Collaborations with faith‐based social service coalitions

Based on the first national survey of faith‐based social service coalitions in the United States, this article presents data on the degree to which these nonprofit organizations collaborate with other specific organizational types, as well as the range and intensity of these collaborations. In general, faith‐based coalitions tend to collaborate most frequently with other faith‐based agencies, a pattern especially characteristic of the more religiously expressive ones. However, collaboration with non‐faith‐based organizations is also quite common. Based on seven organizational characteristics, we are able to predict which faith‐based coalitions are most likely to collaborate with different types of organizations: coalitions that have more explicitly religious policies and practices with reference to clients and staffs are less likely to participate in intense collaborations with some types of secular organizations, and consistently less likely to do so with all types of governmental agencies.     

‘Belonging’ and ‘Otherness’: Sex Equality in Banking in Turkey and Britain

The struggle for sex equality at work has largely been achieved in the developed world, it is claimed. The number of well‐qualified young women entering white‐collar employment and achieving promotion to first‐line and middle management positions now matches or exceeds their male peers. Many young women have high career aspirations and argue that sex discrimination no longer exists. However, this perception is over‐optimistic. Major sex inequalities persist at senior management level in the salaries and benefits offered to female and male staff and in access to certain favoured occupations and sectors of employment. Questionnaires, interviews and documentary evidence from three Turkish and six British banks and high street financial organizations showed that their claimed commitment to equal opportunities by sex was not matched by their practices. Members of managerial elites (who were almost exclusively male) held firm views about the characteristics of ‘the ideal worker’, which informed organizational ideologies, including human resource policies and practices concerning recruitment and promotion. They also permeated organizational cultures, which affected employees’ working practices and experiences. The outcome of these internal negotiation processes was to differentiate between a favoured group of staff seen as fully committed to the companies’ values, who were promoted and rewarded, and an ‘out’ group, whose members were denied these privileges. This distinction between ‘belonging’ and ‘otherness’ is gendered not only along the traditional lines of class, age, sexual orientation, religion and physical ability, but also along the new dimensions of marriage, networking, safety, mobility and space. Despite local and cross‐cultural differences in the significance of these factors, the cumulative disadvantage suffered by women staff seeking career development in the industry was remarkably similar.     

Multi-phase sampling under cost constraints

Multi-phase sampling (M-PhS) scheme is useful when the interest is in the estimation of the population mean of an expensive variable strictly connected with other cheaper (auxiliary) variables. The MSE is an accuracy measure of an estimator. Usually it decreases as the sample size increases. In practice the sample size cannot become arbitrarily large for possible cost constraints. From a practical point of view it would be useful to know the sample sizes which guarantee the best accuracy of the estimates for fixed costs. These “optimum” sample sizes can be, in some cases, computable but not admissible. In other cases, they can be neither admissible nor computable. The main goal of this paper is to propose a solution for both these situations. It will be clear that in both situations the solution is to consider a M-PhS scheme with one or more phases less.     

Managing the introduction of new technology

Most of the existing literature on the implications of new technology focuses on either its ‘impact’ or the social choices that lie behind strategies for its introduction into work organisations. The problems of managing the implementation of new technology have yet to be extensively examined despite this being one of the most critical aspects in the process of technological change. The findings from two case studies are presented which show how managers in the organisations concerned developed contrasting approaches to the problem of implementation in the context of opportunities and constraints presented by product markets and technological advance. Similarities between the two approaches are identified, in particular the role played by top management support in facilitating the acceptance of the new technology. The argument that management is able to develop a single unitary strategy towards the introduction of new technology is rejected in favour of a view of managerial actions as a series of flexible and changing sub-strategies associated with different stages in the process of change.     

Microaggressions,perceptions of campus climate,mental health,and alcohol use among first-year college students of color

Depressive and anxiety symptoms are increasingly common, and problematic alcohol use remains prevalent in college. To expand on prior research on mostly white samples, we surveyed first-year students of color from our predominately white university (Southeastern US) to identify risk factors for mental health symptoms and potentially co-occurring problematic alcohol use. Results showed significant associations between microaggressions and poor campus climate (hypothetical predictors) with depressive, anxiety, somatic symptoms (hypothetical outcomes) that were indirectly linked through perceived stress, poor sleep, and academic burnout (hypothetical mediators). Poor campus climate, academic burnout, and using alcohol to cope were the most relevant to alcohol use disorder symptoms. Results support efforts to address and reduce racial microaggressions and promote a positive campus climate for all.     

拉丁美洲的东亚移民

帝国主义通过扭曲遭受其影响的国家的经济,导致人口迁移与大量移民。19世纪,帝国主义势力渗透到远东的许多国家。在帝国主义与中国的贸易关系中,英国对茶叶的需求量相当大(其次是丝绸),但除了清政府需要的白银外,没有其他可交换的物品。为防止国库的耗尽和平衡贸易条款,英国商人于是寻求扩大中国的鸦片市场。东印度公司首先抢占了这个市场,然后鸦片贸易便被私人企业所垄断。在最大的经销商中,英国的贾丁与马西森公司位列其中(Hanes and Sanello,2002)。中国人的禁烟努力导致了1839—1842年和1856—1860年的两次鸦片战争,中国被迫割让香港给…     

Testing for space-time clusters of unknown size

The Knox test is widely used in epidemiology to test for infection or contagion, which is indicated by an excess of cases that are close both in space and time. Often, however, the values of the space and time critical parameters that define 'closeness' are unknown. An exact test is proposed for this situation, its computer implementation is described and examples of its use on published data sets are given. Other possible applications of the method adopted here are discussed. This is an example of a test where nuisance parameters are absent under H0, and where the distribution of the test statistic can be found numerically.     

Cognitive therapy and behavioural coping in the management of work-related stress: An intervention study

Transactional models of stress emphasize the importance of cognitive appraisal of potential stressors in the determination of the stress response. This appraisal can be modified by the use of techniques normally associated with cognitive therapy. The contribution of a specifically cognitive component when intervening in work-related stress has not been well evaluated to date. This research seeks to determine the effectiveness of stress management training in the treatment of the work-related effects of stress by comparing the role of modifying dysfunctional cognitions with the teaching of appropriate behavioural coping strategies. Participants were allocated to one of two intervention conditions or to a waiting list control group. Those in the intervention conditions received group stress management either with the focus on delivering cognitive therapy techniques or with the focus on behavioural coping skills. Measures of general health were taken at the beginning and end of intervention and at 3-month follow-up. Participants in the cognitive therapy groups who were reporting symptoms of general ill-health at the start of the intervention showed a significant improvement at follow-up. Cognitive therapy appears to have been an effective intervention in work-related stress. Those in the behavioural group showed a smaller but still clinically effective improvement. Results are discussed in terms of methodological issues and implications for future research. It is suggested that changes in cognitive appraisal may need to be developed.     

1984 and beyond: Divergent Directions and Extra Depth*

It is time family therapy looked wider than the therapy session. Problems presenting also need to be viewed within a societal context. The complexity and fluid nature of issues affecting the family today needs to be recognised. To highlight this, 3 divergent areas are discussed; family structure, culture, and the nuclear threat. The myth of homogeneity is exposed and the pluralistic nature of Australian society is discussed. It is argued that family therapists have a responsibility to be aware of, and to comment on, family policy issues if the approach is to continue to develop divergent directions and extra depths.     

Book reviews

Qualitative Sociology -