Extended structures of mediation: Re-examining brokerage in dynamic networks

In this paper we revisit the concept of brokerage in social networks. We elaborate on the concept of brokerage as a process, identifying three distinct classes of brokerage behavior. Based on this process model, we develop a framework for measuring brokerage opportunities in dynamic relational data. Using data on emergent inter-organizational collaborations, we employ the dynamic brokerage framework to examine the relationship between organizational attributes and coordination in the evolving network. Comparing the findings of our process-based definition with traditional, static approaches, we identify important dimensions of organizational action that would be missed by the latter approach.     

A Survey of 100 Community Colleges on Student Substance Use,Programming, and Collaborations

Abstract

Objective: The objective was to survey community college personnel about student substance use, and infrastructure (staff and funding), programs, and collaborations dedicated to substance use prevention. Participants: The sample included 100 administrators, faculty, and health services staff at 100 community colleges. Methods: Participants completed a Web-based survey. Results: Participants reported a number of alcohol and other drug (AOD) related concerns. Despite limited staff and funding dedicated to AOD, institutions are implementing a number of programs, although many are not implementing some of the programs popular at traditional 4-year colleges. They are also collaborating with a number of on- and off-campus groups. The availability of staff and funding dedicated to AOD, and the presence of residence halls, is associated with health programming and substance abuse collaborations. Conclusions: Results suggest that there is a need for increased research to understand the most effective AOD prevention strategies for community colleges.     

Moderators of Career Calling and Job-Search Behaviors Among Unemployed Individuals

We examined the relationship between calling, job-search clarity, and job-search intensity in a cross-sectional study of Italian unemployed job seekers (N = 315). Structural equation modeling with observed variables and latent moderated structural equation models were adopted to test whether optimism, self-esteem, and perseverance moderate the relation between calling, job-search clarity, and job-search intensity. Perceiving a calling was positively related with job-search clarity and intensity, and these relations were stronger in individuals with lower levels of optimism, self-esteem, and perseverance. This study suggests that perceiving a calling is an important personal resource that is related to a clearer job-search goal and to more intense job-search activities and can support job seekers in personal adverse conditions. These results suggest integrating job-search behaviors in the work-as-calling theory and that incorporating the construct of calling into career counselors' practices may increase the efficacy of job-search activities.     

Media coverage and issue visibility: State legislative responses to school bullying

Dealing with the schoolyard bully is an age-old problem; however, legislators have only recently tackled it at the state level. This study examines the adoption of anti-bullying policies from the policy diffusion and innovation perspective with an emphasis on the role of print media coverage. The study contributes to the policy diffusion literature by examining both national and local media coverage as conduits for diffusion and adds to the expanding views of the diffusion process beyond the traditional geographic proximity argument. Further, it provides the first examination of an emerging policy area important to education policy scholars. The findings show issue saliency via national media coverage drives policy adoption beyond any geographic proximity.     

Too Cool for School? The Relationship between Coolness and Academic Reputation in Early Adolescence

The relationship between peer‐nominated coolness and academic reputation was examined at two time points spanning the first year of middle school (N = 807; 52 percent female; 52 percent African‐American; 48 percent European American). Students predominantly nominated peers who were from their same gender and ethnic group as being cool. Associations between coolness and academic reputation differed across subgroups, were contingent upon level of disruptive behavior, and changed over time from fall to spring of the academic year. In the fall, patterns differed by gender, not by ethnicity. For both white and African‐American boys, hierarchical regressions evidenced a null association between coolness and academic reputation; for both white and African‐American girls, this association was positive. In the spring, findings for white girls were similar to findings from the fall. For the three remaining groups—white boys and African‐American boys and girls—conditions worsened over time, albeit in slightly dissimilar ways. For white boys, fall coolness did not predict significant declines in academic reputation over time; nonetheless, as a group, the coolness–academic reputation was negative by the end of the year. For African‐American boys and girls, fall coolness significantly predicted declines in academic reputation from fall to spring, although the concurrent coolness–academic reputation association was not significantly negative for either group in the spring.     

Valuing Informal Care Experience: Does Choice of Measure Matter?

Well-being equations are often estimated to generate monetary values for non-marketed activities. In such studies, utility is often approximated by either life satisfaction or General Health Questionnaire scores. We estimate and compare monetary valuations of informal care for the first time in the UK employing both measures, using longitudinal data on well-being and informal care provision. The choice of well-being measure has some effect on the estimated parameters and resulting monetary valuations, but any differences are not statistically significant. Further research is needed to confirm the comparability of these measures if researchers are to continue to use them interchangeably.     

Face Preferences for Infant‐ and Adult‐Directed Speakers in Infants of Depressed and Nondepressed Mothers: Association with Infant Cognitive Development

Face preferences for speakers of infant‐directed and adult‐directed speech (IDS and ADS) were investigated in 4‐ to 13.5‐month‐old infants of depressed and nondepressed mothers. Following 1 min of exposure to an ID or AD speaker (order counterbalanced), infants had an immediate paired‐comparison test with a still, silent image of the familiarized versus a novel face. In the test phase, ID face preference ratios were significantly lower in infants of depressed than nondepressed mothers. Infants' ID face preference ratios, but not AD face preference ratios, correlated with their percentile scores on the cognitive (Cog) scale of the Bayley Scales of Infant & Toddler Development (3rd Edition; BSID‐III), assessed concurrently. Regression analyses revealed that infant ID face preferences significantly predicted infant Cog percentiles even after demographic risk factors and maternal depression had been controlled. Infants may use IDS to select social partners who are likely to support and facilitate cognitive development.