In the second phase,understanding as a moderator of the relationships between perceptions of organizational politicsand several outcome variables was examined. Resultsindicated that understanding only moderated the outcomerelationship between politics and job satisfaction, not intent to turnover or job anxiety. Finally,in phase three, the additional outcome variables oforganizational satisfaction, supervisor effectiveness,and self-reported individual performance were included in an effort to expand the Ferris et al. (1989)framework. Additionally, the moderating effects ofunderstanding on the relationships between perceptionsof politics and these new outcome variables were explored. Results from the final step indicatedthat adding the new outcome variables increased theparsimonyof the model without decreasing model fit. Withrespect to the moderating effects, only thepolitics-performance relationship was moderated byunderstanding.Allof these results are discussed in light of theirimplications for future research.     

Revealing representations of jazz in the Weimar Republic

While in America and elsewhere jazz made its debut in the middle and late 1910s, the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) remained relatively isolated from jazz until 1920. Touring groups opted for travel in economically and politically stable areas. Until the first live jazz concert in 1924, Germans learned of jazz through sheet music, recordings, and soldiers returning from World War I. Lasting records of jazz culture exist due to the advances in sound recording, photography, and publishing. Jazz images from the Weimar Republic offer a glimpse into the triangular relationship of ethnic African and African-American jazz artists with jazz culture and with German audiences. Many images de-emphasize the African-American jazz artists by using stereotypical tropes, masking the artist, and avoiding physical portrayals of the artist. These techniques reflect the adaptation of jazz culture for audiences within a nation recovering economic and political stability.     

Specialist police units and the joint investigation of child abuse

The last ten years have witnessed a significant shift in the police response to investigations of child abuse. One of the most ‘visible’ manifestations of this shift has been the establishment of specialist units where children can be interviewed, medical examinations conducted and, in some cases, overnight accommodation made available to children and their non-abusive carers. The history of these units in Scotland is summarized in this article, together with a brief outline of their remit and some of the current issues facing them. A closer examination of the way in which Scottish units have responded to the issue of joint child abuse investigations with social workers is made, drawing on evidence from research conducted in Scotland.     

Exploring the care effects of multiple factors on the educational achievement of children looked after at home and away from home: an investigation of two Scottish local authorities

This paper reports the findings of a research project which explored the care factors that influence the educational achievement of looked‐after children. The project was innovative because it focused on children looked after at home and away from home. A mixed‐methods strategy was adopted to analyse data from two large Scottish local authorities. The project developed, what is to date, the largest dataset which includes variables for one‐fifth of children discharged from care in Scotland over a 5‐year period. The qualitative element of the project collected in‐depth data on the care and education experiences of looked‐after children and care leavers. The overall finding was that looked‐after children perform less well academically than their counterparts in the general school population. The empirical data indicated that factors such as placement type, reason for becoming looked after and age on becoming looked after were significant in determining educational achievement. Empirical results further indicated that looked‐after children suffered from discrimination and social exclusion in many areas of their lives, including school and where they lived.     

An Institutional Contingency Perspective of Interlocking Directorates

Interlocking directorates, in which companies are linked by the directors that serve on their boards, exist globally. It is an expression of hegemonic power exercised by the elites of a society, and has been studied with great interest by organizational sociologists, management scholars and financial economists. The interest emanates from the effect that interlocks have on wealth creation and distribution, and from the perspective that interlocks can tell us how elites in a society are networked. Although diverse theoretical perspectives have informed the research on interlocking directorates, this review shows that the Anglo‐American perspective dominates. This dominance is notable not only in the volume of Anglo‐American studies, but also in theories employed by international studies. For example, most international studies use agency theory to investigate the welfare implications of interlocks, but many countries do not use the Anglo‐American legal regime, which is the basis for agency theory. This paper expands the theoretical basis of the review to include class hegemony and resource dependence, to articulate better the causes and consequences of interlocks in the international context. The paper also extends theory by showing that institutions have an important influence on interlocks, so that the latter can be welfare‐depleting in one institutional setting, while welfare‐enhancing in another. The review concludes by discussing the implication for future research.     

Beyond Regional Institutions: Widening Unemployment Differentials in Italy

Abstract. Building on Layard and Jackman's framework, we propose a simple model to analyse the relation between labour productivity and unemployment differentials in Italy and present some panel data evidence to support the theoretical predictions of the model. The empirical analysis strongly suggests that the productivity differential is one of the main factors driving the dynamics of the unemployment differential in Italy.