How do people differentiate between jobs: and how do they define a good job?

Employed individuals from a range of jobs (n=18) were interviewed using a repertory grid technique, to explore the criteria they used to distinguish between different jobs. The concepts of 'a good job' and 'a job good for health' were also discussed. Interactions with others and the job itself were the most commonly used criteria and were also the most common features of a 'good job'. Pay and security were mentioned frequently but were less important when comparing jobs and when defining a 'good job'. Physical activity was rarely associated by interviewees with a 'good job' but was frequently associated with a 'job good for health'. A comprehensive definition of a 'good job' needs to take all these factors into account.     

Discussing Global Issues Through Contemporary Art

Contemporary global issues can be examined through the lens of modern photographic art. In an effort to prepare global-ready graduates, this article explores the pressing problems of environmental degradation, urbanization, and homelessness through the work of three contemporary artists. Illustrative works, suggested approaches, and curriculum resources are provided.     

Personality at Face Value: Facial Appearance Predicts Self and Other Personality Judgments among Strangers and Spouses

Character judgments, based on facial appearance, impact both perceivers’ and targets’ interpersonal decisions and behaviors. Nonetheless, the resilience of such effects in the face of longer acquaintanceship duration is yet to be determined. To address this question, we had 51 elderly long-term married couples complete self and informant versions of a Big Five Inventory. Participants were also photographed, while they were requested to maintain an emotionally neutral expression. A subset of the initial sample completed a shortened version of the Big Five Inventory in response to the pictures of other opposite sex participants (with whom they were unacquainted). Oosterhof and Todorov’s (in Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:11087–11092, 2008) computer-based model of face evaluation was used to generate facial trait scores on trustworthiness, dominance, and attractiveness, based on participants’ photographs. Results revealed that structural facial characteristics, suggestive of greater trustworthiness, predicted positively biased, global informant evaluations of a target’s personality, among both spouses and strangers. Among spouses, this effect was impervious to marriage length. There was also evidence suggestive of a Dorian Gray effect on personality, since facial trustworthiness predicted not only spousal and stranger, but also self-ratings of extraversion. Unexpectedly, though, follow-up analyses revealed that (low) facial dominance, rather than (high) trustworthiness, was the strongest predictor of self-rated extraversion. Our present findings suggest that subtle emotional cues, embedded in the structure of emotionally neutral faces, exert long-lasting effects on personality judgments even among very well-acquainted targets and perceivers.     

A measure of community members’ perceptions of the impacts of research partnerships in health and social services

Currently, there are no psychometrically sound outcome measures by which to assess the impacts of research partnerships. This article describes the development of a 33-item, survey questionnaire measuring community members’ perceptions of the impact of research partnerships addressing health or social issues. The Community Impacts of Research Oriented Partnerships (CIROP) was developed using information from the literatures on health promotion, community development, research utilization, and community-based participatory research, and from focus groups involving 29 key informants. Data from 174 community members were used to determine the factor structure, internal consistency, and test–retest reliability of the four CIROP scales, and to provide evidence of construct validity. The CIROP informs research partnerships about the extent of their impact in the areas of Personal Knowledge Development, Personal Research Skill Development, Organizational/Group Access To and Use of Information, and Community and Organizational Development, allowing them to demonstrate accountability to funding bodies. As well, the CIROP can be used as a research tool to assess the effectiveness of knowledge sharing approaches, determine the most influential activities of research partnerships, and determine structural characteristics of partnerships associated with various types of impact. The CIROP provides a better understanding of community members’ perspectives and expectations of research partnerships, with important implications for knowledge transfer and uptake.     

Tailoring a Parenting Curriculum for the Needs of Pregnant Adolescents in The Bahamas

Adolescence marks the transition from childhood into adulthood. For pregnant female adolescents, the transition is to motherhood as well as adulthood. They must not only deal with the physical and emotional changes of adolescence but learn how to become mothers. This article provides recommendations for enhancing a parenting skills curriculum for pregnant adolescents based on the research of the primary author with a cohort in an alternative school in Nassau, the Bahamas and follow-up discussions with alumni of the program.     

What Is Valued in Gay and Lesbian Specific Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment?

Little is known about what gay and lesbian clients value about culturally specific alcohol and other drug treatment programs. This study involves a sample of clinical staff and former clients (N = 40) of four culturally specific alcohol and other drug treatment programs to clarify what is addressed and deemed valuable for the specific needs of gay and lesbian clients. Through the lens of the recovery capital conceptual framework, this qualitative research emphasizes resiliency and the supports necessary for long-term recovery. Results indicate three major themes that make this type of treatment valuable: (1) a separate treatment unit or facility, (2) a safe and supportive therapeutic milieu, and (3) specific tailored treatment approaches. Findings are discussed to include implications for ways to improve services for this all too often understudied population of potentially vulnerable individuals who can benefit from culturally sensitive care.     

Does Family Structure Matter in the Relationships Between Youth Assets and Youth Alcohol,Drug and Tobacco Use?

This study investigated significant relationships between youth assets and youth alcohol, tobacco, and drug use that differ according to family structure (one- or two-parent households). Data were collected from a randomly sampled inner-city population (n=1,256 teenagers and 1,256 parents of the teenagers) using in-home, in-person interviews. Logistic regression analyses, stratifying by one- and two-parent household status, were conducted with nine youth assets as the independent variables and youth alcohol, tobacco, and drug use as the dependent variables. Results indicated that the associations between assets and risk behaviors varied depending upon whether the youth lived in one- or two-parent households. Continued research is warranted to further investigate associations among family structure, youth assets, and youth risk behaviors.     

Female Adolescents, the Experience of Violence, and the Meaning of the Body

Female adolescents who have experienced violence often struggle to maintain a sense of agency and control over their own bodies—bodies that have been objectified through direct physical assault. In order to understand more fully the impact of direct violence on the meaning of the body for female adolescents, the author discusses normative aspects of the meaning of the body and their relationship to the developmental processes of individuation and connectedness as well as subjectivity and objectivity. Case vignettes are used to explore the intersection of violence and the meaning and use of the body for female adolescents. Implications for intervention are proposed.