Perceptions of the effectiveness of training and development of ‘grey-collar’ workers in the People's Republic of China

An important human resource development (HRD) implication of the People's Republic of China's (PRC) rapidly expanding economy has been the emergence of a critical shortage of grey-collar workers (GCW). Although ‘grey-collar’ has been commonly used in the West to describe an aging population within the workforce, in China it refers to people who are neither white nor blue collar workers but technicians. The shortage of GCW constrains the PRC's economic and developmental sustainability, and has been recognized in central and provincial government initiatives to increase training and development of employees within these fields. While acknowledged as a policy and organizational problem, there has been no research investigating what organizations are doing to develop these employees. Drawing upon a survey of 310 semi-skilled and skilled employees in Beijing, our findings suggest that while the surveyed organizations are investing heavily in both on- and off-the-job training, employees' perceived value of such differs markedly according to age and position. The research has important implications for China's HRD strategy in suggesting links between training and other human resource management (HRM) functions are yet to be evidenced.     

Disentangled,decentred and democratised: Youth Studies for the global South

Youth Studies’ theories often assume universal generalisability despite rarely making the global South, or its youthful populations, ontologies, values and politics the focus of research. This paper grapples with the idea of a Youth Studies ‘for’ the global South, questioning whether theories/approaches that centre on the global North can be usefully applied in the global South, how and for what purpose. After describing two mainstream domains of Youth Studies scholarship, questioning how they may become applicable to Africa, Latin America and developing countries in Asia, we explicate the geo-politically situated nature of knowledge production. We ask how theories that originate elsewhere can be adapted and put to work in new contexts, contributing towards a Youth Studies that enhances the lives of youth on the global periphery. In Southern sites urgent material challenges dominate young people's lives, requiring theories that are able to analyse the multi-dimensional contextual constraints youth experience. Knowledges can be useful regardless of where they originate, but only when they become intentionally entangled in local realities and are adapted accordingly. We argue, however, that a Youth Studies for the global South needs to demonstrate its relevance beyond applying theories to new local sites. It should be able to say something more general about the human condition. In the current conjuncture of economic instability, we believe that contexts where youth have had to adapt, hustle and survive in precarious conditions for an extended period of time might demonstrate something unique about the human condition, but only if we make these places the focus of our research gaze. The paper concludes with suggestions to enable a Youth Studies for the global South, one which may contribute to this emerging field more effectively through intentional strategies of disentangling, decentring and ultimately democratising the field.     

Ethical issues in tracking cellular telephones at an event

Early in 2007, the CSIR conducted an experiment to track the cellular telephones of a small group of people as they moved to and from an event, to test the viability of using such tracking to provide the participants with useful traffic information. This project raised a number of ethical issues, which prompted this paper and which we discuss here. These include:

• the ethics of modelling data, including the treatment of research participants;

• privacy and surveillance issues related to tracking the movement of people;

• the risks inherent in being tracked vs the benefits of being tracked; and

• the ethics related to sending messages to drivers.

We have reviewed the literature on ethics and used the results to assemble a check list of relevant ethical issues, adding a few of our own (i.e. a deontological ethics approach), against which the conduct of this research project was assessed. We also provide an overview of the experiment and the results obtained.     

