Predictors of suspension and negative school outcomes: a longitudinal investigation

Research suggests that suspension is not an effective deterrent and that more should be done to meet the needs of those who are continually suspended.     

THE IMPACT OF DEREGULATION ON THE PRODUCTION STRUCTURE OF THE MOTOR CARRIER INDUSTRY

Empirical analysis of the motor carrier industry pre- and post-regulatory reform reveals that deregulation resulted in significant changes in firm production structure and lower real average costs. Translog cost functions for firms operating in 1977 and 1983 were estimated and compared for "other specialized commodity" carriers. Fitted average costs were computed from these functions. The results indicate significant differences in the cost functions and real costs that cannot be attributed to technological changes but rather suggest efficiency gains. The results also suggest that it is inappropriate to predict outcomes of deregulation using empirical analyses of firms in the regulated environment.     

The Nature of Social Competence: A Theoretical Review

Consistent with much of the research literature, social competence is defined as effectiveness in social interaction. Effectiveness is broadly considered, and includes both self and other perspectives. Social competence is viewed as an organizing construct, with transactional, context-dependent, and goal-specific characteristics. Four general approaches to the operational definition of social competence are identified: social skills, sociometric status, relationships, and functional outcomes. A Prism Model of social competence is presented, based on theoretical, index and skills levels of analyses. The implications of the Prism Model for developmental, gender, cultural, assessment and intervention issues are also discussed.     

Marital treatment following early infant death

In recent years, clinicians have become increasingly more aware of the high risk of psychiatric disability when parents are unable to mourn the loss of a stillborn baby or a neonate. The literature discussing the psychodynamic functions of this mourning process and the social as well as intrapsychic defenses against it is examined. A clinical illustration suggests how difficulty in acknowledging the ongoing significance of the infant's death can have major ramifications within both the marital relationship and the treatment context. Countertransference issues are found to be particularly important.     

Cognitive Mapping: Gender Differences in the Perception of Community

The concept of cognitive mapping as drawn from sociological phenomenology is used to clarify the complexity of the concept of community. Fifty residents of a Midwestern rural area were asked to drawn maps of their community. The maps reveal individual differences in the perception of a community and a tendency for the perception of community to vary by gender. Where the activities within a community tend to be segregated, there will also tend to be different viewpoints or cognitive maps of the community.     

Deliberation in Six Juries: A Participant Observer Study

Since the 1930s, jury deliberation has been studied only through questionnaire or interview, or experimental methods. This paper uses a participant observer approach to the study of deliberations in six juries. Juries were found to be concerned both with the issues in the trial and with the intersection of their own and the trial participants' birgraphies. Their deliberations included assessments of the moral character of the criminal participants, the competence of the attorneys and judges, both from within the context of jurors' own life experiences. The imagery of the “good juror,” the interactions with fellow jurors, and the extra-jury everyday life contingencies brought to the jury room also influenced deliberations.