Part I––Comparing Noncancer Chronic Human Health Reference Values: An Analysis of Science Policy Choices

The goal of this study was to systematically evaluate the choices made in deriving a chronic oral noncancer human health reference value (HHRV) for a given chemical by different organizations, specifically those from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Health Canada, RIVM (the Netherlands), and the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. This analysis presents a methodological approach for comparing both the HHRVs and the specific choices made in the process of deriving an HHRV across these organizations. Overall, across the 96 unique chemicals and 171 two‐way organizational comparisons, the HHRV agreed approximately 26% of the time. A qualitative method for identifying the primary factors influencing these HHRV differences was also developed, using arrays of HHRVs across organizations for the same chemical. The primary factors identified were disagreement on the critical or principal study and differential application of the total uncertainty factor across organizations. Of the cases where the total UF was the primary factor influencing HHRV disagreement, the database UF had the greatest influence.     

Effects of relational schema congruence on leader-member exchange

Drawing on social exchange processes in leader-member exchange (LMX), we posit that expressive relational schema (ERS) and instrumental relational schema (IRS), which refer to knowledge structures in social exchange processes, act as antecedents of follower-rated LMX. Specifically, we discuss how leader-follower relational schema congruence/incongruence informs follower-rated LMX. Using polynomial regression models, we analyze 205 leader-follower dyads and test the congruent/incongruent effects on follower-rated LMX. The findings show that ERS congruence has a positive effect on follower-rated LMX, while IRS congruence has a negative effect on follower-rated LMX. Results also demonstrate that ERS incongruence impairs more follower-rated LMX than does ERS congruence, and IRS incongruence and IRS congruence have the same follower-rated LMX. Implications for LMX theory and research are discussed.     

Leader–member exchange,shared values,and performance: Agreement and levels of analysis do matter

In this study, we first investigate the levels of analysis at which leader–member exchange (LMX) operates; second, we examine the nature of the LMX–performance relationship when a superior and a subordinate agree as compared to disagree concerning the quality of their exchange; third, we test the effect of superior–subordinate agreement about work values on the LMX–performance relationship; and fourth, we simultaneously consider the effects of LMX agreement–disagreement and values agreement–disagreement on the LMX–performance relationship. Our findings indicate that LMX operates primarily at the independent dyad level of analysis. We also found that LMX and performance are most strongly related and display the strongest dyadic-level effects when superior and subordinate assessments of LMX and values are in agreement.     

Strategic interaction sequences: the institutionalization of participatory budgeting in New York City

ABSTRACT

An interactive approach to social movements highlights time dynamics in ways more correlational approaches do not, in that interaction and outcomes unfold in sequences as players react to one another. Some aspects of these engagements are shaped by institutional schedules, while others leave discretion to the players. Some institutional schedules, meanwhile, may be reshaped by strategic interactions. By examining the implicit trade-offs and explicit dilemmas that pervade strategic interaction, we see how some are tightly linked to time whereas others more closely reflect ongoing structural situations. Analyzing the case of participatory budgeting in New York City, we focus on two trade-offs, ‘being there’ and ‘powerful allies’, that appear when social movements attempt to institutionalize new policies and processes. These time-based strategic trade-offs complicate activists’ efforts to secure lasting gains.     

Register of research in social work

Abstract

Child Support A Practitioner'S Guide Jan Bowen (1994), Law Book Co., North Ryde, 293 pp. $ 45.00 (paper)

The Independent Social Security Handbook, Welfare Rights Centre (1994), Pluto Press, Leichhardt, 575 pp. $ 29.95 (paper)

Cultures Of Crime And Violence: The Australian Experience Bessant, J. Carrington, K. and Cook, S. (eds.), La Trobe University Press, in association with the Victorian Law Foundation, Melbourne. 221 pp. $ 24.95 (paper) Australia.

Leaving The Fold: A Guide For Former Fundamentalists And Others Leaving Their Religion M. Winell (1993) New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Oakland, CA. 297pp. $ 22.95 (paper) (Available direct from the distributor Boobook Publications, PO Box 163, Tea Gardens NSW 2324, phone (049) 970 811 or through all good bookshops.) Reriatha Reed Social Work Student La Trobe University Albury/Wodonga Campus     

Unraveling Work Reactions in a Sales Occupation: A Test of Three Models

The American economy has moved into a post-industrial society, where the main focus is now on the provision of services and the creation of knowledge rather than the manufacturing of material goods. In this context, the current project examines the job experiences of sales workers in this new economy. Based on a survey of a large Midwest sales firm, we examine the influence of various individual and work-related characteristics on four negative reactions: work dissatisfaction, lack of organizational commitment, work stress, and life stress. The study also assesses the impact on these outcomes from three theoretical perspectives: the Importation Model, the Work Role-Occupational Socialization Model, and the Work-Family Spillover Model. Using OLS regression, the analyses revealed three major conclusions. First, individual characteristics, including being a woman, had little impact on work reactions, lending little support for the Importation Model. Second, work-role experiences, particularly supervisory support and role overload, shaped job-related reactions consistent with the Work Role-Occupational Socialization Model. And third, when the intersection of work and family was examined, spillover effects were mainly confined to feelings of work and life stress, giving partial support for the Work-Family Spillover Model. This indicates that although they generally do not reduce employees' commitment to or satisfaction with their careers, family-related factors do impact levels of stress that workers endure.