The relationship between newcomer expectations of job stressors and adjustment to the new job

This study examined the relationship between unrealistic expectations of organizational newcomers regarding job stressors and subsequent adjustment to the new job. Using a sample of 91 new employees, measures of expected stressors (gathered prior to the first day of work) were compared with stressors reported after six months on the job. The study examined the relationship between the accuracy of expected stressors (demands) and three indicators of job adjustment: job satisfaction; job involvement; and distress symptoms. The results provided partial support for the hypothesis that newcomers who underestimate job stressors have more difficulty adjusting on the new job than do newcomers who overestimate job stressors.     

Pot Noodles,Placements and Peer Regard: Creative Career Trajectories and Communities of Practice in the British Advertising Industry

The increasingly unpredictable, individualized and short‐term nature of the labour market is evident in the careers of advertising creatives. We explore the career trajectories of 48 creative professionals in the British advertising industry, using theories of situated learning and communities of practice to illustrate how the collective remains important to individuals' career prospects. Creatives learn their craft by becoming immersed in the multiple, inter‐related communities that constitute the advertising world during the demanding ‘pre‐peripheral’ and ‘peripheral’ stages of their career. Learning through immersion continues throughout the journey from the periphery to the centre, since creatives participate in a competitive, tight‐knit creative community, actively engaged in social networking and constantly monitoring each others' creative output. Creatives' legitimacy (and power) is earned by winning peer regard for their work. The nature of the learning required changes as each stage of the creative trajectory brings different motivations and pressures, but the processes of learning, the mutual shaping of individual and community, and the identity work involved are evident throughout creative career trajectories.     

Direct Payments and Disabled People in the UK: Supply, Demand and Devolution

Direct payments have brought new opportunities for self-determinationand independent living to disabled people in the UK, featuringprominently in government strategy and the 2006 White Paper,‘Our Health, Our Care, Our Say’. However, ten yearsafter direct payments legislation, take-up remains low and implementationvaries greatly. Rates of take-up in England remain more thandouble those in other parts of the UK, raising questions aboutdevolution and equity. This paper presents data from a nationalstudy to examine some of the mechanisms underlying uneven outcomesfor disabled people in different parts of the United Kingdom,with particular reference to the politics of devolved governance.The analysis focuses on scope for interpretations of policy;resources for information and training; the impact of mandatoryduties and targets; extensions to new user groups; and the roleof support organizations and disability activism. The evidencesuggests that local variations have been produced not only by‘local’ factors, but also by different opportunitystructures for policy development in England, Scotland, Walesand Northern Ireland. This raises questions about the impactof devolution on equity and opportunity for disabled peoplein the UK.     

Sexual Orientation,Relationships with Parents,Stress, and Depressive Symptoms among Adults

Disparities in depressive symptoms as a function of sexual orientation have been well documented, but less is known about their origins. This study examines whether, even in adulthood, less favorable parental relationships are associated with disparities in depressive symptoms as a function of sexual orientation. Cross-sectional data were drawn from Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) participants reported lower quality parental relationships, greater stress, and more depressive symptoms than did heterosexual participants. Lower quality parental relationships were associated with higher stress. Higher stress and lower quality parental relationships were associated with more depressive symptoms. GLB individuals reported lower father relationship quality and higher stress, which partially mediated the association of sexuality and depressive symptoms. Lesbian and bisexual women reported lower mother relationship quality and higher stress, which fully mediated the association of sexuality and depressive symptoms. While no differences in mother relationship quality existed for men, mother relationship quality was more strongly associated with depressive symptoms for gay and bisexual men than for heterosexual men. Even in adulthood, greater stress and depressive symptoms among GLB individuals were at least partially accounted for by less favorable parental relationships.     

Responding to child maltreatment: Comparison between the USA and China

A recent study estimated that over one‐fourth of Chinese children have suffered maltreatment (Fang et al., 2015 ). However, the current child welfare policy in China is limited to orphans, abandoned children, and children with disabilities. Also, there is very little comparative research in China on Chinese and other countries’ child welfare systems. The purpose of this study was to analyze applicable US and Chinese child welfare policies, identify gaps in Chinese policy regarding child maltreatment, and make recommendations for a policy agenda for improving child welfare in China based on cultural values and existing policy structures. Results show that China has considerable capacity to make improvements in child protective services, foster care, and adoption policies. Based on the results of this study, several implications are provided to develop China's child maltreatment policy to increase children's outcomes of well‐being, safety, and permanency. Key Practitioner Message: ? To understand the background and system of current Chinese child maltreatment policy; ? To review US child maltreatment policy and its implementation to identify gaps in the Chinese child maltreatment system; ? To provide policy suggestions to develop Chinese child maltreatment policy and provide recommendations for social work education and practice in China.     

瑞典社会民主主义与第三条道路--艰难的选择

第三条道路的许多观念构成了瑞典社会民主党纲领的基本内容和社会民主党政府实施的具体政策 ,诸如积极有效的劳动市场政策 (从福利到工作 )、教育政策、终生学习和拥有就业能力的政策。与此同时 ,许多社会民主党人认为 ,第三条道路是可怕的和值得怀疑的。为了理解瑞典在第三条道路讨论中的勉强态度 ,我们了解一些 2 0世纪 90年代瑞典的背景情况是很重要的。最近 ,一个政府委员会完成了对 90年代瑞典福利政策的平衡测算 ,报告的序言部分表明 ,在90年代 ,人口因素和瑞典经济和劳动力市场最不景气的阶段交织在一起。委员会强调 ,瑞典人口的构成…     

Research with Deaf People: Issues and Conflicts

The field of sign language research is fraught with problems-prejudice, mistrust, misunderstanding, unmet expectations, identity crises and pervasive mythologies, to name but a few. Some of these problems arise from cultural differences between the (usually hearing) researchers and the people they study. Others stem from a lack of appropriate training and sensitivity on the part of the researcher. Those who investigate aspects of deafness itself (medical, educational or psychological) also face these problems since they, too, need to be in contact with members of the deaf community. Researchers in fields other than deafness may find that they share many of the same problems. As a result of extended study of sign language and the deaf community and the experience of working with deaf associates for 15-20 years, both in the United Kingdom and in the USA, we have begun to understand the tensions felt by both deaf and hearing people when they come together in the research enterprise. This paper is an attempt to open a debate on the issues which have been ignored in the search for results and publications. Failure to deal with these points will undermine the validity of supposedly objective results. The issues concern the power relations between the communities and the roles of the research staff in relation to each other and to their respective communities.