Women in Procrustean Beds: Strength Testing and the Workplace

Pre-employment strength testing in its present form supports employment practices which exclude women from manual handling tasks traditionally assigned to men. However, several lines of reasoning lead us to think that pre-employment testing is a Procrustean bed which imposes unreasonable requirements on most women. Examination of some tests and their scientific underpinnings leads us to conclude that they may result in discrimination. Women often approach manual tasks in ways different from men, so that pre-employment tests developed around the ways men usually perform these tasks are poor predictors of women’s performance at real-life jobs. We also question the fact that pre-employment testing involves the types of requirements imposed in men’s traditional work, but not women’s. This perspective leads us to propose a less rigid notion of physical strength and to introduce the concept of human-task interaction. Representations of human capacity based on sexual stereotypes may conceal health and safety problems in job requirements which should be addressed directly, leading to more constructive propositions regarding job design and employee selection. We propose that standards be set for job requirements, such that all manual handling jobs become physically accessible to at least 75% of all workers.     

Gender Inequality in Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Areas1

Abstract Nonmetropolitan-metropolitan differences in the United States are large and growing, but we know relatively little about how they interact with gender differences. Using data from the CPS, the Census PUMS, and the GSS, we find nonmetropolitan and metropolitan areas are quite similar in the gender gap in earnings and in rates of married women's labor force participation. Occupational sex segregation is higher and some gender attitudes are a few percentage points less egalitarian in nonmetropolitan areas. Each of these dimensions of gender stratification has been declining over the last two decades and the declines are roughly similar in nonmetropolitan and metropolitan areas. Variations in gender stratification have been greater over time than across place. Thus, while both place and gender are important dimensions of stratification, there appears to have been little interaction between the two.     

Research Constituents and Authorship Patterns in the Production and Operations Management Journal

The Production and Operations Management Society is the largest professional society dedicated to creating and disseminating knowledge in product and process design, operations, and supply chains for the management of manufacturing and services. Its research journal, Production and Operations Management (POM), covers all topics in the discipline and all research paradigms to serve the entire community. Since its inception in 1992, POM has become recognized as a top tier outlet for operations management research. We identify research institutions in the operations management community that have played major roles in developing the journal based on the research of their faculty members and doctoral graduates. Our findings show that the constituency of the journal reflects the constituency of the society.     

Self-perceived Social Acceptance and Peer Social Standing in Children with Aggressive–Disruptive Behaviors

Examining children's perceptions of their social acceptance in conjunction with others’ ratings of their peer social standing can enhance our understanding of the heterogeneity in children exhibiting disruptive behavior problems. Using a sample of 213 youth rated in the top 31 percent of their class on aggressive–disruptive behaviors, the current study examined the interaction between children's perceptions of their social acceptance and their peer‐rated social standing in predicting emotional and behavioral problems. Overall, lower peer‐rated social standing was associated with higher levels of antisocial behavior, academic problems, and hyperactivity/inattention. On the other hand, higher self‐perceived social acceptance was associated with increased levels of peer‐rated fighting at school. For children who were rated as having high social standing among their peers, poorer self‐perceived social acceptance was associated with increased oppositional behaviors and conduct problems at home. In addition, children who reported lower self‐perceived social acceptance exhibited increased levels of depressive symptoms, even when they were relatively well liked by their peers. The potential implications for working with subgroups of children with aggressive–disruptive behaviors are discussed.     

Methods for eliciting aetiological clues from geographically clustered cases of disease, with application to leukaemia–lymphoma data

The nearest neighbour analysis method has been developed to determine whether a disease case may be regarded as being unusually close to other neighbouring cases of the same disease. Using this method, each disease case is classified as spatially 'clustered' or 'non-clustered'. The method is also used to provide a test for global clustering. 'Clusters' are constructed by amalgamating geographically neighbouring clustered cases into one contiguous 'cluster area'. This paper describes a method for studying differences between clustered and non-clustered cases, in terms of case 'attributes'. These attributes may be person related, such as age and sex, or area based, such as geographical isolation. The area-based variables are subject to geographical correlation. The comparison of clustered and non-clustered cases may reveal similarities or differences, which may, in turn, give clues to disease aetiology. A method for studying 'linkage' or similarities in attributes between cases that occur in the same clusters is also described. The methods are illustrated by application to incidence data for leukaemias and lymphomas.     

Profiles of the parents of adolescent CSA perpetrators attending a voluntary outpatient treatment programme in Ireland

A group of 22 parents of adolescent sexual offenders (PASO) was compared with a group of 19 normal controls (NC) and 10 clinical controls (CC) on demographic, developmental, personal adjustment and family environment variables. The assessment protocol included the General Health Questionnaire‐12, the Culture‐Free Self‐Esteem Inventory, the Child Behaviour Checklist, the Family Assessment Device, the Parent Satisfaction Scale and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Compared with clinical and normal controls, more parents in the PASO group reported that they had been arrested or charged for a criminal offence; had personally experienced child abuse; and more of their adolescents had experienced child abuse, with emotional abuse being the most common form of abuse for both parents and adolescents. Compared with clinical and normal controls, more adolescents of parents in the PASO group had witnessed parental drug or alcohol abuse and had been placed in care outside their home. While parents in the PASO group did not differ from clinical or normal controls in terms of personal adjustment, their adolescents had significantly more internalizing behaviour problems than normal controls, whereas adolescents of parents in the clinical control group had significantly more externalizing behaviour problems than normal controls. Compared with normal controls, parents in both the PASO and clinical control groups reported more difficulties with general family functioning, roles, affective responsiveness, affective involvement and behaviour control and lower levels of parental satisfaction. However, the groups did not differ significantly in their levels of perceived social support. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hierarchical Financial Needs Reflected by Household Financial Asset Shares

This study explores the relationship between family financial needs and household financial asset shares. A conceptual framework based on the needs hierarchy theory, new consumer demand theory, and prospect theory guides the investigation. Results from the bivariate and tobit analyses suggest that family financial needs are hierarchical that are reflected by patterns of financial asset shares. Specifically, checking and savings accounts represent the lowest-level survival needs, and bonds and stocks represent the highest-level growth needs. The rest of the financial assets examined, except for trusts, represent the middle-level security needs.     

The Ability Explorer: Translating Super's Ability‐Related Theory Propositions Into Practice

One half of D. Super's (D. Super, M. Savickas, & C. Super, 1996) theoretical propositions that relate to abilities have been operationalized into a psychometric instrument, the Ability Explorer (T. Harrington & J. Harrington, 1996). Interpretations illustrate how D. Super's career development theoretical concepts can be implemented in career counseling.