Risk, sexuality and economy

From the mid 1980s onwards HIV/AIDS became a new subject of work reform, with a range of experts producing new knowledges on work and the worker in regard to HIV/AIDS and workplace organizations putting in place workplace HIV/AIDS policies and programmes. To date, much of the discussion in sociology in regard to such policies and programmes has focused on the issue of effectiveness and has been concerned with making such policy 'better'. In this article however, and with particular reference to sexuality, I suggest that such approaches fail to register that workplace HIV/AIDS policies concern new conceptualizations of worker identities. Specifically, I suggest that such policies may be viewed as part of an assemblage of work reforms which are reworking worker identities as risk identities. Thus I argue that workplace HIV/AIDS policies and programmes are best understood as risk rationalities. Further, I consider the alignment between such rationalities and neo-liberal modes of rule, and in particular consider the ways in which workplace HIV/AIDS policies render both HIV/AIDS and sexuality calculable and governable in terms of notions of risk, self-responsibility and self-management.     

Youth conferences as a context for engagement

Youth conferences can be effective means for engaging youth in the life of their schools, communities, and nation, bringing benefits not only to youth themselves but also to the community, which gains through the energy, ideas, and values that youth contribute.     

Attentional Engagement in Infancy: The Interactive Influence of Attentional Inertia and Attentional State

We evaluated the interactive influences of attentional state and attentional inertia on infants' level of attentional engagement. We assessed infants' distraction latencies longitudinally at 6.5 and 9 months as they explored toys, and we coded both their attentional state (focused vs. casual) and how long they had been looking at the toy at each distractor onset. Consistent with previous results, both attentional state and attentional inertia contributed to differences in distraction latency. Importantly, the level of attentional engagement was interactively determined by attentional state and attentional inertia. Infants were most resistant to distraction when they were judged to be in a state of focused attention following relatively long looks to the toy, and they were equivalently less resistant to distraction under all other conditions. These results are consistent with a general conceptualization of attentional engagement resulting from the interaction of multiple processes.     

Enhancing children's decoding of facial expression

A procedure for improving children's skill in decoding facial expressions of emotion was studied in this experiment. In the first phase of the study, thirty-six fifth and sixth grade children watched video segments showing facial expressions of stimulus persons experiencing happiness, sadness, or fear and tried to identify each stimulus person's emotion. Subjects assigned to the feedback condition were given the correct answer for each segment, and subjects assigned to the no feedback condition received no information. Results for the second phase of the experiment, in which subjects' decoding skills were assessed, showed that the feedback method was effective in improving general decoding abilities. Furthermore, differences between subjects in the feedback and no feedback conditions were affected by subjects' sex and the specific emotion being decoded.Portions of this study were presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, April, 1989. This study was funded by a grant from the Marks Meadow Research Foundation, as well as through ongoing support from the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of Education, to the second author.     

Birds of a feather: Leader-member demographic similarity and organizational attachment in Mexico

Although a number of studies have investigated the consequences of leader-member similarity in the United States, there has been a dearth of research on its effects in other countries. Using a sample of 135 Mexican workers and their managers, this study assessed the effects of leader-member demographic similarity on members' organizational attachment (absence and organizational commitment) in a North Mexican manufacturing facility. Results showed that leader-member gender similarity was negatively associated with absence, and this effect was stronger for dyads with female leaders than for dyads with male leaders. Age similarity had mixed effects on attachment. While it had a negative association with absence (an indicator of lack of attachment), it also had a negative association with organizational commitment (an indicator of attachment). These findings are interpreted in the context of social psychological phenomena and elements of Mexican culture.     

Task Interdependence as a Moderator of the Relation Between Group Control and Performance

Data were collected from the managers of 77groups in a large service organization and a largemanufacturing organization. The results revealed thatthe relation between group control over decision making and group performance became more positive withincreased levels of task interdependence. The mainimplication of the findings is that increasing groupcontrol over decisions may result in high performance only for groups that are highly taskinterdependent. The performance of groups that are lowin task interdependence may suffer when provided withgroup-level control of decisions.     

Acculturation, gender stereotypes, and attitudes about dating violence among Latino youth

This study examined the relationship between personal characteristics (gender, acculturation, belief in gender stereotypes, recent dating experiences), and attitudes and knowledge about dating violence in urban Latino youth (N = 678). All participants completed self-administered surveys at school. Relative to girls, boys held more problematic (proviolence) attitudes about dating violence and reported less knowledge about dating violence and its consequences. Teens who were more traditional (less acculturated), those who endorsed gender stereotypes, and those who reported recent fearful dating experiences tended to report less knowledge about abuse and lower endorsement of nonviolent attitudes. Multivariate analyses revealed that all four personal variables predicted dating violence knowledge. By contrast, attitudes were predicted by endorsement of gender stereotypes only, or gender stereotypes and gender. Implications for dating violence interventions and future directions for research are explored.     

"Nothing about me without me": leading the way to collaborative relationships with families

This article discusses the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse's CASA Safe Haven, an evidence-based, community-driven intervention program for children and families in child welfare whose lives have been adversely affected by substance abuse, and for staff in the agencies that work with them. CASA Safe Haven builds collaborative relationships that feature a blend of multidisciplinary teams that share responsibility for helping families; family group conferencing, in which families are equal and welcome participants in designing and driving a service plan; and the influence of family court to hold families and service providers accountable for progress. CASA Safe Haven is a framework for collaboration.     

With Strength and Struggle: A Teacher's Process of Transforming Science into Multicultural Science. Where is Multicultural Science in Science Education Reform?

This interpretive case study focuses on one middle school science teacher in the United States as she transforms her classroom based on her personal definition of science education that is multicultural. The teacher‐participated in a multicultural science institute over the course of four years which provided a framework for her change process. Critical to the change process was an acceptance of the responsibility to teach science to all students in her diverse classroom. Elements of her change process included incorporating a model of science known as the 3P's, as well as, a focus on multicultural perspectives and cooperative learning. Classroom practices were changed as a result of a complex interaction between her increasing conviction in the academic ability of her students and an evolving perception of science as a social construction.     

"Born to be wild". The effect of the repeal of Florida's mandatory motorcycle helmet-use law on serious injury and fatality rates

In response to political pressure, the state of Florida repealed its mandatory motorcycle helmet-use law for all operators and passengers older than the age of 21, effective July 1, 2000. Using monthly data and a multiple time-series design, the authors assessed the effect of this law change on serious injury and fatality rates for motorcycle riders aged 21 and older. Controls for serious injury and fatality rates for motorcycle riders younger than 21 years of age were included in the analyses. Maximum-likelihood results showed that the repeal of the mandatory helmet-use law in Florida had little observable effect on serious injuries or on fatalities that resulted from motorcycle crashes. Policy implications of these findings are discussed, and explanations are given as to why the repeal of the mandatory motorcycle helmet-use law in Florida was inconsequential.