Simulation based learning in midwifery education: a systematic review

AimTo critically examine the evidence for simulation based learning in midwifery education.BackgroundSimulated Learning Programs (SLPs) using low to high fidelity techniques are common in obstetric professionals’ education and focus on the development of team work, labour and obstetric emergencies.Review methodsA systematic review incorporating critical appraisal approaches, setting clear objectives and a defined search and analysis strategy. Evidence from obstetrics, neonatology, technical and non-technical skills (teamwork) was included where it informed the development of midwifery curricula. Studies in English from 2000 to 2010 were included searching CINAHL Plus, OVID Medline, Cochrane, SCOPUS and ProQuest and Google Scholar.ResultsTwenty-four papers were identified that met the inclusion criteria. All were quantitative reports; outcomes and levels of evidence varied with two notable papers indicating that simulation had an impact on clinical practice. Benefits of SLP over didactic formats were apparent, as were the development of non-technical skills confidence and competence. The study outcomes were limited by the range of evidence and context of the reports which focussed on obstetric emergency training using a number of simulation techniques.ConclusionThere is evidence that simulated learning of midwifery skills is beneficial. Simulation learning has an educational and clinical impact and advantages over didactic approaches. Where clinical practice is infrequent i.e. obstetric emergencies, simulation is an essential component of curricula. Simulation enhances practice and therefore may reduce the time taken to achieve competence; however there is no evidence from the literature that simulation should replace clinical practice.     

Examining college students’ differential deviance: A partial test of social structure-social learning theory

College students are engaged in a variety of activities on campus, some of which are deviant and may be criminal. This research investigated 12 activities prohibited on many college campuses (for example, smoking, meeting in an unreserved room, and removing school property without permission). Negative binomial regressions were used to analyze a count of engagement in the deviant activities and logistic regressions were used to separately analyze the three most common behaviors found in the sample—non-permitted parking, alcohol consumption, and making a false excuse. The findings show moderate support for the general (using the count variable) and the specific (using the three dichotomized variables) predictability of unofficial and official sanctions as a proxy measures of Sherman’s defiance theory and the four constructs of Akers’ social learning theory. The inconsistencies among which variables were significant and which had the strongest effect are discussed, along with a mediation analysis.     

“You Can Help People”: Adolescents’ Views on Engaging Young People in Longitudinal Research

We sought to discover adolescents’ thoughts about participation in longitudinal research and identify recruitment and retention strategies that were meaningful to them. We conducted seven focus groups with 10–15‐year‐olds in two large rural centers in New South Wales, Australia, and all focus groups were digitally recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. Adolescents discussed factors salient to their involvement in focus groups, as well as factors that may influence involvement in a longitudinal study. At the outset of the focus groups, adolescents had a positive view of “research,” but were reluctant to engage in research that involved biologic samples. Effective recruitment of adolescents requires an appreciation of motivators, and time and resources to extend potential participants’ understanding.     

An anti-deficit perspective on black male student athletes’ educational experiences at a historically black college/university

The purpose of this study was to identify key institutional characteristics and practices at a historically black college/university (HBCU) that contributed to positive educational experiences for black male student athletes. This mixed methods exploratory study involved the use of a 79-item Student Athlete College Experiences Questionnaire (SACEQ), three focus group interviews, and four individual interviews. Participants in this study included 57 black male football and men’s basketball student athletes at an HBCU in the southeastern US. Institutional theory and the anti-deficit achievement framework were incorporated to highlight effective institutional practices at an HBCU. Findings revealed the presence of a nurturing familial campus climate and purposefully designed institutional programs enhanced black male student athletes’ educational experiences. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

‘But It's Your Job To Be Friendly’: Employees Coping With and Contesting Sexual Harassment from Customers in the Service Sector

This article analyses how employees in the service sector respond to sexual harassment from customers and attempts to explain why this is so. There are only a small number of previous studies examining the issue of customer‐perpetrated sexual harassment. Those that have been conducted have detailed the nature and prevalence of sexual harassment from customers, but this research lags behind employee experience and some emerging policy responses to this issue. The extant literature, whilst growing, remains largely limited to documenting the phenomenon. In this article, we attempt to create a deeper analysis of customer‐perpetrated harassment by conducting a new review of the literature to develop propositions about how employees respond to it and the factors that influence their responses. These propositions are analysed in relation to a qualitative pilot study with 15 interviewees who had experienced sexual harassment from customers to understand how they reacted and why. The article shows how the social norms and precarious working conditions of the service sector constrain employees from seeking formal redress, leading to the enactment of informal coping strategies and temporary contestations of the situation. This research is important for building our understanding of the influence of workplace context for framing employee responses to customer sexual harassment.