Psychosocial,Motivational, and Contextual Profiles of Youth Reporting Different Patterns of Substance Use During Adolescence

This research examined patterns of substance use and academic factors among a sample of 733 African‐American and European‐American adolescents from a metropolitan area. First, youth were classified into 11th grade high, moderate, or no substance use groups and classified as users, initiators, desistors, and nonusers based on eighth and 11th grade use. Nonusers did not differ in eighth grade from 11th grade moderate users and initiators over time. Eighth graders who reported misbehavior and having low‐achieving friends were more likely to be high 11th grade users and users at both grades. Direct achievement effects were not found; however, interactions indicated achievement was protective when paired with having fun at school, high task value, and low levels of socioeconomic status (SES); and was a risk factor when paired with positive self regard, low fun at school and high SES. Cluster analyses indicated the most prevalent group of substance users reported high grades, social reasons for going to school, and having friends who do well in school.     

THE RHETORIC OF DEMOCRACY IN INTERNATIONAL ON-LINE EDUCATION

On-line education has been heralded as the next democratizing force in education, particularly in higher education (Daniel 1996; Jones 1997). By opening access to populations which have not had access either because of geographical location, job status, or physical handicap, the rhetoric of on-line education suggests that this new technology will democratize education, breaking down the elitist walls of the ivory tower. However, it is not at all clear that the reality of implementing distance learning solutions have in fact any potential, much less actual value for democratizing higher education. Much the opposite, founded on the myth of the meritocracy, on-line education has the potential to exacerbate already intractable views of individual achievement through education as rectifying failures to meet disadvantaged populations' needs. This paper presents several cases of international on-line education and the rhetoric that surrounds its introduction. In some cases we are able to share stories of implementation of distance learning programmes or governmental promises made to those interested in distance learning. In each case, we attempt to tell a story that sheds light on the ways in which the noble goals of democracy are and aren't met in the harsh reality of on-line learning.     

Maternal Psychosocial Adversity and the Longitudinal Development of Infant Sleep

Research has identified associations between indicators of social disadvantage and the presence of child sleep problems. We examined the longitudinal development of infant sleep in families experiencing high (n = 58) or low (n = 64) levels of psychosocial adversity, and the contributions of neonatal self‐regulatory capacities and maternal settling strategies to this development. Assessments of infant sleep at 4‐, 7‐, and 12‐weeks postpartum indicated no differences in sleeping difficulties between high‐ and low‐adversity groups. However, more infant sleep difficulties were reported in the high‐ versus low‐adversity groups at 12‐ and 18‐month follow‐ups. Neonatal self‐regulatory capacities were not related to the presence or absence of adversity, or to subsequent infant sleep quality. However, there were group differences in maternal settling strategies that did predict subsequent infant sleep difficulties. The pattern of sleep disturbance observed in association with maternal psychosocial adversity at 18‐months was consistent with risk for broader impairments in child functioning.     

The Effects of Gender Role Congruence and Statistical Discrimination on Managerial Advancement

This paper makes the argument that themanagerial advancement process is different for womenand men. Men in management who choose to participatemore fully in family labor experience gender rolecongruence pressures and are penalized in the workplace.Women in management experience statisticaldiscrimination, meaning that they are viewed withsuspicion and that their commitment and competence isover-tested. Findings from data collected in two large firmssupported the gender role congruence and statisticaldiscrimination perspectives. Specifically, effortexpended on paid work was more strongly positively associated with advancement for men than forwomen. Participating in household labor hurt men sadvancement more than it did women s. Demonstratingcompetence in a series of internal organizationalexperiences was more strongly associated with advancementfor women than for men. Implications for theory,management, and future research are discussed.     

