Role stress among Canadian white-collar workers

The incidence of various stressors at work and outside work was examined in a group of public service workers with a large Canadian federal government department. Workers were either in clerical, technical and supervisory ('officers'), or management positions. Measures of work stress included role stressors (load, insufficiency, conflict ambiguity and responsibility), as well as stress due to the physical environment. Both life events and daily hassles were included as measures of non-work stress. The consequences of stress were considered in terms of vocational, psychological, interpersonal, and physical strain, as well as in terms of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Potential moderators of stress included social support and self-esteem. Among work stressors conflict, ambiguity and insufficiency were the more closely associated with vocational outcomes. MANCOVA followed by discriminant function analysis showed that clerical workers were distinguished by higher levels of insufficiency, officers by higher levels of conflict and the lowest levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and managers by higher levels of perceived responsibility for others. The results are discussed in terms of social role theory.     

Trust as a Determinant of Opposition to a High-Level Radioactive Waste Repository: Analysis of a Structural Model

Residents in the State of Nevada hold strong opinions about the federal government's proposal to site the nation's first high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The model developed in this study is designed to examine the relationship between public perceptions of risk, trust in risk management, and potential economic impacts of the current repository program using a confirmatory multivariate method known as covariance structure analysis. The data used to test the model was collected in a 1989 statewide survey of Nevada residents. The results indicate that, for a statewide sample, perceptions of potential economic benefits do not have a significant role in predicting support or opposition to the repository program. On the other hand, risk perceptions and the level of trust in repository management are closely related to each other and to positions on Yucca Mountain. Trust directly influences risk perceptions which, in turn, have a direct effect on the attitude toward the repository, and an indirect effect through perceived stigma effects.     

The Nevada Initiative: A Risk Communication Fiasco

The U.S. Congress has designated Yucca Mountain, Nevada as the only potential site to be studied for the nation's first high-level nuclear waste repository. People in Nevada strongly oppose the program, managed by the U.S. Department of Energy. Survey research shows that the public believes there are great risks from a repository program, in contrast to a majority of scientists who feel the risks are acceptably small. Delays in the repository program resulting in part from public opposition in Nevada have concerned the nuclear power industry, which collects the fees for the federal repository program and believes it needs the repository as a final disposal facility for its high-level nuclear wastes. To assist the repository program, the American Nuclear Energy Council (ANEC), an industry group, sponsored a massive advertising campaign in Nevada. The campaign attempted to assure people that the risks of a repository were small and that the repository studies should proceed. The campaign failed because its managers misunderstood the issues underlying the controversy, attempted a covert manipulation of public opinion that was revealed, and most importantly, lacked the public trust that was necessary to communicate credibly about the risks of a nuclear waste facility.     

Uptake of Chloroform by Skin During Short Exposures to Contaminated Water

Uptake of chloroform into hairless rat stratum corneum from dilute aqueous solutions was studied using tape-stripping to determine amounts deposited in the skin under various environmental exposure scenarios. The length of exposure of sedated animals to the chloroform-containing medium, the frequency and duration of tape-stripping, and the number of tape-strips per location were varied to map the stratum corneum substantivity of chloroform. Eight minutes immersion of the rat within a well-stirred solution at 36°C was found to be adequate time for the gradient to be established fully across the stratum corneum. Penetration was progressively deeper as the exposure time increased. Substantial evaporative loss of chloroform from the aqueous medium of application seem to be responsible for lower cumulative amounts taken up when the same solution was held on the rat's skin within a stainless steel template of fixed area. Of the total uptake (29 mg) from a dilute stirred solution of chloroform (0.44 mg/ml) at 36°C, about 95% was systematically absorbed after a 30 min exposure as determined by residuals (measurement of bath concentrations).     

The role of licensing in child placement and protection

Regulation of child residential care facilities requires licensors who have professional experience in child welfare. Licensing requirements must be applied within a context of professional knowledge and experience, particularly in regard to child placement and child protective services. The licensing of facilities for out-of-home care of vulnerable children generally has not been viewed as a mainstream social service or child welfare function. Although licensing differs from placement services and protective services in that licensing is basically a nonservice approach to protection each of the three elements forms a triangle of comprehensive protection for vulnerable children. Recognition of both the similarities and the distinguishing characteristics of the three elements reduces individual and organizational role conflict and, furthermore, holds promise for mature and effective coalitions in achieving the common goal of protection for vulnerable children in out-of-home care. The strength of a statewide licensing program is founded in centralized organizational and supervisory structure. Licensing must fulfill its partnership role in coordination with child placement and child protective services to achieve genuine community protection for vulnerable children.     

Pathways to Retirement and Mortality Risk in The Netherlands

The success of policies aimed at keeping older workers in employment until the statutory retirement age in part depends on the health of these workers. For this reason we examine to what extent pathways to statutory retirement other than employment are associated with adverse health conditions as measured by increased mortality risk during retirement. To do so, we estimate a mortality risk model using Dutch administrative data. We find, conditional on labor market status at the age of 58 and compared to individuals who are employed until the statutory retirement age of 65, no increased mortality risk among individuals who, between the ages of 58 and 65, have been in early retirement or unemployment and an increased mortality risk among individuals who have drawn disability insurance benefits. Our results suggest that older workers other than those who qualify for disability insurance benefits, may, on average, have no significant health conditions that could adversely impact the effectiveness of reforms that create stronger financial incentives for continued employment until age 65.     

Understanding the experience of moving a loved one to a long-term care facility:family members' perspectives

This project was designed to develop an understanding of family members' experiences of moving a loved one to a long-term care facility and to identify ways in which facilities might help ease this process. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with family members who had recently moved a relative into one of three long-term care facilities in Southern Ontario, Canada. Several factors appeared to contribute to the overall experience of the move to long-term care and either served to impede or facilitate a positive transition for families. These factors included: the experience during the waiting process, preparation for the move, ease of the actual move, control over decisions, communication throughout the process, support from others, and family and resident perceptions and attitudes towards the move. Easing the difficult aspects of moving a loved one to a long-term care setting can be facilitated with better preparation and support from facilities and community services.     

Bullying behaviour in secondary schools: what roles do teachers play?

Teachers have an important role to play in the management and prevention of bullying. Although many anti‐bullying programmes advocate a ‘whole school approach’, they tend to focus on student‐student behaviours and rarely examine the nature of other relationships which exist in the school. This study examines bullying between students and teachers at two time points. Thirty per cent of students said they were bullied by teachers at both times. Numbers reporting they bullied teachers were 28 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively. The paper explores the important role that teachers play in dealing with bullying in a school setting by modelling appropriate behaviours and dealing with it effectively. If teachers are victimised by or engage in bullying students this has implications for the ethos within the school and may also impact on the success of anti‐bullying programmes. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.