Those who cannot have what they want must want what they can get: The experience with company-based early retirement pension schemes in Norway

Early retirement is a central bridge between permanent work and standard pension age. During 1988-1989, 10% of all private Norwegian companies, employing about 20% of all employees, had made use of early retirement schemes, mainly as a means of reducing staff. A central question is whether early retirement creates welfare or reduces it for the early retirees. Case studies of 4 companies and panel studies of potential early retirees have been used to throw light on these questions: what are the experiences of those involved, and do they wish to leave work or is leave taken involuntary? Only 1 of 7 early retirees adapted poorly, mostly due to poor health, a strong work orientation combined with unfilled expectations for part-time work and the feeling that they had no choice but to accept the offer. The majority seem to adjust fairly well to life as a pensioner, especially if they have some part-time work. Besides high financial compensation, satisfaction with early retirement depends on whether the scheme is regarded as legitimate in the community and the individual considers the transition to be meaningful.     

Eight myths on motivating social services workers: theory-based perspectives

A combination of factors has made formal motivational and reward systems rare in human service organizations generally and virtually non-existent in social service agencies. The author reviews eight of these myths by reference to eight motivational theories which refute them: need theory, expectancy theory, feedback theory, equity theory, reinforcement theory, cognitive evaluation theory, goal setting theory, and social influence theory. Although most of these theories have been developed and applied in the private sector, relevant research has also been conducted in social service agencies. The author concludes with a summary of guidelines suggested by the eight theories for motivating human service workers.     

Demographic foundations of the sex role revolution

The current revolution in sex roles is not simply the result of feminist ideology; it is a consequence of the demographic changes that have occurred during this century. Women seek work outside the home in response to a situation created, in part, by the decline in birth and mortality rates. Engaging in productive labor is not, however, a new activity for married women. In fact, the male "breadwinner" system of the last century has been a historical aberration. Women have traditionally participated in production. Feminism clearly provides an ideological basis for the new egalitarianism in marriage, but it is not possible to meaningfully examine the changing sex roles during this century without also examing the concurrent demographic trends.     

Intervention with high-risk infants and toddlers

This early intervention program serves children and parents. It includes a therapeutic infant day care center and a mother-child interaction group. Counseling is also provided for families with children in the center and for families with children under three years of age in the community.     

Are corrupt acts contagious?: Evidence from the United States

This paper adds to the literature by shedding new light on the causes of corruption. Specifically, we provide evidence on the extent to which corruption might be contagious. In other words, what is the extent to which a demonstration effect is at play at inducing corrupt acts? Using state-level U.S. data over the 1995–2004 period, the results show that the effect of neighboring corruption is positive and statistically significant in all cases, implying that corruption does appear to be contagious. Specifically, a 10% increase in corruption in neighboring states appears to increase corruption in a state by about 4–11%. Of the different types of government activity, the size of defense and non-defense federal sectors in a state seem to have opposite effects on corruption, with the former contributing to corruption and the latter serving as a deterrent. The size of the state and local governments does not seem to be relevant. Of the variables controlling for detection and punishment of corrupt individuals, greater corrections employment reduces corruption, while greater judicial employment seems to increase corruption. Changes in the police force do not seem to have a statistically significant impact. These findings generally hold when we control for the disproportionate effects of the Washington, DC area and when a pooled data set is estimated. Contagion effects are also found for other crimes. Policy implications are discussed.     

Promoting leadership skills in field education:a university-community partnership to bring macro and micro together in gerontological field placements

Social workers are being called upon to utilize a wide range of skills in practice including not only skills of working directly with clients, but also skills related to practice in organizations such as program management, inter-organizational cooperation, research and evaluation. This article describes an innovative geriatric field education program that prepares social workers with leadership skills in both direct service and management, and engages community agencies as both sites for student learning and as beneficiaries of their professional development projects. Case examples are provided and benefits and challenges to the model are discussed.     

The Transnational Organization of Production and Environmental Degradation: A Cross‐National Study of the Effects of Foreign Capital Penetration on Water Pollution Intensity, 1980–1995*

Objective. This study attempts to increase our understanding of the environmental impacts of the transnational organization of production in the context of foreign capital penetration. Methods. With a sample of 53 countries, panel analyses using OLS and robust regression are conducted to assess the effects of foreign direct investment in the manufacturing sector on growth in organic water pollution intensity, 1980–1995. Slope‐dummy interaction variables are used to compare the effects in developed countries and less‐developed countries. The tested models include a variety of relevant controls, such as domestic investment, state environmentalism, size of the manufacturing sector, and level of economic development. Results. Findings for the analyses indicate that foreign direct investment in manufacturing positively affects growth in organic water pollution intensity in less‐developed countries, while the effect in developed countries is nonsignificant. Conclusions. This research illustrates the need for social scientists to investigate the environmental impacts of both the transnational organization of production and the overall scale of production in different sectors.