MUTUAL OBLIGATION AND THE WELFARE RESPONSIBILITIES OF GOVERNMENT

Significant forces mean that governments are reassessing their responsibilities for welfare. The welfare changes introduced by the Howard Government have a strong role for mutual obligation. After reviewing the meaning of welfare, the historic welfare responsibilities of government and the impact of social and economic change, three key objectives for a current Australian Government are proposed. These are to protect the vulnerable, to develop capacity to function effectively in a more difficult environment and to promote social cohesion. The paper examines whether the current application of mutual obligation assists their achievement, concluding that all are compromised. Protection is compromised by the reduction in levels of income support payments, often to very marginalised and vulnerable individuals. Capacity building is undermined by the limited activities and choices available and social cohesion is affected by the divisions created by mutual obligation and the lack of attention to institution building.     

THE TACIT ORDER OF TEAMWORK: Collaboration and Embodied Conduct in Anesthesia

This article explores the interactional organization of collaborative work in the field of anesthesia. "Anesthetic teams" provide a distinctive case for the analysis of collaborative work, because their work is undertaken with, around, and on an aware and variously involved coparticipant, namely, the patient. To explore such collaboration, this article draws on ethnomethodology and conversation analysis to examine audiovisual data of naturally occurring preoperative anesthetic work recorded in a British hospital. There are three key consequences of the analysis that we elaborate: first, it points toward the limitations of Erving Goffman's regions metaphor for explicating the organization of collaborative work in settings like anesthesia; second, it reveals key organizing practices and skills associated with in situ teamworking that are distinctly absent from the literature of health-care teams; third, it points toward the critical importance of analyzing embodied conduct, not just language or talk, when examining copresent organizational activities.
[Practice]…includes all the implicit relations, tacit conventions, subtle cues. untold rules of thumb, recognizable intuitions, specific perceptions, well-tuned sensitivities, embodied understandings, underlying assumptions and shared world views. Most of these may never be articulated, yet they are unmistakable signs of membership in communities of practice and are crucial to the success of their enterprises. Etienne Wenger, Communities of Practice , p. 47     

Research note: Monthly strategies for discretion: shopping for sanitary towels and tampons

Collected as part of a small-scale qualitative study of socio-cultural aspects of menstruation, interview data dealing with the task of buying sanitary towels and tampons are presented. They reveal a potentially embarrassing dilemma between an overarching requirement for discretion in menstrual matters and the necessity to ‘go public’ when shopping. Strategies for managing this dilemma form the substance of the paper.     

Is Unemployment a Health Hazard? Health-related behaviours of a sample of unemployed Sydney youth in 1980

A self-report questionnaire, tapping a variety of areas of health-related behaviours, was administered individually to a hundred young men and women aged between 15 and 24 years, solicited outside the Commonwealth Employment Service Office in Liverpool, New South Wales, in August 1980, all of whom described themselves as having been continuously unemployed for at least four weeks up to the time of interview. The group was divided at its approximate median of five months in terms of duration of current period of unemployment, and the short-term and long-term unemployed groups thus derived were contrasted on all variables. The resultant analysis showed the total long-term unemployed group to be characterized by heavier smoking, reduced participation in sport, and, though not statistically significant, increased drug usage, relative to the short-term group. Within the long-term group, females were drinking more, and visiting the doctor more, than their short-term peers; males were changing their drinking, friendship, eating and sleeping habits in directions indicative of loss of social contact.     

Positive Social Support,Negative Social Exchanges,and Suicidal Behavior in College Students

Abstract

Objective: Risk for suicide is often higher among college students, compared to same-age noncollegiate peers, and may be exacerbated by quality of social support and interactions. The authors examined the independent contributions of positive social support and negative social exchanges to suicide ideation and attempts in college students. Participants: Participants were 439 volunteer undergraduate students, who were primarily female (71%). Methods: Cross-sectional, survey design. Participants completed measures assessing positive social support, including emotional, informational, and tangible support; negative social exchanges; and suicidal behavior, including ideation and attempts. Results: Positive social support, particularly tangible support, and negative social exchanges were significantly predictive of greater suicidal behavior. Conclusions: Practical manifestations of support may buffer against suicide risk for college students, whereas conflict-based interactions may contribute to increased risk. At the institutional, parental, and peer levels, promotion of supportive relationships may be an important suicide prevention strategy.